Meal Prepping for Busy eBike Riders

Sep 7, 2026

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Many of us rush from one activity to the next so much that, when dinnertime arrives, we have no groceries and no idea what to cook. A little bit of planning ahead on the weekends (or whenever you have time) can go a long way toward improving your nutrition. Nutrition is fuel, and you need it for better rides, whether you're a serious athlete or a casual rider.

Here are some tips and ideas to help you plan a delicious, quick, and nutritious dinner. After all, less time shopping and meal prepping means more time to ride!

man and woman riding their respective eBikes

Plan Ahead When Grocery Shopping

Most people like to use the weekend to relax, go for some bike rides with friends, or sleep. They don’t really want to think about meal planning for the week ahead. However, planning can cut down on repeated, wasteful trips to the grocery store and help you stay prepared for a busy week. If you're driving to the grocery store instead of riding, this strategy also reduces carbon emissions and fuel costs by eliminating or reducing multiple trips.

Choose some recipes you want to make for dinner, create a shopping list, and pick a day to shop. Don’t go to the store without a plan, or you will end up wandering around, buying things you don't need and forgetting what you do.

It can help to create a shared grocery list on your phone so multiple family members can add to it, or consider putting a whiteboard or list on your fridge, as you can snap a quick picture of it before you head to the store. Also, try to eat a snack before you go shopping, since going to the store hungry increases impulse buying and isn't a fun experience.

Sources for Recipes

Consider purchasing some cookbooks, or browse online to get some ideas about what you want to make before you go shopping. Try some new recipes for variety, but also include a few favorites you have made before to make things easier on yourself.

Choose Recipes That Use Seasonal Fruits & Vegetables

When selecting recipes, keep in mind which fruits and vegetables are in season, as that will lead to both cheaper costs and even tastier meals.

eBikes are only one part of a green lifestyle, and there are many other ways you can make small changes that are impactful. For example, avoiding use of the oven in the heat of the Summer can help control your air conditioning energy usage. For Summertime meals, consider pasta salads, summer salads and sandwiches, grilling, or using an air fryer, rice cooker, or instant pot.

Weekend Prep

It can be helpful to start prepping dinner for Monday and even Tuesday on the weekend. This doesn’t have to be a big process; it can be as simple as chopping veggies and ensuring any meat you may have frozen is thawing in the refrigerator.

Stock Your Pantry & Your Freezer

Ensure your pantry is well stocked with essentials like spices, canned foods, olive oil, and grains like pasta or rice. This will limit extra trips to the store for basic ingredients. Also, if you stock your freezer with frozen veggies and meat (or meat alternatives) you can whip up a meal without having to go to the store. You could easily make a fried rice dish with veggies and a protein of choice.

Double Recipes & Eat Leftovers

While most people don’t like to eat leftovers for days on end, try to eat the same thing for two nights in a row. Double or even triple (if you have a big family) a recipe so that you don’t have to cook the next night. If it doesn’t get eaten in two nights, the leftovers can always be used for lunch the next day.

If you don’t want the leftovers, freeze them for another night when you don’t have time to cook. Also, when cooking something like chicken, cook extra so you can use it for different meals on multiple nights.

Pre-Made Food

You don’t have to cook something from scratch every night. It's okay to buy some premade meals to save time, and it’s typically cheaper than take out. For example, Trader Joe’s, Costco, and Aldi all have some nice frozen dinners. It's important to note that, when shopping for premade dinners, you should read the ingredients. If the list is extremely long and filled with words you have never heard of, avoid it. The fewer ingredients and strange words, the better. This typically means the food is not as processed.

Tip: My favorite quick week-night meal when I don’t have time or don’t feel like cooking is a premade creamy soup, like butternut squash. I look for preparations with less added sugar, and eat it with grilled cheese made on whole grain bread. But if it's hot out, I recommend having a ready-made salad.

Sample Weeknight Meal Plan

Here's an example of a week's worth of dinners that share prep time and/or ingredients, saving you both time and money:

Monday: Creamy Greek Pasta Salad (see recipe below) served as-is or with smoked salmon

Tuesday: Leftover Greek Pasta Salad

Wednesday: Grilled chicken, grilled veggies (zucchini, carrots, peppers, corn), and grain of choice (quinoa, rice, couscous, barley, etc.)

Thursday: Chicken Salad (quinoa, spinach, chicken, avocado, cranberries, dressing of choice)

Friday: Soup or Salad of Choice and Grilled Cheese

Bonus Recipe: Greek Pasta Salad

Feel free to mix up the veggies in this recipe. This can be eaten as is, or with a meat of choice. If you are vegetarian or don’t want to eat meat, the Greek yogurt, chickpeas and feta provide plenty of protein! This recipe serves 4-5 adults and makes great leftovers for lunches, so you may want to consider doubling it depending on how many people you are serving. And if you're gluten free, you can substitute gluten free pasta.

Ingredients

1 pound fusilli pasta. You can also use penne, rigatoni, farfalle or elbow macaroni pasta
2 large tomatoes, diced or 1.5 cups chopped cherry tomatoes
1 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup sliced olives
7 oz (200 grams) feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup plain Greek yogurt 2% fat or full fat (add more for extra creaminess)
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
1-2 teaspoons dried oregano
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Chop all the vegetables about the same size.
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, drain well using a colander, and rinse with cold water. Set aside to drain.
Transfer all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix gently with a spatula until everything is combined. Taste and adjust salt.
Serve immediately or refrigerate for about 1 hour to chill.

Background

Better nutrition and grocery shopping choices can lead to improved health outcomes, as well as saves you both time and money. But remember, you should talk to your doctor before changing your exercise or nutrition program.

Emily is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) who specializes in Sports Nutrition. She strives to help athletes of any level fuel for optimal performance and health. For more about Emily and to learn more about nutrition for a healthy and active lifestyle, visit https://www.eateliteperform.com/about.