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So, how do you create both healthy and delicious lunches every single day of the week when you're super busy and you don't have much time to cook? Well, it comes down to two main things. You need the right recipes and you need the perfect meal plan. And in today's video, I've taken care of both of those things for you and created a two-week lunch meal plan with recipes that are super simple to make, designed to be frozen to extend for a full 2 weeks, and are completely customizable so you can mix and match every day and never get bored of your lunch again. part is I'm giving you the entire lunch meal plan for free in a Google Doc below so you can follow along step-by-step. Now, if you live in
the US, you've probably heard of the restaurant chain Cava. It's a fast-casual spot known for Mediterranean-style grain and salad bowls, and it's actually the inspiration behind this video because in my opinion, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food is the perfect cuisine for lunch. It's fresh, it's not going to weigh you down, it's super flavorful, and honestly, it's just something I personally can eat every day without getting very tired of it. Now, here's how this two-week meal plan is going to work. First, we're going to prep six core components. These are going to be your proteins and your veggies, which are really the heart of every meal. And we're going to freeze half of each of these items so they can
stretch across a full 2 weeks. Then each week, you're going to prep one fresh grain base, one fresh salad base, which are going to act as the foundation that you're going to pair with those proteins and veggies so every day you can mix things up and build a completely different bowl or salad. Then each week, you'll also prep one fresh all-purpose sauce that works either to top the bowls or as a dressing to really bring the lunches together. All right, so let's get right into prepping these proteins. And I did design this meal plan so you can pick a block of time, say on a Sunday or whenever you have time, and just prep all of these at once so you only have to cook once. That's, of
course, if you have time, you don't have to do it that way. So, we'll set the oven at 450° so we can keep that running for multiple recipes without having to change it or turn it on and off. And there's going to be a bunch of crossover with the ingredients we're using and some of the equipment. Speaking of ingredients, since we're making Mediterranean food, we're going to need some chickpeas, which are going to work for two recipes. The first recipe is a crispy chickpea and cauliflower dish, and you can totally use canned chickpeas, you're just not going to get the exact texture we want in this dish. So, I like to pressure cook them right from their dry form. No need to even soak them overnight. I'll take my
entire bag of chickpeas, I'll throw them right in the pressure cooker, and I'll cover them with water. And I'm going to cook them on a high pressure for 10 minutes. And this is exactly what we want to get some crispy chickpeas. But, I've got a little smart meal prep moment here. I'm going to leave the other half of the chickpeas in the pressure cooker. I'm going to add just a little bit of baking soda, and I'm going to keep the pressure cooker uncovered and put it on a high sauté mode or high cooking mode, whatever your pressure cooker has. And I'll let those bubble away for another 30 minutes, which we'll use for the base of a hummus coming right after this recipe. Now, back to the cauliflower. I'm using two
heads here. I'm going to remove the core and I'll cut up the cauliflower into just tiny little bite-size pieces. Then I'll spread it out evenly on a baking tray, and I'll add back those al dente undercooked chickpeas, and I'll drizzle over a good bit of olive oil. And for the seasoning, I'm keeping things really simple, just some za'atar spice mix, which has all those classic Mediterranean flavors, and a little bit of sumac if you have it, it's totally optional. And I'll mix everything together right on the tray. And so it's not overcrowded, I'm just going to split it up evenly onto two trays, and I'll get that roasting in that 450° Fahrenheit oven for about 20 to 25 minutes until the cauliflower is golden
and slightly charred. And because we undercooked the chickpeas earlier, they come out super crispy and crunchy, which is what we're going for. If you just use the canned stuff, they would slightly overcook and just get a little bit soft when you roast them, which wouldn't give you that wonderful texture when we add this mixture to a salad or a bowl later on. Now, from here, I'm going to keep half in the fridge for the week, and I'm going to freeze the other half in this half-cup mold for week two. And just like that, you've got your first protein locked in, and we're going to move right
into our core component number two, which is our hummus. So, we'll come back to those chickpeas, which have been bubbling away in the pressure cooker, and that baking soda has helped break them down even more so they are now perfectly soft and ready to turn into some hummus. I'll strain them off, then I'll add them straight into my food processor. Then I'll go in with a clove of garlic, a few generous scoops of tahini, the juice of one lemon, some salt to season, and a bit of that aquafaba or chickpea cooking liquid. And I'll blend that up until it is completely smooth and creamy. Now, whenever I'm making hummus from scratch, I tend to end up with more than I can eat fresh for 1 week. But, the good news is hummus actually freezes
really well. So, I'll portion out a container fresh for the week, and the rest will go into these half-cup freezer molds, which I will save for week two. All right, moving on to our next protein option, which are pesto turkey burgers or turkey cubes, however you want to prepare them. And these are so delicious, and they're only four ingredients. Well, technically, like 12 ingredients, but hear me out. So, the key is getting yourself some good pesto. This is a batch I froze from last summer. I freeze a ton of garlic scape pesto, which is my absolute favorite version of pesto. But, any store-bought basil pesto will work perfectly here as
well. And to a bowl, I'm going to add two packs of ground turkey. And this stuff is super lean, it's like 99% lean, so I'll mix the entire container of pesto, and all of that oil we emulsified into the pesto originally is not only going to add a ton of flavor, but it's really going to help keep this turkey nice and moist and juicy. Next, I'm going to finely chop up some sun-dried tomatoes, and I'll throw those in for a little sweetness and a little texture. Then I'll finish this off with some breadcrumbs and salt and pepper to season, and I'll mix all of those flavors together. Now, you could totally portion these into patties, you could cook them right away, or you could freeze them raw. Both options would work, but an even more
convenient option, in my opinion, is using one of these silicone cube molds. I'm using a half-cup mold, and I'll stuff all of the turkey meat in there. I'm going to fill up two full molds so I'll have 10 turkey burgers or turkey cubes, and I'll freeze those overnight. Then anytime over the next 2 weeks, whenever I want to use one of these for a bowl or a salad, all I have to do is pop one in the air fryer at 380° Fahrenheit for about 10 to 12 minutes, and you have the most flavorful, super juicy turkey burgers that I can cut up and throw right into a bowl or a salad.
All right, we're moving right into another protein option, which again is very simple and just packed with flavor. These are my mini feta meatballs. And first, we're going to prep our veggies, which is simply just dicing up a medium or small red onion, and also chop up some fresh parsley. Then in a bowl, I'm going to add a couple pounds of some ground beef. also use ground lamb here, that would work wonderfully with these meatballs. Then I'll add in that onion and parsley. I'll grate in one clove of garlic. I'll sprinkle in some dried oregano. And I've got a nice fresh block of feta right here, which I'm going to use for a few recipes. And I'll just crumble that in roughly. And to finish
off the mixture, I'm going to add one egg and some salt and pepper, and I'll mix everything together until it's fully combined. Now, to keep things really easy, I'm using this 1 Tbsp ice cream scoop to portion out these meatballs onto my baking tray. And I couldn't quite fit all of them onto a tray, so I split them across two, and they go right into that same preheated 450° oven for about 10 minutes. Now, once these meatballs are done, you're going to see they release a ton of juices and fat, and you do not want to throw that flavor away. We're actually going to take advantage of it
moving right into the next recipe. So, I'll package up half of those meatballs to have fresh for the week, and the other half, I'm going to lay them nice and flat in a bag in my freezer so they don't stick together, and I'll save those for week two. All right, now before we finish up these core components, I want to tell you about today's sponsor, and honestly, one of my favorite meal prep hacks, Kettle & Fire. One of the easiest ways to instantly add a ton of flavor to your meals while also boosting the nutrition. And for me, most of the boxed broths that are available on the market just don't use the ingredients or the techniques that make a quality broth. But, Kettle & Fire uses organic pasture-raised chicken and grass-fed,
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you can use code word MikeG for 20% off your order using the link below. All right, moving into a veggie option with these harissa sweet potato fries. And this is another super simple item we're going to be building pretty much all of the flavor from some harissa paste, which is a Mediterranean chili paste loaded with so much good flavor. And I've got a big batch of sweet potatoes here, and I'm just going to peel them up. But, if you're short on time, you can just wash them and leave the skins on. Then I'll cut them into halves, cut those halves into quarters, and cut those quarters right in half so I have these bite-size pieces.
Now, instead of using a clean tray, I'm going right back to those trays with all of those delicious meatball drippings. This is going to be all of the fat we need to roast these sweet potatoes, plus just extra flavor. And then all I'm going to do is add a few big scoops of this harissa paste and a little bit of salt to season, and I'll mix everything up until it's evenly coated. I'll spread them across two trays so they can roast properly, and then I'll get them in that same 450° preheated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes. Now, once you have your sweet potatoes, I'm going to keep half in the fridge fresh for the week, and the other half I'm just going to take the tray and throw that right into the freezer. And then the next day when they're frozen,
I'll scoop them up and place them in the bag so none of the sweet potatoes actually stick together. And we can just pull them out as we need them the following week and reheat them. All right, and just like that we've made it to the final core component of this meal prep, which is a bit of a protein veggie combo. I'm calling these black-eyed pea corn fritters. And I start by soaking my dried beans overnight. Now, you can totally replace the black-eyed peas with other types of beans, but you can't use canned. You have to use dried beans if you want this recipe to work. The next day once they're hydrated, I'll drain them off and I'll add them right to my food processor. Then I'll drain off one
can of sweet corn and I'll add that in as well. And I wasn't originally planning on adding any greens to this dish, but I was walking through the garden and the first fresh spinach was coming in. It had to be picked, and I thought it would make a nice addition. So, once the spinach was cleaned up, I blanched it in some boiling water for about a minute and I transferred it over to some cool water. Then I squeezed out as much excess moisture as I could, and I threw that in the food processor. Then on top of that, I crumbled in some of that fresh feta. I added a small chopped red onion, a couple cloves of garlic, and a nice mix of some fresh herbs. I'm using some cilantro, parsley, and dill,
but use whatever you have. Then I processed everything together until it was broken down and could hold together nicely. And instead of frying these fritters right away, what I do is I portion them right into my molds. I've got two different size silicone molds right here. Any size is really going to work for these because what we're going to do once they're frozen is we'll remove them from the molds and we'll pop them in a bag. Then all we have to do to cook these is throw them in an air fryer, give them a little spray, and cook them at 370° for about 10 minutes. All right, so we've rattled through all of those core components. They're prepped, half of them are frozen for week two. But to kick off week one of
lunches, we still need that grain and salad base and that all-purpose sauce. And for the grain base, I'm making a yellow rice that's just a full-on dump in your rice cooker and set it for the best rice ever. So, to the rice cooker pot, I'm going to add some basmati rice. I'll add in some Kettle & Fire bone broth for that extra flavor, and I'll top that with water. I'll sprinkle in some golden raisins, which will add some nice sweetness, a few tablespoons of butter, and the key ingredient here is some saffron. And if you can't get your hands on some saffron, you can just use some turmeric for the same color. But just a teaspoon of saffron will give you the most beautiful yellow color and such
a subtle floral flavor that really makes this rice so special. And I like to set my rice cooker to the harder rice cooking setting just to ensure those grains don't actually overcook and I get this perfectly fluffy rice. That is some fluffy rice. Now, something I love to do pretty much every single week is pre-prepping my salad, which saves a ton of time. You make a nice salad base before the dressing goes on and it should last you about a week. Now, for this first mix, I had three lonely heads of lettuce that actually made it through the winter in my greenhouse. And I've just been waiting for the perfect time to pick these little baby gems, and now is that perfect time. So, I got those cleaned up. And to bulk things up
and to create a nice mix of flavors and textures, I'm going to chop up some kale. I also have a small head of radicchio, and I'll give those baby gems just a rough chop to make them more bite-size. Then on top of the leaves, I'm chopping up some cucumber, some sugar snap peas, and some cherry tomatoes to give me more of a comprehensive mix. And I'm going to stuff that in a larger food container with one paper towel on the bottom of the greens and one paper towel on the top to absorb any of that extra moisture, which is going to ensure those greens stay fresher and last you throughout the entire week. Now, before we start bringing some lunches together, we need that perfect week one all-purpose sauce, and let me tell you,
this herby tahini yogurt feta sauce is unbelievable. It's really simple to make, just please try it and report back to me. To a blender, or you could use a food processor as well, I'm going to add in my yogurt, some fresh feta, a scoop of tahini plus a little bit of that oil, some fresh herbs. I'm using the trio of mint, parsley, and dill, the juice of two lemons, salt and pepper to season, and I'll blend that all together while emulsifying in some olive oil to make that nice and thick and creamy. So, what's great about this meal plan is you can mix and match and get super creative. Some days I would make a nice rice bowl picking a few of those core components. Other days I would air fry
some of those proteins and add it to a greens base for a hearty salad. And I would just slightly shift things up each day to keep it fresh, and fresh it was, my friends. All right, so it is week two, and I am still not over these flavors. I'm not sick of them at all. It's why I love this type of cuisine. It seems to never get old. It's the perfect lunch. And I've got all those six frozen core elements ready to go. But of course, we need a new grain and salad base, and we need a new sauce. Now, for the grain base, this is another simple dump in a rice cooker and get something delicious on the other end, a delicious mushroom
farro. Now, you can do this without mushrooms, but I have been growing a ton of mushrooms outside, and they're just fruiting in abundance right now with this wet spring weather. So, I'm using some fresh oysters, but any type of mushroom will work for this farro dish. And I'll dice those up nice and small, get them in the rice cooker pot along with two cups of farro. This is some pearled farro. Then I'm going to use 16 oz of some Kettle & Fire beef bone broth. I'll top that with water, a little salt to season, and sprinkling in some thyme, which pairs so nicely with those mushrooms. Finally, some butter to make it a little more rich and creamy. And because this farro takes a little
longer to cook, I'm going to set it on the brown rice setting. And there's just something really special when you combine those beefy and mushroomy flavors that just enhances this farro to a completely different level than your basic grain dish. Now, week one was very warm, so things just exploded in the greenhouse. So, for week two salad mix, it's the first time I'm bringing together a full mix of homegrown greens. Now, since these greens were just so fresh, and to be honest, I was feeling a little bit lazy, I just chopped them up, I threw them in a bag, and that's my salad green prep for the entire week. And we need that all-purpose sauce to
bring it all together. So, for week two, I have a balsamic caper vinaigrette. So, to my blender, I'm adding a whole bunch of capers with a little bit of that juice. I've got some fermented garlic honey that I'm adding, which can be easily replaced with just honey and garlic. And all of those adjustments are down below in the free Google Doc. I'll add in some mustard, some fresh herbs. Again, I'm using that trio of parsley, dill, and mint, then a good bit of that balsamic vinegar, some salt and pepper to season, and I'll blend that up while slowly emulsifying in my olive oil.
Now, I just want to confirm for week two, all of the foods that I froze reheat very well. Even this hummus, just throw it in the microwave, add a little water if it's feeling thick, and it's going to taste perfectly fresh. And week two was a bit of the same, some delicious bowls, some hearty salads. I actually had some leftover tops from my air fryer that I heated up with the fritter to make this delicious bowl right here, and it was good eating all week long. All right, so this is day 14 lunch. Kind of like a leftover special salad. I've got some farro in there, some meatballs. And I've been eating these meals for close to a month now because I was recipe testing before I went into
filming the video. And I would say just now, like 4 weeks later, I am just getting bored of these flavors. At 2 weeks, I was fine. I was ready for more. But I've just been eating so well for lunch over the last few weeks. And if you want to follow along with these recipes, remember, free Google Doc below, all the ingredients listed out, all the recipes. And if you want more meal prep ideas, check out this.
