Meal prep just about saves my bacon, because it had been. I are inclined to get fairly hangry if I haven’t got my meals deliberate out and able to go. That is particularly essential in terms of lunch time! If you happen to’ve bought an superior mid-day meal awaiting you, these sweet bars within the decrease drawer of your desk will not be fairly as tempting.
Can I be completely trustworthy with you? (Simply between us buddies?) As a lot as I like the entire meal prep development, it may possibly get just a little boring to eat the very same meal each single day for a whole week. Amiright? So I’ve bought 5 simple methods to alter up a primary marinated hen recipe so every day’s lunch feels just a little extra thrilling to dig into.
If you have not been utilizing glass storage within the kitchen, now’s the proper time to start out. Ello DuraGlass Meals Storage containers take it a step additional with their silicone sleeves to assist defend the containers from chipping and scratching—genius!
Now let’s get to the prep bowls!
Marinated Hen Meal Prep Bowls 5 Methods
Begin With
-2 ½ kilos marinated hen breasts, entire or minimize into cubes or strips
-5 (¾-cup every) servings of cooked brown rice, quinoa, or your favourite grain, or just a little of every
-5 good-sized servings of veggies (see variations under)
I like to make use of a really primary hen marinade, which I’ve shared under, however be at liberty to make use of your personal favourite. It is as much as you for those who’d reasonably use an entire hen breast or minimize it into smaller items. I like cubing the hen as a result of cubes cook dinner evenly and are simpler to eat—no knife wanted!
My Go-To Hen Marinade
- ½ cup olive or avocado oil
- ¼ cup recent lemon or lime juice, or light-tasting vinegar (white wine vinegar is nice right here)
- ¼ cup onion, thinly sliced (or substitute 1 teaspoon onion powder)
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed (or substitute ½ teaspoon garlic powder)
- 2 teaspoons honey or sugar (elective, however helps steadiness flavors and tenderize hen)
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon floor black pepper
Whisk the marinade elements collectively and place in a big bowl or different container (like Ello DuraGlass). Add the hen, cowl, and marinate for at the least half-hour or as much as in a single day.
Bake the Hen
Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Switch the hen to the baking sheet, leaving any additional marinade behind.
Bake for 20-25 minutes if utilizing entire hen breast, or 10-Quarter-hour if utilizing cubes or strips. Test to verify hen is cooked by. If not, bake for 5-10 further minutes. Enable to chill fully earlier than assembling the bowls.
5 Meal Prep Bowl Concepts
I exploit a mixture of do-it-yourself and store-bought gadgets right here to make issues simple. (You could have already got a few of these gadgets in your fridge or pantry!) Objects within the bowls can simply be swapped for different veggies or fruit, condiments, and so forth., relying on private choice. These are 5 choices I actually like and depend on once I’m meal prepping.
1. Pesto Hen Bowls
Quinoa, cubed hen, roasted asparagus, cherry tomatoes, recent mozzarella, and pesto (store-bought or make your personal).
2. BBQ Hen Bowls
Quinoa, hen cubes, BBQ sauce, corn + roasted candy potato rounds, inexperienced onions + parsley garnish, coleslaw on the aspect.
3. Pineapple Teriyaki Hen Bowls
Rice, cubed hen + pineapple chunks (recent, frozen, or canned), teriyaki sauce, inexperienced onion, crushed pink pepper flakes + sesame seeds for garnish; roasted broccoli, zucchini, asparagus, peppers, and onions on the aspect.
4. Mediterranean Hen Quinoa Salad Bowls
A mattress of child spinach topped with quinoa, hen cubes, diced roasted pink pepper, chopped marinated artichoke hearts, sliced kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted zucchini chunks, crumbled feta cheese + oregano and basil.
5. Southwest Hen Rice Bowl
Hen, rice, black beans, roasted bell peppers + onions, corn, tomatoes, sliced black olives, shredded cheddar, bitter cream, and inexperienced onion + recent cilantro; serve with tortilla chips on the aspect
Different meal prep suggestions:
Roast the greens on a separate parchment-lined baking sheet concurrently the hen.
Retailer salads like coleslaw, sauces and cheese individually till able to eat.
If you happen to add avocado to any of your meals, do not add it till the day you propose on consuming it and toss with lemon or lime juice to assist stop browning.
Maintain your meals correctly refrigerated or frozen till able to reheat.
Observe security and care precautions to your containers, similar to: avoiding sudden temperature adjustments which may trigger containers to crack or chip; not inserting the recent glassware on a moist or cool floor, dealing with with oven mitts (they’ll get sizzling!), not utilizing on stovetop or underneath a broiler, and permitting any contents to chill to room temperature earlier than sealing the container and transferring to fridge or freezer.
