a really simple meal plan v.19
new month, new meal plan!
Happy first Friday of February, and welcome to this month’s really simple meal plan! Based on reader feedback, we’re streamlining lunches this go round — instead of fixing a unique lunch every day, we are going to meal prep one of our good-all-week salads on day one to eat throughout the workweek.
In case you finish the salad before the end of the week — or if you don’t want the same lunch every day — we’ve also purposefully included a few dinners that yield excellent (and easy-to-microwave!) lunch leftovers.
These recipes are written to feed four to six people. If you’re cooking for one or two, you can either halve each recipe, cut two or three meals from the lineup and enjoy leftovers (and no cooking!) every other night, and/or use this as an opportunity to stock your freezer with delicious food. If you’re planning to stock the freezer, keep in mind that the salad, sushi bowls (rice excluded), and fried egg pasta are not ideal for freezer prep, while the chimichanga tacos, cassoulet, and chicken satay are!
One other way to simplify this meal plan? You could cut one of the dinners and cook the lemon-parm chicken, quinoa, & kale salad for dinner on night one and eat leftovers for lunches (rather than meal-prepping it just for lunches).
As always, read the bulleted notes included throughout the meal plan below before you start shopping and cooking. And let us know what you think about this lunch approach — listing one recipe you can meal prep and eat throughout the week vs. listing unique lunches like we’ve done in the past.
As always, we’ve written a shopping list for you organized by section of the store. Check the individual recipes for their exact yields, then double, halve, or cook them as written based on who you’re cooking for and how much your family typically eats.
If you need to edit your shopping list for any reason — to sub an ingredient or cut a meal from the lineup, for example — copy and paste this list into a new Google doc or phone note and modify it as needed.
link to printer version
MEAL PREP FOR LUNCHES: lemon-parm chicken, quinoa, & kale salad
If you’re prepping lunches for just you, make this recipe as written. If you’re prepping lunches for two or more people, double it.
We’re only using the breast meat from the rotisserie chicken for this meal; however, go ahead and shred the rest of your chicken while it’s still warm and store the leftovers in the fridge for dinner later this week!
DINNER DAY #1: sriracha shrimp sushi bowls
If possible, get your shrimp in the marinade at least 4 hours before you plan to cook this meal.
We’re cooking chicken satay for dinner a few nights from now — if you want to serve rice with that meal (it’s optional but delicious), go ahead and double the rice tonight. Let your leftover rice cool, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
DINNER DAY #2: chipotle cheddar chimichanga tacos
Let’s use up the rest of your rotisserie chicken meat! It’s already cooked, so you can add the salsa and continue with the recipe when you add the other seasonings, adobo pepper, etc. Just sauté the green onion in a little bit of neutral cooking oil for a minute or two before adding the chicken and other ingredients to the skillet so the onions have a chance to soften.
If you didn’t have a lot of shredded chicken leftover from making the salad (rotisserie chicken sizes vary!), you can bulk up the filing by adding a can of drained black or pinto beans (the shopping list includes a can just in case).
You are cooking a lot this week so we’re going to SKIP THE CORN SALAD! You’re getting vegetables from the avocado crema and salsa — plus, you ate a ton of greens for lunch. If you love corn and want that extra veg, you can incorporate it into the tacos themselves by adding the corn kernels to the skillet at the same time you add the salsa.
These chimichanga tacos are VERY freezer friendly. If you wind up with extras, let them cool then pop them in an airtight Ziploc bag and freeze them for up to 6 months. To reheat: Move them to the fridge to thaw overnight, then bake at 375°F for about 8 minutes, or until heated through.
DINNER DAY #3: one-skillet sausage and mushroom cassoulet
We’re often asked for recipe ideas that can be totally prepped earlier in the day (or even the day before) then just popped in the oven for dinnertime. This is one of those recipes!
This meal also makes delicious and easy-to-microwave leftovers, so is a good one to add to your lunch plan the rest of the week if needed. You could also freeze any leftovers if you don’t want or need them for lunch.
DINNER DAY #4: saucy chicken and cabbage satay bowls
If you doubled the rice on night one, reheat it along with the remainder of your can of coconut milk in a pot over medium heat to turn it into coconut rice!
We’re only buying one bunch of cilantro to use between this meal and the chimichanga tacos. If you have less than a packed cup left for this dish, don’t stress, it’ll still be great!
These leftovers are also amazing, either reheated for lunch tomorrow for frozen for a future meal.
DINNER DAY #5: fried egg pasta with garlicky crunchies
Motivation running low? I promise you can cook this meal! It’s so easy and so delicious.
If you wind up with leftovers, enjoy them over the weekend! To mix up the flavor profile, add a splash of soy sauce and spoonful of chili crisp.
If you enjoyed this meal plan, cook one of these next! Or browse all past meal plans here.
a really simple meal plan v.18
a really simple meal plan v.17
I just texted my fiancé “I’m going to make a healthy meal plan for us for next week so we eat well and don’t waste food”
Then I opened my inbox to this! Thank you!!
Love this method! It’s more similar to how I actually meal plan!