OTwo Editor Polly Rogers' guide to meal prepping

By Polly Rogers | Sep 11 2026

There are both veggie and meat options for all the following meal preps - feel free to play around and substitute proteins with whatever you want! Lidl and Aldi are both close in proximity to UCD and offer cheap and cheerful options for students. !

While meal prep tubs are more sustainable, they are also quite bulky; I recommend Ziploc freezer bags to make the most of your small shelves, you can defrost these meals in advance and transfer them into a tub to go!

Black Bean Burritos!

Ingredients:

Tortilla wraps; Black beans; Peppers; Sweetcorn; Red onions, Peri peri sauce, Halloumi or chicken & seaonings of your choice!

Method:

1. Fry all the veg and your protein in pan with seasonings and oil of your choice.

2. Lay out onto your wrap and drizzle peri peri sauce on top

3. Roll up and toast the sides of the burrito lightly before freezing!

Butterbean Spinach Curry!

Ingredients: butterbeans; Curry/korma sauce; Spinach; Onion ; Chopped tomatoes; Seasonings of your choice; Paneer cheese or chicken ; White/brown rice.

Method:

1. Fry onions, beans and chicken in oil with seasonings, and simultaneously boil rice.

2. Add curry sauce, tinned tomatoes and spinach. If using paneer, wait to combine until the sauce is added.

4. Wait to cool, bag into portions and freeze!

Pesto Pasta - Protein Edition!

Ingredients: Protein Pasta; Pesto; Cherry tomatoes; Spinnach; High-protein cheese

Method:

Cook pasta as directed. Chop tomatoes into quarters. Add tomatoes, spinach, pesto and cheese to the pasta.

Cool and freeze into portions!