Sunday Prep for Meals

This may seem like a silly question - but I'm not one to prep Sundays for the week. In the fall our family is expanding and I will need to:

1) Do you chop veggies for the week? If so, don't they go bad quickly?

2) Do you cook whole meals Sunday and then just reheat in week?

ANy other tips for easy dinner preps? I have a preschooler who usually melts down during that time and will have twin infants, but I want to keep cooking and eating healthy if possible:)

TIA!

Sunday Prep for Meals

When I have a kitchen to work in (construction is almost done, yay), I do a combo of both # 1&2. I do a lot of slow-cooker meals (even in the summer), such as chili, pulled bbq chicken, pulled Italian chicken, etc. I'll also grill up some chicken or whatever we're eating that week. When I do the slow-cooker meals, I usually have enough to freeze, so I can just take it out of the freezer the night before for the next day. Veggie-wise, unless I'm making something like a chili or a sautee dish that has veggies in it, I don't cook until that day. For example, if I'm doing the pulled italian chicken, I'll make the pasta and sautee up some broccoli or spinach that night. For the chili, I'll make the rice that night.

Hope that helps!

Sunday Prep for Meals

I would look into getting a foodsaver. When it was just DH and I and I worked long hours I did a lot of extra cooking on the weekends. I would divide up each meal so that each bag had enough for one night. Then I'd just pull something out of the freezer the night before to defrost in the fridge and reheat it the next night. Best part was clean up! I would do casseroles, lasagna, crockpot meals, meatloaf. I prefer to freeze, but things that are vacuum sealed also last much longer in the fridge than they would otherwise.

Re: Sunday Prep for Meals

On Sundays I try to go through all the circulars and make the menu for the week.

After we go food shopping, I make two whole oven roasted chicken breasts (with the bone) and then break the clean chicken apart and put it away. That is honestly such a time saver because we use that chicken for 2-3 meals during the week. I work 14hr days on M/T and the last thing I want to do when I get home is prepare an entire meal, so that definitely makes it so much easier! On days that I'm off or home early I usually make everything that day.

I don't prepare vegetables ahead of time because I feel that they aren't as fresh once they're cut even though I'm sure they're fine.

If I'm using the slow cooker, I usually have a lot left over because it's only the two of us so I'll freeze it and reheat it when I'm ready to use it.

Re: Sunday Prep for Meals

Certain vegetables can be cut and stored in containers in advance...I've found that broccoli, cauliflower, string beans, and peppers stay well.

I'll also make a huge salad one night so we can eat it with dinner that night and the following. Things like avocado, cheese, roasted peppers and/or artichoke hearts are added when we're about to eat it since they tend to not keep well.

Sometimes I will cook on Sundays and reheat through the week...soups, stews, chilis, slow-cooker meals, baked pastas - those are all staples that can be made really healthy and loaded up with vegetables.

Re: Sunday Prep for Meals

Re: Sunday Prep for Meals

Re: Sunday Prep for Meals

I do take some time on Sundays: for meal planning, shopping and cooking. But all my cooking and prepping is not done that day.

I make whatever will take the most time using stovetop or oven on Sundays then reheat during the week (chili, soup, roasted veggies, sauce, lasagna). Id say I average 3 fresh meals a week and 3-4 of leftovers or quick (pasta and jarred sauce, bagged salad, frozen chicken nuggets for kids).

My easiest week night meals are chicken or fish on a grill pan or seared, steamed veggie or salad.

Most important and helpful is planning and having ingreients on hand.

Message edited 5/14/2014 9:09:38 PM.

Sunday Prep for Meals

Key to keeping it easy is food planning. Every Thurs/Fri I make a menu for the next week and shopping list. I food shop sat or sun. I cook one big meal on sunday that will have leftovers for the week and will usually make something for the week like chicken cutlets. (my son could eat them everyday!) I don't prep veggies - but I will prep veggies the night before I plan to cook after the kids go to sleep. Slowcooker is a lifesaver and I plan easy meals during the week. When I do cook a meal I try to double or make more so there's always leftovers.

Check out once a month mom website - I don't have the discipline to do it, but she basically takes one sunday every month and preps everything she needs for the month and freezes it. I wish I could do it!

ETA: it may be helpful if a couple of months before the babies come to double dinners you make and freeze (ziti, meatballs, soups, etc) so that when they come you have meals on hand that you can just pop in the oven.

Message edited 5/15/2014 10:19:49 AM.

Re: Sunday Prep for Meals

I think the key to making it work is not to set your standards too high. I love to cook, but I don't plan 7 different dinner recipes a week with different recipes for side dishes, etc.

I maybe cook 3-4 dinners a week, and the rest of the time we use (or repurpose) leftovers, or do a refrigerator/freezer/pantry potluck type of thing.

By repurposing leftovers, I mean that if I made a London broil with potatoes, veggies, etc. on a Sunday, I might use the leftover sliced London broil for steak salads or sandwiches on Tuesday. Or if we had roast chicken, then use the meat for chicken quesadillas another day.

Refrigerator/freezer potluck is sometimes we just all make what we want based on staples in the house (scrambled eggs, veggie burgers from the freezer, a peanut butter sandwich with fruit).

I try to plan on the weekend, as others have said, and do grocery shopping once a week.

While I do try to make inventive recipes sometimes, because I enjoy it, other nights are too busy for that because we work late or DS has sports or whatever. Last night, I heated up frozen pizza and made a fresh salad for the side. Quick, easy - still healthier and cheaper than takeout.

Sometimes I will make things that I can just throw in the oven to cook quickly (like marinate a pork tenderloin the night before, and then it just needs 25-30 mins in the oven) and I will use steam fresh veggies made in microwave, or make quick cooking rice or baked sweet potatoes in the microwave.

With some planning, you can definitely get a good, healthy meal on the table quickly, even if you don't want to spend one whole day cooking and prepping for the week (which I don't!).

Re: Sunday Prep for Meals

I don't do any prep on Sundays - but I usually plan on making things on the weekends, specifically Sunday that we an then repurpose on Mondays. For the rest of the week, it's easy and quick meals. For when I want to do something that takes longer/includes a lot of prep, I save weekends for that.

Some of the things I've done on Sundays to last us for a day or two the following day:

> Roasted chicken - now I started buying the already roasted one from Fairway - it's really good. We'll have something like chicken sandwiches for lunch on Sunday, and then on Monday I can do chicken noodle soup, quesadillas, some kind of pasta dish, etc.

> Meatballs in sauce - I make a big batch of about 30 small meatballs. That day, we'll have it with pasta, the next day we can do little mini meatball sandwiches, or make some kind of rice dish and top it off, salad, etc.

> Pot-Roast: Great for day of, and then a bunch of stuff we can do with it after

> Rice pilaf. Same thing - I make it w/ chicken or something night before and then we can re-use with some other easy to make protein or just a salad, or sometimes i mix the protein in there.

Making some kind of list atleast in my head of what we're going to have for the week helps for sure - especially now w/ warmer weather, grilling has been awesome. While DH grills, I'll make some kind of side veggies or potatoes or rice, etc.

And then some nights we're both exhausted, and we'll have a sandwich or a box of mac and cheese with it or something (I love Aunt Annie's), or a nice big salad. Or a nice big bowl of cereal works some nights too.

Re: Sunday Prep for Meals

Unfortunately, I do not do anything on the weekend to prepare for the week. I wish I did/could, but just can't get it together. With 3 little ones, my house is crazy every single day. DD#1 is very picky about eating, and DD#2 often refuses many foods, even ones she couldn't get enough of the day before. I often get creative with trying to put healthy stuff on the table. Raw veggies are great...and easy. A sliced up cucumber, a handful of baby carrots, a quick salad. You could even quick grill pineapple slices or apple slices. I buy the string beans that are already cleaned and trimmed, then cooking is 5 minutes. I also buy brown rice in the microwave cups that only take a minute to cook.