Sunday Meal Prep | Week of Feb 4

What I'm cooking + few other tidbits that you didn't ask for but might enjoy.

Welcome back to my new weekly meal prep series, where I’ll be sharing my plan for the week in hopes of inspiring you with ideas for what to make and how to organize your weekly cooking and shopping. Here’s the plan: every week you’ll get five dinner ideas and three(ish) lunches, along with a grocery list, prep tips, and maybe a few “meal prep-adjacent” things I’m into.

If you were here last week, I hope you found some meals you loved! While you’re absolutely welcome to follow this meal plan to a tee, I’d really encourage you to make it your own. Maybe you skipped a dinner and had a leftover night, or changed up some ingredients—the idea behind this weekly series is inspire and make home cooked meals easier.

I plan on making this a regular thing, and we’re still getting going over here, so I’d love any feedback or suggestions you might have to make this better or more useable. Please drop your thoughts in the comments below!

And a reminder to grab a copy of my cookbook, Foodwise, if you don’t already have one, as I will be referencing recipes in there often.

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* MENU: WEEK OF FEBRUARY 4 *
This week’s menu doesn’t require much Sunday prep and focuses more on weeknight meals that come together quickly. If it’s more than a 45-minute prep to table situation, you won’t find it here. But minimal effort does not mean minimal flavor. There are some good ones this week, including a new Chicken & Wild Rice Soup (perfect for February weather), a family-style Skirt Steak Chopped Salad (you’ll notice I love a family-style dinner salad), and everyone’s favorite Foodwise recipe: Turkey Lettuce Wraps.

If you’re going grocery shopping today, here’s your list. And as promised: my pantry bible. I’ll be continually updating and adding to this, so make sure to keep checking it as you grow your pantry. Before you get started, a few things I’m into:

What I’m Listening to:
Debunking Netflix’s New Vegan Documentary Series ‘You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment’
I thought this documentary was terribly done. If you’re curious, this podcast sums it up.

Latest Obsession:
Sold Out NYC Perfect Tee
I’m a sucker for a fancy t-shirt and this one is it. But if you’re going to meal prep in it, please wear an apron (like this one, chic!).

In My Kitchen:
This week features a fun Mexican street corn-inspired sheet pan recipe. If you’re looking for a new sheet pan, Nordic Ware makes the best of the best.

Okay, let’s cook!

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SUNDAY
Chicken & wild rice soup
Time: 1 hour
We’re supposed to be getting an epic storm in LA this week (starting today!), and I can’t think of any rainy day meal better than this soup. It comes together in less than an hour thanks to store-bought rotisserie chicken. But if rotisserie chicken isn’t your thing, take some chicken breast or thighs (whatever your preference is really) and add them to a slow cooker with a cup of chicken broth or water. To flavor it, you could add some salt, pepper, garlic powder or a bay leaf. Let cook on high for about 2-3 hours. When it’s done, it should shred easily with the two forks. It tastes great in this soup and easily repurposes for lunches during the week. I also posted a video of this recipe on my instagram (here).

Extra credit prep list. This week’s recipes don’t require a lot of advanced prep, but I think these are nice-to-haves for the week.

1. Hard-boiled eggs

2. Carrot apple snack muffins (p. 207 in Foodwise) or Banana Bread 2.0

3. A grain (optional if you want to add for lunches/dinners during the week)

MONDAY
Lunch
Mediterranean chicken salad
Time: 10 minutes
I love a salad that starts with a smear of hummus. I like to plop about a tablespoon or two of hummus on the side of a wide, shallow bowl and spread it with the back of a spoon. Add your greens on top, along with some leftover chicken and toppings that suit the vibe: olives, cucumbers, avocado, maybe some pepperoncinis, a hard boiled egg, or even a little feta cheese. Top with a simple dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and some sea salt.

Dinner
Sheet-pan salmon with sweet potatoes and broccoli
Time: 45 minutes
This quick and easy recipe requires little more than preheating the oven and arranging your ingredients on a sheet pan. If you’d like to serve this with a little rice or quinoa, go for it, or just enjoy as a low carb meal. You can skip the mayo part if you want, or make sure to get one that has olive oil or avocado oil (see pantry list). Added bonus: this dish makes great leftovers for salads and grain bowls (see lunch tomorrow!). Salmon cooked on Monday night is good through Wednesday lunch.

TUESDAY
Lunch
Salmon salad with sweet potato and miso Cesar dressing (p. 107 in Foodwise)
Time: 10 minutes
Leftover salmon and sweet potatoes make for a quick and easy lunch salad. Cucumber and avocado would go great on this as well. And if you don’t feel like making a dressing (it’s a 2-minute recipe though, I swear), Primal Kitchen’s Sesame Ginger dressing would be a great substitute.

Dinner
Turkey lettuce wraps (p. 152 in Foodwise)
Time: 30-45 minutes
If you haven’t noticed yet, I really like Asian flavors. Like I really like them. These lettuce wraps are packed with flavor and ultra satisfying, but feel light and refreshing at the same time. I could eat this every day. If you want to beef this up a little, serve with some brown rice or roasted broccoli.

WEDNESDAY
Lunch
Chicken and wild rice soup
Time: 5 minutes
There’s nothing like have homemade soup in the fridge, right?? After today, you’ll have to freeze any leftovers for the next rainy day.

Dinner
Breakfast for dinner
Time: 30 minutes
We love eggs for dinner. To give it a little more of a dinner feel, I add some sautéed mushrooms (any mushroom sautéed in olive oil, maybe a little touch of butter too if you’re feeling it, and salt over high heat) and wilted spinach. Serve with a slice of toast for a quick, easy and delicious meal.

THURSDAY
Lunch
Leftover turkey lettuce wraps (could also make this into a grain bowl or salad)
Time: 5-10 minutes
I love repurposing these lettuce warps in a delicious bowl with greens, brown rice, avocado, cucumber, chopped cashews, green onions, and maybe leftover pickled carrots if you have any!

Dinner
Family-style skirt steak chopped salad
Time: 30 minutes
I use this salad like a fridge dump of sorts. The steak cooks quickly and easily (here is a simple recipe) and the rest is a little bit of a choose your own adventure. I like to spread all the ingredients out on a platter into rows. Make sure you have at least 4 things besides the steak. Some inspo: roasted broccoli, chickpeas, hard-boiled egg, olives, cheese (if you fancy!), artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, cooked beets. And if steak isn’t your thing, this would be fantastic with chicken, shrimp, salmon, or even grilled halloumi.

Serve with an easy balsamic vinaigrette on the side. It could be as easy as whisking together 1 tablespoon of minced shallot with 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar (salt it and let it sit for a minute), then whisk in 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard followed by 4 tablespoons of olive oil (or just a little glug). Or you could buy this one.