I started making dinner plans—first for myself, then for this newsletter—to save energy and money, and to take the pressure off one of the most annoying daily decisions. I can’t believe it’s been over two years now! And 325+ posts (and a whole cookbook!) later… my favorite style of dinner plan still uses simple components to build delicious, diverse meals throughout the week.
This style of prep—component prep—really maximizes your time and budget. And the prep day is low-stakes! You’re not spending hours making full meals ahead of time, just simple components like sauces, proteins, and grains to get ahead.
Y’all loved the first prep-ahead dinner plan, so we’re back with a second version, and it’s so goood!! The first plan confirmed what most of us already know about ourselves: we want a mix of prepping ahead and cooking fresh throughout the week, so that’s exactly how this week’s plan is designed. Summer produce is making its way in, too!
Here’s how it works: You’ll spend one prep session knocking out five components, then mix and match those throughout the week to build different dinners without starting from scratch every night. Two of the meals you’ll make mostly fresh during the week—can’t wait for you to make the high-protein mac and cheese!!
Each recipe includes “Prepped Ahead” notes so you know exactly where to jump in if you followed the prep plan. If you prefer making individual recipes, you can absolutely do that too, just skip the prep plan and cook all at once!
The prep plan is color-coded and sequential. While the rice cooks, the sheet pan goes in the oven, and the cashew pesto sauce is fully prepped. No wasted time here! The entire prep guide, from veggie prep to storage, will take about 1.5 to 2 hours in total.
Overlapping ingredients keep costs down. As always, the ingredients from the grocery list are used in multiple recipes, reducing food waste and keeping your weekly shop in budget 🤝 I also encourage you to use your leftovers!! If you have extra Cashew Sauce, add it to your lunch, and extra corn salad? Scoop it up with some chips! These meals are built to be flexible—make it fun!
Friday made easy. Our protein for Friday’s dinner is made ahead and popped in the freezer on prep day, so all you have to do on Friday is thaw the meat while the potatoes roast. Option to prep the sweet potatoes ahead as well.
This week’s prep day plan walks you through making five components
Bone Broth Rice
Cashew Pesto Sauce*
Chicken Meatball and Sweet Potato Sheet Pan
Cilantro-Lime Corn Salad with Chicken
Taco Ground Beef
*The Cashew Pesto Sauce is used in two meals this week! The individual recipes include notes on how much to use in each, the prep day plan includes how to batch prep the full yield for the week.
Click the recipe name or picture to view each recipe. Keep scrolling for the all-in-one and printer-friendly PDFs for the week.
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