I've read article after article about the merits of the Big Sunday Meal Prep, but I’m still not a convert. Sunday is usually my only family day of the week, and I'd rather be anywhere but the kitchen. Instead of spending the afternoon cooking five pounds of ground beef or 20 chicken breasts, I parcel out my meal prep throughout the weeknights and try to do at least one thing every night for the dinner I plan to have the next evening. I call this approach making“nextovers,”or the practice of intentionally prepping or cooking extra of something so you can transform the leftovers the next day (or at the very least have a jump start on your dinner prep).
这种策略可以很简单,比如准备翻倍(or triple) the kale you need for akale saladtonight, so you have some ready tosautétomorrow, or steaming double the broccoli to eat witholive oil and Parmor to serve later alongsidesesame chicken. Make a big batch of grains like farro and stir half intochicken soup, then use the rest in a freshtomato and cucumber saladthe next night.
If I’m already roastingchicken thighs, I'll cook a few extra to shred fortacos. And since the oven is on, why not throw a couple of sweet potatoes in to use tomorrow forstuffed sweet potatoes, or roast vegetables that take a while to cook like cubedbutternut squash, orcarrots and parsnips? And always, always make extra of a versatile condiment, like this addictivegreen sauce, which is killer on chicken (and shrimp, and fish, and beef, and salads...).
Making time to do one little thing every day helps make a homemade dinner most nights less daunting. I know I don’t have to start from scratch every night, all I have to do is sauté the kale and warm the chicken—oh, and put on a pot of brown rice for tomorrow.
