May 13, 2020

Healthy Meal Plan for the 9-5 Worker

You’re on the 9-5 work grind and you have no time to make tasty lunches. Instead, you end up with a sad lunch or going out or checking what’s left in the vending machine. Does this routine sound familiar to you?

Eating smart - meaning healthy and inexpensive – doesn’t have to be a big challenge and certainly doesn’t have to take up all your free time. It’s actually one very simple concept to wrap around in your head, and that’s planning ahead. Let’s work together to make a tasty meal plan for your 5-day work week that suits your lifestyle and gives you that extra time to enjoy the small things in life.

Getting Your 9-5 Meal Plan Started

To make your 5-day work week meal plan easier for you, follow these simple steps to get started.

Step 1: Prep Your Fridge

Meal plans don’t have to be static, you can make it as dynamic and fun as you want. But to make it easier on you, it’s best to stick with a few key base ingredients.

These can be spinach, carrots, corn, or potatoes. We suggest vegetables because of its versatility and can be incorporated in any meal. The reason for a base ingredient is simply so that you aren’t buying and cooking 100 different types of vegetables. Keep it simple to make meal prepping a whole lot easier.

Step 2: Choose Your Breakfast

The key to meal planning is to have some similar meals. Now, that doesn’t mean eating eggs every day for breakfast, instead, try switching it up and alternate the days.

It’s best to choose two different types of breakfast, in our meal plan below we have chosen one protein-heavy and one fruit heavy breakfasts.

Step 3: Choose Your Meal Plan

For the 9-5 worker, we suggest the Power Couple meal plan. This meal plan comes with 10 jars, that will fit perfectly into your 5-day work week. The Power Couple meal plan allows you to mix and match 10 jars between lunch and dinner.

At Meal In A Jar, we offer a wide range of jars to suit your eating lifestyles. Our options range from pork, beef, chicken, and vegetarian! So if you are looking for convenience, try adding our meal plans into your daily routine. Whether it’s for lunch, dinner, or both - let us take a load off your day by providing you healthy and tasty jars.

Step 4: Choose Your Snacks

It’s important to eat several times a day to keep your energy levels up so you can stay focus at work. Introducing a snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon is ideal. In our 5-day work week meal plan, on days that your breakfast is heavy on protein, the snack will be fruit-focused. So if your mornings are heavy on the fruit, then your snacks should be protein-focused.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle with a good balance of fruit and vegetables.

Step 5: Plan Out Your Week

Here’s a 5-day balanced meal plan using the Power Couple meal plan.

Monday

Breakfast – Fruit Smoothie
Snack – Granola Bar
Lunch – Chicken Carnitas
Snack – Hard-boiled egg and veggies
Dinner – Zucchini Beef Houdini

Pro Tip: Your meal isn’t a uniform. Select a variety of different meals to enjoy throughout the week. Meal plans don’t have to be boring, tweak up the meal to make them less boring.

Tuesday

Breakfast – Scrambled eggs
Snack – Celery and carrot sticks
Lunch – Black Bean Taco
Snack – Fruit Salad
Dinner – Pulled Pork Smash

Pro Tip: If you are a light eater, prolong your jar! Try eating half of your jar at 11 am and then rest as a snack. That way you will always feel satisfied through the workday and not feel the hungry midday.

Wednesday

Breakfast – Fruit Smoothie
Snack – Granola Bar
Lunch – Lively Lemon Ginger
Snack - Hard-boiled egg and veggies
Dinner – Naked Beef Burrito

Pro Tip: Make your morning even quicker! Prepping your main meal is step one. To take this to another level, invest in a lunch bag that you will rock at work. Set out your prepped meal, your daytime snacks, and your water bottle all in the lunch bag and there you have it! All you have to grab in the morning is your lunch bag instead of your prepped meal, plus little things on the side.

Thursday

Breakfast - Omelet
Snack – Celery and carrot sticks
Lunch – Veggie Showdown
Snack - Fruit Salad
Dinner - Cowboy Casserole

Pro Tip: Make it a party! Planned meals may not sound very fun to do alone, so try doing it with someone else! It makes planning your meals a lot more fun and you can encourage each other to make better choices with your planned out meals.

Friday

Breakfast – Fruit Smoothie
Snack – Granola Bar
Lunch – Chicken Showdown
Snack - Hard-boiled egg and veggies
Dinner – Beef Teriyaki

Pro Tip: Check what’s on sale! Deciding what to make for your meal plan can be an indecisive game. To make it easy, see what’s on sale at the grocery store and work your meal around that! You already have tons of meals you want to get making, and there’s plenty of time to try it all. But to make the selection process a lot easier, choose a sale item and go from there.

If you are still feeling hungry after dinner, try to stay away from food that takes longer to process and digest. Instead, have a caffeine-free tea that will fill you up and also help you relax for the night.

Get Started With A Meal Plan Today

The first step to achieving a healthier lifestyle is making a plan, and sticking to it. Check out the details of Meal Plan, or browse our full selection of plans to pick one that’s just right for you.

Healthy Meal Plan Jars

Benefits of A Meal Plan

Being on a meal plan has so many benefits. For the harder worker you are, here’s why a meal plan is great for you!

1. Saves you money!

Stop spending money on those unsatisfying lunches at work. Sometimes, those quick lunches you buy can add up and might not necessarily be as healthy as you want them to be. With a meal plan, you will know exactly how much you are spending on your lunches, which makes budgeting a lot easier.

2. Healthy meals.

Planning out your meals will guarantee you to have a healthy lunch because you know exactly what you are going to be eating. No need to second guess if your lunch is healthy or not, by making your meal plan healthy from the start you are saving yourself time and reassuring yourself that you are eating healthy.

3. Less stress.

Life and work can be super busy so take the stress away with your meals. Plan those meals ahead so you don’t have to worry about cooking every night.

Use that extra time you have and relax or do the other things you want to do!