Meal Prep Hacks - Cook Once and Eat Twice - Use Your Freezer Space

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by dabgoudw

Meal prep guidance for busy athletes centers on healthy eating habits aligned with Canada’s Food Guide, especially “Cook More Often.” The document explains planning meals and snacks to save time, reduce food waste, and manage grocery costs. It provides practical strategies, including using overlapping-ingredient recipes, prepping ingredients ahead, and maximizing leftovers. It concludes with a complete One-Pan Greek Chicken recipe, including ingredients and oven-baking instructions, plus references and professional review credits.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Meal planning principles

How to make a meal plan

Meal prep hacks

One-pan Greek chicken recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

Meal Prep Hacks An integral part of the new Canada ’ s Food Guide is the inclusion of Healthy Eating Habits . The Healthy Eating Habit “Cook More Often” breaks down the importance of planning what you eat to help support a healthier diet . This principle is worth considering for anyone with a super hectic schedule that could benefit from menu planning and meal prep , like a busy athlete! Planning meals and snacks helps save time when grocery shopping, have meals ready quicker, reduce food waste by only buying what you will need and use, save money that could be spent on take out and convenience foods, and have more awareness about when and what exactly you are going to eat. HOW TO MAKE A MEAL PLAN: MEAL PREP HACKS: Consider all your meal s and snacks , and set aside time to make a plan of what you would like to eat for each. Think about your schedule , and how often you need to eaton each given day . Gather recipes and ideas to include in your meal plan , keeping a record of your favourites that you can reuse . Prep basic ingredients like pre-chopping vegetables , to save time in preparing future meals . Pick recipes that have overlapping ingredients to make for quicker and easier grocery shopping . Choose recipes that could use up ingredients you already have at home , ingredients that are in season , or ingredients that are on special to lower the cost of your meal plan . For larger meals try to make a recipe where half your plate is vegetables or fruits that includes protein food s and whole grain foods as well. 1 . Cook Once and Eat Twice ( At Least!) : Be creative with leftovers - tacos one day can turn into taco salad the next day , and burrito rice bowls the next! 2 . Use Your Freezer Space: If you don ’ t like to eat the same meal every day having meal s in the freezer from previous batches of meal preps is the best! 3 . Use Containers: containers are great for holding meals that need to be frozen or reheated. 4 . Become a Fan of One-Pot Meals: meals made in one pot or baked in one dish , are quick and easy to make with even quicker cleanup time . RECIPE: ONE-PAN GREEK CHICKEN Makes 6 Servings [recipe adapted from cookspiration.com](recipe adapted from cookspiration.com) Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups boneless skinless chicken breasts , cut into 1 inch cubes 6 gloves garlic , minced 5 plum ( Roma) tomatoes , chopped 1 cup chopped onion 1 cup chopped red bell pepper 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/2 cup lemon juice 1 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano 1 1/2 Tbsp dried basil 2 Tbsp canola oil 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil InSTRUCTIONs: Preheat oven to 375 ° F ( 190 ° C ) Serve over rice or with pita bread Step 1: In a large bowl , combine chicken , garlic , tomatoes , onion , red pepper , cheese , 1/3 cup of the lemon juice , oregano , basil and oil , stirring well to coat chicken . Spread in prepared 9x13 inch glass baking dish and cover with foil . Step 2 : Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes . Stir and replace foil . Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside . Stir in the remaining lemon juice , olives and basil . WRITTEN BY: REEDE HAWTON, CSCM DIETETIC INTERN, REVIEWED BY: JORIE JANZEN AND JANELLE VINCENT, CSCM SPORT DIETITIANS References: Dietitians of Canada (2011) Greek Chicken. Robert Rose Inc. Retrieved from [https://www.cookspiration.com/recipe.aspx?perma=587A5B065FC&g=5](https://www.cookspiration.com/recipe.aspx?perma=587A5B065FC&g=5) Government of Canada (2019) Plan what you eat. Canada’s Food Guide. Retrieved from [https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/cook-more-often/plan-what-you-eat/](https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/cook-more-often/plan-what-you-eat/)[ ](https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/cook-more-often/plan-what-you-eat/)Nesta Certified (2019) Simple meal prep hacks that will save

FAQs

Why does meal prep help according to the Healthy Eating Habit “Cook More Often”?

It encourages planning what you eat, which supports a healthier diet. It also helps save time, reduce food waste, and improve awareness of what and when you will eat.

What are the main meal prep hacks listed in the document?

Cook once and eat twice, use freezer space, use containers for freezing or reheating, and choose one-pot meals for quick cooking and easier cleanup.

How do you prepare the One-Pan Greek Chicken recipe?

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C), combine ingredients in a bowl and bake in a covered 9x13 dish. Bake about 30 minutes, stir, recover, then bake another 20–30 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink, then stir in remaining lemon juice, olives, and basil.

Sep 27, 2026

Uploaded by dabgoudw