Plan and Prepare a Week’s Worth of Menus in Less than Two Hours

A week’s worth of meal prep in sixty – ninety minutes. Sound impossible? I thought so too. Until I had a chance to hook up with the first lady of fitness and food coaching, Kathy Kaehler. She turned me on to a concept called Sunday Setups, with which I could get a jump on my weekly menus without a full two-day OAMC event. Read on to find out what I learned and how I’m making it work for me.

First of all, it’s a simple process blending advance food prep with menu planning. Bonus? It doesn’t have to be expensive at all. In fact, when Kathy shared her list with me for an article healthy eating and frugal fitness, I was pleasantly surprised at how affordably she pulls this off in her own home.

In a nutshell, you select a few basic food items of popularity in your home around which several meal plans can be developed for the week. Then, you take brief section of your Sunday evening to scrub and chop veggies, pre-cook or chop meat and perhaps prepare a pot of rice. From there, you place everything into clear containers for convenient use throughout the week.

For those who prefer freshly prepared meals as opposed to frozen casseroles, or families with hectic schedules where every night’s dinner plan is a mystery until the last minute, this strategy just might be heaven sent. Here’s a sample Sunday Setup plan that has worked well at my house:

• Prepare a roast chicken or a crock pot full of chicken legs with a full pot of brown rice for dinner, providing planned leftovers.
• Rinse and slice some multi-colored bell peppers.
• Chop some onions.
• Have a well stocked fruit bowl.
• Choose a rinse and dump veggie. This could be grape tomatoes, snow peas or French beans.
• Have a bread on hand, such as tortillas, sliced artisan or basic whole wheat sandwich bread.
• Morning Star Farms soy-based veggie crumbles.
• Keep a stash of organic spring mix greens on hand.
• Rinse and drain some canned or frozen corn.
• Boil some eggs.
• Put either black beans or garbanzo beans in the crock pot over night to rinse and store in the morning.
• Make a sauce or spread of the week. (Eggplant dip, hummus, Thai peanut sauce, guacamole, etc.)

Meals prepared with these items have included chicken fried rice, meatless tacos, southwestern green salad, hard boiled eggs and fruit for a no mess breakfast, hummus, vegan Thai peanut fondue, stir fry, sandwiches and more. Note: I don’t include the roast chicken, rice or overnight bean cooking time, as I would be preparing Sunday dinner anyway, and the beans cook while I sleep. Do you have an ingredient list that works for you? Share your ideas below.

Related Readings: Free Classroom Fitness Program for Teachers and Six Exercise Tips for Travelers.

Photo Credit: Kathy Kaehler Fitness