This easy low carb meal prep guide will give you lots of meal prep ideas and show you how to meal prep a yummy salad. You will never know it is healthy!
You are going to love these meal prep ideas! I have never been the one to meal prep...probably because I always thought it was just for people that had to leave the house for their job everyday.
This How to Meal Prep guide isn't just for people who leave for work everyday though, it is also for people like me who work from home and need a meal already prepped and ready to go so we don't make any bad choices when we are hangry!
Meal prep ideas aren't just for low carb lunch though, you can prep some reusable containers of chia seed pudding for breakfast, just grab and go!
You could also pack little baggies of Low Carb Cereal for a quick between meal snack.
If you want to be environmentally conscious, you can use these reusable bags for your granola instead of plastic.
I also love to prep Ham Roll Ups for a quick lunch or snack.
My favorite meal prep ideas for lunch is a taco chicken salad with black lentils. Please, low carb friends, don't be scared by the word lentils! These lentils are low in carbs and full of fiber. For ⅓ cup, which is what I added to my low carb meal prep bowls, they are 8 net carbs.
They are delicious, so pretty, and I found mine for a great price in the bulk bins at Whole Foods!
I made these black lentils (aka beluga lentils) in my Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. That is the only way to make lentils, in my opinion. They are finished in no time and you don't have to worry about a pot boiling over on the stove top.
For these black lentils, I used 1 cup of lentils, a cup of chicken broth, a cup of water, a teaspoon of chili powder, a teaspoon of cumin, and salt. I added all of that to my Instant Pot and I set the timer to 15 minutes and when they were finished I did a quick release.
For the other components of the low carb meal prep bowls, I used my Instant Pot Chicken Breast, shredded romaine lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and a lime wedge.
CAN YOU MEAL PREP SALADS?
The trick to not having a soggy salad for your low carb lunch, is to keep your components separate so they can be removed. I like to remove the lettuce, dressing, and the lime, and heat the chicken and lentils in the microwave. then I dump my lettuce, dressings, squeeze my lime wedge, and stir it all together. It is literally the easiest meal ever!
So these containers I found are not the fancy pants glass ones that everyone has been using. You could definitely use the glass containers, but I couldn't find any that I liked that didn't cost an arm and a leg. I went with a 4 cup capacity plastic bowl with a lid and I got 4 for less than $3 at Kroger! They work so well for this low carb lunch meal prep!
I also found these cute little dressing containers with lids! I actually rinse those out and use them multiple times.
This low carb meal prep salad will last in the fridge all week long! What are your favorite meal prep ideas?
How to Meal Prep
This post may contain affiliate links
Ingredients
- 1 Recipe Instant Pot Chicken Breast
- 1 Cup Black Lentils
- 1 Cup Chicken broth
- 1 Cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 4 Cups Shredded Iceberg Lettuce
- ½ cup Salsa, divided
- ½ cup Sour cream, divided
- 1 Lime, cut into 4 wedges
Instructions
- For the black lentils: add lentils, chicken broth, water, chili powder, cumin, and salt to an Instant pot pressure cooker. Set the time for 15 minutes. When finished cooking, quick release the pressure. Alternatively, you can simmer on the stovetop for 25 minutes.
- Using 4, 4 cup capacity containers with lids, Add a portion of shredded chicken, and ⅓ cup of black lentils.
- Put 1 cup of shredded lettuce in each of plastic sandwich bags and seal removing any air. Fold the bags so they fit in the containers.
- Put 2 tablespoons of sour cream and 2 tablespoons of salsa in their own plastic dressing container.
- Put the dressing containers into the bowls, followed by the lettuce. Top with the lime wedge and seal with the lid. Store in the refrigerator.
- At lunch time, open the container and remove the lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and lime. Heat the lentils and chicken in the microwave. Add the lettuce to the chicken and lentils and mix. Top with salsa, sour cream, and a squeeze of lime.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy only. Please re-calculate on your own with the ingredients and amounts you used for the most accurate data.
Annette Evenson says
Definitely going to meal prep this taco 🌮 lentil salad. But, going to use chicken legs, cause I have 2 family packs that need to be used.
Tonya says
Looks delicious!????What’s the total net carb count?
jenniferbanz says
The lentils are 8 net carbs. The total carbs will depend on the other things you add and the type of salsa you use.
colleen kennedy says
I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants cook! This is helpful for the times I NEED to be doing this, TY!
jenniferbanz says
I'm the same way!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings says
Such a good idea to keep the salad components separate. It stinks when your lunch salad gets soggy! Love how you put this together.
jenniferbanz says
So glad you liked it!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
What a useful post! For busy families like ours, meal prep is the only way to stay cautious about what we eat during the day. I love this recipe of yours and so will my family!
jenniferbanz says
Thank you Shadi!
Amy says
I love the nuttiness of black lentils! They are so delicious and will really add some substance to these salads! Great idea!
jenniferbanz says
Yes, they are delicious! I'm so glad I found them!
Hope says
There are some great tips here - thanks! I agree being prepared makes it so much easier to not reach for unhealthier choices 🙂
jenniferbanz says
You are so welcome!
Kelly says
Great idea for meal prep! I've used Norwex too, it's pretty awesome!
jenniferbanz says
Yep, I can't live without my Norwex cloths!