What is your go-to make ahead meal?

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Dandelie
Dandelie Posts: 153 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I just spent the morning making brown rice, chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, and roasted potatoes for the week ahead. What do you make in advance? I prefer bulk since I have three people to feed, but share what you do please!
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Replies

  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    I make some chicken thighs in the slow cooker to use for snacks, lunches and occasionally I throw some in my scrambled eggs in the mornings. Usually 9 thighs will last us the week.
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    edited May 2016
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    I cook entire dishes on weekends: all different varieties of soup, chili, curry, stuffed peppers, stew, casseroles, meatballs, nuggets, burritos/taquitos, burgers, meatloaves, stir fry, etc and freeze them in individual portions. On each container, I label the date and calorie count. I've done it for almost 8 years, so in the morning I can grab and go and my family always has a healthy option to warm up in minutes.

    I also like to prep my breakfast on weekends. On a Sunday night I may make some kind of frittata to eat a wedge everyday over the week, I may make hard boiled eggs, or I may roast some vegetables or make a shakshouka (don't poach the egg yet), so that I can just warm that up and cook my egg each morning.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
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    I make chicken breasts, a lunch cassrole for hubby, and boil a ton of eggs every weekend. Snacks are usually grab and go pre bought items.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
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    Dandelie wrote: »
    I just spent the morning making brown rice, chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, and roasted potatoes for the week ahead. What do you make in advance? I prefer bulk since I have three people to feed, but share what you do please!

    chicken, fish, potatoes or any veggies really
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
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    Chicken breast or lean pork over Japanese rice with broccoli or other vegetables supplemented with a couple pieces of fruit, Greek yogurt and some cheese
  • avingers
    avingers Posts: 29 Member
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    My go to's for make ahead meals are chili, spinach tofu lasagna, and shredded chicken for tacos.
  • 230to142
    230to142 Posts: 6 Member
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    Chili! Red and white. Its an entire balanced meal, it freezes easily, and i can make enough for a week in one pot. So easy
  • Saskwatch99
    Saskwatch99 Posts: 75 Member
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    I usually make a huge salad (romaine, tomato, onion, peppers, cucumbers, peas) once or twice a week. They daily I add chicken, turkey, tuna, beans, boiled eggs, lean ground turkey or beef.
  • GYATagain
    GYATagain Posts: 141 Member
    edited May 2016
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    I also prep for the week ahead on most Saturdays or Sundays. I usually always crockpot chicken breasts to shred for various meals. Hard boil 12 eggs and also make 12-15 "egg wraps" for breakfasts or snacks, or a veggie egg casserole to cut into portions, cut up celery, carrots, and other veggies portion them out, portion out into individual cups, peanut butter, hummus, and salsas; portion out skinny popcorn, almonds, nut/rice crackers, bake a butternut squash. Cut up and put into mason jars fixins for salads (I don't care for the mason jar already mixed together salads - taste funky). Winter time make a big pot of some kind of soup - our favorite, spicy cabbage soup. Some weekends another crockpot of either a roast for my husband's lunches or refried beans for lots of things. A spicy bean enchilada quinoa casserole to portion out. Sounds like it would take a lot of time - but not really - I can usually bust all of that out in less than 2 hours. Down to a science! Makes the weekday mornings and evenings so much easier!
  • skinnyforhi
    skinnyforhi Posts: 340 Member
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    Quinoa, toasted chickpeas, whatever veggies I have on hand, and canned fire-roasted tomatoes and spices to blend it all together. It's pretty fast, and I usually have all of these items in the cupboard.
  • TheopolisAmbroiseIII
    TheopolisAmbroiseIII Posts: 197 Member
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    Every second Sunday, I grill 10 boneless skinless chicken breasts with a sprinkling of coarse salt and minced garlic. Cook 3.75 cups of brown rice in 6.5 cups of water. When rice is done, I will add in 1 cup of frozen green peas.

    When cool, I divide the rice mixture up into 10 equal portions using my food scale, and put 1 piece of chicken and a portion of rice mixture into medium freezer bags, flatten, freeze. I'm then good for 2 weeks of work lunches.

    If I don't have a lunch to look forward to at work, I tend to snack on chips and candy from the canteen, and once sweetness crosses my lips, even diet soda, I have a hard time getting the food train to pull into the station.

    With something tasty (even if monotonous) to look forward to, I'm happy with my morning 2 scoop whey shake and my water bottle until lunch. After eating all that protein and brown rice, I'm satisfied until I can get home and make something decent for supper.
  • Dandelie
    Dandelie Posts: 153 Member
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    Good ideas. Thank you all :smile: Sometimes it is a lot of work, but having something to eat already made makes the choices that much easier.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    I make soups and stews. It is easy to cook in batches, makes great leftovers, freezes well and tastes great. I don't really follow a recipe. Just start tossing stuff in the pot depending on my mood and make sure to weigh each ingredient before it goes in and write it all down for the recipe builder.
  • DearestWinter
    DearestWinter Posts: 595 Member
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    Anything that freezes well is my make ahead meal. My favorites are casseroles (let it cool and then put portions into ziplock bags) and pasta sauce (make the pasta, then after draining the pasta put the sauce into the pan to warm, once it's warm then add the pasta back).
  • kirstinethornburg
    kirstinethornburg Posts: 300 Member
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    I always keep hard boiled eggs peeled and ready to eat on hand
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,411 Member
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    Turkey burgers made with onion soup mix. I keep a bag full of frozen patties in the freezer, they freeze well.
  • cbutton1111
    cbutton1111 Posts: 5 Member
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    I like to have cut up veggies ready to go in ziplock. Fresh herbs are good, too. I made 2 of the muffin recipes that Eat This Not That posted this past week that are low carb and gluten free and have them for afternoon snacks.
  • fishshark
    fishshark Posts: 1,886 Member
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    whenever we have pot pie i always have enough filling for three. Its nice to just have that in the freezer for when im lazy. other then that i dont really do any make ahead stuff. I should probably start.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    I don't cook for the whole week like that. I do use planned leftovers for other meals.
    I suppose my favorite go to thing is soup. II make a big pot of soup once a week. Leftovers can go in the freezer or be used for lunches.
    I have a bunch of veggie burger patties I made and put in the freezer. I can now take out just what we need for a meal.
  • positivepowers
    positivepowers Posts: 902 Member
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    Spaghetti and meatballs or chicken breasts cooked in the crockpot. I can use the chicken breasts for all kinds of dishes! (What can I say? I learned to economize by raising a family of 5 on one paycheck!)

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