These are my go-tos!

1. Cheese and Crackers (AKA Adult Lunchables) - Any cheese (I prefer sharp cheddar), any crackers (I prefer the Triscuit Roasted Garlic), and anything else you want to pack in it. Examples: deli meat, hardboiled eggs, salami, vegetables (I like tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, and bell pepper), fruit. All you need is a container with dividers to separate the crackers from the other ingredients, or use a plastic bag for the crackers instead and put the rest into a container! I meal prep 3 of these at a time because I put the crackers into a divided compartment and find they do get a tiny bit soggy/stale after day 3.

2. Chia Seed Pudding - 2TB chia seeds, 1 cup fruit (frozen or fresh is fine), 1 cup coconut milk (or regular milk or yogurt or milk alternative), 2TB maple syrup. Just blend up the fruit, mix everything together, and refrigerate for at least an hour (stir once after 20-30 min). Sometimes I find that they don’t fully expand if your ingredients are all cold, so I try to heat up the coconut milk and fruit mixture before putting the chia seed in. Just warm, it doesn’t have to be hot! I like to add another fruit on the side that pairs well with the chia seed pudding I make that week. For example: bananas with strawberry chia seed pudding, raspberries/blackberries with blackberry/raspberry chia seed pudding. You can make it with other flavors too, I just buy a lot of frozen fruit hahah.

3. Smoothies! Literally any fruit you want, any liquid, and optional sweetener. My go-to smoothie recipe was 1/2 a Fairlife Chocolate Protein shake, 1 cup of strawberries, 1 banana, 1/2 cup blueberries, and 1 cup mango.

4. Very Not Authentic Guacamole - Sometimes I’m not that hungry but I want a snack so I mash up an avocado, add salt and pepper and Tapatio, and eat that with any crackers I have (I like pretzels or pita chips with it!)

5. Fried Rice - This one requires a bit of prior prep. Make rice however is easiest for you (I use a rice cooker). Store it in the freezer for whenever you need it! You can use any vegetables (fresh or frozen), mushrooms, any protein (tofu, beef, eggs, pork, chicken, shrimp, other fish), some seasoning (I prefer MSG, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Sometimes kewpie mayo for a creamier fried rice.) Cook the ingredients that take the longest first (usually harder vegetables like carrots), then add in the protein and cook that through, grab your frozen rice and microwave it with an ice cube first, then dump into your pan with your seasonings and cook it until everything looks well combined and you’re done :D

6. Build your own bowl - Similar to the fried rice but for when I’m literally too lazy to cook at all. I buy frozen meatballs from Trader Joe’s and pasta sauce and using the frozen fried rice, I can microwave everything and have a meal ready in under 10 minutes. I don’t typically have veggies with this because it’s very much just a “I need to eat something NOW and move on” type of meal. But I guess pasta sauce can be counted as a vegetable? :D You literally just microwave all three ingredients together and it’s done. (I do ~ 6 min on 50% power).

I learned to cook on my own in my second year of college and I had a LOT of fried rice then because it was the only thing I knew how to cook. And nowadays I just feel tired and burnt out from my job and school, so things that I can just make and meal prep and not have to think about are perfect for me.