If you’re like me, you really like food… but you’re also busy as hell and the thought of cooking three meals a day (that you’ll actually like) is so overwhelming you quit before you even start. I’ve learned the hard way that meal prep can make or break your week.
If you’re willing to set aside a few hours each week, this is a great way to save yourself several hours later on. It might seem overwhelming if you’ve never tried it before, but the ease of popping a filling and nutritious meal into the microwave for a minute and 30 seconds every night instead of cooking a full meal might just change your mind. You will no longer panic about what’s in the fridge, how much time you have, a mountain of dishes, or messy stovetop and counters. You’ll have just one plate or bowl to clean and voila! Healthy and easy food. So, let me break it down into bite-sized pieces and change your chef life.
Step one: Meal Planning
Before anything, you need food inspiration for the week. Whether it’s a TikTok, a craving, a Pinterest search, or this article, find something, anything, that sparks a little tummy rumbling and mouth-watering, then dive in. For me this week it was fall veggies. Sweet potatoes, turnips, and butternut squash were calling my name, so I used those as the heart of my meal. After finding my inspiration, I used Pinterest and my palette as a guide to choosing the rest of the dish. Staying in the savory world, I settled on balsamic chicken and sauteed spinach.
Step two: Shopping
Grocery shopping is not a step that should be taken lightly. Check your list like Santa, twice. You won’t be a happy chef when you get home and realize you forgot the chicken… It’s also important to think about which stores you need to go to. Trader Joe’s might have fun, pumpkin and pecan oatmeal, but I generally rely on Big Y for the bulk of my grocery list.
This recipe needs:
- Chicken, sliced thin or tenders (¾ of a pound)
- Balsamic marinade (balsamic dressing works too)
- Green onion
- One Sweet Potato
- One Butternut Squash
- A small bag of Radishes (or another root vegetable of your choice)
- A container of Spinach (the big one, trust me)
- Scallions or Garlic
Step three: Cooking
Now that you’ve found your inspiration, planned, and shopped, you’re ready to start the actual cooking. Don’t get scared now! This is the fun part. In my opinion, the best thing about cooking is that you can make a mistake and it’ll still be delicious.
Let’s start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees. While the oven is doing its thing, head over to the cutting board and get to chopping up those root veggies (after washing them of course). For the radishes, chop off any unwanted pieces, and then once in half. Next, the sweet potato should be diced into whatever you consider bite-sized. Before doing the same to the butternut squash, a crucial step is remembering to remove the skin. While the skin is great for the potato, I can testify that it’s terrible on the squash. So get rid of it ASAP. Finally, coat them all in the cooking oil of your choice and season how you like before spreading them evenly on a greased baking sheet and popping them in the oven for 45 minutes.
Next you can prep the chicken. Get out a big bowl and put all the chicken and a heaping helping of the balsamic in there, then give it a good mix. Let that sit for 10-15 minutes, maybe do some mid-way kitchen cleanup while you wait. When the marinade is almost done, heat up a large pan on the stove with a bit of oil for the chicken (medium-high heat). When ready add the chicken and place a lid on top. Let cook for five minutes, then check to see if one side is golden brown before flipping and repeating–in the end it should be golden brown on the outside, white on the inside, and 165 degrees when checked with a thermometer.
Meanwhile, heat another large pan (medium heat), adding oil again. Once warm, add your scallions or garlic to brown. When ready add your spinach, all of it. It’ll look overwhelming, but by the end, you’ll be wondering where it all went. You’ll know it’s done when all the spinach is wilted and a dark green. Once everything is cooked to perfection, you’re ready for…
Step four: Eat!
If you’ve gotten this far you’re officially a college chef, congratulations! After eating your first helping for tonight’s dinner, store everything separately in the fridge and heat up portions as you need throughout the week. You should have at least five days worth of yummy, fall-inspired meals.
Have fun and good luck :)