Don't want to meal prep

I Don’t Want to Meal Prep. I Want to Have Food Ready.

I’ve discovered something about myself. I like having food ready. I do not necessarily want to eat the exact same prepared meal four days in a row.

We’ve already discussed what happens when I make too much chicken salad.

ONE. CAN.

So instead of spending Sunday making six identical little containers of chicken, broccoli and something beige, I’m starting to think about meal prep differently.

What if I don’t prep meals?

What if I prep pieces of meals?

Cook some chicken.

Cut up some vegetables.

Buy several kinds of canned beans.

Wash and portion things into bags or containers.

Label them with the date.

Keep a few toppings around.

Then when I’m hungry, I don’t have to start cooking from scratch.

I just open the refrigerator and build something.

It’s basically Lego Culinary. And I like Lego Culinary.

Start With Protein

Cook some chicken ahead of time and cut it into bite-size pieces.

That’s my easiest option because chicken can become approximately 47 different dinners depending on what I put with it.

I could also have:

• Hard-boiled eggs
• Leftover fish
• Lean ground beef or turkey
• Cottage cheese or string cheese for something quick

The point isn’t to prepare everything imaginable.

It’s to have one or two proteins ready to go.

Open the Bean Department

This may be the easiest part because somebody else already cooked them and put them in cans for me. Thank you for your service.

I can keep several kinds in the pantry:

Black beans

Great with chicken, zucchini, peppers, avocado and a little cheese.

Butter beans

Good with chicken, mushrooms and greens.

Cannellini or other white beans

Good with chicken, spinach or kale, mushrooms, garlic and Parmesan.

Pinto beans

Good for a taco-ish bowl with chicken, tomatoes, peppers, cheese and avocado.

Drain them. Rinse them. Use what I need. I don’t need an entire can in one meal.

This is apparently another important lesson at Chef Aleta Culinary Academy.

Prep the Vegetable Drawer

This is where I can really go crazy because I like vegetables. And that’s something worth taking advantage of.

I could prep:

For cooking: zucchini, mushrooms, bok choy, bell peppers, cauliflower or whatever else I’m using that week.

For crunch: cucumber, celery, cauliflower, bell pepper or crunchy bok choy stems.

For easy additions: spinach or kale that can be tossed directly into a skillet.

And tomatoes don’t even need an invitation. Tomatoes can simply show up.

Put everything into separate bags or containers and label the date.

That’s important. Because three days later I do not want to stand in front of the refrigerator holding a mysterious bag of zucchini and asking:

“When did I cut you?”

The zucchini will not answer.

Then Keep the Fun Stuff

This is what stops Chicken + Vegetable from becoming one endless meal.

Keep several finishing ingredients around:

Cheese.

Avocado.

Chopped nuts.

Tomatoes.

Greek-yogurt-based sauces.

Mustard or Dijon.

A favorite dipping sauce.

Lime or lemon.

Parmesan.

Different seasonings.

I don’t need all of them at once. They’re the things that let me take the same basic ingredients in completely different directions.

Now Play Lego Culinary

Suppose my refrigerator contains:

Cooked chicken

Zucchini

Mushrooms

Bok choy

Spinach

Cucumber

Tomatoes

And my pantry has:

Black beans

Butter beans

Cannellini beans

Pinto beans

Suddenly I have choices.

Dinner #1: Chicken + Black Bean Skillet

Chicken + zucchini + black beans + bell pepper.

Season with garlic, cumin and smoked paprika.

Top with a little shredded cheese, tomato and avocado.

Done.

Dinner #2: Chicken + Butter Bean Skillet

Chicken + mushrooms + butter beans + spinach or kale.

Garlic, black pepper and maybe a little Parmesan.

Completely different dinner.

Dinner #3: Chicken & White Bean Bowl

Chicken + cannellini beans + spinach + mushrooms.

Add tomatoes and Parmesan.

Maybe lemon.

Done.

Dinner #4: Taco-ish Bowl

Chicken + pinto or black beans + zucchini + peppers.

Top with tomato, cheese and avocado.

If I happen to want a little rice, I can add some.

If I don’t want rice?

I don’t have to add rice just because somebody somewhere declared that bowls require rice.

The Bowl Police have not contacted me.

Dinner #5: The Giant Crunchy Bowl

Chicken + cucumber + cauliflower + tomatoes + a small scoop of beans.

Add cheese or nuts for texture and whatever dressing or sauce sounds good.

Lots of chewing. I like chewing. I’ve learned things about myself.

Dinner #6: The “I Cannot Be Bothered” Meal

Cold chicken.

Cucumber.

A few tomatoes.

String cheese.

Maybe some blackberries.

Whatever is already ready.

Put it on a plate.

That is still dinner.

Nobody from the Culinary Institute of America is coming to inspect it.

And Tomorrow’s Lunch Is Practically Done

This may be my favorite part. While I’m making supper, I can put some of the ingredients into tomorrow’s container. I don’t necessarily have to make tomorrow’s lunch identical.

Tonight’s dinner might be chicken + black beans + zucchini + avocado.

Tomorrow’s lunch could use the same chicken and zucchini but add cucumber, tomatoes, cheese and a different bean.

Same prep. Different meal.

Cook once. Eat twice. Without feeling like I’m serving a prison sentence.

This Is My Kind of Meal Prep

I’m learning that making better food choices is considerably easier when the food I want to eat is already available.

If I’m starving and everything requires washing, chopping, cooking and thinking, there’s a much greater chance I’m going to say:

Forget it. What can I eat RIGHT NOW?

But if I open the refrigerator and see bags labeled:

CHICKEN — WED

ZUCCHINI — WED

CUCUMBER — WED

BOK CHOY — WED

and there are cans of beans sitting in the pantry?

I don’t have to summon motivation. I just have to assemble dinner. And because everything is separate, I’m not trapped eating the same thing until it’s gone.

I can mix.

I can match.

I can change the seasonings.

I can add cheese.

I can add nuts.

I can add tomatoes.

I can decide tonight that I want black beans and tomorrow that I don’t want to look at another black bean.

The ingredients are ready. The meal isn’t predetermined.

And I think that’s the difference I’ve been looking for. I don’t need a refrigerator full of completed meals.

I need a refrigerator full of possibilities.

Preferably labeled. Because the zucchini still refuses to tell me how long it’s been in there. And after the Chicken Salad Incident, we’re no longer trusting my memory.

ONE. CAN.