• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sweet Peas and Saffron

meal prep recipes for busy people

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • All Recipes
    • Meal Type
      • Appetizers
      • Breakfast
      • Desserts
      • Drinks
      • Lunch
      • Salad
      • Sides
      • Soups & Stews
    • Method
      • Air Fryer
      • Grill
      • Instant Pot
      • One Pot Meals
      • Oven
      • Slow Cooker
    • Diet
      • Dairy-Free
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Carb
      • Nut Free
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
    • Main Ingredient
      • Beans
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Eggs
      • Lentils
      • Pork
      • Seafood
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Meal Prep
  • Meal Prep
    • How to Meal Prep
    • Vegetarian
    • Chicken
    • Beef
    • Breakfast
  • Instant Pot
    • Instant Pot 101
    • Chicken
    • Side Dishes
    • Vegetarian
  • Dinner
    • 30 Minutes
    • One Pot Meals
    • Salad
    • Soups & Stews
    • Casseroles
    • Instant Pot
    • Slow Cooker
  • Freezer
    • Vegetarian
    • Chicken
    • Casserole
    • Crockpot Freezer Meals
    • Chicken Marinades
    • Freezer Meal Do's & Don'ts
  • Shop
  • Start Here
    • Start Here
    • Denise Bustard of Sweet Peas & Saffron
    • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Meal Prep
  • Instant Pot
  • Dinner
  • Freezer
  • Shop
  • Start Here
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    3 Ways You Can Add Variety To your Meal Prep

    December 28, 2018 by Denise Bustard 2 Comments

    Home / Recipes / Meal Prep / 3 Ways You Can Add Variety To your Meal Prep

    3 ways you can add variety to your meal prep- perfect if you are sick of eating the same thing over and over!

    The number one most common question I get asked about meal prep: "do you really eat the same thing four days in a row?"

    collage image with text overlay saying 3 Ways You Can Add Variety To your Meal Prep

    Do I? Sometimes! But often, I don't. I want to share three simple tricks you can use to change your meals up, while still being efficient on Meal Prep Sunday.

    Let's discuss!

    overhead shot of four meal prep bowls with two in mason jars and two in meal prep containers

    1. Prep two options at the same time

    If you've participated in our Lunch Prep Challenge, you know this one! By being strategic with the recipes, we can prep overlapping ingredients or methods and create completely different flavors.

    My favorite ways to do this? Split two recipes on a sheet pan and bake at the same time OR cook one stir fry but split it and use two different sauces.

    Prep 2 Options Recipes: 

    • Sheet Pan Meal Prep 2 Ways: Pesto Chickpea Pitas & Thai Chicken Lunch Bowls
    • Sheet Pan Meal Prep 2 Ways: Chickpea Buddha Bowls & Greek Chicken Wraps
    • Stir Fry Meal Prep 2 Ways: Honey Sriracha and Lemon Sesame
    • Jar Salad & Sheet Pan: Balsamic Pasta Jar Salad & Sweet Potato, Broccoli & Chickpea Bowls

    overhead shot of twelve meal prep bowls with three different varieties of meals

    2. Start a freezer stash

    The next time you are cooking a stir fry, curry or pot of soup, consider doubling it up, portioning out with rice, and freezing half. Setting up a freezer stash of lunches means that you can rotate meals in through your week for some variety.

    But what kind of meals can I freeze? Check out this round-up below:

    • 34 Freezer-Friendly Meal Prep Lunches

    Note- I freeze my leftovers in my Snapware glass meal prep containers which have a pyrex base. I recommend investing in some good meal prep containers for your freezer stash so you can be sure they will hold up to freeze/thawing.

    overhead shot of nine different freezer friendly meal prep lunch options

    3. Double up on dinners

    This is my top tip for when you don't have time to meal prep your lunches: Just plan to double up your dinners! It's not a lot of extra work (just a little planning), and you end up with leftovers you can enjoy for the next few days, or add to your freezer stash.

    Looking for dinner recipes with excellent leftovers?

    • 28 Healthy Dinners Meal Prep Ideas
    • 36 Healthy Instant Pot Recipes
    • 20 Slow Cooker Recipes for Meal Prep

    These are my three methods for keeping my meals exciting for meal prep!

    What is your favorite way to add variety to your meals? Let me know below!

    About Denise Bustard

    Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more. read more

    Previous Post: « 5 Meal Prep Strategies That Work!
    Next Post: Easy Chicken Curry »

    Reader Interactions

    This site contains affiliate links, meaning that if you make a purchase through them, we will receive a small commission.

    FREE EMAIL COURSE

    Meal Prep Quick Start Guide

    Tips & strategies to get you prepping...fast!

    Comments

    1. Pris

      February 27, 2019 at 11:00 am

      This is almost too basic, but honestly, I like to cook up whatever meat I feel like (chicken breast, ground beef, etc.) with just very basic seasoning and then as I use it over the next handful of days, I can add extra seasonings and/or sauces and such to switch it up. So, I'll add taco seasoning and/or salsa to my ground beef one day for a Mexican taste, then another day I may splash in some soy sauce and sesame oil for a more Asian feel, and so on. Seems almost silly, but it works! You can also shred some leftover chicken breast you're kinda sick of eating and toss it into a soup or casserole or breakfast muffins, etc.

      Reply
      • Denise

        March 05, 2019 at 10:05 pm

        This is so smart! Thank you for sharing 🙂

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/about

    Hi, I'm Denise

    Meal prep took me from feeling constantly stressed out about meals to cool, collected and in control. I want to share this amazing and transformational habit with you, so you can feel in control, too!

    Read more about it here!

    POPULAR

    overhead shot of 7 easy stir fry sauces on gray background

    7 Easy Stir Fry Sauce Recipes

    freezer bags labeled and filled with chicken and seven different chicken marinades

    7 Chicken Marinade Recipes You Can Freeze

    overhead shot of sweet potatoes lined up with text showing number of minutes to cook each

    PERFECT Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

    overhead shot of blue mason jar filled with crispy chickpeas

    ULTRA Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas

    pile or air fryer chicken breasts with one sliced

    20 Minute Air Fryer Chicken Breast

    collage image that says 33 healthy lunch ideas for work

    33 Healthy Lunch Ideas For Work

    FREE EMAIL COURSE

    Meal Prep Quick Start Guide

    Tips & strategies to get you prepping...fast!

    In Season

    overhead view of spiralized pasta with egg in bowl

    Spiralized Pasta with Egg and Asparagus

    fork taking a bite out of the lemon pepper salmon

    Lemon Pepper Salmon Sheet Pan

    overhead shot of farro arugula salad with a soft boiled egg in glass meal prep container

    Farro Arugula Salad (Meal Prep)

    Close up shot of multiple healthy rhubarb muffins

    Healthy Rhubarb Muffins

    Pile of sauteed green beans with garlic butter on gray plate

    Sautéed Green Beans with Garlic Butter

    close up shot of a bowl of instant pot carrots with honey glaze

    Instant Pot Carrots with Honey Glaze

    Footer

    logos

    · Copyright © 2012 - 2020 Sweet Peas & Saffron · Nutritional Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Comment and Copyright Policy | Implemented by WPopt