Healthy Meal/Snack Suggestions for the Work Week!

After getting home from a late day at the office, the last thing you want to do is wake up early again to prepare meals for the next day. Unless you’re a billionaire, you probably wouldn’t prefer to spend money on an overpriced lunch every single day. And sometimes you don’t even have time to go get lunch, and you had already skipped breakfast because you were running late. At this point, you are more likely to binge on anything you can get your hands on because you’re starving, and there goes your morning workout! You don’t want to be the one constantly going into the break room and stealing all of your co-workers’ donuts. Here are some healthy, quick, and easy recipes to make the night before work!

BREAKFAST: Overnight Oats

This is a super easy and super yummy snack that will keep you full but still feeling light and energized for the morning. All you need is almond milk, peanut butter (or almond butter), oats, and chia seeds. You can also add any fruit of your choice, and even a little cinnamon. (A recipe can be found here.) You can really add anything that you want to this recipe. The important part is that there is peanut butter, or almond butter, if you choose, to give you some protein mixed with carbs for breakfast, so you can have energy and a full belly for the morning. Let all of your ingredients sit in a mason jar so you can just pop the lid on and walk out the door.

MID-MORNING SNACK: Greek Yogurt with Berries.

Another easy snack to throw in your lunchbox with an icepack and bring to work. Stick the berries in a small container and dump them in when you’re ready to eat. Make sure that the yogurt you choose doesn’t have too much sugar, though!

LUNCH: Small Salad with Veggies and Chicken

If you make a batch of chicken on Sunday, you can use it in different meals all throughout the week. Take part of your Sunday to cut up some peppers, tomatoes, onions, and whatever else you’d like. Stick each cut-up ingredient in a container so you have them separated for the week and can pour them on top of your salad. Use another container to pack that up and add it to your lunchbox!

AFTERNOON SNACK: Protein + Caffeine

If you haven’t had coffee yet, please do so now. It’s also time to also break open your sectioned container with grapes and nuts, and maybe a protein shake on the side. You will definitely need something come 3 o'clock to keep your metabolism and energy levels up. Don’t skip this snack!

DINNER: Protein + Veggies + Grains

If you would prefer to come home to a dinner that you just have to heat up, you can go back to that leftover chicken. Since you’ve been snacking all day, one piece with ½ cup of rice and a cup of broccoli should fill you up. It’s very important to keep eating throughout the day and not save all of your calories for dinner. You don’t burn too many calories when you’re sleeping. You can even premake the rice the day before and put it in a container in the fridge.

These are just a few of the many options to maintain a healthy lifestyle when you don’t always have time or energy to cook. Remember: the key is to prepare and cook on the weekend so you can use all of that food for the entire week and only have to cook once every seven days. Happy eating!

(Photo via Dana Schultz/MinimalistBaker.com)

- Hannah Brown, YH Contributing Writer