a really simple meal plan v.30
get your greens in, the cozy way
This month’s really simple meal plan is built for busy winter weeks when you want food that feels comforting and nourishing. Leafy greens show up in nearly every meal, and we’re leaning hard into garlic for its bold flavor and immune support.
You’ll start the week off with a light and fresh fish dinner and end it with a cozy one-pot vegetarian curry. Enchilada casserole and the fan-fave hella green pasta round out dinners, while a big pot of soup will power your lunch breaks.
We’ve heard your requests and are excited to share a new addition to these meal plans: one big printer-friendly PDF with the meal plan, each recipe, and the shopping list all together, so you can cook from one place without bouncing between posts.
Paid subscribers, you’ll find it linked at the bottom of this post. If you want to dig deeper into substitutions or extra notes, you can still click into the individual recipe links anytime.
GOOD-ALL-WEEK LUNCH: lemony chicken orzo soup
Cozy, lemony, and nourishing — having this soup queued up for lunches will make the whole week feel more manageable. It reheats beautifully (and freezes well, if needed!).
MAKE AHEAD / LOVE YOUR LEFTOVERS: This soup keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days. It will thicken over time — just loosen it up with a little broth or water when reheating individual portions on the stove or in the microwave.
EXTRA CREDIT: You’ll be using freshly grated Parm in this soup and later this week, too (for hella green pasta on night #2). Since you‘ll have it on hand, cut the rind off the Parm block and throw it in this soup for extra flavor. Just fish what’s left of it out and discard when the soup’s ready. Pack the rest of the Parm block away in a reusable bag for pasta night.
OPTIONAL PREP WORK: If you’re in a prep-ahead mood, go ahead and wash and de-rib all 3 bunches of kale. Chop one extra head of it to be used for your enchilada skillet, and keep the other one de-ribbed but otherwise whole (that’ll be for the hella green pasta). Store the prepped kale in an airtight container lined with a dry paper towel to absorb excess moisture, allowing it to stay fresh for several days.
DINNER NIGHT #1: sticky honey-ginger salmon + snap peas with brown butter scallion rice
Light, fresh, and weeknight fast — a great way to start the week while energy levels are still high.
COOK ONCE, EAT TWICE: Double the brown butter scallion rice. Let the extra cool completely, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge — you’ll use it for dinner on night #4 (one-pot pumpkin chickpea curry).
PREP AHEAD: The salmon and snap peas can both be prepped up to a day ahead and stored separately in the fridge, if you’d like.
WEEKNIGHT SHORTCUT: Microwavable frozen rice works great here (and for the curry later this week, too!). If you’re using microwaveable rice and you have a few extra minutes, brown the butter and cook the scallions and garlic, then stir them into the hot rice. Or just serve the rice plain — the salmon carries plenty of flavor.
DINNER NIGHT #2: hella green pasta
This is the biggest greens moment of the week — kale and spinach get blended into a silky, garlicky sauce that feels indulgent while quietly doing a lot of nutritional heavy lifting.
COOK ONCE, USE AGAIN: This recipe makes about double the sauce you’ll need. Use what you want for tonight’s pasta night, then store the rest in an airtight container in the fridge (for up to 4 days) or freeze it for future meals. It’s excellent swirled into rice and spooned over roasted veggies or grilled meat!
WEEKNIGHT SHORTCUT: Use your blender to “grate” the Parmesan instead of hand-grating (just pulse it a few times until it’s powdery and grated looking). It’s faster, less messy, and you’ll be dirtying your blender anyways to make the sauce!
DINNER NIGHT #3: beef enchilada casserole
Enchilada night with a LOT less effort.
MAKE AHEAD: Option to cook the beef and veggie mixture and assemble the skillet earlier in the day (or even the day before), but wait to add the cheese until just before cooking. Cover and refrigerate, then top with cheese and bake right before dinner. It may need a few extra minutes in the oven since it’s going in chilled rather than warm.
LOVE YOUR LEFTOVERS: Leftovers reheat beautifully and make excellent lunches. If you’ve run out of soup, this fills the gap seamlessly.
FEEDING PICKY EATERS: Very finely chop the veggies so they blend into the beef. Cut everything into small bites and mix it all together — it ends up looking a lot like a saucy pasta situation, which might help.
OPTIONAL PREP WORK: If you’re in a prep-ahead mood, do some chopping for tomorrow while you already have your knife out! Dice an additional onion and thinly slice 2 extra bell peppers, then store them together in an airtight container in the fridge. That’ll make dinner tomorrow VERY low lift.
DINNER NIGHT #4: one-pot pumpkin chickpea curry
This is a true finish-strong meal. It’s mostly hands off and even better the next day! If you chopped the onion and bell pepper last night, they’re ready to drop straight into the pot.
COOK ONCE, EAT TWICE: Serve this over the extra rice from dinner on day #1. Reheat the rice with a splash of water, either in the microwave or in a pot on the stove, until warmed through. Use a fork to fluff!
USE YOUR LEFTOVERS: This curry keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days and freezes beautifully, making it perfect for lunches or future cozy dinners.
Included in this printer-friendly PDF are:
The meal plan above
A grocery list organized by aisle. Each recipe has its own color code on the grocery list, so if you want to skip, swap, or modify a meal, you’ll know which ingredients to change/cross off — no brainpower required.
Each recipe. The recipes included in this PDF have been tweaked slightly to coordinate with the meal plan (for example, the salmon and snap pea meal has double the rice because you’ll be making extra to serve with the curry).
These recipes are written to feed between four and six people (each meal will note its specific yield), so scale up or down depending on your household. Halve a recipe if you’re cooking for one or two, or double it if you’re feeding a big crew. You can always copy and paste our grocery list into a new Google doc if you want to tweak it.
This meal plan is designed to flow in order, but, of course, shuffle meals around as you’d like!
