Sunday prep is a very serious tradition at my house. My perfect Sunday would include a long sun-soaked run, some errands, and quality kitchen time.
It’s the perfect time to prepare basics, cut up produce, defrost things, and plan your meals for the week. I eat variations of a few simple dishes most nights so it’s mostly about having all the ingredients on hand and ready to go for a quick & easy school night meal.
So what does a typical Sunday in the MCLV kitchen look like?
- Salad – Step one is to make sure there’s enough salad essentials for the week. I have an organic CSA so I vary my salads based on the contents of that week’s box, but will often run to my local shop for a few basics like romaine hearts, carrots, and cucumbers.
- Beans – I love adding garbanzo, black beans, or kidney beans to salads or stir fries so I like to rehydrate/cook/drain those in advance so I can just toss them in as needed.
- Grains – Sundays I’ll make a big batch of quinoa, rice, or another whole grain like amaranth or barley.
- Starch – I love sweet potatoes so if I have white potatoes or yams on hand I’ll chop and boil them so that they’ll cook quickly whenever I need them during the week.
- Veggies – Whatever I have on hand gets chopped in advance {except cucumbers since they’ll go squishy} so I’ll have Tupperware containers filled with fibrous veggies like cabbage, celery, and carrots, and others with grains, rice, beans & potatoes. This makes throwing together dinner a breeze.
Making food for other people who have different eating habits? Don’t despair, I also defrost chicken breasts & hardboil eggs for the boy. Our dinners are actually pretty similar with the addition of different proteins – Chicken and/or eggs for him and soy, tempeh, or veggie burgers for me.
Need more inspiration? Check out The Full Helping’s Menu Plan Monday and Oh She Glow’s 5 Make-Ahead Vegan and Gluten-Free Lunches.
Do YOU do weekend meal prep?
