Last week I was headed out of town, and I needed to take my meal planning to the next level. Usually when I travel, I make my usual weekly meal plans and leave the family with ingredients to prepare it, while also stocking the kitchen and pantry with items for snacking. Upon return, I often see remnants of take-out or restaurant visits because the craziness of kid activities and work made it nearly impossible to get the meal prepped and cooked in the evenings.
This time around, I wanted to set things up for success. There were a lot of veggies and fruits that needed to be eaten, and without my constant reminder (or preparing and putting it right in front of their faces), I was sure that they would be in the same spot as when I left 5 days earlier.
And, given the after-school activities, I knew that if I didn’t have heat-and-eat meals in the fridge, the family would probably eat around 8 pm, or grab some take-out instead.
I decided to put a Sunday meal prep plan in place. I’d bake a double batch of muffins that could be used for lunches or afternoon snacks. I chopped up carrots, used the remaining avocados to make guacamole, prepped a salad for easy grab-and-go. Then I got moving on making chili, chicken enchiladas and a pork ragu meat sauce for pasta. There would be enough for leftover on Thursday, and I’d be home Friday.
Other than starting off with a failure – the muffins were burnt to a crisp (oven temp went awry), my Sunday meal prep was a success. Once each meal was completed, I borrowed some post-it notes from Nicole and started tagging all the meals in the fridge, noting anything else that needed to be prepped for the meal (rice and black beans for the enchiladas, serving salad with chili, for example).
When I hopped on an early morning plane Monday, I was confident that I’d set the family up for success that week. Throughout the week I touched base with Greg, and he was grateful for the Sunday meal prep, as it made things so much easier on him – not having to prepare the meals I had planned. Upon my return, most of what I had prepped was used, and there was minimal spoilage.
I’ve been meal planning for quite some time now, but had yet to fully embraced the Sunday meal prep method – I’m a convert now!
A Few Tips for Sunday Meal Prep
- Create a meal plan for the week – including options for all day long, not just dinner.
- Prep veggies for the week: Cut up vegetables for easy snacking, for topping a salad, or for easy steaming or sauteing throughout the week.
- Make a bean dip, salsa, grain salad and muffins for lunches or afternoon snacks.
- Choose meal recipes that require minimal assembly for busy weeknights.
What are your favorite Sunday meal Prep recipes? Share them below and I may feature them on social media!
