20+ Cheap Meal Prep Ideas as Post Grad

Cheap Meal Prep Ideas

Are you struggling to find healthy AND cheap meal prep ideas in your post grad life?! Well, here are my top 20+ cheap meal prep ideas that you need today!! This is perfect if you are in college, post-grad, and even high school! These are some of my favorite healthy meal prep ideas! Let me know if you use any of them!

This post is all about cheap meal prep ideas.

I will start with some tips on how to start to make your meal prep every week. I would order groceries on Sunday and either start to prep your food Sunday night or Monday! It really is flexible to you and your schedule! I think that it is super easy to feel overwhelmed when you are just starting to meal prep so here are my organizational tips/techniques before meal prepping your week!

GET THE FOUNDATION READY:

FIRST: Plan Your Meal: Get a planner/list/whatever works for you and plan what you want to eat out every week or day! I am not someone who likes to eat the same thing every day. So I usually switch up ingredients through out the week as you will see later!
Focus on veggies, fat, protein, carbs. I think that is the best way to look at it so you are not overwhelmed. You do not need to eat spinach and broccoli every single week to be “healthy.” Trust me. Focus on greens but the ones you actually like to eat or else your food will sit in the fridge all week while you order take out (guilty as well sometimes)..
Veggies: focus on what you like! Examples: frozen broccoli, corn, cauliflower, spinach, kale, onions, garlic, tomatoes, brussel sprouts, zucchini. Now pick 2-3 a week to get at the grocery store.
Fat: Avocado, olive oil, cheeses, black beans, pinto beans(dairy free or not, moderation is good): I think choosing one fat a week is a good way to go.
Protein: So for protein it can be super simple, get two choices of meats/veggie meat if needed: chicken, shrimp, salmon, beef, turkey meat, tofu, impossible meat, etc!
Carbs: White rice, brown rice, tortillas, flatbreads, regular bread I like to choose two carbs a week and these typically do not go bad every week so it should help!
LAST, Sauces: Focus on sauces but choose healthier options. Like if you want ranch, try low-fat or yogurt ranch. If you just want ranch, GET IT! Moderation is key. Examples; Ranch, salsa, hot sauce, whatever condiments you typically like. This is another option that does not really go bad too often!

So that is how it is best to break down your weekly meal ideas. I have chosen some pretty cheap ingredients starting out! Therefore, this should be a good guide to your cheap meal prep ideas!

CHEAP MEAL PREP IDEAS:

RICE BOWLS:

GROUND TURKEY AND RICE AND VEGETABLES: A super simple meal you can meal prep in the beginning of the week! Saute ground turkey, black beans, corn, and zucchini. Use your spices and microwave or make your own fresh white rice.
CHICKEN, CORN, BLACK BEANS, RICE: Another saute meal: if you have chicken already cooked in the beginning of the week, it should last at least 2-3 days for the other chicken ideas!
FLATBREAD PIZZAS: GROUND BEEF, RED MARINARA SAUCE, CHEESE: Make a healthy pizza with just three or four ingredients! Pop it in the oven and you are good to go!
FLATBREAD PIZZA: MOZZARELLA CHEESE, TOMATOES, BASIL, AND BALSAMIC GLAZE: I love this simple pizza idea! Super delicious and you can make it for when you are hosting friends!
WRAPS: SPINACH TORTILLAS WRAPS WITH CHICKEN, PINTO BEANS, CHEESE, ROASTED VEGGIES, AND GUAC: Just like rice bowls, throw your premade ingredients in a wrap and call it a meal.

SPICE IT UP MEALS/BOWLS:

VEGGIE STUFFED CHICKEN BREAST WITH RICE/BEANS: Stuff your chicken breast with cheese/veggies and have it for dinner! Whatever chicken you do not use, you can throw in the fridge and just shred it up for the rest of your meals.
CHICKEN TOSTADAS: Shredded chicken and salsa in a pan, and throw it on a tostada/tortilla. Add your toppings of cheese, avocado, lettuce, etc!
SHRIMP SALAD WITH BLACK BEANS, CHEESE AVOCADO, TOMATOES, OLIVE OIL/LEMON DRESSING: The easiest salad spread ever…all ingredients are ready. Perfect summer salad
RICE, TOFU, VEGGIES BOWL: A typical vegan cheap meal prep idea, but such a good one. Use hot sauces!
SHRIMP, AVOCADO, RICE BOWL: Another rice bowl, do not forget sauce 😉
SALMON, EGG, WHITE RICE, AVOCADO, SRIRACHA AOILI BOWL: My perfect protein salmon bowl for the days where I need to add in my protein fast!
SALMON, SPINACH, VEGGIES TACOS WITH SRIRACHA AOILI: Throw this together in a few minutes just by pre making your salmon!
SPICY CHICKEN SAUSAGE, POTATOES, BROCCOLI: A one pan meal you can throw in the oven for 20 minutes.
CHICKEN BREASTS (CUT UP), RED BELL PEPPERS, ONIONS, AND POTATOES (ONE PAN MEAL): Another one pan meal you can throw in the oven for 30 minutes and have a taco night too!
CHICKEN FAJITAS (PEPPERS AND ONIONS) WITH RICE AND GUAC/TORTILLAS: Use your chicken from the meal above for this meal!!! Fajita night at home.
TOFU, BLACK BEANS, CORN, BROCCOLI BOWL: A vegan rice bowl with a tex-mex twist!

BREAKFAST FOODS/SNACKS:

AVOCADO TOAST WITH EGGS: Perfect breakfast toast and/or pre-workout snack!
CREAM CHEESE TOAST WITH EGGS: Another toast to have for lunch or breakfast!

SPECIAL OCCASION MEALS:

SKIRT TACOS WITH PINEAPPLE SALSA: A pretty simple meal you can use twice a week! (rice bowls, tacos, or wraps)
BLACKENED FISH TACOS WITH PINEAPPLE SALSA: Use salmon, trout, for these tacos!!!

NOW, Sriracha aioli: Sriracha, mayo, lemon juice – perfect dressing for any of these cheap meal prep ideas!

Other key parts of meal prepping your food every week:

Use some tupperware containers to divide out ingredients or meals! If you want to put your ingredients together at the last moment, that is totally fine. Just make sure you are dividing out each ingredient.
Schedule your meals. I said it before, but if you do not have a plan for the week, you will probably fail. How many meals do you want to eat at home? How many can you realistically eat at home? Focus on 2 meals a week first, then 3, then 4, and then keep going! Just do not give up on an actual MEAL plan. Do not buy 10 types of meats/proteins a week and except thats how you cook. Go in to your store with a plan and I promise you it will go a lot easier than you think!
Keep it simple: Okay, I know I have repeated this so many times, but seriously just keep it simple. Especially in the beginning where you may not know how to cook chicken the right way, or whatever else. Just start with two or three ingredients from the above categories!
Finally, just set yourself up for success!!! You GOT this. Being healthy does NOT mean boring!

This should be a good place to start. Do not think you need to make fancy pinterest meals in order to eat good at home. Use seasonings + sauces to spice up your food! Let me know if you try any of these meal prep ideas. Talk to ya’ll later 🙂

This post was all about cheap meal prep ideas!