So, lately I’ve found that I would prefer NOT to spend half, or more than half of every Saturday or Sunday cooking and pre-making meals for the week. Don’t get me wrong, I still love being in the kitchen, testing out different flavors and creating something wonderfully delicious (hopefully, ha). I love how something absolutely mouth watering can be made from a handful of select ingredients that, on their own, are not that captivating at all! However, while I love creating these types of recipes, in the last year or so, I’ve admitted to myself that creating a list of all these things I need to cook in preparation for the week and then actually getting them cooked, can be stressful! And, while cooking typically inspires me and calms me, this diligent meal prepping can leave me exhausted and worked up if I’m trying to prep and accomplish too much. Also, starting in 2019 I have really been trying to make Sundays more about a day of rest. My husband is much better at it than I am, but I’m catching on. And when we say “rest” we think anything from sitting on the couch reading to taking a nap to going on a post-brunch walk, or a spontaneous trip to the park to play with our niece and nephews. It’s something that rejuvenates us or leaves us inspired again. So, when I feel meal prep starting to become more of a burden or a stressor, taking away from quality family or recharge time, I have begun to take a step back.

In 2020 I’m taking a new approach to meal prep. I, of course, still want to play and create in the kitchen, but I want to loosen the rules and allow myself some flexibility, some space to deviate from the “plan”. I’ve developed a simpler definition of “meal prep” that involves having a basic idea of meals for the week and then cooking a few of the ingredients that I know will hold up in the fridge for the week and then washing, chopping, slicing and dicing the rest, and storing them in airtight containers in the fridge for easy use during the week. I also try to choose meals / recipes with similar ingredients. What I’ve also realized about myself this past year is that my biggest barrier to cooking after work on a weeknight is realizing how long it will take to prep everything before I even start cooking. So, if I can just get that time-consuming prep part out of the way and everything is then ready to throw in a skillet, in the oven or on the grill when I get home, I am much more likely to follow through with our dinner plans, which also leads to less waste (I hate wasted food)! This also allows us a little flexibility in case we do move away from the plan. Maybe those prepped veggies will be added to leftover pasta, or Chinese food or tacos, instead of the homemade dish I had originally intended! Now, don’t get me wrong, I like structure and a plan because it means less decisions once the work week starts. And, at times, I love spending time on a really fantastic, but more labor intensive dishes. However, this year, I’m learning the peace in a little more flexibility.

So, what is an example of a menu using my new meal prep method? I’ll give you an example from a week or so ago. I ate out with a girlfriend one night and my husband traveled one night and we had some leftovers from the weekend, which I fully intended to utilize to simplify our weeknight dinners! Here is a list of what I prepped and how I incorporated it into our weeknight dinners…

Meals Planned:

Pita sandwiches
Chicken Caprese Salad Jars
Kale Caesar Salad Jars
Chinese (leftovers from a restaurant) or Spaghetti (home cooked leftovers from the weekend)

Items prepped:

My Chicken Caprese Salad Jar. One of the items I fully prepped for the week! Only had to cook 1 item in this jar, and I used the remaining quinoa for my other salad jars for the week!

yellow squash sliced and quartered
- to be sauteed and used with leftover Chinese or spaghetti and then used in my pita sandwiches
zucchini squash sliced & quartered
- to be sauteed and used with leftover Chinese or spaghetti and then used in my pita sandwiches
Baby bella mushrooms, washed and quartered (stems removed)
- o to be sauteed and used with leftover Chinese or spaghetti
Kale, washed, ribs removed and chopped
- to be added to my Tahini Caesar Salad Jar
2 Portobella mushrooms, cooked according to my Balsamic Roasted Mushrooms recipe.
- One is in large dices (to go in my Tahini Caesar Salad Jar this week) and the other is thinly sliced (to fit into my pita sandwiches). Both mushrooms are stored in airtight containers for the week.
Cucumber, washed and thinly sliced
- to go in salads, pita sandwiches or used as snacks for dips this week
My Chicken Caprese Salad Jar, prepped and ready to go for one lunch this week.
Cherry tomatoes
- These will go in salads, my pita sandwiches or snacks with hummus. I leave them as is until ready to use b/c they will not hold up as long after being washed and diced.