If you’re tired of cooking from scratch every night but can’t quite commit to full-blown Sunday meal prep, you’re not alone. The good news? You don’t need to prep 15 matching containers to eat well all week.

Instead, try preparing just a couple of sprint meal bases — simple, flexible ingredients you can batch once and repurpose into multiple meals. Think of them as your kitchen’s building blocks. With just two or three ready-to-go components, you’ll be able to throw together fast dinners, lunches, or even breakfasts in minutes.

Here are 3 sprint meal bases that work with nearly any diet and schedule.

1. Pre-Cooked Rice or Grains

Rice, quinoa, couscous, or bulgur — any grain you enjoy can become a meal-saver when it’s already cooked and waiting in your fridge. Cook a batch at the beginning of the week, or pick up a few microwaveable rice packs (no judgment — it’s still a sprint win!).

You can use them in:

• Stir-fries with leftover veggies and sauce
• Quick rice bowls with chicken, tofu, or beans
• Breakfast bowls with eggs, spinach, and salsa
• Wrap or burrito fillings

Sprint Tip: Add a drizzle of soy sauce or a spoon of pesto to change up the flavor from one day to the next.

Need more ingredient ideas to pair with grains? Here are 5 quick ingredients perfect for sprint meals.

2. Shredded Chicken or Rotisserie Chicken

One of the best sprint meal bases is protein that’s already cooked. Rotisserie chicken is a favorite because it’s cheap, tasty, and takes zero effort. Just shred it and store in the fridge. Or, if you batch cook on Sundays, boil or slow-cook chicken breasts with basic seasoning and shred for the week.

Use it in:

• Chicken tacos with pre-shredded lettuce
• Wraps with hummus and spinach
• Chicken fried rice
• BBQ chicken sliders
• Chicken pasta or quesadillas

Pro Hack: Store shredded chicken in a container with a splash of broth to keep it juicy for days.

3. Roasted or Steamed Vegetables

Veggies often take the longest to prep — chopping, roasting, steaming — so prepping a big batch ahead of time saves major minutes midweek. Use whatever is in season or in your freezer: broccoli, bell peppers, sweet potatoes, carrots, zucchini.

Ideas to use them:

• Add to rice or grain bowls
• Mix into breakfast scrambles
• Fold into quesadillas
• Top on pizza or pasta

Sprint Tip: Use frozen veggie blends and roast them with olive oil, garlic powder, and salt — it’s fast and tastes amazing.

Want more ideas? Check out this guide to frozen veggies from Healthline for great options to keep on hand.

Sprint meal bases are a simple way to save time and reduce the daily “what’s for dinner?” panic. By cooking or prepping just two components — a protein and a grain, or veggies and a base — you give yourself the freedom to mix and match all week without burnout.

Try picking just one sprint meal base to prep this week, and watch how much smoother your mealtime feels. You can also check out 5 ways to avoid meal planning burnout.