Sunday Meal Prep | Week of February 2
Calling a do-over. February is now the unofficial start to 2025.
Happy February, readers. I’m officially declaring a new start to the new year. Is there anyone else who feels like they need a 2025 do-over?
Our very first Sunday Meal Prep was on January 28th of last year, which means that we are officially 1 year old! From the start, this series has been an effort to make your weeknight meals more exciting, healthier, and easier. I looked up that first post, and here are some quotes which still rings true:
My hope for this weekly series is not only to help you put a healthy dinner on the table, but also encourage you to become a more confident and organized cook, and give ideas and inspiration for when you feel stuck in a cooking rut (we’ve all been there!).
On nutrition:
These dishes are chosen to provide a wide variety of ingredients, so you can maximize your micronutrient intake, while also offering a healthy balance of macronutrients for optimal blood sugar. My goal is always to educate, while making nutrition easier and more delicious.
Truth be told, I was overwhelmed and nervous committing to sharing five recipes every week—I don’t like starting things I can’t follow through with, and it seemed like a lot of work. A year later, I can confirm that it is a lot of work, but lucky for me, I like my work.
Let’s also be real: A massive thank you is in order for my amazing assistant Phoebe, who really is a lot more than an assistant—she’s a nutritionist too. She helps me plan these menus, research nutrition topics, put together these recipe PDFs, spell check, and so so much more. You can follow her Substack too—she just wrote a great post on how to beat the winter blues. Now that I have a year of meal prep under my belt, perhaps I’ll figure out how to finish this email by Friday so I don’t have to bug her on the weekend. Thank you, Phoebe!
We have cooked so many dishes together over the past year (if you have any favorites, please let me know in the comments) and I love adding more to the mix. Last week I tested this sheet pan filet with roasted vegetable 2x to get it right (my husband was not complaining—he loves steak night!). It’s a little tricky to get the vegetables and the steak cooked just right at the same time, so I let the veg cook for about 10 minutes before adding the steak and give the steak a good sear before putting it in the oven. If you have time, don’t skip the marinade! Ideally it would sit for 30+ minutes, but however long you have will work. I make the marinade first, then start prepping the vegetables to give it more time to sit.
Thank you, as always, for being here and cooking with me! If you like these posts, please hit the heart button, restack, or share. This helps bring more visibility to this little Substack of mine.
xx Mia
And please don’t judge my sheet pan. Whenever I see someone with perfectly used, but not grimy sheet pans, I am instantly jealous. If you have tips, please share. I’ve tried all the baking soda and scrubs and I am just painfully bad at aging my sheet pans.
Here are a few meal prep adjacent things I’m loving these days:
On a hunt for new dinnerware:
I’m that annoying person at a restaurant who is always turning over the plates to see who makes them. I’ve been on the hunt for new china for a while, and was deeply inspired by the dinnerware at Estelle Manor (where we were very lucky to visit while we were in England over the holidays). I even made a note in my phone to remember the brands—of course, they were all French. I’m waiting for the right occasion to replace my current everyday plates and bowls with these blue-rimmed ones from Gien. I also love these from Jars, and this simple and elegant line from Vietri. For an absolute steal, check out this beautiful scalloped dinnerware set which is on *mega* sale.
…and serveware:
I just got these serving tongs — perfect for salads, roasted vegetables, family-style dinners, and more. Also from this line, a soup ladle, and salad serving set.
Slippers for outside:
I like these little shoes that feel like they’re for indoors but they’re for outdoors. These cute euro flats are a staple of mine —I just got this red double strap pair for spring. I also love these satin mules from from Ancient Greek Sandals (and this similar pair from Larroudé). Someday, maybe, I’ll treat myself a pair of these from Charvet.
Alright, enough slippers, let’s cook.
The first week of February calls for a good soup, so we’re brining back the Italian Wedding Soup with chicken meatballs and escarole. While my children won’t eat the escarole, they love the meatballs, pasta, and carrots, so it’s any easy dish that we all love. Also this week: salmon two ways, a new twist on my favorite spiced chicken and green olives, and (of course) that sheet pan filet and veggies.
