Meal prep made easy with Reynolds™ Disposable Heat & Eat containers, and an easy chicken bowl recipe with fajita peppers and couscous made all in one pan!
About two months ago I became really disappointed with the amount of weight I had gained over the last year, and wanted to do something about it. I realized that I had stopped working out, and my eating schedule was completely out of wack! Most days I skipped breakfast and lunch, and would ending up eating a really large, unhealthy meal for dinner. I knew I wanted to change so I started seeing a personal trainer, but that wasn’t enough. If I wanted to see any results I was going to have to take control of my diet, and for me meal prep was a great way to do it.
Meal prep always seemed intimidating to me, but after trying it the first two times I determined that it was best to come up with a plan and set aside a specific day to tackle it. Check out my tips for an easy meal prep below!
- Pick one day out of the week to prep the meals. For me that means Sunday because that’s the day I’m usually getting everything ready for the upcoming week. I usually wake up early in the morning and head to the market to do my shopping for the week. Before heading to the market, I check to see what I have in the kitchen and from there I create a grocery list. I also like to plan and write out what meals I’ll be cooking for the week so I can do all the shopping for it at once!
- Pick meals that inspire you! This is probably my BIGGEST tip! It’s not just enough to meal prep. You want to cook meals that you’ll actually love eating so you stay inspired to cook the meals and then eat them throughout the week. A great source for recipes is Pinterest. I also make sure I keep my kitchen stocked with rice (couscous, brown rice, white rice), chicken, and veggies since those are mostly what I like to eat.
- Pick up some Containers. Containers are key for a successful meal prep.
When I first started the meal prep journey I was using old Tupperware that I had always owned. Most of the the lids were missing, and some I even questioned whether they were microwave safe or not. In a quest to find some new containers I headed over to Walmart and stumbled on the Reynolds™ Disposable Heat & Eat containers. These containers are great because they are disposable which means no clean up! They’re also made with plant fibers, and are a really good alternative to plastic. I love them because I can just pop them in the microwave when it’s time to eat. The size of these containers are perfect for one meal! Also if you make dinner and have leftovers, these are the perfect containers to put your leftovers in. The lid that comes with them makes this a packaged deal for me, and I love how they’ve made meal prepping super easy and inexpensive. Want to try them for yourself? Here’s a coupon! This chicken bowl is one of my favorite meal prep recipes because it’s so easy to make and takes up no time! The chicken, peppers, and onions are made all together in one pan! And then all you need to add are black beans, corn, and a base (rice, quinoa, etc). For the base in this recipe, I went with couscous infused with cilantro and lime.One pan of this is enough to make 5 meals for the week! Check out the recipe below!
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Chicken Bowls
Meal prep made easy with Reynoldsâ„¢ Disposable Heat & Eat containers, and an easy chicken bowl recipe with fajita peppers and couscous made all in one pan!
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 bell peppers (red, green, yellow, orange)
- 1 large red onion, sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cayenne powder
- Salt and pepper
- 1 jar of salsa of your choice
- 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can of corn
- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 lime, sliced into wedges
- 1 avocado, sliced into wedges
- Fresh cilantro to garnish
Cilantro and Lime Couscous
- 3 cups cooked couscous
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Cilantro Lime Couscous
- Combine the cooked couscous, lime juice, and cilantro.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Chicken Bowls
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a large baking sheet with foil.
- Place the chicken, peppers, and onions onto the baking sheet and drizzle with oil.
- Sprinkle the cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper evenly over both sides of the chicken breasts.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over the peppers and onions and toss to coat.
- Top each chicken breast with one large spoonful of salsa.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
- Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes, and then slice into strips.
- Add a base of the cilantro lime couscous to 5 food storage containers. Top each bowl with one scoop of black beans, corn, additional salsa, shredded cheddar cheese, cooked peppers and onions, and sliced chicken.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, and a lime wedge.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days!
Notes
*Recipe adapted from Buzzfeed Tasty
You can find these awesome Reynolds™ Disposable Heat & Eat Containers at your local Walmart store in the food storage aisle. For meal prep inspiration, check out Reynolds™ Best Heat & Eat Recipes. Happy meal prepping! 🙂
Geoffrey
October 8, 2016Sounds like great idea. I can use the extra time saving by prepping
evseats
October 16, 2016Thanks!
Platter Talk
October 8, 2016Say now. Don’t those look appetizingly delicious! Great idea for a do ahead (or not) meal. Thanks.
evseats
October 16, 2016Thanks!
Stephanie@ApplesforCJ
October 8, 2016You have some good ideas here. I’ve never been very good at meal prep but I do try to keep around rice and beans so I can come up with some quick recipes.
evseats
October 16, 2016Thanks Stephanie!
Anjali Lalani
October 8, 2016I love meal prep ideas to make things easier throughout the week! great ideas!
evseats
October 16, 2016Thanks Anjali!
Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine
October 8, 2016YES, yes and yes! Meal prepping is the only way to go when you want to eat healthy with a busy lifestyle. I love Mexican inspired dishes in my meal prep as well 🙂 Sharing!
evseats
October 16, 2016Thanks Michelle!
cookingtheglobe1
October 11, 2016Meal prep is a new thing I’m trying lately. So far so good! It’s a nice feeling to have a dinner made a week ahead. You come from work and here it is – delicious meal is waiting for you! I am definitely bookmarking and trying your recipe, because it looks awesome. Thanks!
evseats
October 16, 2016Thanks! I hope you enjoy the recipe. And yea its really nice to have a meal already ready. Makes winding down at night so less stressful.
HedgeComber
October 12, 2016Not sure we can get those containers in the UK, but just in case – as they are made of plant fibres, are they fully biodegradable?
Janie x
evseats
October 16, 2016Yes, they are fully biodegradable. I’m not sure if are in the UK, but you can always check their site and product locator to find out! If they don’t have it you can request for them to make it available in stores near you! 🙂
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
October 12, 2016We meal prep every Sunday in our house and it saves us so much time and money throughout the week.
evseats
October 16, 2016It’s definitely a huge time saver! Couldn’t agree more.
Shashi at RunninSrilankan
October 12, 2016I struggle with meal prep – so I definitely appreciate your tips and inspiration – and, these bowls! Bowls are always a fav at our house and your chicken looks so enticing!
evseats
October 16, 2016Thanks Sashi! I hope the tips help!
Katie Roley-Crenshaw
October 12, 2016You have found my weakness… I am horrible at meal prep…. I will try these tips. Maybe I will become successful. Love the Chicken Bowls. They look absolutely delicious!
evseats
October 16, 2016Thanks Katie! I do hope they help. It was a struggle for me at first, but I found a system that worked for me.