Meal Prep Recipe Ideas

Dinner Recipe Ideas

Kick start healthy eating with these dinner themed meal prep recipes. Get recipes like these directly to your mailbox by subscribing to the Beach Balance Newsletter.

• Black Pepper Vegetable Udon (4 servings)

  Ingredients:

  • 1 pack of udon
  • 3 tablespoons organic rice vinegar
  • 1 package of tofu
  • 5 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce
  • Black pepper
  • 3 cups of chopped napa (or any leafy vegetables)
  • 2 sliced red bell pepper

  Directions:

  1. Boil the udon and the napa.
  2. Drain the udon and place onto a pan under medium heat.
  3. Add the rice vinegar, soy sauce, and oyster sauce while stirring the udon.
  4. Drain and cube the tofu. Then add to the pan for 8 minutes.
  5. Add the napa and red bell peppers.
  6. After cooking for about 2-4 minutes, transfer the meal onto the dish.
  7. Top off the meal with some black pepper.

  How to Prep for the week:

  1. Separate evenly each serving into four containers.
  2. Each container should have about equal amounts of each ingredient. If you want to make larger meals simply divide up into three containers.
  3. Set in fridge for the week and you are ready to go!

• Chickpea Curry (4 servings)

  Ingredients:

  • 1 can organic garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne or habanero powder (optional)

  Directions:

  1. 1 tbsp. olive oil
  2. 1 bunch Lacinato (Dino) Kale de-stemmed and roughly chopped (2c packed)
  3. 1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced
  4. 1/2 small white onion, thinly sliced
  5. 2 tbsp. red curry paste
  6. 1 can coconut milk (full fat)
  7. 1/2 tsp fish sauce
  8. 1 sprig basil
  9. chili flakes
  10. lime

  How to Prep for the week:
  Crispy Garbanzo Beans

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  2. Dry garbanzo beans on 2 layers of paper towels for 5-20 minutes (as long as you are willing to wait. They will be crispier, the dryer they are.
  3. Toss in oil and spices, spread on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, shake, 5 minutes, shake, and 5 minutes. Note: these can be baked for less time if you like. This amount is great for snacking (very crunchy). If you are just making them for the curry, 15 minutes would be fine. Hit me with the broiler maybe when you're done.

  Curry

  1. Heat oil over med-high heat in a shallow pan. Fry pan or dutch oven.
  2. Add onion and bell pepper - cook for about 2 minutes. Add kale, cover with a lid or plate and steam for 2 minutes.
  3. Turn heat to medium, add the curry paste, whole can of coconut milk, fish sauce, basil (just pull the whole leaves off the stem, no need to chop), chili flakes. Cover, cook for another 5 minutes.
  4. Add lime and separate the food into four meal containers and place in fridge!

• Chipotle Burrito Bowl (4 servings)

  Ingredients:

  • 1 cup uncooked rice
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 3 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
  • 1 (15.25 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
  • 1 (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

  For Chipotle Cream Sauce:

  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon chipotle paste
  • 1 clove garlic, pressed
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1/4 tsp salt, or more to taste

  Directions:

  1. To make chipotle cream sauce, whisk together sour cream, chipotle paste, garlic, lime juice and salt; set aside
  2. In a large saucepan of 1 ½ cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; let cool and stir in salsa; set aside
  3. To assemble the bowls, divide rice mixture into serving bowls; top with lettuce, corn, black beans, tomatoes, avocado and cilantro
  4. Serve immediately, drizzled with chipotle cream sauce

  How to Prep for the week:

  1. Separate the recipe into four containers to ensure you have even content for meals.
  2. In each container there should be. About ¼ cup of rice, ¼ cup of salsa, ¼ cup corn, ¼ cup of black beans, small handful of tomatoes, ¼ avocado diced, sprinkle of cilantro and chipotle sauce.

• Taco Turkey Bowls (4 Servings)

  Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 green bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 pound ground turkey (can be subbed for tofu)
  • 1 1-ounce low sodium packet taco seasoning
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can corn
  • 1 avocado, sliced (optional)

  Directions:

  1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
  2. Add peppers and onions and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened. Remove from pan, set aside.
  3. Add ground turkey to hot skillet. Break apart with a wooden spoon to separate
  4. Season with taco seasoning, stir, cook until meat has browned and cooked through.
  5. To assemble the taco bowls, add base of rice to 4 food storage containers, Top each with a scoop of black beans, corn, avocado, cooked peppers and onions, and taco meat.
  6. Store in the fridge and enjoy. (Can be kept refrigerated for up to 4 days.)

  How to Prep for the week:

  1. Separate the finished products into four different containers evenly.
  2. The containers should each have ¼ cup of brown rice, ¼ cup of corn, ¼ of an avocado, ¼ lb. of ground turkey, and a handful of veggies.
  3. Ensure the meals are evenly distributed to avoid unbalanced meals.
  4. Now you have four meals set and ready for the week.

• Tofu Scramble (1 Serving)

  Ingredients:

  • 1/4 block of firm pressed tofu
  • 1/4 onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/2 cup of baby spinach
  • 1/4 cup mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup red bell peppers
  • Nutritional Yeast, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper to taste
  • Salsa (optional)

  Directions:

  1. Drain and press tofu using a paper towel.
  2. Crumble tofu and marinate with nutritional yeast, chili powder, salt, and pepper.
  3. Add chopped onions and garlic to skillet on medium heat.
  4. Then add the tofu, mushrooms, bell peppers and spinach towards the end of cooking process.
  5. Serve with a dollop of salsa if desired.

  How to Prep for the week:

  1. Make four servings of this recipe by multiplying all measurements by four.
  2. This will create four servings that you can then separate into four different containers for the rest of the week.
  3. Have four meals prepped for the week already ready to go!