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Meal Prep Ideas That Don't Feel Boring

One Sunday cook, five lunches you'll actually look forward to — juicy herb chicken, quinoa and roasted vegetables with rotating sauces.

By Hana MoriOctober 3, 20268 min readMeal Prep Jump to recipe ↓
Meal Prep Ideas That Don't Feel Boring

The secret to meal prep you don't get sick of isn't more recipes — it's mixing components. Cook one protein, one grain and two trays of vegetables, then change the sauce every day so each box tastes new.

The component method

Instead of five identical boxes, prep building blocks and assemble them differently through the week:

  • Protein: herb-grilled chicken (recipe below), baked tofu or turkey meatballs.
  • Grain: quinoa, brown rice or farro.
  • Vegetables: one roasted tray (broccoli, peppers, sweet potato) and one raw (cucumber, cabbage slaw).
  • Sauces: lemon tahini, peanut-lime, chimichurri, spicy yogurt.

A week of flavour

  1. Monday — Mediterranean bowl with lemon tahini.
  2. Tuesday — Peanut-lime noodle-style bowl with slaw.
  3. Wednesday — Chimichurri chicken with roasted sweet potato.
  4. Thursday — Spicy yogurt & cucumber power bowl.
  5. Friday — Chicken fried quinoa with a fried egg.
Keep it fresh

Store sauces in small separate jars and add them just before eating. Vegetables stay crisp, and grains don't turn mushy.

Storage guide

Cooked chicken and grains keep 4 days in the fridge in airtight containers. For Friday's box, freeze the portion on Sunday and move it to the fridge Wednesday night.

The recipe

Herb Chicken, Quinoa & Roasted Veg Boxes

Prep20 min
Cook35 min
Serves5
LevelEasy

Ingredients

Tap to tick off as you go.

  • 800 g chicken breast or thighs
  • 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
  • 2 garlic cloves, grated
  • 1 tsp each dried oregano and smoked paprika
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 250 g quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
  • 2 bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 large sweet potato, cubed
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Marinate the chicken with 1 tbsp oil, garlic, oregano, paprika, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper for at least 15 minutes.
  2. Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Toss vegetables with the remaining oil and salt, spread on two trays and roast 25–30 minutes.
  3. Simmer quinoa in 500 ml salted water, covered, for 15 minutes. Rest 5 minutes and fluff.
  4. Grill or pan-sear the chicken 5–6 minutes per side until it reaches 74°C (165°F) inside. Rest, then slice.
  5. Let everything cool for 20 minutes before dividing into five containers.
  6. Refrigerate up to 4 days, keeping sauces in separate jars.