I know that eating a nutritious lunch is important — but I just can’t get my lunch game together.

I make a healthy lunch for my children every day. I can’t say the same thing for myself, even though I work from home.

Instead, I usually work until I can’t ignore my hunger, then dig around my kitchen for something (anything!) and hope it keeps me going. If I’m lucky, there are leftovers; if I’m not, I sometimes eat a protein bar or crackers and call it lunch.

I know I could do better.

So I had an idea: I’d interview registered dietitian Brittany Rivera of CoreLife Novant Health - Matthews about how to meal prep for workday lunches. Then, I’d try the meal plan.

Would it change my life? Keep reading to find out.

A formula for lunch meal prep

Much to my surprise, Rivera told me the first step of meal planning isn’t pulling out cute containers — it’s planning.

For healthy lunches, she suggests this formula:

• 20 to 30 grams of protein. Protein helps keep you full and satisfied longer, which can reduce afternoon hunger and prevent mindless snacking. It also supports muscle maintenance and repair, making it an important part of every meal.
• At least one form of produce (vegetables, fruit, or both). Fruits and veggies provide vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that support overall health. They also add volume and fiber to meals, helping you feel satisfied without adding excessive calories.
• At least one serving of a high-fiber carbohydrate. Fiber-rich carbohydrates such as whole grains, beans, sweet potatoes and whole-wheat pasta provide steady energy throughout the day. Unlike refined carbs, they digest more slowly, helping to stabilize blood sugar levels and keep hunger at bay between meals.

How to meal plan

Rivera asked me about the flavors and ingredients I like, then created a five-day meal plan based on the formula above and my answers. Here’s what I learned from her process.

Know yourself.

Some people are happy to eat the same thing every day. I’m not. So Rivera had me prep a rice bowl, two different salads and a wrap.

Make sure any plan is based on your preferences, Rivera said, adding, “We don’t want this to be a one-time thing — we want it to be something you can do when you're 80.”

Prep no more than two days at a time.

I assumed I’d make all five lunches at once. But Rivera recommended splitting my prep into shorter sessions so my cooked meat and produce stayed fresh. (Prepared seafood shouldn’t sit longer than two days, she said, and meat “gets iffy” on day four.) To keep prep even easier, she suggested going out or eating leftovers on Friday. Alternatively, you can prep five days of your meat at once and put three days’ worth in your freezer. Rivera suggests thawing one portion at a time in the refrigerator the night before, and reheating the day of.

It doesn’t take as long as you’d think.

I anticipated being in the kitchen for hours. Instead, meal prep took 40 minutes of active prep on Sunday, 15 minutes on Tuesday night and 5 minutes on Thursday night.

The plan: 5 days of healthy meal prep lunches

Here’s the plan Rivera made for me. Keep reading to learn how to make your own plan suited to your preferences.

Monday: A salmon teriyaki bowl, over Minute brown rice (Rivera notes that a quinoa mix or steamer cauliflower rice would also work)

Tuesday: Blackened air fryer salmon bites, on top of a bagged salad mix

Wednesday: A chicken Caesar wrap made with lettuce, Caesar dressing, prepared Tyson grilled chicken strips, and a Mission Carb Balance tortilla, served with fruit or raw veggies on the side (the Carb Balance tortilla has extra fiber)

Thursday: Prepared Tyson grilled chicken strips on top of a bagged salad, served with fruit or raw veggies on the side (or add them on top of the salad)

Friday: Leftovers from dinner or grab a meal out (I threw together some leftover barbecue chicken and corn on spring greens with honey mustard dressing and grapes on the side)

How meal prep went

• It felt weird to make a grocery list for my lunch — and even weirder to spend time prepping my lunches. The fact that planning and preparation felt strange shows me how little I’ve been prioritizing this area of my health. I guess awareness is the first step toward change.
  

• My husband wanted to try the meals as well, so I ended up prepping two of each meal. Although going from zero prep time to an hour was still a big leap, yielding 10 meals from an hour’s worth of effort felt reasonable.

• Things didn’t go perfectly: Day one’s recipe called for edamame and cucumbers, but my grocery store was out of both, so I substituted half an avocado and steam-in-the-bag broccoli. Similarly, I didn’t have sake and used a 1:1 ratio of rice wine vinegar and water instead. For day two’s recipe, I didn’t know what “sweet paprika” was, so I used regular paprika. Rivera had advised, “Give yourself grace — it doesn't have to be perfect” so I told myself, “Substitutions are okay — you’re still putting more thought and effort into this than you have been!”

How the week went

Prepping was a little stressful, but the meals felt like a gift.

I wasn’t used to spending any weekend time meal prepping — and initially, thinking about the workweek a day early felt invasive. Who’s THIS organized?, I grumbled to myself.

But all those thoughts went away as the week progressed.

I usually work in the mornings, but this week, I was volunteering until noon at my church’s vacation Bible school before working in the afternoons.

Walking in the door and sitting down to a balanced meal felt like a gift from past me. And without the scramble of figuring out what was for lunch, I could enjoy an actual “lunch break” — putting some “weekend” into my weekday.

The meals were filling.

I usually find myself feeling snacky between 3-4 p.m. However, these meals filled me up for five straight hours. This meant I was able to focus on work through the afternoon, without a big energy dip or needing to stop. (My husband, who’s just shy of 6 feet tall and almost double my weight, reported the same thing, so there’s something to Rivera’s formula.)

I still needed a snack around 5 p.m. to carry me through my kids’ swim practice to 7:15 p.m. dinner, but I weirdly found myself craving — and eating — a healthy snack each day: grapes, berries, a veggie plate, a fruit popsicle.

One healthy decision led to another, and there’s a science behind this. Rivera explained that when you eat refined carbohydrates that have been stripped of fiber — like crackers — your blood sugar spikes, then drops suddenly. When that happens, she said, “your body wants the quickest and easiest form of energy,” leading to cravings for more simple carbohydrates.

But when you eat a meal with protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates, your blood sugar stays more regulated and you don’t have that crash that leads to cravings. Rivera said your lunch should always have “something with sustained energy to keep you moving throughout the afternoon.”

The meals were delicious.

I had worried that the meals wouldn’t be appealing after sitting in the fridge, but they tasted great. The Caesar wrap was my husband’s favorite; I liked the blackened salmon salad.

One tip: Upon Rivera’s advice, I waited to dress my salads until right before I ate them — but I forgot to wait when I made the Caesar wrap. I’d use a small dressing cup next time to prevent sogginess.

Would I meal prep lunches again?

On day one, I would have said no; the annoyance was too fresh.

But by day three, my husband and I were talking about how we could make this a new part of our weekly routine. And by day five, we were sold: We both felt great all week. (Note: Though my husband tried to stay objective, he was already sold on day one because I don’t usually make his lunch.)

The only con was having to spend time planning and prepping.

Want to try meal planning?

Use Rivera’s formula as a starting point for endless meal plans. Here are her ideas for each category:

• Protein: Salmon or tuna from a can or pouch, chicken (leftovers or Tyson grilled chicken strips), Just Bare chicken nuggets, low sodium turkey or chicken from the deli counter, hardboiled eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, tempeh, Impossible (soy protein) burgers

• At least 1 form of produce:
• Fruit: Berries, apple, banana, grapes, orange, clementine, peach, nectarine, plum, cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew melon
• Vegetables:
• Salad mixes, especially leafy greens (spinach, kale, spring mix)
• Zucchini — roasted or air fried
• Broccoli — raw, steamed in the microwave, roasted, or air fried
• Mini cucumbers, which don’t require peeling
• Sauté onions and peppers for a taco bowl, taco salad or burrito
• Cauliflower rice
• Easy-prep veggies like carrots, cherry tomatoes, snap peas — buy items individually or buy a veggie tray for yourself
• At least 1 serving of a high-fiber carbohydrate: Minute or steamable brown rice, brown rice and quinoa mix, steamable edamame, roasted chickpeas, Mission Carb Balance tortillas, whole grain bread or bagels (Rivera recommends Sola or Dave’s Killer Bread brands).

Rivera’s other tips

• Convenience foods exist for a reason: You don’t have to make everything from scratch. While you may think “food in a bag” is bad, many convenience foods are healthy and can help you meet your health goals. Rivera demonstrated that in the meal plan I tried.
• You can “meal prep” without ever cooking: Don’t want to cook? Grab a bag of frozen rice, a bag of frozen veggies, the Tyson chicken strips and two different bagged salads. Microwave the rice, the veggies and the chicken strips, and prepare the salads. Without chopping a thing, you already have a week of meals — two salads you can top with chicken, and two bowls with rice, chicken and veggies. By mixing and matching sauces, like salad dressings, you can create even more combinations.
• If you can’t meal prep, take a baby step — meal plan: Planning ahead to have a healthy frozen entree like a Healthy Choice Power Bowl® Max, Kevin’s Natural Foods, evol® or Amy's frozen meal is still a nutritional improvement compared to most drive-through and restaurant options.
• Focus on the benefits: Yes, meal prep takes some work. But it also saves you money, eliminates some stress, and is usually healthier than purchasing a lunch out. And having your lunch ready to go — instead of scrambling to find something to eat — can free up a little bit of time to read a book, relax or take a walk.