How to meal prep without getting bored (or spending your whole Sunday)

Hey!

"I tried meal prep but ate the same sad salad for 5 days straight and gave up."

I hear this story ALL the time. And honestly? I've been there.

My first attempt at meal prep looked like this: I spent 3 hours on Sunday making identical chicken and broccoli containers. By Wednesday, I was so sick of it that I ordered Thai food and let the rest rot in my fridge.

Epic fail.

But here's what I learned: The problem wasn't meal prep itself. The problem was my approach.

Most people meal prep wrong. Here's how to do it right:

Instead of making 5 identical meals, I prep COMPONENTS.

My 20-minute Sunday routine:

• 5 minutes: Cook a big batch of quinoa or rice

• 5 minutes: Roast a sheet pan of vegetables

• 5 minutes: Prep 2-3 proteins (rotisserie chicken, hard-boiled eggs, beans)

• 5 minutes: Wash and chop fresh ingredients (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers)

That's it. 20 minutes total.

Then during the week, I mix and match:

• Monday: Quinoa bowl with roasted veggies and chicken

• Tuesday: Salad with hard-boiled eggs and roasted sweet potatoes

• Wednesday: Leftover quinoa in a wrap with beans and fresh veggies

• Thursday: Quick soup using the roasted vegetables as a base

• Friday: Whatever combination sounds good that day

The magic? Same 20 minutes of prep, but 5 completely different lunches. No boredom, no food waste, no spending my entire Sunday in the kitchen.

Here's why this works:

• You're not committed to eating the same thing every day

• Components last longer than complete meals

• You can adapt based on your mood or what you have leftover

• It takes up way less fridge space

• You feel like you're "cooking" each day even though the work is already done

The best part? When Wednesday hits and you're swamped at work, you're not staring into your fridge wondering what to eat. You just grab your components and throw together something delicious in 2 minutes.

But here's what really makes meal prep work...

Having recipes that are DESIGNED for this approach. Not complicated meals that need to be eaten immediately, but flexible recipes that taste great as leftovers and can be mixed and matched.

My lunch collection has 30 recipes built exactly for this - grain bowls, mason jar salads, wraps, and soups that all use similar base ingredients but feel completely different.

No more boring meal prep. No more 3-hour Sunday sessions. Just smart, flexible recipes that work with your real life.

What's your biggest meal prep struggle? Finding time? Getting bored? Not knowing what travels well? Hit reply and tell me!

Here's to lunches that don't suck! Sarah

P.S. - My secret weapon? Mason jar salads. Layer the dressing on the bottom, hearty ingredients in the middle, greens on top. They stay fresh for 5 days and you just shake and eat. Game changer!