🍛 Wait... What’s for dinner?

Plus, your meal prep tips!

View this email online Clare Marie Schneider and LA Johnson/NPR Hey y’all,  I can count the number of times I’ve cooked dinner in the last year on one hand. Part of the reason is that I’m not a picky eater. (Cream cheese on an old tortilla and a handful of trail mix is an acceptable meal.) And part of the reason is that I find most recipes overwhelming.  Being staunchly in the “no cooking” camp as a mom involves a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, frozen pizzas and take-out. And to be honest, it also means my husband carries a lot of the meal prep load. Before you judge me, know that I am the official manager of the dishwasher, laundry and family calendar! The other night my husband said to me, “figuring out what to do for dinner every night is a lot.” He’s right. It’s in the category of household duties I categorize as Sisyphean tasks — as soon as you’ve rolled that boulder up the mountain, you’re gonna have to start all over again. His very universal statement was about as close as you’ll get to a cry for help from him. So after decades of seeing a few spoonfuls of peanut butter as a meal, I decided to see what this recent episode of Life Kit had to say about meal planning. Kevin Curry, the founder of FitMenCook, says his approach to meal prep is cooking a bunch of ingredients at once and then mixing and matching them throughout the week. As a long-time supporter of the popular fast casual “bowl” staple, I’m a fan of this idea.  For 45 minutes each Wednesday and Sunday, Kevin cooks his five ingredients for the week. One combination he shared: chickpeas, chicken, jasmine rice, roasted vegetables and a green medley of spinach, chard and kale. "With those five foods I prepped, I made about ten different meal combinations," he says. One day you might want chicken, rice and greens, another day you might want chickpeas, greens and chicken. Then, transform the flavor of each meal with different condiments like tahini dressing or barbecue sauce. He also encouraged folks to experiment with different grains — black rice, forbidden rice, jasmine rice, basmati rice, quinoa and farro to name a few.  This advice was like a breath of fresh air. Or a whiff of an aromatic rice, chicken and roasted veggie bowl. Meal prep doesn’t have to involve complicated, multi-step recipes (unless that’s your thing).  This approach reminds me of one of my favorite pieces of advice I’ve heard on Life Kit. It’s from our episode about how to make a better to-do list: Take a task that feels large and insurmountable (for me, making a lasagna for dinner) and break it up into small, actionable items (like cooking rice, roasting veggies and making mix-n-match bowls all week). As with most things in life, when you take it bit by bit, you might be surprised what you can bring to the table.  Here's more of Kevin’s advice on tackling the age old question: "What should I eat?" — Beck Harlan, Life Kit visuals editor  Newsletter continues after sponsor message Your meal prep tips A few weeks ago, we asked for your best meal prep advice. Here’s what you had to say:  🧽 One tip that helped me meal prep efficiently to wash the dishes I'm done with while my food is cooking. That way when I am done meal prepping, I don't have a sink full of dirty dishes! — Maribel from Kerman, Calif. 🗓 I follow two or three good recipe newsletters and bookmark ideas during the week. On Sunday, I look at my calendar and put my meal choices for each day, linking to the recipes in the notes. 🍳Leftovers make an excellent breakfast with an egg on top. 📝Keep a running list of things to replace when you run out of them. This saves time later when you go through the refrigerator on food shopping day. — Suzanne O’Connor 🔎 Instead of searching for “meal prep” online, look up "sheet pan" and "one-pot" recipes. I've found these are less "healthy-eating" focused and include some comfort meals you can easily modify to make healthier.   — Kristen, Terre Haute, Ind. 🧊 I love when food comes in an individually wrapped containers, but I am a miser. My solution: I cook chicken, fish, pasta, rice, beans, vegetables and pastries in family size amounts, portion them into individual packets and put them in my freezer. Then for the next 21 meals, I can mix and match meals that cater to my taste at that moment. —Sara from Portland, Ore. And some evergreen advice from Carol in Laguna Niguel, Calif: 🍲 Embrace the slow cooker.  Access Sponsor-Free Episodes Want to support our show? Try a subscription to Life Kit+ and get all the tips and tricks you love sponsor-free. Learn more at plus.npr.org/lifekit.  Learn More Becky Harlan/NPR Make your life easier in the kitchen with these Life Kit episodes Skip a trip to the store  You know when you’re halfway through a recipe and you realize you’re out of a key ingredient? This guide will save you an emergency trip to the store by showing you what you can use as a substitute.  Embrace the one-pot meal  Dishes! The eternal downside of cooking anything at home. In this Life Kit, New York Times food writer Melissa Clark shares inspiration for making the most delicious food with the fewest dishes. Get her recipe for cheesy baked pasta here.   Improvise, improvise, improvise  Cooking without a recipe can be intimidating. Samin Nosrat, author of the best-selling book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, shares tips on getting started. From how to stock your pantry to an approachable first dish on which to wing it: beans!  Coming up on Life Kit: 💙 Caring for caregivers 👢 How to figure out (and nail) your personal style 🤑 Get ready for this year’s taxes – and next year’s too  Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: LifeKit@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Life Kit emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy