Now that the fall schedule is in full swing, finding time for healthy, home-cooked meals can be a bit tricky. Grabbing fast food or a quick, microwavable meal makes for a convenient option after a long day of work and shuttling children to and from their extracurricular activities, but then nutrition is put on the “back burner.”
Consider swapping the fast food or microwave time to create a new habit — meal prep. It may feel like another item on the to do list, but you’ll thank yourself while sitting down to a nutritious and tasty weeknight meal with only a couple of minutes of assembly. If anything, simply having a plan of what to eat will decrease weeknight stress and multiple trips to the grocery store.
Meal planning and prep doesn’t need to be time intensive. Plan a fun, new recipe or two for the week, then keep the rest to dishes that are familiar and popular with your family. And remember, while you may or may not choose to do all the meal prep for the entire week, simply spending half to a full hour in the kitchen can streamline your week.
Here are a few tips to start a new meal prep routine. No need to do everything on the list, simply pick a few that will work in your schedule.
Plan five dinner menus – After you’ve selected dinner menus for Monday through Friday, make a detailed grocery list in order to have all needed ingredients on hand.
Prepare a protein – Cook a protein that can easily be stretched into multiple meals. Roasted chicken is always a versatile choice that reheats without drying out. Or, place your meat in a marinade to build flavor. Come dinner time, just give it a quick sear on the grill.
Chop vegetables – Chop vegetables and store in containers based on what dish you are using it in. Be sure to label the container to prevent confusion.
Make sauces – Sauces always taste better when they’ve had time for the flavors to meld. Consider a tomato sauce for pasta or braising seafood, or a coconut-curry sauce to dress up a stir-fry. Cook twice what you’ll need and freeze the rest for later.
Roast a batch or two of vegetables – Sweet, caramelized roasted vegetables make an excellent side dish. Brighten the flavor with fresh herbs or a drizzle of dressing before serving, or use in a salad or grain bowl.
Prepare a batch of beans or grains – An electric pressure cooker, which will cook beans in 30 minutes and most grains in 15, is a time saving investment.
Before starting meal prep, make sure the kitchen is clean and that you’ve got plenty of empty containers to use for storage. Have tape and markers nearby for labeling. Also, don’t worry about measuring ingredients precisely. Eyeballing is good enough.
Want to really save time next week? Try the following meal plan. In just two hours, you can get all the cooking done for five meals. During the week, all you’ll need to do is reheat and assemble before mealtime.
Step 1: Prepare chili, placing ingredients in the slow cooker as you cut them.
Step 2: Prepare chipotle roasted chicken thighs.
Step 3: While chicken is roasting, prepare lemon-herb dressing and cilantro-lime dressing. Make the cilantro-lime slaw. Chop vegetables for Mediterranean orzo salad and salmon and quinoa grain bowl.
Step 4: After chicken is roasted, lower oven temp to 250 degrees F. Prep salmon on a baking dish. Bring a pot of water to a boil to make orzo. Place salmon in the oven when at temperature.
Step 5: While salmon is cooking, prepare roasted vegetable soup with half of the vegetables from the chicken. Shred the meat from two chicken thighs.
Step 6: Prepare Mediterranean orzo salad and assemble salmon quinoa grain bowls.
Smoky Slow Cooker Chili
1 1/4 pounds ground beef, crumbled
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen peppers and onions
2 medium zucchini, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 chipotle chilies, from a can of chipotles in adobo, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 (14-ounce) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
2 cans pinto beans, drained
Tortilla chips, avocado, cheddar cheese, hot sauce and sour cream, optional for serving
Place all ingredients together in the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper. Cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or the high setting or 4 hours. Taste and season again with salt and pepper if needed. When cooked, let cool and package to reheat as needed. Serves four.
Chipotle Roasted Chicken Thighs and Lemon-Herb Vegetables
Roasting chicken over a bed of vegetables means less cleanup and tender, caramelized vegetables infused with flavor from the chicken. Reserve two of the chicken thighs for tacos and half of the vegetables for soup. Serve vegetables drizzled with Lemon-Herb Dressing to brighten the flavor.
6 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 pounds total)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 chipotle chilies from a can of chipotle chilies in adobo, finely minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 large red onions, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick rings
8 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
3 large sweet potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 1-inch dice
1 1/2 pounds zucchini, cut into 1-inch dice
3 large red peppers, stemmed, seeded and sliced
Lemon-Herb Dressing (recipe included)
1 (8-ounce) package precooked frozen quinoa, for serving
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel. Mix 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, chipotle chilies and dried oregano in a small bowl. Rub chicken with mixture, season with salt and black pepper and set aside.
Put all of the vegetables into a large bowl. Toss with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil, season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Spread vegetables evenly over two large, rimmed baking sheets. Top with chicken breasts. Roast about 40 to 45 minutes, switching positions in the oven halfway, until the meat thermometer reads 175 degrees F, chicken skin is crispy and vegetables are tender. If the chicken cooks before the vegetables are tender, simply remove the chicken, set aside and put the vegetables back in the oven.
If not eating immediately, refrigerate chicken separately from vegetables. When ready to eat, reheat and serve one chicken thigh with roasted vegetables drizzled with Lemon-Herb Dressing and precooked quinoa, heated in the microwave. Serves four.
Lemon-Herb Dressing
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup parsley
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until combined. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Chicken Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro-Lime Slaw
With the chicken and cilantro-lime slaw made in advance, all you have to do is assemble and serve.
8 corn tortillas
2 chipotle roasted chicken thighs, meat picked from bones
1 (8-ounce) can refried beans
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese
Jarred salsa verde, for serving
1 (10-ounce) bag shredded cabbage
Cilantro-Lime Dressing (recipe included)
On meal prep day, toss cabbage with 1/3 cup of Cilantro-Lime Dressing and refrigerate.
When ready to eat, toast corn tortillas over a low flame of a gas burner or warm in the microwave. Warm refried beans in a small pot on the stove or microwave.
Divide refried beans and chicken between the tortillas. Garnish with cheese and salsa. Serve with cilantro-lime slaw. Serves four.
Cilantro-Lime Dressing
Juice and zest of 2 limes
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plain full fat yogurt
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until combined. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Roasted Vegetable Soup
Half the roasted vegetables from Chipotle Roasted Chicken recipe
4 to 6 cups quality chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
Place vegetables and 4 cups broth in a blender and puree until combined. Add more broth if needed to get desired consistency. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to eat.
When ready to eat, warm soup in a pot on medium heat. When hot, stir in 1/2 cup heavy cream. Serve with Arugula Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Herb Dressing. Serves four.
Arugula Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Herb Dressing
3 to 4 ounces arugula
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 ounces crumbled feta
Lemon-Herb Dressing (recipe included)
When ready to eat, toss arugula, chickpeas, and feta together with Lemon-Herb Dressing. Serve immediately.
Slow Roasted Salmon
Slow roasting salmon keeps it moist and prevents overcooking. You could warm it up in the microwave before serving, but it tastes best hot or at room temperature. This simple recipe can easily be dressed up with additional herbs, like dill or parsley, or rub salmon with your favorite spice blend. Reserve two salmon filets for the quinoa salmon grain bowl.
6 salmon filets, about 4 to 6 ounces each
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, cut into 6 slices
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Brush salmon with olive oil. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Top with slice of lemon. Place in the oven and roast about 20 minutes until salmon is flaky and tender. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.
When ready to eat, microwave or serve at room temperature with Mediterranean Orzo. Serves four.
Mediterranean Orzo
8 ounces orzo
1 jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
1/2 large cucumber, chopped
1/3 cup black olives, roughly chopped
3 to 4 ounces arugula
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Bring large pot of water to a boil. Cook orzo according to package instructions. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.
When cooled, toss with red bell pepper, cucumber, olives and arugula. Whisk together lemon and olive oil. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Toss with orzo. Refrigerate until ready to eat. If needed, brighten the flavor back up with a spritz of lemon juice and olive oil before serving. Serves four.
Salmon and Quinoa Grain Bowl with Cilantro-Lime Dressing
A grain bowl is a hearty salad using grains rather than greens as a base. It makes a delicious make-ahead lunch or light dinner. To package, place a scoop of grains in a plastic or glass container then place scoops of the toppings over the grains rather than mixing everything together. When ready to eat, drizzle with dressing and enjoy. If you happen to have a ripe avocado or guacamole on hand, that would be a tasty addition.
1 (8-ounce) package precooked frozen quinoa
2 leftover slow roasted salmon filets, in chunks
2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
1/2 large cucumber, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes
Cilantro-Lime Dressing (recipe included)
Microwave or boil quinoa according to directions. To pack ahead, divide the quinoa between four portable containers. Top with a scoop of chunked salmon, pineapple, cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes. Package Cilantro-Lime Dressing separately.
