Easy Lunch Meal Prep for Your Busy Athlete Schedule

Are you on the search for easy lunch meal prep ideas that fit into your busy athlete schedule?

Breakfast gets all the hype for being the most important meal of the day, but lunch is an underrated superstar. It helps power you through your day and prevent a mid-day crash. However, it can be at an inconvenient time of the day, especially if you work or have other daily responsibilities. This is where meal prep comes in!

Meal prepping your lunch ahead of time can help you save on cooking and prep time while still giving your body the fuel it needs. Keep reading to learn my best lunch meal prep tips that can fit into any athlete’s schedule.

Benefits of Meal-Prepping Lunch

In order to make sure you are eating enough as an athlete, consider meal prepping ahead of time. Lunch is a great meal to meal prep because it is right in the middle of the day.

It is likely that most people will be at home for breakfast and/or dinner. But lunch is that time in the middle where many athletes are working, driving kids around, or running errands. For this reason, it is easy to skip over lunch because you don’t have any options ready to go.

Since athletes have higher nutrition demands, skipping any meal is not ideal. So to make sure you have time to squeeze lunch in, meal planning in advance can be just the thing you need.

Benefits of meal prepping lunch include:

• Be able to eat on the go where ever you are
• Fuel your afternoon/evening training sessions
• Properly recover from morning training
• Keep your blood sugar levels stable
• Stay energized and avoid the dreaded mid-day crash

Lunch meal prep doesn’t need to be complicated, either. By following a few tangible tips and tricks, you can make lunchtime more accessible with your busy athlete schedule.

Build a High-Performance Lunch as an Athlete

The components of your meal are important to make sure you are meeting your performance nutrition goals as an athlete.

Depending on when you eat lunch relative to your training may slightly vary what you should include. However, there are general rules that remain the same.

Basics tips for building a high-performance lunch:

• Choose a source of carbs to include alongside a quality protein for a balanced meal.
• Have a salty component to help replenish your electrolytes, especially if you sweat a lot throughout the day.
• Include a full glass of water before or after your lunch to keep you hydrated. You can also include hydrating foods that have a high water content, such as cucumbers or watermelon.
• Add a fruit or vegetable to your meal for a boost of important micronutrients that your body needs.

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Lunch Meal Planning Tips

With the right timing considerations, tools, and equipment, meal planning your lunch can be an extremely helpful tool.

Meal Timing

With lunch being that middle meal of the day, in my opinion, it is best to release any expectations of what the meal “should” look like. Because the reality is- it might not look like your typical meal, and that’s okay!

It is better to come up with a realistic plan that works with your busy schedule than worry if you are doing everything right. For example, you may need to break your lunch up into two sections. Especially if you tend to work out during your lunch break.

You can start with a pre-workout snack ~30 minutes before your training session and then eat a “full lunch” after your training is over. This tip helps a ton of our performance nutrition clients stay on track with their lunch goals!

Storing and Reheating

Storing and reheating your food can be a huge struggle during lunchtime. You might be on the go, in the car, or at your office, making standard cooking practices a bit harder to accomplish.

• Pre-portion and divide up your servings rather than sticking bulk items in your fridge. You’re more likely to grab and take it with you if it is all ready to go!
• Properly store pre-prepped meals in air-tight meal prep containers with a label. It is helpful to include the prep date on the label, as well as what is inside. This way, you can freeze or refrigerate the meals for later use.
• Pack sauces and condiments in separate containers to avoid soggy lettuce or rice.
• If you are using a microwave, it is more likely your food can come out dry. To prevent this, add a splash of water, sauce, or broth to your dish before heating. A moist paper towel can also do the trick!

Lunch Meal Prep Tools and Equipment

Another area to keep in mind with athlete meal prep is having the right tools and equipment to make life easier.

• If you are taking lunch on the go, utilize insulated bowls for grain bowls, salads, soup, etc.
• Buy ice packs in advance and put them inside a lunch box to keep items cool for longer without a fridge.
• Get one or two travel utensil sets that can attach to your meal prep container. Even better, leave an extra set in your car in case you forget to bring one.
• Invest in an Instant Pot or slow cooker to make your meal prep time a breeze.
• Have you ever used a mandolin chopper? It is a handy tool that bulk chops your vegetables in 0.5 seconds. I highly recommend getting one to use for meal prep. You will never go back!
• Buy a set of mason jars in various sizes to have around the house. These are great for mason jar salads, overnight oats/chia pudding, grain bowls, etc. Smaller ones can be used for salad dressing or sauces as well.

To shop my favorite kitchen tools, including an Instant Pot and Stasher Bags, make sure to check out my Amazon storefront!

5 Easy Lunch Meal Prep Ideas

If you are looking for specific easy meal prep ideas for lunchtime, try out these five below. They are a great way to prepare ahead and be ready for your busy week.

Cook Your Proteins in a Crock/Instant Pot

Having your protein cooked ahead of time is a true game-changer. It makes getting your protein in a lot less intimating.

One of my favorite ways to meal prep proteins for lunch is to use an Instant Pot or slow cooker. Simply toss in your protein of choice, a sauce, and any other ingredients you’d like. A few ideas include: lemon garlic chicken breast, thai curry tofu cubes, and teriyaki beef.

Let it sit while you work or run errands and by the time you’re home, your protein is ready to go. Store the protein in air-tight containers to use throughout the week on top of rice bowls, salads, in sandwiches, and more.

Bulk Cook a Bean and Lentil Rice

Carbs are extremely important for endurance athletes to fuel long training sessions. Prepping your carbs for lunch in advance can be a huge time-saver. One way to bulk prep your carbs is to make a bean and lentil rice mixture.

By combining your rice with beans and/or lentils, you increase the carb count, fiber, and other micronutrients. Additionally, you add a boost of beneficial plant protein to your dish.

You can buy canned beans and pre-steamed lentils to save on time, or throw all three into an Instant Pot and you’ll be good to go.

Try Mason Jar Salads

Mason jar salads are a great lunch meal prep because they can be taken on the go and don’t require any sort of reheating. You can add layers of your desired ingredients into your jar to create a delicious combination.

To bulk up your mason jar salad make sure to include a protein source and at least one serving of carb-rich grains such as quinoa, rice, buckwheat, or cold pasta. This makes them more athlete-friendly!

Here is how you make one:

• Start with your dressing or sauce on the bottom. Then layer your sturdier ingredients, such as grains and hard vegetables.
• Place your protein on top next, followed by any leafy greens at the top (you want them furthest away from the dressing so they don’t get soggy).
• Once you are ready to eat, shake it all together and pour it onto your plate.

Cook Your Grains and Vegetables in Broth

A simple way to add a protein boost to your pre-cooked grains and vegetables is to boil them in 1/2 chicken or beef stock and 1/2 water. While it is more expensive, you can also use a carton of bone broth. Not only does this add extra grams of protein, but it enhances the flavor as well.

Rice and steamed vegetables can be flavorless and boring. Try this hack when bulk-cooking your grains (like rice or quinoa) or vegetables. Then you can use them in a variety of lunch dishes throughout the week. Simply add a protein source, and you are good to go!

Choose Meals You Don’t Need to Reheat

As I mentioned above, lunch is a common time that you are out and about. It is likely you won’t want to rely on having a microwave nearby to heat up your food. Instead, choose meal prep meals that don’t need to be reheated.

Ideas include:

• Protein overnight oats, chia seed pudding, cold pasta salad, other various types of salads, sandwiches and wraps with cold cuts, and protein snack packs

Lunch Meal Prep: The Takeaway

Meal prepping lunch around your busy athlete schedule is possible with the right tips and tricks. Making time for a nutritious lunch will help you reach your performance nutrition goals and feel your very best.

On the days when you have more time and energy, try to plan ahead for your future self as much as possible.

Are you interested in learning more about how to change your everyday eating for better energy and improved performance? Then my Fueling That Fits course is right for you!

In less then six weeks you’ll create a flexible eating blueprint that’s personalized to you! The blueprint will guide you and showcase how to fuel your athlete body without interfering with your busy lifestyle. To learn more about this 100% virtual, self-paced course head over to this link today.