Meal Planning: Cook Once And Eat All Week

Let me introduce meal planning – cook once eat all week to you. It is the perfect meal prep method to get dinner on the table fast with these easy recipes.

You know how it goes – life gets busy, and you find yourself scrambling to put dinner on the table. These 30-minute meals will save you time and money. Plus, all the meal planning has already been done for you.

How do you cook once a week?

Wouldn’t it be great to spend just a few hours in the kitchen and have your meals ready for the week? You’d know exactly what was for dinner because it was already prepped. And creating your grocery list was a breeze.

That’s exactly what I’ll share with you.

They become different meals by cooking several chicken breasts and thighs at once. Or cook a large roast, ground beef, or a whole chicken. The possibilities for quick and easy dinners are endless.

Save Time

How can this concept save you time?

Just imagine the amount of time it takes to cook chicken breasts for three nights:

You’ve just prepared chicken three separate times for an easy meal prep series. How about cooking the chicken at once and using it for those meals later in the week? Now, that’s a real-time saver!

You can just simply store cooked meats in a plastic container, plastic wrap seal, or any containers of your choosing then freeze it or store in the fridge. You can portion the meats as single serving or as bulk on how you plan it to cook. Thaw in the microwave when you are ready to use it.

Another way the cooking once concept saves you time is that you have a built-in meal plan for the whole week.

Making your grocery list is easy. And, when you get to the store, your grocery shopping trip is quicker, too.

Saving Money

In case you didn’t know, meal planning saves you money, too.

Going into the grocery store with a list is the way to go. It helps eliminate impulse buying because you already know what you need.

Cooking once and eating all week helps save money because you’re able to save on weekly specials. Look online to see what’s on sale at your local grocery store.

Usually, dinner is the most expensive meal. So, if you see they are having a big sale on pork roasts, focus that week’s meals around pork.

Another savings tip is to order your groceries online for pickup. This helps prevent impulse buying altogether and saves you time, too.

I create an online list early in the week and add to it during the week. This helps keep your household and pantry stocked.

Cook Once Eat All Week Concept

I first learned about Cook Once Eat All Week from the cookbook by Cassie Joy Garcia. It’s become one of my favorite cookbooks.

The easy dinner recipes are real food, and offer modifications for gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb paleo, and grain-free modifications.

And I shared several weeks of meal prep on Instagram.

Then I realized I already had many easy delicious recipes with basic ingredients and clear instructions on the blog that would work for perfectly for cooking bulk once a week!

Cooking ahead was something I did when my kids were younger. So we have meals for a complete week.

For example, when ground beef was on sale, I bought a 5-pound package of it. Then, I cooked it with onions, garlic, and seasoning salt. After it was cooked and cooled, I frozen it into 3/4 pound ziplock bags. I had it ready to go when I needed ground beef for spaghetti sauce, beef stroganoff, sloppy joes, or chili.

And you can prep ahead some healthy meals and delicious dinners using your favorite recipes for you and your whole family.

How to Weekly Meal Prep

Now that I’ve shown you how cooking once will save you time and money. All that’s left is to put this to work with a real life weekly meal plan with variety of delicious meals.

For this first post, I’m using boneless, skinless chicken as the protein source. You can use bone-in chicken if that’s what you have on hand. This is a really versatile plan for our healthy meal prep series.

Meal One – Chicken Chile Verde Recipe

The first, is to make Chicken Chile Verde.

For two people, make the recipe as it is. You can easily use 3 pounds of chicken in one jar or sauce. And, for four, double the recipe, and so forth.

Chicken Chile Verde is prepared in the Instant Pot or slow cooker. Serve this easy dinner recipe with Basmati rice and Tex Mex salad Lazy Dog copycat recipe. Save 2/3 of the chicken for later.

If you prefer red salsa, check out my easy shredded salsa chicken Instant Pot recipe.

Meal Two – Creamy Chicken Enchiladas Recipe

For your next meal, shred part of the chicken for Chicken Enchiladas (recipe below).

Meal Three (or more!) Recipe Ideas

For the last cook-once recipe, use the rest of the chicken for chicken tacos or one of these easy dinner recipes:

Serve this stew with baked sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, or sear Cuban pork.

Serve this salad with pizza for a weeknight meal with the family and add more cheese as toppings. You can also make spaghetti squash as your main dish.