The best meal prep recipes: These 5 recipes leave more time for biking

No time for training during the week? Stressed by trying to juggle a healthy diet, exercise and everyday life? Then we might have something for you. Ambitious athletes know the problem: during the working week, it is difficult to fit in a large amount of training. Meal prep can help to create the necessary time slots. Cook once, eat five times: perfect for a week of training. To ensure that flavour doesn't fall by the wayside and that you don't have to eat the same thing every day, we have tried out five dishes that are easy to prepare. On a full day, all it takes is a few simple steps to enjoy a great home-cooked meal. The best thing about it? These five vegetarian recipes can be perfectly combined with each other.

>> Our editor tried out the Meal Prep trend himself for a week and reports on it in his report.

1. pasta with pea and herb pesto

Every biker loves pasta. This healthy version of pesto can be pre-cooked and chilled on a Sunday evening, for example. Preparation takes just a quarter of an hour plus washing up. During the week, you only need to invest just under ten minutes to boil the pasta. Simple, practical and delicious! Tip: Boil a few more noodles for a pasta salad.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 300 g peas (frozen)
• Salt
• 500 g short pasta (e.g. farfalle, penne, fusilli)
• 30 g almond kernels
• 4-5 stalks of mint
• 4-5 stalks basil
• 1 garlic clove
• grated zest and juice of 1/2 organic lemon
• 4 tbsp mild olive oil
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan
• Pepper from the mill

Preparation

1. Blanch the peas in boiling salted water for 1-2 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon, rinse in a colander and drain. Cook the pasta in the pea cooking water according to the packet instructions until al dente.
2. For the pesto, scald the almonds with hot water, then peel. Dab dry and roast in a non-stick pan without fat until golden brown. Leave to cool. Rinse the mint and basil and shake dry. Set aside a few leaves of each for garnish. Peel the garlic and puree with the remaining herbs, almonds, peas, a little lemon juice and oil until creamy. Add pasta cooking water as required. Mix in the Parmesan and season the pesto with lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Drain the pasta and arrange on plates mixed with the pesto. Serve garnished with herbs and pink peppercorns

Nutritional values per personapprox. 734 kcal, 24 g protein, 24 g fat, 102 g carbohydrates

Save time with Meal Prep: approx. 20 min

Opinion BIKE

The homemade pea and herb pesto not only tastes fabulous, but also contains significantly less fat than ready-made products from the supermarket. It is also ideal for freezing for meal prep. Incidentally, the peas in the pesto also fill you up much faster and for longer. - Jan Timmermann, Head of BIKE Fitness Department

2. colourful pasta salad

Excess pasta can be turned into a filling salad in just a few minutes. Meal prep pros use the pasta from the day before and prepare the dressing at the weekend. When hunger strikes, all it takes is five minutes to add fresh vegetables. All in all, the meal for four heads is ready in 15 minutes and provides around 775 calories per person. Vegans can omit the mozzarella and honey from the dressing.

>> Our expert reveals here what vegan athletes should bear in mind.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 250 g short pasta (e.g. farfalle)
• Salt
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp pine nuts
• 400 g colourful cherry tomatoes
• 2 handfuls rocket
• 1 handful of sprouts
• 250 g mini mozzarella
• 160 g vegetable corn (from the tin)
• 2 carrots
• 100 ml balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp medium-hot mustard
• 1 tbsp liquid honey
• Pepper from the mill

Preparation

1. Cook the pasta in salted water according to the packet instructions until al dente. Drain in a sieve, rinse and drain well. Mix with 1 tbsp olive oil and divide between glasses.
2. Toast the pine nuts in a pan until golden brown and leave to cool. Rinse and drain the tomatoes, rocket and sprouts. Cut the tomatoes in half. Pick the rocket. Drain the mozzarella and sweetcorn kernels well. Halve or quarter the mozzarella balls. Peel and grate the carrots. Add all the prepared ingredients to the pasta in the jars. Finish with the sprouts and sprinkle with the pine nuts.
3. To make the dressing, pour the balsamic vinegar, 2-3 tbsp water, the remaining oil, mustard, honey, salt and pepper into a small screw-top jar. Shake the dressing vigorously before serving and pour over the salad.

Nutritional values per person: approx. 775 kcal, 26 g protein, 42 g fat, 70 g carbohydrates

Save time with Meal Prep: approx. 10 min

Opinion BIKE

Pasta salad is not only part of every barbecue party, but also part of the meal prepper's repertoire. Pre-cooked pasta can be put together in no time at all to create a new dish that also tastes good cold. If you want to eat in the office, you should transport the salad and dressing separately. - Jan Timmermann, Head of BIKE Fitness Department

3. oven vegetables with feta

Oven vegetables are incredibly versatile. Often degraded to a side dish, with the right ingredients and a little dip, roasted vegetables also make a great main meal of the day. Preparation takes around 50 minutes in total. Oven vegetables can also be reheated (in the oven), eaten cold or processed further. Several trays can be prepared in the fan oven. It also tastes delicious with bread or as a filling in wraps.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 400 g Hokkaido pumpkin flesh
• 250 g mushrooms
• 1 small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tsp small capers
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp thyme, grated
• Salt, pepper from the mill
• approx. 1 kg Mediterranean vegetable mix (frozen; or 600 g tomatoes, 2 onions, 1 clove of garlic, 1 yellow courgette, 1 red pepper)
• 200 g feta
• 1 ciabatta bread

>> We took a look at how MTB pros deal with the topic of nutrition and body weight here.

Preparation

1. Wash the pumpkin and cut into pieces. Brush off the mushrooms, cut off the roots and halve or quarter the mushrooms depending on their size.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Wash the parsley, pat dry, pick off the leaves, mix with the capers, oil and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Mix the seasoning oil with the pumpkin, frozen vegetables (or prepared fresh vegetables) and mushrooms, spread on a baking tray and cook in the oven for approx. 15 mins.
3. Crumble the feta, spread over the vegetables and cook for a further 5-10 mins. Serve with ciabatta bread.

Nutritional values per personapprox. 501 kcal, 20 g protein, 23 g fat, 51 g carbohydrates

Save time with Meal Prep: approx. 40 min.

Opinion BIKE

Oven vegetables are my personal meal prep favourite and can also be seasonally modified with potatoes, beetroot, carrots and parsnips, for example. It tastes particularly good with a simple yoghurt and herb dip. - Jan Timmermann, Head of BIKE Fitness Department

4. vegetarian chilli sin carne

The vegetarian version of chilli con carne is another food prep classic, as the Mexican stew can be cooked in large portions and easily reheated or frozen. So it's no problem that it takes around 40 minutes to prepare. We have tracked down a particularly tasty version without meat but still with lots of protein.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 1 tin of kidney beans (drained weight 265 g)
• 1 tin of giant white beans (drained weight 265 g)
• 1 tin of sweetcorn (drained weight 265 g)
• 1 small tin of green beans (drained weight 265 g)
• 1 white onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 red pointed peppers
• 150 g smoked tofu
• 2 carrots
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
• 200 g strained tomatoes
• 150 ml stock
• 1 small bunch of coriander
• 250 g protein quark
• Salt, pepper from the mill
• Sweet and hot paprika powder
• Chilli powder
• Cumin, ground
• 8 pickled chillies

Preparation

1. Drain the kidney beans, white beans, sweetcorn and green beans in a sieve, rinse and drain. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Wash and clean the pointed peppers and cut into cubes with the tofu. Peel and slice the carrots.
2. Sauté the onion, garlic, pointed pepper and carrots in the heated oil. Add the chopped and strained tomatoes and the stock, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for approx. 10 mins.
3. Add the kidney beans, white beans, sweetcorn, green beans and tofu and heat through. Wash the coriander, pat dry, pick off the leaves and chop. Mix the quark and coriander together and season with salt and pepper.
4. Season the chilli sin carne with the spices, arrange in bowls and serve garnished with the quark and peppers.

Nutritional values per personapprox. 507 kcal, 39 g protein, 10 g fat, 60 g carbohydrates

Save time with Meal Prep: approx. 35 min

Opinion BIKE

Thanks to the tinned ingredients, preparing chilli sin carne is really easy. I like to cook double the amount and freeze a few portions. The chilli can also be made more substantial with rice or potatoes as a side dish. My tip: don't skimp on the garlic! - Jan Timmermann, Head of BIKE Fitness Department

5. leftovers bowl

Bowls belong in every meal prep week and are ideal for utilising leftovers. If you've cooked cleverly throughout the week, you can actually combine almost anything in a bowl. On a bed of salad, colourful leftovers even become really Instagram-worthy! Preparation is very simple (open the tins) and takes a maximum of 25 minutes, even when freshly prepared. If you plan ahead, prepare the chickpeas days in advance.

Ingredients for 4 people

• Leftovers of the week (e.g. rice & oven vegetables)
• Remaining sauces (e.g. pesto, yoghurt dip, quark topping, salad dressing)
• 300 g chickpeas
• Rapeseed oil
• Salt, pepper from the mill
• Paprika powder
• Garlic powder

Preparation

1. Drain the chickpeas and mix in a bowl with a little oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika powder. Then spread out on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
2. Roast the chickpeas in the oven at 200°C fan oven until crispy brown
3. Line a deep plate with lettuce leaves. Place the leftovers in heaps on top and drizzle with the sauces. Garnish with the chickpeas and serve.

Nutritional values per persondepending on the composition

Save time with Meal Prep: approx. 30 min

Opinion BIKE

A bowl should be the culinary finale to every Meal Prep week. This is where everything that tastes good comes together again. If you prepare large quantities the days before, you will have enough leftovers in the fridge for a really good bowl. - Jan Timmermann, Head of BIKE Fitness Department

Disclaimer: For the basic recipes 1-4, we were inspired by our colleagues at FOODkiss magazine.