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Meal Prep for the Busy Desk Worker
How to eat well all week when you have no time, no energy after work, and a desk job that makes healthy eating harder than it should be.
7 min read · Jordi van Sighem
The biggest nutrition mistake desk workers make is not eating badly on purpose. It is failing to plan and then making the easiest available choice.
When you are tired after back-to-back meetings, you will not cook a balanced meal. You will order food or skip dinner. This is not weakness. It is predictable human behaviour without a system. Here is the system.
## The Sunday Setup: 90 Minutes
### Step 1: Batch cook your protein (30 minutes)
Chicken breast: bake at 200 degrees for 25 minutes. Salmon: bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes. Hard-boiled eggs: boil 12. Cook 600-800g total — covers the week.
### Step 2: Cook your carbohydrates (20 minutes)
300g dry rice makes 900g cooked. Sweet potatoes: roast at 200 degrees for 40 minutes. These keep 5 days in the fridge.
### Step 3: Chop your vegetables (15 minutes)
Bell peppers, cucumber, broccoli, spinach. Store in containers. Having them ready removes every excuse not to eat them.
### Step 4: Assemble lunch boxes (15 minutes)
Build 4 boxes now: protein plus carb plus vegetables. Stack in fridge. Grab one every morning.
## The Desk Worker Nutrition Rules
Eat enough protein — aim for your bodyweight in grams. Drink water constantly — finish 2 litres before 5pm. Avoid heavy lunches — they cause the afternoon crash. Do not eat at your desk.