60 Healthy Meal Prep Ideas

Busy week? These meal prep ideas are here to help! With tips and recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, they make eating healthy, delicious meals easy.

Is anyone else trying to get in a new meal prep routine this fall? Jack and I took some time off last week for an end-of-summer trip to Michigan. It was so fun and relaxing, but when we got back, I realized just how busy the next few months are going to be. Thankfully, I have a full arsenal of healthy meal prep ideas to help us get through it. 🙂 In case you’re also having a busy fall, I’m sharing over 60 of my healthy meal prep ideas today. They include meal prep recipes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,…

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Healthy Lunch Wraps

These healthy wraps are a perfect packed lunch! Flavorful and satisfying, they're stuffed with greens, avocado, and a honey-Dijon chickpea salad.

When it comes to lunch, I usually gravitate towards salads or bowls, but when I have the ingredients to these healthy lunch wraps on hand, I’m 100% on team sandwich. They’re fresh and satisfying, filled with a crisp kale salad, creamy avocado, and hearty chickpeas. But the secret ingredient that makes them so flavorful is the dressing. It’s a sharp, savory honey-Dijon vinaigrette that I whizz together in the blender so that it’s creamy and emulsified. When I assemble these sandwich wraps, I mash some of the dressing with the chickpeas, toss some with the veggies, and serve the rest…

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BLT Pasta Salad

This BLT pasta salad recipe is a fun twist on the classic sandwich. Packed with fresh veggies and avocado, it's a flavorful side dish or light lunch.

BLT pasta salad! Ok, more like TAT pasta salad, but this recipe has some serious BLT flavors going on, so we’re sticking with that. As you might have guessed, there’s no actual bacon here, just my trusty tempeh bacon plus sun-dried tomatoes for an extra savory kick. This BLT pasta salad recipe would be a great dish to pass at a Labor Day gathering this weekend, but it’s also hearty enough to be a vegetarian main dish. Pack it up for a weekday lunch, or serve it for a light dinner. Whichever way you pick, I think you’re going to love…

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Summer Grain Salad

This easy grain salad recipe is the ideal make-ahead lunch! Loaded up with grilled corn, fresh herbs, and pickled onions, it's hearty, flavorful, and fresh.

This post is in partnership with Jewel-Osco®. Has anyone else been super busy lately? Between writing and recipe testing, working on projects around the house, and squeezing in fun summer activities, I feel like we’ve barely had a minute to rest, let alone do chores and errands like going to the grocery store. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a good problem to have. I love being busy with work and getting outside to enjoy the warm weather. But when something comes along that makes humdrum, everyday tasks a little more convenient, I’m pretty darn happy about it. Lately, the…

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Air Fryer Eggplant

Coated in a panko and Parmesan crust, this air fryer eggplant is crispy on the outside, tender in the middle, and packed with rich, nutty flavor.

If you like eggplant Parmesan, then you’ll be crazy for this air fryer eggplant recipe! I coat eggplant slices in a mixture of panko bread crumbs, almond flour, and Parmesan cheese and then air fry them to golden brown perfection. The slices are crispy on the outside, silky smooth in the middle, and filled with rich, nutty flavor. I’m always a fan of eggplant recipes, but without a doubt, this air fryer eggplant is one of my new favorites. Air Fryer Eggplant Recipe Ingredients You only need a handful of ingredients to make this air fryer eggplant recipe: Eggplant, of…

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Cherry Tomato Pasta

This cherry tomato pasta is my ideal summer dinner. Filled with bursty tomatoes, garlic, and basil, it's fresh, flavorful, and super easy to make!

Making this cherry tomato pasta recipe is like giving yourself a gift. It’s incredibly simple, so you don’t need a lot of time or energy to do it, and the flavor is just so good. Sweet, tangy, fresh…this cherry tomato pasta is what summer cooking is all about. Cherry Tomato Pasta Recipe Ingredients Like any good summer recipe, this cherry tomato pasta starts with peak-season produce. Here, that means lots and lots of cherry tomatoes. Use as many varieties as you can get your hands on. Any color or shape will work – the more, the merrier! You’ll cook down half…

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25 Fresh Corn Recipes

Sweet corn is one of the highlights of summer, and these fresh corn recipes show it off at its best. Find salads, sides, and more to enjoy all season long.

If you’re looking for corn recipes to make this summer, you’re in the right place! There are few, if any, foods I love more than fresh sweet corn, and as a result, I’ve developed tons of corn recipes over the years. I’ve rounded up my 25 best below. They range from simple preparations of corn on the cob to spicy dips, zesty salads, comforting soups, and more. No matter what kind of corn recipes you’re craving, I’m sure you’ll find something you love. My Top 5 Corn Recipes If you only make one of the fresh corn recipes in this…

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Smoky Sweet Potatoes with Black Beans & Corn

Chipotle dressing, mango salsa, and pickled onions infuse this dish with bold summer flavor. Serve it as a side dish, or enjoy it as a meal on its own!

The first time I made this recipe, I was doing what I love most: cooking with what I have on hand. I had some sweet potatoes on the counter, a little mango salsa in the fridge, and half a jar of pickled onions that needed to be used up. I grilled the sweet potatoes (because who wants to roast or bake them in the summer?), spread them on a platter, and started piling things on top. Smoky Sweet Potatoes Recipe Ingredients It was all improvised, but it ended up tasting so delicious that I’ve made the same dish two times…

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Pesto Pasta Salad

Tossed with a vibrant basil pesto and filled with veggies, this pesto pasta salad is fresh and delicious. Serve it for dinner, or pack it up for a picnic!

This pesto pasta salad recipe is super summery and fresh! Vibrant basil pesto (preferably homemade) coats curly noodles, shaved zucchini, and crunchy pine nuts. Lemon juice peps it up, and whole basil leaves intensify the herbaceous flavor. Like most pasta salads, this pesto pasta salad is a great dish to make ahead for potlucks and picnics. But we enjoy it so much that I also like to serve it as a weeknight dinner! On a hot summer night, it’s a refreshing alternative to traditional pesto pasta. Plus, made with pesto AND basil leaves, it helps me take advantage of the…

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Portobello Mushroom Burger

This portobello mushroom burger recipe will be a hit with vegetarians and meat eaters alike! It's juicy, meaty, and filled with rich, savory flavor.

The next time you need a quick and easy summer dinner, make this grilled portobello mushroom burger recipe! You only need 6 ingredients and 20 minutes to make it, but the payoff is huge. The grilled portobello mushrooms are juicy and meaty, and a simple balsamic marinade deepens their tangy, savory flavor. We often cook them on weeknights, when we’re craving something tasty but don’t really feel like cooking. But like regular homemade veggie burgers, they’re a great choice for summer cookouts, too. Served on a toasted bun with all the fixings, they’re hearty, satisfying, and absolutely delicious. Even meat…

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44 Best Cookout Food Ideas

These easy cookout food ideas include main dishes, grilling sides, salads, desserts, and more! Perfect for BBQs, picnics, or any summer gathering.

I never thought I’d be so excited to share these cookout food ideas with all of you. But after spending last summer picnicking on our own, the prospect of inviting family and friends over and gathering around the grill sounds amazing. Warm weather, good food, and great company? Life doesn’t get much better than that. You’ll find my best cookout food ideas below. They include 44+ recipes for veggie burgers and sandwiches, grilling side dishes, salads, snacks, desserts, and more. Some of them are out-of-the-box and inventive, like Chickpea Harissa Veggie Burgers or Grilled Watermelon with a crispy corn topping.…

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A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.