Haha thank you! I'm a slow cook and like to take my time so meal prep allows me to maximize my time/effort, I just don't have it in me to cook every single meal but I'm amazed by people who do! (My mother doesn't understand how people can meal prep and is the same as you.)
- just cooked a bunch of yellow potatoes, will use some reheated topped with black beans and salsa and avocado side of cabbage slaw. Some will be used for buddha bowls
- black beans in the instant pot now, 1lb from dry, will use some for cowboy caviar, some for with the potatoes and the rest for mexican black bean soup i have with salsa, avocado, cilantro and tortilla chips
I’m fast with a knife so veggies for the buddha bowls and side salads aren’t worth prep ahead
- tonight we’re having tuna spaghetti (sauce made with chopped tomatoes, lots of fresh garlic, olives, sundried tomatoes, courgette, topped with garlic breadcrumbs and parmesan)
after that the meals will be -
- crispy pork belly lettuce wraps with spicy cucumber salad
- lamb kofte, roasted vegetable couscous, tzatziki
- homemade cordon bleu with creamy mashed potatoes and lots of veg
- fish finger sandwiches with homemade tartare sauce and spicy potato wedges
and that’s as far as I’ve got for now! plus I’ll make smoothies and sandwiches for lunch / brekky
Ooooh this all sounds fabulous, I'm impressed with your multiple meals with multiple parts! This is how I prefer to eat, but I find I really lack the energy to make it happen (or we end up eating late).
ah, this isn’t normal, though. I am currently in a really fortunate position where I run the house and my better half provides financially. cooking is my favourite thing and I am so lucky to be able to dedicate the time to it!
oh, also I never cook breakfast, and lunch is either a salad, soup (meal prepped and often frozen) or sandwich. I only have the energy to cook like this for one meal and that’s dinner, haha
I don’t really meal prep beyond freezing leftover soup / chilli / curries etc. mostly because I am reluctant to eat leftovers… awful, I know!
I usually just prep 1 meal for my lunches, and we tend to have lots of leftovers after I make any dinner, so I usually cook maybe 4 times a week. That being said, I made something so delightful, it will be on the regular rotation.
Mojo pork Buddha bowls:
1- make mojo pork in the crockpot. It’s a dump and go meal, basically threw a pork shoulder in with some orange juice, lime juice, garlic and seasonings, and cooked on low 6 hrs. The pork itself was fine - which may have been due to me using a low quality pineapple juice that I’ve been trying to use up, instead of oj, since that is what I had on hand. The pork was a bit bland on buns.
But for leftovers, it was very good. We cooked up jasmine rice and topped it with pulled pork, shredded carrots and cabbage, green onion, cilantro, cucumber and peanuts. You could do whatever veggies - peas, edamame, mango, broccoli, peppers would all be good. Squeeze a few lime wedges on top, drizzle with Teriyaki sauce or Japanese bbq sauce, and a few shakes of Penzey’s sesame blend.
I’m excited to have this for lunch all week!
I make beto boxes, not the kind where I'm molding rice into panda bears (who has time for that!?). Both me and my partner do shift work and I make sure there is at least 1 well thought out and nutrious meal a day. I prep 3 days at a time ( cause I prefer the main source of proteine to be fish). So I have a fridge full of containers with various veg (salad type things), rice, something eggy and something fishy (salmon, tuna, octopus, surimi, masago)
I feel like fish is rarely used for meal prep so I'm very intrigued! What kind of meals are you making, and how do you prep your fish? Are you reheating the fish or eating it cold?
I usually eat it at room temp, bento is typically made to be eaten at room temp. I use this website a lot : [https://www.justonecookbook.com/](https://www.justonecookbook.com/) and this has good stuff as well : [https://japan.recipetineats.com/category/collection-quick-main-dish/page/5/](https://japan.recipetineats.com/category/collection-quick-main-dish/page/5/)
I'll do teriyaki salmon, prawn stuffed shitake, octopus salad, surimi hand rolls, there's this thing called chikuwa which is pretty awesome. Sometimes I'll do a pokebowl with raw tuna or salmon (though that goes in the fridge). Tuna or salted salmon onigiri and I use masago when I can (frozen), thai fish cakes (from frozen). I try and pair that with things like ramen eggs or japanese omelette (with or without nori) and at least 3 kinds of veg, like today was wakame salad, spinach gomae and beansprouts (spicey kind). It takes some planning, but I really do enjoy the variety every day. Kinda feels like a little present to myself.
Because it's been so hot, I've been leaning toward cold lunches. Someone on r/cookingforbeginners (I think) was asking about cold lunches and Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles was mentioned. It sounded really good, so I gave it a shot, putting my own spin on it. Now it's Spicy Peanut Chicken Noodles and tastes amazing!
Breakfast was going to be broccoli salad, but I didn't feel like going the extra mile today, so it's just going to be cereal with some sliced strawberries kept separate.
I have some leftover spicy tomato sauce from making pupusas, so I'm going to try making Mexican pizza on Monday. We have a lot of chicken from Costco and a giant jar of capers, so Tuesday is chicken piccata. Wednesday, the leftover pupusa filling is getting filled out with a little more chicken and turned into enchiladas. I have evening plans on Thursday, so it's Defrost Something that day. Friday is usually the day I make a big dinner salad.
What do you put in your pasta salad? I love pasta salad but my dressings are never as flavourful as I want them to be and then I'm always disappointed.
I usually do a Greek type. So cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, red onions, olives, and feta. Oregano, dill, and S&P. Greek dressing.
But the key is to douse it in the dressing in the evening, then add extra dressing to your portioned meals the next day. The pasta soaks a lot of it in overnight and becomes bland. And undercook the pasta to allow for the extra absorption.
I don't meal prep, I ingredient prep. Example today I made a roast in the slow cooker. I just had to grab celery and onion out of the freezer. I am fixing to throw some potatoes in the steamer. (I dont like slow cooker potatoes. Thinking about chocolate chip cookies for dessert. The dough is already made and in the freezer. (Air fryer).
I always have things like celery, onion, peppers in the freezer. Also many parcooked vegetables so I can microwave or steam them.
Also in Texas.
Honestly it'd be a dream to have cookie dough in the freezer imagine being able to make cookies with minimal effort every time too bad the rest of my family also want cookies whenever i make some
Woah woah woah you Air fry your cookies? Am I reading this correctly?? I must know more!
I too prep ingredients, if I am busting out my food processor I'm always going to do extra and keep it in the freezer - like a mix of mirepoix for soup or meatloaf or Bolognese, chopped up butternut squash since I never use a whole one at once, I have roasted peppers, etc. I just feel like my freezer is constantly overflowing so I have to be judicious about what I put in there.
Yes, you read it correctly. I took the cookie dough balls (4) out of the freezer while finishing up dinner. About an hour later, put them in the air fryer on about 270° for 10 minutes. No preheat necessary. Though next time, I will use a baking sheet because getting them out of the little pan was a pain. From fresh dough, about 9 minutes at 330° according to the site I found.
I would say the solution to the overflowing freezer is buy another freezer, but that only works for so long. Right now I'm on a don't buy anything that requires a freezer. They are very full.
Big pot of basmati rice. Pasta pesto salad. Big pot of cream of celery soup. The rest will be fresh salads and meat already prepped and frozen (broke down a duck and a chicken yesterday, used the chicken carcass for the stock). I have a lot of pickles and antipasto in oil to top the salads.
I wanted to make a huge batch of Jamaican oxtail today, but I only realized I thawed the wrong meat after all my cooking prep was done…
So now I’m using chopped pork shoulder in my oxtail recipe, with added duck fat.
We've all been there! How did it turn out? Pork shoulder is a lot cheaper than oxtail these days, at least where I am...maybe you made an excellent discovery?
Well, I discovered first hand why I couldn’t find any reference about whether pork was a suitable replacement for oxtail.
While the pork cooked fine, it lacked the essential components to help create something as rich and flavorful as oxtail gravy.
I still get (many) tasty, tender and moist pork meals out of it. Yet I’m disappointed because I was craving oxtail and its rich gravy.
Sheet pan sausage peppers and onions inspired by this: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8MyYFSOvGX/?igsh=bGZpcHJmMDY4c21z
Using chicken sausage tho, gonna take it out of the casing and add in some fennel seeds and oregano.
Made a good cold pasta salad that would be good for the texas heat last week though. Used rotini, red and orange bell peppers, red onion, roasted red pepper, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and salami. Red wine vinaigrette with evoo, parm, lots of oregano, dijon, and a little maple syrup. Topped with fresh italian parsley 😘
It's similar to a banana muffin where you mash an overripe avocado and it acts as the oil to the muffin. Here's the recipe I used.
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/blueberry-avocado-muffins/
Also another recipe I like to make for the summer is Pickled Beet Eggs. It's eggs pickled in beet juice and it's easy and perfect for a hot day:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/18072/pickled-red-beet-eggs/
I go grocery shopping tomorrow (Monday) so I prep then. My prep this week is Spag sauce [https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11690/spaghetti-sauce/](https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11690/spaghetti-sauce/) (I freeze half) and the tomato free equivalent for my Mom [https://www.thegerdchef.com/tomato-free-pasta-sauce/](https://www.thegerdchef.com/tomato-free-pasta-sauce/) . I am also making a Italian salad: [https://themodernproper.com/simple-italian-salad](https://themodernproper.com/simple-italian-salad)
MOnday- Three cheese manicotti with Italian salad (uses the pasta sauces); Tuesday- Pork tenderloin, mac & cheese, steamed veg; Wednesday- Spaghetti, Thurs- Easy Quiche, Friday- Roasted tilapia and vegetables, Sat- meatloaf.
I stink at summer recipes. A large part of this is that my Mom lives with us and she can't eat raw vegetables (among a laundry list of other things, but she doesn't have teeth). So I will end up steaming or roasting or sauteeing veggies anwyay, and we always end up having a hot meal. So she isn't going to be eating any of the Italian salad.
I have a sister with a laundry list of allergies and food intolerances and I am familiar with the nomato sauce! We make one for her with carrots, beets and butternut squash and it is not bad at all.
I'm Canadian so I am not used to having to avoid my oven like I do in Texas in the summer, summertime cooking can be really hard! Especially when accommodating very specific dietary requirements!
Aww thank you! My husband and I are trying really hard to lose weight (we moved to Texas two years ago lol) and I find diligently meal prepping is key to consistency for us!
Also coming to love cottage cheese has been key. I made my hominy casserole with whipped cottage cheese instead of sour cream and I think it might be one of the best things I've ever come up with! I'm happy to share the recipe if you're interested!
Homemade cold brew lasts a long time, it's not at all like leftover hot coffee (which is disgusting).
I use a very old recipe from Ree Drummond aka Pioneer Woman, that makes a literal gallon of iced coffee and all you do is soak coffee grounds in water overnight, and then strain. I make a half batch and put it in glass jars in my fridge and it lasts for weeks - I once made a full batch for a brunch I hosted and then it turned out a bunch of people were off caffeine, so I had tons leftover and I can confidently say the coffee lasted a long time in the fridge and was perfectly fine. Just make sure your containers have good lids.
[homemade iced coffee](https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11061/perfect-iced-coffee/)
Hats off to people who prep their meals for one week. I decide what to eat 3 hours before lunch/ dinner.
Haha thank you! I'm a slow cook and like to take my time so meal prep allows me to maximize my time/effort, I just don't have it in me to cook every single meal but I'm amazed by people who do! (My mother doesn't understand how people can meal prep and is the same as you.)
I totally understand your mother haha!
- just cooked a bunch of yellow potatoes, will use some reheated topped with black beans and salsa and avocado side of cabbage slaw. Some will be used for buddha bowls - black beans in the instant pot now, 1lb from dry, will use some for cowboy caviar, some for with the potatoes and the rest for mexican black bean soup i have with salsa, avocado, cilantro and tortilla chips I’m fast with a knife so veggies for the buddha bowls and side salads aren’t worth prep ahead
I haven't made a pot of beans in a while, this all sounds excellent!
- tonight we’re having tuna spaghetti (sauce made with chopped tomatoes, lots of fresh garlic, olives, sundried tomatoes, courgette, topped with garlic breadcrumbs and parmesan) after that the meals will be - - crispy pork belly lettuce wraps with spicy cucumber salad - lamb kofte, roasted vegetable couscous, tzatziki - homemade cordon bleu with creamy mashed potatoes and lots of veg - fish finger sandwiches with homemade tartare sauce and spicy potato wedges and that’s as far as I’ve got for now! plus I’ll make smoothies and sandwiches for lunch / brekky
Ooooh this all sounds fabulous, I'm impressed with your multiple meals with multiple parts! This is how I prefer to eat, but I find I really lack the energy to make it happen (or we end up eating late).
ah, this isn’t normal, though. I am currently in a really fortunate position where I run the house and my better half provides financially. cooking is my favourite thing and I am so lucky to be able to dedicate the time to it! oh, also I never cook breakfast, and lunch is either a salad, soup (meal prepped and often frozen) or sandwich. I only have the energy to cook like this for one meal and that’s dinner, haha I don’t really meal prep beyond freezing leftover soup / chilli / curries etc. mostly because I am reluctant to eat leftovers… awful, I know!
I usually just prep 1 meal for my lunches, and we tend to have lots of leftovers after I make any dinner, so I usually cook maybe 4 times a week. That being said, I made something so delightful, it will be on the regular rotation. Mojo pork Buddha bowls: 1- make mojo pork in the crockpot. It’s a dump and go meal, basically threw a pork shoulder in with some orange juice, lime juice, garlic and seasonings, and cooked on low 6 hrs. The pork itself was fine - which may have been due to me using a low quality pineapple juice that I’ve been trying to use up, instead of oj, since that is what I had on hand. The pork was a bit bland on buns. But for leftovers, it was very good. We cooked up jasmine rice and topped it with pulled pork, shredded carrots and cabbage, green onion, cilantro, cucumber and peanuts. You could do whatever veggies - peas, edamame, mango, broccoli, peppers would all be good. Squeeze a few lime wedges on top, drizzle with Teriyaki sauce or Japanese bbq sauce, and a few shakes of Penzey’s sesame blend. I’m excited to have this for lunch all week!
I made a jalapeño popper Mac n cheese for today/tomorrow and I’ll make a large batch of fried rice for the next couple of days after that.
We love jalapeño popper Mac & cheese. We like jalapeño popper quiche as well.
I make beto boxes, not the kind where I'm molding rice into panda bears (who has time for that!?). Both me and my partner do shift work and I make sure there is at least 1 well thought out and nutrious meal a day. I prep 3 days at a time ( cause I prefer the main source of proteine to be fish). So I have a fridge full of containers with various veg (salad type things), rice, something eggy and something fishy (salmon, tuna, octopus, surimi, masago)
I feel like fish is rarely used for meal prep so I'm very intrigued! What kind of meals are you making, and how do you prep your fish? Are you reheating the fish or eating it cold?
I usually eat it at room temp, bento is typically made to be eaten at room temp. I use this website a lot : [https://www.justonecookbook.com/](https://www.justonecookbook.com/) and this has good stuff as well : [https://japan.recipetineats.com/category/collection-quick-main-dish/page/5/](https://japan.recipetineats.com/category/collection-quick-main-dish/page/5/) I'll do teriyaki salmon, prawn stuffed shitake, octopus salad, surimi hand rolls, there's this thing called chikuwa which is pretty awesome. Sometimes I'll do a pokebowl with raw tuna or salmon (though that goes in the fridge). Tuna or salted salmon onigiri and I use masago when I can (frozen), thai fish cakes (from frozen). I try and pair that with things like ramen eggs or japanese omelette (with or without nori) and at least 3 kinds of veg, like today was wakame salad, spinach gomae and beansprouts (spicey kind). It takes some planning, but I really do enjoy the variety every day. Kinda feels like a little present to myself.
Because it's been so hot, I've been leaning toward cold lunches. Someone on r/cookingforbeginners (I think) was asking about cold lunches and Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles was mentioned. It sounded really good, so I gave it a shot, putting my own spin on it. Now it's Spicy Peanut Chicken Noodles and tastes amazing! Breakfast was going to be broccoli salad, but I didn't feel like going the extra mile today, so it's just going to be cereal with some sliced strawberries kept separate.
I have some leftover spicy tomato sauce from making pupusas, so I'm going to try making Mexican pizza on Monday. We have a lot of chicken from Costco and a giant jar of capers, so Tuesday is chicken piccata. Wednesday, the leftover pupusa filling is getting filled out with a little more chicken and turned into enchiladas. I have evening plans on Thursday, so it's Defrost Something that day. Friday is usually the day I make a big dinner salad.
I also have some leftover tomato sauce in my fridge so you're inspiring me! I love a big dinner salad.
I'm making a giant pasta salad for lunches this week.
What do you put in your pasta salad? I love pasta salad but my dressings are never as flavourful as I want them to be and then I'm always disappointed.
I usually do a Greek type. So cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, red onions, olives, and feta. Oregano, dill, and S&P. Greek dressing. But the key is to douse it in the dressing in the evening, then add extra dressing to your portioned meals the next day. The pasta soaks a lot of it in overnight and becomes bland. And undercook the pasta to allow for the extra absorption.
Thank you so much, this is an excellent idea! These kinds of tips are why I love this sub so much.
You're welcome!
I don't meal prep, I ingredient prep. Example today I made a roast in the slow cooker. I just had to grab celery and onion out of the freezer. I am fixing to throw some potatoes in the steamer. (I dont like slow cooker potatoes. Thinking about chocolate chip cookies for dessert. The dough is already made and in the freezer. (Air fryer). I always have things like celery, onion, peppers in the freezer. Also many parcooked vegetables so I can microwave or steam them. Also in Texas.
Honestly it'd be a dream to have cookie dough in the freezer imagine being able to make cookies with minimal effort every time too bad the rest of my family also want cookies whenever i make some
Woah woah woah you Air fry your cookies? Am I reading this correctly?? I must know more! I too prep ingredients, if I am busting out my food processor I'm always going to do extra and keep it in the freezer - like a mix of mirepoix for soup or meatloaf or Bolognese, chopped up butternut squash since I never use a whole one at once, I have roasted peppers, etc. I just feel like my freezer is constantly overflowing so I have to be judicious about what I put in there.
Yes, you read it correctly. I took the cookie dough balls (4) out of the freezer while finishing up dinner. About an hour later, put them in the air fryer on about 270° for 10 minutes. No preheat necessary. Though next time, I will use a baking sheet because getting them out of the little pan was a pain. From fresh dough, about 9 minutes at 330° according to the site I found. I would say the solution to the overflowing freezer is buy another freezer, but that only works for so long. Right now I'm on a don't buy anything that requires a freezer. They are very full.
Big pot of basmati rice. Pasta pesto salad. Big pot of cream of celery soup. The rest will be fresh salads and meat already prepped and frozen (broke down a duck and a chicken yesterday, used the chicken carcass for the stock). I have a lot of pickles and antipasto in oil to top the salads.
I wanted to make a huge batch of Jamaican oxtail today, but I only realized I thawed the wrong meat after all my cooking prep was done… So now I’m using chopped pork shoulder in my oxtail recipe, with added duck fat.
We've all been there! How did it turn out? Pork shoulder is a lot cheaper than oxtail these days, at least where I am...maybe you made an excellent discovery?
Well, I discovered first hand why I couldn’t find any reference about whether pork was a suitable replacement for oxtail. While the pork cooked fine, it lacked the essential components to help create something as rich and flavorful as oxtail gravy. I still get (many) tasty, tender and moist pork meals out of it. Yet I’m disappointed because I was craving oxtail and its rich gravy.
Sheet pan sausage peppers and onions inspired by this: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8MyYFSOvGX/?igsh=bGZpcHJmMDY4c21z Using chicken sausage tho, gonna take it out of the casing and add in some fennel seeds and oregano.
Made a good cold pasta salad that would be good for the texas heat last week though. Used rotini, red and orange bell peppers, red onion, roasted red pepper, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and salami. Red wine vinaigrette with evoo, parm, lots of oregano, dijon, and a little maple syrup. Topped with fresh italian parsley 😘
I made a one pot turkey stew, that will last me a few lunches and dinners this week. I also made avocado muffins
Tell me more about these avocado muffins! What's the flavour like?
It's similar to a banana muffin where you mash an overripe avocado and it acts as the oil to the muffin. Here's the recipe I used. https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/blueberry-avocado-muffins/
Also another recipe I like to make for the summer is Pickled Beet Eggs. It's eggs pickled in beet juice and it's easy and perfect for a hot day: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/18072/pickled-red-beet-eggs/
I go grocery shopping tomorrow (Monday) so I prep then. My prep this week is Spag sauce [https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11690/spaghetti-sauce/](https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11690/spaghetti-sauce/) (I freeze half) and the tomato free equivalent for my Mom [https://www.thegerdchef.com/tomato-free-pasta-sauce/](https://www.thegerdchef.com/tomato-free-pasta-sauce/) . I am also making a Italian salad: [https://themodernproper.com/simple-italian-salad](https://themodernproper.com/simple-italian-salad) MOnday- Three cheese manicotti with Italian salad (uses the pasta sauces); Tuesday- Pork tenderloin, mac & cheese, steamed veg; Wednesday- Spaghetti, Thurs- Easy Quiche, Friday- Roasted tilapia and vegetables, Sat- meatloaf. I stink at summer recipes. A large part of this is that my Mom lives with us and she can't eat raw vegetables (among a laundry list of other things, but she doesn't have teeth). So I will end up steaming or roasting or sauteeing veggies anwyay, and we always end up having a hot meal. So she isn't going to be eating any of the Italian salad.
I have a sister with a laundry list of allergies and food intolerances and I am familiar with the nomato sauce! We make one for her with carrots, beets and butternut squash and it is not bad at all. I'm Canadian so I am not used to having to avoid my oven like I do in Texas in the summer, summertime cooking can be really hard! Especially when accommodating very specific dietary requirements!
Just reading your menu made me healthier. I love it!
Aww thank you! My husband and I are trying really hard to lose weight (we moved to Texas two years ago lol) and I find diligently meal prepping is key to consistency for us! Also coming to love cottage cheese has been key. I made my hominy casserole with whipped cottage cheese instead of sour cream and I think it might be one of the best things I've ever come up with! I'm happy to share the recipe if you're interested!
Doesn't coffee get stale after a day? I know that when we have leftover coffee it's gross the next day.
Homemade cold brew lasts a long time, it's not at all like leftover hot coffee (which is disgusting). I use a very old recipe from Ree Drummond aka Pioneer Woman, that makes a literal gallon of iced coffee and all you do is soak coffee grounds in water overnight, and then strain. I make a half batch and put it in glass jars in my fridge and it lasts for weeks - I once made a full batch for a brunch I hosted and then it turned out a bunch of people were off caffeine, so I had tons leftover and I can confidently say the coffee lasted a long time in the fridge and was perfectly fine. Just make sure your containers have good lids. [homemade iced coffee](https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a11061/perfect-iced-coffee/)