Tag Archives: meal prep

An article I contributed to.

Posted in Uncategorized by

Apartment Guide blog by Freda Nkrumah asked me to contribute to ways to make meal planning easier and faster, so here’s the article.

13 Easy Weeknight Menu Ideas to Try at Home: Save Time and Eat Well

After a long day, the last thing you want to do is spend hours in the kitchen. Fortunately, focusing on weeknight menu ideas can save you time and stress, making it easy to enjoy healthy, delicious dinners even on your busiest nights. 

With a little planning and some smart strategies, you can whip up meals in minutes in your apartment in New York, a rental in Philadelphia, or home in Seattle. Here are 13 practical weeknight menu ideas and tips to make meal prep easier—without sacrificing flavor or nutrition.

1. Batch cooking for the win

Lily Nichols, RDN, recommends preparing large batches of essential meal components, particularly proteins and vegetables. “Roast a chicken or make slow-cooker pulled pork, then pair them with roasted vegetables or a simple coleslaw,” she suggests. Prepping these key ingredients allows you to quickly assemble meals throughout the week, saving time and ensuring you’re eating balanced, nutritious meals. This is one of the best weeknight menu ideas for anyone looking to streamline dinner time.

2. Plan a well-rounded grocery list

Meal prep starts with good planning, according to Wendi Irlbeck, MS, RDN, LD, CISSN. “Take stock of your fridge, pantry, and make a list of what you need,” she says. “Your list should include a variety of food groups—fruits, veggies, proteins, healthy fats, and carbohydrates. Prepping veggies, meats, and carbs in bulk means you’ll have meals for the whole week. Whether it’s a Greek yogurt parfait for breakfast or roasted veggies with grilled chicken for dinner”, these weeknight menu ideas will make your meals hassle-free.

3. Keep it simple and start small

For beginners, starting with easy-to-make meals is key. JM Nutrition advises beginners to start with easy recipes that only require a few ingredients. “Implement easy, simple recipes that don’t take a long time to prep and cook. Once you master a few quick meals, start adding other ingredients.” By making more than you need, you’ll also have leftovers for lunches or quick dinners, saving you even more time.

4. Make meal planning a fun habit

Lifestyle blogger Julie Lopez of La Mami Life inLos Angeles, CA suggests dedicating one day, like Sunday, to meal prep. “Set aside one to three  hours to cook proteins and grains, making it easier to enjoy fresh meals throughout the week.” With some planning, you can whip up delicious meals in no time while reducing food waste by using recipes with similar ingredients.

5. Use tools to simplify your process

ChefPassport’s Matteo Ressa suggests leveraging technology to simplify your meal prep with apps like ChefPassport Family, which provide ultra-personalized, easy, and healthy recipes. By setting aside time on weekends to chop vegetables and cook proteins, you can streamline weeknight meals. Batch cooking and freezing individual portions also ensures you have ready-made meals for those extra busy nights.

6. Let someone else plan your meals

Jessica Braider, recipe blogger at The Scramble in Silver Spring, MD says, “Have someone else do the meal planning for you. Services like hers deliver fresh weeknight menu ideas to your inbox each week, saving you the hassle of deciding what to cook. Each meal is seasonal, healthy, and family-tested, and can usually be made in 30 minutes or less.”

7. Boost flavor with homemade beans

For vegetarians, Letizia Mattiacci from Madonna Del Piatto suggests cooking beans from scratch in an aromatic broth. “Use cooked beans and their broth for soups, curries, or pasta sauces.” This method is a flavor-packed way to get more out of a simple ingredient while saving time on weeknight menu ideas.

8. Stick to a repeating weekly menu

When time is tight, keeping your meals consistent can simplify weeknight cooking. Jess Creatives  keeps meal prep simple by sticking to the same meals throughout the week. “We’ll prep a few pounds of chicken, then shred or chop it up to use in different ways—like tacos, wraps, or rice bowls.” This is one of the easiest weeknight menu ideas that minimizes meal variations, saving time and mental energy.

9. Whip up a quick garlic fried rice

Maricel’s Kitchen from East Brunswick, NJ offers a quick recipe for a flavorful weeknight meal. “For an ultra-fast weeknight dinner, Filipino Garlic Fried Rice (Sinangag) is a perfect choice,” says Maricel’s Kitchen. “Using leftover rice, garlic, and a bit of oil, this dish comes together in under 10 minutes. “Heat garlic and leftover cold rice in a pan, then add leftover meat for a complete meal in under 10 minutes. Serve it with a fried egg or leftover meat, like grilled chicken, for a quick, flavorful weeknight menu idea.”

10. Set a weekly prep day

Consistency is key when it comes to successful meal prepping. Miguel from The Simple Paradise recommends setting a specific grocery and prepping day each week. “Consistency is key. Once you have your plan and tools, like an air fryer or meal prep containers, you’ll stay on track and avoid eating out.” Choosing 2-3 easy go-to meals can also simplify your weekly prep routine.

11. Mix and match for variety

With a few simple components, you can create nearly endless combinations for meals throughout the week. Ryan Jordan (@Gmarketchef) in Chicago, IL loves mixing and matching proteins, veggies, starches, and sauces to create endless weeknight menu ideas. “For example, use roasted chicken with quinoa and veggies one night, then turn them into tacos the next. This keeps your meals interesting and saves time.”

12. Plan your meals in advance

Christina Neumann, a seasoned meal planner in Tahoe, CA, emphasizes the importance of menu planning. “I use a monthly template to plan out meals and make my grocery list accordingly. Basics like frozen pinto beans, tomato sauce, and tortillas are always on hand.” Her tip? Keep a few meals that don’t need a recipe, like roasted chicken or tacos, in your rotation for easy weeknight menu ideas.

13. Focus on basic recipes

When planning meals, Angela Houlie from My Fruitful Body Nutrition advises focusing on simple, basic building blocks like salmon, chicken, and stir-fries for weeknight dinners. “Prep ahead when possible, like crockpot meals, and reduce stress by mapping out a weekly menu.” Sticking to core recipes can help you enjoy healthy, stress-free weeknight menu ideas without overcomplicating things.

Quick and easy meal prep ideas: Wrapping up

With these 13 weeknight menu ideas, you can save time, reduce stress, and still enjoy delicious, homemade meals during busy weeknights. Whether you batch cook proteins, embrace meal planning services, or stick to simple, rotating menus, you’ll find a strategy that fits your lifestyle and makes dinner a breeze so you can live more mindfully.

Frugal Friday and other random things.

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, California, cash envelopes, decluttering, Pantry, prepper pantry, Walking by

Another low-spend week. We spent $53 at Holiday Market. It’s way more expensive than TJ’s or Winco but it’s also 1 minute from our house. We used to walk down all the time but now we drive mostly because our driveway is very steep. So going down is fine but coming up is not. After I figure out what’s going on with the knee I may start going up and down to strengthen the muscles. We’ll see, I’ve been saying that for years and haven’t done it yet. ( haha).

We filled up the VW too. And we went on a coffee date.

I did order some things from Amazon. A different knee brace, some hangers to add to the ones I got my daughter for Christmas, cream for my knee, and 1 set of candles. The 4pk of candles I usually buy from Blue Corn Beeswax were out of stock. I also ordered the tuna in olive oil in a 12-pack because it’s easier than going to get them at the store. the price is almost the same as Winco, maybe 10 cents more. What I’m doing is using a virtual envelope for Amazon and giving myself $100 a month for household things. I won’t include the tuna as that’s food.

Saturday is my MRI and after that, I plan to go to Trader Joe’s and get a few things. Eggs, bread, cream, bagels, maybe some chips and a few frozen meals to add to the freezer. Last week we had the Kung Pao Chicken and it was very good.

Next week I have my labs and the appt with the PC about the next step with the knee once the MRI comes in. I guess I would hope that it’ll just be PT to help strenghten it but it’s anyone’s guess at this point. That’s it for the week. I doubt I’ll be going to the pool or the gym till I have a plan in place. Although, if the knee brace stabilizes my knee I will go do upper body weights. I’m pretty depressed about it all since I hate not being able to be active. But as always I’ll get through it.

We have a good size load in the back of the VW to drop off at Goodwill and Assistance league. B will do that today. It’s always a good feeling to great rid of stuff. I did put all the Mountain House dehydrated meals in the bag for the food bank and I’ll do that either today or next week. I still have some other food out in the ‘barn prepper pantry’ so I need to get that first. I do not plan on restocking any of that out in the barn. I’m just going to have my pantry boxes and what I have on the Ivar shelving unit. ( That’s for the pressure canned goods and jams, salsas, and tomato sauces.) I’ll always have some stock up pantry because I’ve always bought in bulk starting back in 1975 but I won’t do the same thing as when the pandemic hit. Having bulk rice and beans etc just makes sense for how I cook plus I hate thinking about what I need so I’d rather buy bulk and be done with it for months at a time.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, camping, cooking, Flylady, Lake tahoe, simple foods, Uncategorized by

Our day started with a lovely walk with no one else until our last round. This past week every day we walked there were way too many people for me. I don’t mean just one or two but probably 8-10 people and that’s at 6am. Oh well, today was nice and the temperature cool.

We only have a week till we head up to Tahoe and I’m sure looking forward to it. We don’t have any plans to do anything yet but we’ll do a lot of hiking, beach time, walking, and just camp stuff. I’m working on our menu and know we’ll do a few meals on the Weber. I’ll also use the Staub for a few meals too.

This morning I’ve done some meal prep for the week. I’m marinating the tofu for the “Superiority Tofu burger , this is from a restaurant in Greenwich Village NY. It’s marinated overnight in a pickle brine and then fried. Then I’m soaking some black beans for a recipe my daughter found of’One pot Rice and Beans”, I made up two w.w wraps with cheese, spinach, tomato and, a slice of ham.( no ham on the veggie one). And finally, I made our favorite chard soup. ( there are 2 jars of this in the fridge).

I think I may still grill the chicken up and then we could have that in a few dishes like tacos, or bean bowls.

Yesterday I made another batch of tomato sauce. I cooked it down for about 2 hours and it had a lovely consistency.

I prefer not to use the quart jars as it takes more water in the canner to cover them but I wanted the larger size this time. I think I have close to 12 jars of sauce right now down.

I’ve been having fun with a few house projects. One is simply using one of my vintage tablecloths to make a curtain to cover the one opening under the counter. Who knows if we’ll ever be able to afford a kitchen remodel so trying to make it more functional and yet less cluttered is important to me. Behind this curtain are all my cooking oils and vinegars.

Then I’ve been enjoying knitting some dishcloths. I really like the repetitiveness of knitting. It’s probably a right brain/left brain thing.

This week is low key with only my regular gym and swim days. Barclay is going to take the truck to Costco to fill up with gas and then get a few items in Costco. If I need to get anything, I’ll go into Winco which is across the street from the pool.

Flylady is the LR zone and the entryways. I bought this really lovely Tartan print runner from Target and love the fall colors of it.

The napkins are a nice linen blend which is always my favorite.

Simple Sunday

Posted in cooking, Uncategorized by

I’m doing a lot of food prep work for the week.

In the oven, I have a chicken roasting which I will cool and then remove the meat for lunches and dinner tonight. Then I put on a large pot of organic Lundberg long grain rice and will use that again for the week plus tonight’s dinner. I also have the crock pot going with organic pinto beans. I will use this for burritos this week too or rice bowls.

So lots of cooking going on here. But it will make the whole week easier.  I plan to make up some bean chicken and rice bowls for my son to help him not spend money out on food.

Today is sheet day so they’re in the washer and I think I’ll line dry them.

I went to the gym and it was pretty empty so I had a nice work out without having to circle for machines. This morning we had a lovely walk in the park and that too was empty.

A FOAL friend gave me a knitting instruction of a mini pumpkin. So I went to Michaels and bought some orange yarn. Now to remember how to cast on and do it. Usually, it comes back to me but I knit only when the mood strikes.  I post a picture if it comes out.

Dinner will be the pinto beans and rice with cheese, salsa, sour cream and lettuce.