{"id":195749,"date":"2026-10-19T14:19:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T19:19:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=195749"},"modified":"2026-10-19T14:19:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T19:19:04","slug":"no-prep-meal-prep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/strength\/nutrition\/no-prep-meal-prep\/","title":{"rendered":"No-Prep Meal Prep"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A while back I wrote an article about what I eat in a day<\/a>, and in it I talked about how I meal prep lunches for the week.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the gist: on Saturday or Sunday, I’ll either slow cook or grill a bunch of chicken breasts, or grill a big pork loin or some lean hamburger patties, or just cook some lean ground beef in a skillet. That\u2019s my protein. Then I’ll boil up a big pot of either sweet potatoes or regular potatoes (I\u2019ll roast them occasionally, too), or I’ll make a big batch of rice, or I\u2019ll make a big pot of beans<\/a>. Then I microwave some frozen vegetables for micronutrients. I put all this stuff in Pyrex dishes, put them in the fridge, and then dole myself out a lunch each day. It doesn\u2019t take much time, and it\u2019s pretty dang cheap.<\/p>\n

But some weeks I don’t have time to meal prep on Saturday or Sunday. Things just get busy with work or kids, or I\u2019ve been traveling and I don\u2019t have time to grocery shop and cook.<\/p>\n

I still want to eat well during these busy stretches. I don\u2019t want to eat fast food or QT taquitos. So when my schedule is crammed, I’ll basically do meal prep without meal prepping. There are two ways I do it.<\/p>\n

Option 1: Buy a Precooked Protein and Some Frozen Veggies and Assemble<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Prep time:<\/strong> A quick trip to Walmart or the grocery store, ten or so minutes microwaving frozen veggies<\/p>\n

Cost:<\/strong> $3.50\u2013$6 per lunch, depending on the protein<\/p>\n

My go-to option when I\u2019m busy is to stop by Walmart on the way home from dropping the kids off at school to pick up some prepared foods for lunch. There are a lot of great options out there now. You just get an already-cooked protein of some sort, a starch, and some frozen vegetables, and then you microwave it up and you’re ready to go.<\/p>\n

The Protein<\/h3>\n

There are a lot of precooked proteins at Walmart now. These are the ones I’ve used.<\/p>\n

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Kevin’s.<\/strong> Kevin’s Natural Foods makes sous-vide chicken and beef that’s fully cooked. It takes about five minutes to heat up. One thing to note is that the portions run small and the price high. A container lasts me about two lunches.<\/p>\n

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Precooked meat from Soules Kitchen and Hormel.<\/strong> These are already cooked and ready to eat. Lots of options. Fajita steak or chicken, rotisserie chicken, pork roast. You could eat them right out of the fridge if you wanted to. I\u2019ll buy a bag or two and portion them out each day.<\/p>\n

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Rotisserie chicken.<\/strong> Sometimes I\u2019ll just buy a rotisserie chicken from the Walmart deli and slice off pieces to eat. Skin has a lot of fat, so if I\u2019m trying to lose weight, I discard that and stick to the meat. If you want rotisserie chicken with even more convenience, you can buy a package of shredded chicken. Will cost you more.<\/p>\n

The Starch<\/h3>\n

For the starch, I’ll use one of four things:<\/p>\n

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Frozen diced sweet potatoes.<\/strong> Walmart’s Great Value brand sells them in a bag. Cheap, too! Three bags will get you a side for a couple of days of lunches.<\/p>\n

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Frozen or heat-and-eat potatoes. <\/strong>If I want regular potatoes, I\u2019ll get a bag of frozen potatoes or heat-and-eat potatoes.<\/p>\n

Frozen rice.<\/strong> The steam-in-bag kind.<\/p>\n

Canned beans. <\/strong>Great source of fiber and protein. Thinkin\u2019 about those beans.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Vegetables<\/h3>\n

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To get my micronutrients, I\u2019ll add some frozen veggies. Green beans, broccoli, a California medley, whatever. They’re just as nutritious as fresh and take a few minutes to cook in the microwave.<\/p>\n

Putting It Together<\/h3>\n

I’ll buy enough protein\/starch\/veg to last me a few days. I’ll microwave a few bags of the sweet potatoes or regular potatoes, or a big bag of frozen rice, as well as some frozen veggies, and put them in the fridge. Then, each day I dole out a portion of starch and veggies, and add some protein \u2014 like the fajita strips \u2014 to it, weighing things out so I get a well-balanced, macro-friendly<\/a> meal. It only takes a few minutes.<\/p>\n

Option 2: Keep Macro-Friendly, Ready-Made Meals in the Fridge\/Freezer<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Prep time:<\/strong> 4 minutes<\/p>\n

Cost: $<\/strong>4.99\u2014$5.99 per meal (Counter); $11.99 and up (Factor and Ice Age Meals)<\/p>\n

The other thing I’ve done is to keep some macro-friendly, ready-to-go meals in the fridge or freezer. So when I don’t have time even for option 1, I can pull something out and have something to eat.<\/p>\n

Counter<\/h3>\n

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Target carries this great brand of frozen meals called Counter<\/a>. Very macro friendly.<\/p>\n