Here’s a myth buster: meal prep does not have to consume the better part of your day - morning, afternoon or evening.

With the transition from Summer to Fall, routines tend to change for many of us. Travel schedules tend to slow, kids go back to school and football tackles a majority of the weekends; overall, routines shift.

However, I find the change of seasons to be refreshing. It’s the perfect opportunity to take a step back and reflect on the first half of my year. What am I proud of? Where do I feel like I could improve? How can I make a change in my day-to-day to reflect where I’d like to end the year?

One small, simple change to consider: food.

Before I started meal prepping, I thought it was an activity for those few lucky souls who had boundless time on their hands to prepare lavish meals for their week. But, it doesn’t have to look like that at all! Ain’t nobody got time for that every. single. week. Between meetings and after-school practice, it’s all about any way you can make your life just a little bit easier.

For me, meal prepping is about finding a way to combine simple ingredients that will fuel my body without draining my time. Take my Black Bean Avocado Salad. Some of the reasons I particularly love this recipe:

It’s versatile - You can have this as your main dish or your side dish. It makes for an easy lunch, a side dish for a larger entree or a snack served up on tortilla chips.
It’s easy to throw together - It’s fresh vegetables and herbs, chopped and tossed together with a homemade dressing. Two bowls and a cutting board. The best part: It takes about 15 minutes to put it all together - the same amount of time you may find yourself stuck on an Instagram loop.

Eager to make it yourself? Check out the recipe below.

Black Bean Avocado Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Dressing

1 teaspoon white miso paste
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Cumin to taste

Salad

1 can black beans
1 ripe tomato (chopped)
1 yellow bell pepper (chopped)
1 cucumber (chopped)
1/2 can corn
1/4 cup red onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons jalapeno (minced)
6 cups mixed salad greens

Topping

1 small can sliced olives
1 small, ripe avocado
1/2 cup cilantro (chopped)

Directions:

To prepare the salad: mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Let ingredients sit in the fridge for 1 hour (or overnight - this is how I prefer to meal prep).
To prepare the dressing: Mix all together and set aside.
Top it off with any hot sauce of your choice, and enjoy!

Pro Tip: Best served cold - fresh out of the fridge! I like to also enjoy it with tortilla chips as a kind of dip or as a side dish with a larger entree.

If you’re digging this recipe, snap a 📷, tag @taralaferrara and use the hashtag #TLEats.

In the case that your transition to Fall includes exploring some new ways to incorporate healthy, meal-preppable meals into your day-to-day, I’d love to share more recipes with you!

Discover TL Eats - my very own nutrition guide with 6 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 6 dinners, pre- and post-workout snacks, and my 2 favorite desserts.

Falling into New Routines: New Quick Recipe for Fall