An easy way to stay on track with your goals is to do meal prep for your lunches! When you have make-ahead lunches ready, you’ll be less likely to resort to unhealthy foods on a whim. Although it might seem like a daunting task, making food ahead of time can actually be quite quick and easy. In reality, there are so many different types of foods that you can make in advance. It just matters how you store them so that they can be as fresh as possible by the time you consume them.
For instance, with things such as sandwiches or wraps, you can keep the bread separate from the other components until immediately before you eat it. On the other hand, things such as soups, chili, and casseroles are fantastic since you can pre-portion them and heat them at work or for your home office. If you are looking for excellent WW make-ahead lunches that aren’t too time-consuming, you’ve come to the right place. We have 15 recipes for you to try with various cuisines and ingredients, making it easy for you to find something you like.
1. Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
Make this easy pasta dish and portion it into Tupperware containers to enjoy for lunches later in the week. It contains wonderful flavors of chicken, ranch seasoning, bacon bits, and whole wheat spaghetti. It also contains cream cheese, milk, mozzarella, fat-free sour cream, and green onions. Although the green onions are optional, we certainly recommend them. You only need to cook it for 25 minutes, and it is 7 Weight Watchers points per serving.
2. Baked Chicken with Lemon and Fresh Herbs
Zero-point chicken is an excellent base for any meal prep that you plan to make. It’s incredibly versatile since you can pair it with other low-point foods, such as sauteed non-starchy vegetables or cauliflower rice. However, you can also pair it with pasta or other foods! This recipe is quick because it only takes 10 minutes to prep and 35 minutes to cook. Plus, it makes four servings so that it will last for several lunches!
3. Chicken Fajitas – Weight Watchers
Whether you follow the current Weight Watchers system or still use an older plan, this is a low-point option for you to try out. You can create irresistible chicken fajitas with this recipe from Pointed Kitchen. It has two main components: the chicken and vegetable mixture and the marinade. The marinade has plenty of flavor due to the smoked paprika, coriander, cumin, and chili sauce.
4. Turkey Taco Pasta Salad
Our Turkey Taco Pasta Salad recipe is WW-friendly and serves 12 people. You can prep it for the whole family or reduce the amounts for fewer servings. It only takes 20 minutes to make and is full of flavor from ground turkey, taco seasoning, rotini pasta, and veggies like peppers, onions, tomatoes, and lettuce.
5. Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowls
These exciting rice bowls burst with flavors of Frank’s Buffalo sauce, cheddar cheese, paprika, and more. The main components in this dish are black beans, brown rice, and chicken breasts, which are all healthy for you! They don’t take much time to make, only 30 minutes, and the recipe easily links to Weight Watchers so you can track your points.
6. Chicken Salad with Yogurt and Lime Dressing
Weight Watchers posted this recipe, which is only two points and can be made in 35 minutes! This refreshing salad can easily be packaged into meal prep containers with compartments to separate the components and the dressing. The dressing comprises yogurt, lime juice, olive oil, and seasonings. Meanwhile, the primary ingredients are cherry tomatoes, red onions, chicken breasts, corn, and butter lettuce.
7. Weight Watchers Tuna Salad
Midlife Healthy Living posted this WW-friendly tuna salad, which you can use as a base for your make-ahead lunches. Enjoy this tuna salad on lettuce with various veggies, or turn it into a tuna salad sandwich or wrap! The best part is that it only takes 10 minutes to prepare! It has canned tuna, apples, celery, relish, walnuts, and more flavors. It also has chopped boiled eggs, which provide extra texture and flavor.
8. Italian Sub Sandwiches
This is such an easy make-ahead meal! Keep the lettuce, vinegar, and oil mixture separate until the last minute to prevent the sandwiches from getting soggy. Another idea is to toast the buns ahead of time and assemble them. You can make the sandwich in under 10 minutes, and it combines delicious, classic flavors of lettuce, tomato, onion, seasonings, turkey salami, and provolone cheese. Keep it healthier by using reduced-fat cheese and reduced-calorie hot dog buns!
9. BBQ Chicken Bowls
Make this barbecue chicken recipe by Keeping On Point in your Instant Pot for easy preparation. This recipe has three components: homemade healthy coleslaw, corn, and BBQ chicken. You’ll love the various textures of the plump corn, juicy chicken, and refreshing slaw. The barbecued chicken can be made in the instant pot in under 15 minutes! The recipe has a link for easy tracking on the WW app.
10. Weight Watchers Shrimp Tacos
Did someone say Taco Tuesday? These succulent tacos only take 15 minutes and are three Weight Watchers points! All you need is ground cumin and salt to season the shrimp. Meanwhile, the juicy slaw has a coleslaw mix, light mayo, fresh lime juice, canned chipotle peppers, and cilantro. If you plan to make this as meal prep for the upcoming week, just be sure to pack the soft taco shells in a different compartment in Tupperware.
11. Chickpea and Vegetable Noodle Soup Jars
When we saw this recipe, we knew we had to share it because it is so incredibly genius! Did you enjoy eating instant Cup Noodles as a child? Now you can make a similar lunch except much healthier and homemade. Weight Watchers posted this recipe, which you can make in just ten short minutes. It has scrumptious flavors of chicken stock powder, plain instant noodles, frozen vegetable mix, chickpeas, and seasonings.
12. Weight Watchers Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon
If you have 25 minutes, you can make this wonderfully sweet, savory, glazed salmon! This fish can be the primary protein in your make-ahead meals. The glaze comprises black pepper, salt, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, and Dijon mustard! Be sure to use reduced-sodium soy sauce, which is much healthier. Pair this with zero-point vegetables such as broccoli, peppers, and onions.
13. Pasta Salad with Peas and Garlicky Tomatoes
Pasta salads are incredibly light and refreshing. They work for both lunch and dinner! However, it’s perfect for lunch since you can simply make it ahead of time, pop it in the fridge, and then enjoy it immediately when hungry. This recipe contains whole wheat pasta, olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, lemon juice, basil, and peas. It only makes one serving, so you might have to adjust the amounts if you want to get a couple of lunches out of it.
14. Poblano and Turkey Chili
This is a fantastic WW meal prep recipe for the colder months when you want something warm and comforting. This chili is unique since it has poblanos and uses turkey breast rather than ground beef. It also has seasonings, scallions, diced tomatoes, navy beans, and cilantro. When you serve it, you can top it with reduced-fat sour cream or a splash of hot sauce to elevate its spiciness.
