Meal prep is all the rage. Making time for meal prep might seem a little intimidating, but with these Test Kitchen tips, it’s easy to turn meal prep from a headache into a habit. Whether you have your #MealPrepSunday routine down or are simply sick of grabbing canned soup or going out to eat on your lunch break, Mediterranean chicken quinoa bowls are a delicious meal you can easily prep for the week ahead.

The Test Kitchen originally developed mediterranean chicken quinoa bowls as a recipe option for using leftover chicken. We included the bowls in a group of meal planning recipes to make using our slow cooker basic shredded chicken. Instead of portioning the chicken out for three separate dinners during the week, use it to help prep your lunches.

To make meal prep a breeze, do your cooking over the weekend so your meals are ready and waiting when the busy work week starts.

Slow cookers and rice cookers are great meal prep tools. We used both to help prepare the chicken quinoa bowls. Over the weekend, make basic shredded chicken in your Hamilton Beach® slow cooker and quinoa (brown rice would also be delicious in these bowls) in your Hamilton Beach® rice cooker.

Once the chicken and quinoa are cooked, you’re ready to assemble the bowls for the week. We filled five to-go containers (any containers that seal will work), with shredded chicken, quinoa, and a variety of Mediterranean ingredients. Chickpeas, ripe tomatoes, feta cheese, artichokes, cucumbers, and olives add tons of flavor and color to your weekday lunches.

We topped the bowls with a creamy greek dressing. You can easily whip up a homemade dressing in your Hamilton Beach® single-serve blender (another helpful meal prep tool) or use your favorite store-bought variety. Pour your dressing of choice into mini to-go containers (you can buy them online or at the grocery store). They fit perfectly on top of the other ingredients so you can seal the salad and the dressing in the same container.

Say goodbye to sad desk lunch and hello to bright, fresh Mediterranean chicken quinoa bowls. For the full recipe, click here.