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After sharing the make-ahead pasta salad jars with you all on Instagram last month, I realized one thing: I’m not the only person who struggles with packing lunch. And not just school lunch, but also adult lunch.
It’s so easy to get caught up in packing lunches for our kids that we forget about ourselves. This happens so often in life, particularly as a mom. I know this has been true in my own life. I get so focused on taking care of everyone else–the dog, the hubby, the kids–that I forget to take care of myself. Last year I made the decision to make self-care a priority.
For me, this looks like getting to bed early so I’m well rested the next morning (which also means getting the kids to bed earlier), waking up early so I have a few minutes to enjoy my coffee before the kids wake up, masking and exfoliating a couple of times a week (I love a good, relaxing spa treatment), and prepping my lunches in advance so my body is nourished and cared for throughout the week.
I think people oftentimes picture self-care in the form of a spa appointment or a vacation. While self-care can definitely mean spa time or a well-needed vacation, it doesn’t have to be that fancy. Self-care can be as simple as getting in a good breakfast, prepping a nourishing lunch ahead of time, or sitting down to a dinner with the people we love. Nourishing our bodies with good food is the ultimate form of self-care.
In the name of self-care, let’s make another prep ahead lunch. This particular lunch is my absolute favorite from my monthly lunch rotation. (Read more about my lunch rotation, here.)
This make-ahead lunch is made up of a few basic meal components: marinated chicken, veggies (a variety of veggies work), quinoa (any grain works–millet, buckwheat, rice, etc.), a homemade tahini dressing, and some baby greens (arugula or spinach work well). The components come together to form a bowl-style meal, oftentimes referred to as a “grain bowl” or “nourish bowl”. I like to prep these bowls in Prep Natural containers, but any divided, bento-style box will work. The components may also be kept separate and assembled before serving.
Make-Ahead Chicken Veggie Quinoa Bowls (Meal Prep)
Ingredients
Roasted Vegetables:
- 1 medium sweet potato halved lengthwise and sliced*
- 1 medium zucchini sliced into coins (1 ½ cups)
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced (1 ½ cups), cremini, baby portobello, or white
- 1 TB extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Chicken:
- 1 lb chicken breasts sliced into 1” pieces-about 2 breasts
- 1/2 lemon juiced-about 1 tablespoon of juice
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Tahini dressing:
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 TB tahini
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 garlic cloves minced, to taste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp turmeric optional
Additional Bowl Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups baby spinach 1/2 cup per meal
- 2 hass avocados 1/2 an avocado per meal
- 1 lemon to squeeze over the avocado
Special Equipment:
- plastic bag or shallow container for marinating the chicken
- large sheet pan
- medium saucepan
- storage jar for the dressing
- meal prep storage containers
Instructions
- Combine the marinade ingredients (olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic clove, salt, and pepper) in a bag or shallow container. Place the sliced chicken in the marinade, and then place the bag or container in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Cook the quinoa while the chicken is in the fridge. Using a fine mesh sieve, rinse the quinoa under fresh water until the water runs clear (about 1-2 minutes).
- Pour the water or broth, rinsed quinoa, and salt into a medium-size saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover the pan, then reduce to a lively simmer until the quinoa absorbs the water (about 15 minutes). Remove the saucepan from the heat. Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- Arrange the veggies in a single layer. Drizzle the veggies with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine. Bake the veggies for 20-25 minutes, until slightly soft.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven, and gently push the veggies to one side to make room for the chicken. Remove the sliced chicken from the marinade and place on the sheet pan, discarding the extra marinade. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the sweet potatoes begin to crisp on the edges.
- While the veggies and chicken cook, make the salad dressing. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, apple cider vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper to a small jar (an 8-ounce mason jar works well). Seal the jar with a lid, and shake to combine the ingredients.
To Assemble:
- Place ½ cup of baby spinach on the bottom of meal prep containers, followed by the veggies and chicken. The meals will keep in the fridge for about 4 days.
- Before serving the lunch (or the morning of), cut an avocado in half and sprinkle it with a small amount of lemon juice (about a ¼ of a lemon) and a pinch of salt. Pour as much dressing (shake first) as desired over the chicken, veggie, spinach, and quinoa. Take the meal to go, or enjoy that moment. I like to eat this meal at room temperature. You could also heat it up, if desired. Just remove the avocado before heating.
Notes
Nutrition
Your recipes are just amazing! I give them to my patients on the daily. I love how easy it is to navigate your website too! thank you for all that you do!
Thank you so much, Emily! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes, and thank you so much for giving them to your patients–I’m honored!!
Prepped this last night for today and omgoodness this is delicious!!!!! Simple but amazingly tasty. The tahini dressing definately added a great depth of flavor as well. My only qualm is that I followed the recipe to a “T” and the portion is huge! Lol. Easy fix though. 🙂
Question thou. Is the calorie count per serving?! Or total prep?
Hey Megan, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the bowls! The calorie count is for each lunch. The count will definitely depend on the amount served in the lunches–as you noticed each lunch is quite hearty. I’m pretty sure the avocado raises this calorie count, since avocados are so nourishing and full of so much amazing fat.
Thank you always for such quick responses! 🙂
I made this last night to pack for lunches this week. It is absolutely one of the most delicious lunches I’ve ever had at work! The dressing puts everything over the top! So good! Keep up the great real food posts! I also made my quinoa in my Instant Pot which turned out great with herbs 🙂
Yay, Hollie! I’m so glad you’re enjoying this lunch. What a great idea to cook the quinoa with herbs in the Instant Pot. How long did you cook the quinoa? I’m definitely going to try that!
Kristin,
I used this recipe – the lemon juice brightens the quinoa makes such a difference! http://divinehealthfromtheinsideout.com/2016/08/perfect-instant-pot-quinoa/
Thank you so much, Hollie!