This Is This Week

This week, I’m not sure if you can even call my meal prep a meal prep.

Isn’t “meal prepping,” by definition, the act of preparing all or most of your ingredients or meals at one time? 

That didn’t really happen this week.

But I did capitalize on small chunks of time to help my family eat (pretty) well, I’d say! 

What I Made This Week

• Yogurt parfaits
• Chopped vegetables
• Pesto (for the freezer)
• Chopped watermelon
• Steel cut oat/chia bowls with berries
• Eggplant parm “casserole” with penne
• Veggie burgers (from the freezer!)
• Teriyaki potstickers over sautéed veggies

Meal prep was fairly sporadic because of a number of reasons.

1. We started the week with a fair amount of leftover food: I made a large enchilada casserole this past Saturday after scrapping my initial dinner menu and opting to clear out some miscellaneous pantry and freezer items (slightly expired enchilada sauce, the last few green tomatoes from our 2022 garden, some frozen corn tortillas…). The casserole was delicious, but we had a ton of leftovers! I dished up four servings (3 for A. and 1 for me) and this, along with some leftover soup, took care of lunch/dinner for the start of our work week. 
2. Several unexpected events/outings cropped up: Sunday, A. and I ended up staying late at church and enjoying some snacks during a meeting we attended, then went out for a late lunch before visiting with his family for the evening (where I cooked a pasta dish using random leftovers from the fridge). Monday evening, I ended up attending a wake and going out to dinner with a few former coworkers. And Friday evening, my oldest son was off for a sleepover with A.’s parents so I wasn’t sure if I was going to cook or get takeout as a special surprise (I ended up throwing together the potstickers).
3. I had a ton of work to do in the garden: Garden work (combined with a webinar and a church activity for the kids) left our week pretty crammed. It was simplest to choose super simple options like chopped veggies and fruit and capitalize on a convenience food I almost always stock in my freezer (veggie burgers!).

It all worked out, and even if it wasn’t the most creative and exciting menu, we were all well fed.

So here’s a reminder that you can always work with what you have. No one needs a gourmet meal!