Meal prep usually will get a nasty rap. Visions of infinite chopping, bland containers of hen and rice, and full Sundays spent within the kitchen could make even probably the most enthusiastic dwelling cook dinner shrink back. However in response to board-certified nutritionist and classically educated chef Mia Rigden, it doesn’t should be this fashion. Actually, Mia Rigden’s meal prep tips provide a recent strategy to simplify your week, hold your recipes thrilling, and help your nutrition goals with out the stress. For Mia, it’s not simply concerning the meals. As a substitute, it’s about creating rituals that nourish your physique and thoughts whereas maintaining your meals vibrant and recent.

Mia Rigden

Mia Rigden is a Los Angeles-based board licensed nutritionist, educated chef, and the writer of The Properly Journal (2020) and Foodwise. Rigden holds a Masters of Diet and Integrative Well being from the Maryland College of Integrative Well being, together with a Holistic Well being Teaching license from the Institute of Integrative Diet. She resides in Santa Monica, California together with her household.

Mia Rigden’s Meal Prep Suggestions for a Wholesome, Stress-Free Week

On this information, Mia shares her knowledgeable ideas for mastering meal prep in a method that feels intuitive and provoking. From realizing which proteins to prioritize to making a game-changing pantry, these habits are designed that can assist you eat properly with out sacrificing time or taste. Mia’s strategy redefines meal prep, proving it’s doable to streamline your cooking routine whereas nonetheless having fun with dynamic, joy-sparking meals that go away you feeling energized and supported all through the week.

To deliver these tricks to life, Mia has additionally curated a sample meal plan that serves as the last word reset for 2025. Suppose comforting but nourishing dishes like Rooster & Lentil Soup, Wild Rice & Roasted Vegetable Salad, and Salmon Fusilli with Lemon, Capers, and Broccolini. Every recipe is designed to work in concord with the ideas she shares, providing a basis for meal prep that’s something however boring. Able to revolutionize your kitchen and embrace the facility of considerate preparation? Let’s dive in.

Psychological Prep Is the First Step

“Meal prep usually turns folks off as a result of they assume they’ll be spending their total Sunday within the kitchen,” Mia tells me. “However good meal prep shouldn’t take greater than an hour or so of bodily prep time.” Based on Mia, the important thing to creating it work is definitely the psychological planning. Taking simply 20 minutes to map out your meals for the week and grocery store effectively units the stage for a seamless routine.

“While you’ve deliberate forward, you possibly can repurpose proteins, greens, grains, and sauces to make new and thrilling dishes in minimal time,” she explains. If the considered planning feels daunting, Mia suggests beginning with a framework, like her Sunday Meal Prep collection. “It does the give you the results you want with 5 weekly dinner recipes and a buying record, so that you’re arrange for fulfillment.”

Easy Is Nice

Probably the most liberating items of recommendation Mia shared? Don’t overcomplicate it. “Cooking is a superb interest, however generally you simply have to eat,” she says with fun. To keep away from the temptation of ordering takeout, Mia recommends maintaining a couple of go-to dishes in your again pocket. “Pasta, scrambled eggs, or floor turkey bowls are straightforward to throw collectively and at all times satisfying,” she shares.

By giving your self permission to simplify, you possibly can create meals which might be fast and nourishing with out the strain to whip up one thing elaborate. “Easy is usually what we find yourself craving most anyway,” Mia provides.

Know Your Proteins

Of all of the meal elements, Mia says meal prepping proteins will be the toughest to improvise. “Greens will be eaten uncooked or sautéed, and grains will be cooked shortly,” she explains. “However should you don’t have a plan to your protein, it’ll be exhausting to place a fast meal collectively.” Her recommendation? At all times cook dinner further. “For those who’re grilling hen, roasting salmon, or making meatballs, make sufficient for lunch or dinner the subsequent day.”

Mia additionally loves the flexibility of easy proteins, which may simply be remodeled into utterly completely different meals with dressings and sauces. “For instance, roasted salmon works fantastically with brown rice, roasted greens, and pesto, but it surely’s additionally glorious in a salad with kimchi, cucumber, avocado, and a sesame dressing—or tossed into pasta with broccoli rabe, lemon, and capers.”

For weeks when time is particularly tight, Mia leans on premade proteins. “Rotisserie hen, tofu, frozen burger patties, or tin seafood are lifesavers,” she shares.

Hold an Organized Pantry and Fridge

Mia emphasizes that meal prep begins together with your kitchen setup. “It’s immeasurably simpler and extra fulfilling to cook dinner in an organized kitchen,” she says. For those who’re committing to meal prep, contemplate it the proper alternative for a pantry and fridge refresh. “A kitchen reorg is a good way to set your self up for fulfillment and replace your pantry staples,” Mia notes.

She additionally suggests stepping into the behavior of a weekly fridge clean-out. “Virtually-off greens are nice in a frittata or blended right into a soup,” she shares. With a tidy and well-stocked kitchen, meal prep turns into a inventive and fulfilling ritual as a substitute of a chore.

A Pattern Meal Plan to Make Prep a Breeze

You’ll find all of the recipes from this meal plan in our Substack interview with Mia here. Every recipe is designed to be vibrant, straightforward to organize, and supportive of your vitamin objectives. (To not point out, make wholesome consuming accessible and fulfilling.) From hearty dishes to recent choices, Mia’s meal plans provide per week of scrumptious meals that may hold you happy.

Sunday: Chicken & Lentil Soup

Monday: Salmon & Roasted Green Beans with Pesto and Brown Rice

Tuesday: Wild Rice & Roasted Vegetable Salad with Chicken

Wednesday: Salmon Fusilli with Lemon, Capers & Broccolini

Thursday: Grass Fed Ribeye with Fall Harvest Salad

Make forward:

• Rooster & Lentil Soup lasts as much as per week within the fridge (or freezer for a month!)
• Pesto for the salmon
• Roasted greens for the salad

Lunch concepts:

• Double the soup and eat it for lunch all week.
• The salmon and inexperienced beans will yield leftovers—gently reheat for lunch.
• The wild rice and roasted veg salad is nice eaten chilly.

By the way in which, I’m obsessive about the meal plans that Mia shares on her Substack, Btwn Meals—they’re at all times so wholesome, easy, and actually get the inventive juices flowing should you’re caught in a dinner rut.

One morning earlier this month, I woke as much as freezing climate and feeling underneath the climate. It was the proper day to remain cozy in pajamas—and in that second, I felt so grateful for the couple of hours I’d spent the day earlier than targeted on my weekly meal prep. Our fridge was stocked with the constructing blocks of some scrumptious meals: a comforting chicken and rice soup, contemporary greens and chopped veggies, creamy hummus, and a batch of morning glory muffins simply ready to be slathered with butter. My weekly meal prep had turned what may have been a aggravating, unmotivated day into one crammed with nourishing, easy meals.

One in every of my mates lately advised me that, for him, happiness is a fridge filled with meals. It true—there’s a sure consolation that comes from realizing you will have the makings of a scrumptious meal. However in fact, the busyness of recent life signifies that most of us don’t have hours to spend on making ready complicated meals.

Once I get dwelling on the finish of a protracted day, I wish to have some wholesome meals choices prepared, and I promise that when you’ve stocked your kitchen, you may make nourishing meals simpler than ordering takeout. For me, prepping substances forward is the one approach that I’m going to stay to healthy eating with a busy schedule. Enter: my weekly meal prep ritual.

My Weekly Meal Prep Routine

That’s the place my simple meal prep technique is available in. Each weekend, I make only a handful of easy “constructing block” recipes that I can use as a leaping off level for numerous nourishing meals through the week. Roasted veggies can prime a salad or fill a sandwich. A pot of quinoa types the bottom of a grain bowl, or can develop into a comfy breakfast porridge. These base recipes are infinitely versatile, and a part of the enjoyable is getting inventive and determining other ways to make use of them. 

Watch the video above to see precisely how I knock out these 5 meal prep duties in about an hour, then learn on for the precise directions. However first, some ideas for weekly meal prep success.

Prep With the Seasons

How do I resolve what substances to make use of in every of those base recipes? For me, it’s all about getting impressed by what’s in season. When you will have contemporary lettuces or a deep orange candy potato or completely ripe strawberries, it doesn’t take a lot to show them right into a scrumptious meal. It additionally means you’re getting the utmost vitamin from these complete, unprocessed meals to be able to actually feel and look your greatest.

Follow Aware Cooking

If you happen to assume you don’t have time to meal prep on a Sunday, strive considering of it as a self-care second—one thing you’ll be able to take your time doing and benefit from the course of. I like to pour a glass of kombucha, wine, or make a sizzling tea, activate some music, and make my meal prep a ritual. And that tremendous feeling of opening my fridge on the finish of a protracted day and being met with wholesome, scrumptious choices? The final word reward.

Preserve It Straightforward

You don’t want tons of time (an hour or two is a lot!) or any fancy tools. Most of those recipes solely require a knife, a slicing board, and a sheet pan. I attempt to be productive and profit from my time: whereas the veggies are roasting and the grains are cooking on the range, I make my dressing and my crunchy seed combine. You’ll get in your personal rhythm and finally gained’t even have to have a look at any directions. After doing these a couple of instances, you’ll discover your circulate.

Pleasant Reminders

• Clear as you go.
• Write down an inventory of what you’re going to do prematurely so you will have a plan of motion.
• Do not forget that even for those who simply make a few these, it should nonetheless make a giant distinction through the week. Do what you’ll be able to!

Cook dinner the Grains

A container of cooked grains is without doubt one of the most versatile objects you’ll be able to have in your fridge. Cooked grains like farro or quinoa make a fantastic aspect dish to any protein, or use as the bottom for a grain bowl, prime with an egg, and even heat it up and add nut milk and cinnamon for a breakfast porridge.

Right this moment I’m utilizing quinoa. I like its chewy consistency and plant-based protein, however you should utilize farro, buckwheat, rice, amaranth, or any others.

The way to cook dinner excellent quinoa:

1. Rinse 1 cup quinoa in a mesh strainer, then place in a small saucepan.
2. Add 1 cup water and a pinch of salt, then carry to a boil.
3. As soon as boiling, instantly cut back warmth to low and canopy. Let simmer for 20 minutes, fluffing with a fork midway by means of to make sure quinoa isn’t sticking to the underside of the saucepan.
4. When it’s cooked, I place a folded dish towel between the pot and a lid whereas it cools to take away extra moisture.

Cooked quinoa retains within the fridge for 5 days. To freeze cooked grains, unfold them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and switch to the freezer for not less than two hours. After the grains are frozen, you’ll be able to retailer them in a freezer-safe container. 

Roast Veggies

Just about any vegetable tastes approach higher roasted—cooking at a high heat concentrates the flavour and provides a caramelization that I like. 

My favourite veggies to roast:

• candy potatoes
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• butternut squash
• beets
• child purple potatoes
• cabbage
• brussels sprouts
• tomatoes
• eggplant

Add spices and herbs in order that they at all times style totally different and fascinating. Generally I’ll toss mine in taco seasoning, different instances I’d drizzle with harissa or infused vinegar, and even simply preserve it easy with a pinch of Italian seasoning. Salt and pepper is at all times a should. As soon as made, they’re an ideal addition to salads, grain bowls, tacos, and sandwiches. 

The way to roast any veggie:

• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and unfold the veggies in a single layer, leaving some room round them in order that they roast as a substitute of steam. You need the sides to get crispy and brown.
• Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper (and every other spices you’re utilizing) and toss them round. Roast till caramelized. (Cooking time will differ primarily based on the veg.)

Make a Dressing or Sauce

That is the step that will get me enthusiastic about utilizing my prepped veggies all through the week. Grains and veggies can get a bit of boring with no flavor-packed sauce to drizzle over every part and make it devourable. Having a mason jar filled with dressing on the prepared means you will have a salad dressing and a sauce for bowls, tacos, and veggie sides. You may drizzle over a roasted candy potato or use as a dip for uncooked veggies. It’s actually your greatest buddy on the subject of making simple and scrumptious meals in a flash. 

This week, I’m making one among my favorites, Turmeric French dressing. It’s tremendous easy to make—simply add all these substances to the blender:

• 1 shallot, peeled and halved
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons heat water
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• Squeeze of honey
• Teaspoon of floor turmeric
• huge pinch of salt and pepper
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Mix every part up, then retailer in a mason jar all week.

Prep Your Salad Greens and Uncooked Veggies

Are you 10x extra prone to eat your veggies in the event that they’re already washed and prepped in the fridge? SAME. And my youngsters are, too. I’ve began preserving a lidded container within the fridge filled with chopped carrots, cucumbers, and bell peppers in order that once they come into the kitchen on the lookout for a snack proper earlier than dinner, I can level them to the crudité bowl. And we at all times have guacamole, hummus, or my weekly salad dressing (above) that they’ll pair with their veggie for dipping.

Plus, when you will have contemporary lettuce and different chopped veggies prepared, it’s really easy to throw collectively a salad with no matter dinner you’re serving. I’d a lot want to do all of the prep in a single go, somewhat than getting out my salad spinner and slicing board time and again.

How I prep my veggies after my weekly grocery run:

• Wash and dry my lettuce in a salad spinner, then wrap in paper towels to soak up moisture and retailer within the produce drawer of the fridge.
• Peel and slice carrots, cucumbers, celery, bell peppers, and every other uncooked veggies I’ve laying round, so I can simply throw them into college lunches through the week.

Make the Spicy Seed Combine

I’m huge on including crunch to simply about every part—generally it’s only a handful of chopped nuts or seeds, however I like to have some sort of spicy seed combine within the fridge that I can sprinkle on every part from salads to bowls to veggie sides. It simply offers it that little one thing, ya know?

This recipe is tremendous adaptable to any seed, nut, or spice you will have readily available. Generally I am going a bit of sweeter and add maple syrup or orange zest, however in the present day I’m going savory with sea salt and coriander.

The way to make the spicy seed combine:

• In a small sauté pan, add pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, and sunflower seeds. Toast on low till they begin to scent aromatic, then add sesame seeds, a pinch every of sugar and salt, and a few coriander.
• Toast till every part begins to get a bit of golden brown, then switch to a mason jar and retailer within the fridge.

I like the recent begin a brand new yr brings. The air is ripe with objectives, habits and concepts for the long run—I can’t assist however be impressed to reassess my life and my dwelling. Whereas many January aim setting classes embody classes like wellness, profession and private objectives, I at all times like to incorporate inside design objectives within the combine as effectively. Even when your 2025 imaginative and prescient doesn’t essentially embody dinner events or a kitchen reno, the environment performs such an enormous consider our general temper and wellbeing. A well-organized dwelling crammed with items you like will help you keep targeted, pleased and comfy—all important for making your desires a actuality. If you happen to’re prepared for a January dwelling refresh, learn on for just a few concepts to assist get you began. 

Declutter

After the hustle and bustle of the vacation season, I discover January is the right time to declutter your area. Particularly because you’ve most likely gathered new objects over the previous few months, spend a while making room for vacation presents. If you consider decluttering, I’m certain most of us most likely have an area that involves thoughts first (yeah, you understand the one!). I like to recommend beginning there. Whether or not it’s your closet, your pantry, kitchen cupboards, and even your inbox—block out a weekend morning to declutter. I not too long ago went by means of my closet and made three totally different piles labeled money (garments to donate or promote), stash (garments to place away for the season) and trash (garments that may be tossed or recycled). I cherished this organizing technique and it solely took about an hour.

Decluttering your complete house is an enormous ask in a single month, nonetheless. Don’t really feel stress to do all of it in only a few weeks. Make a listing of initiatives and set a aim to deal with one every month, and even each two weeks. 

Deep Clear 

A January dwelling refresh wouldn’t be full with a deep clear. I at all times really feel like my home is model new after it’s totally cleaned. This can be a excellent mission when you’re performed with some decluttering. You don’t have to clean your complete dwelling in a single fell swoop, however choosing a room a day might be a good way to get it performed in a few week. Right here’s a helpful check-list that can assist you get going!

• Kitchen: Disinfect all surfaces, wipe down cupboards, home equipment and the stovetop, deep clear the oven, wipe the within of the microwave, declutter the fridge and freezer, deep clear the dishwasher and rubbish disposal
• Dwelling Room: Mud in every single place (surfaces, cabinets, decor, frames and so forth.), vacuum the flooring, wash throw blankets and pillows, vacuum and clear sofas and chairs
• Bed room: Wash all bedding, mud furnishings and surfaces, declutter nightstands,  wash curtains, rotate your mattress
• Bogs: Deep clear the bathe and tub, wash bathtub mats and towels, clear and disinfect the bathroom, substitute toothbrushes, wash and disinfect the trash can 

Implement Group Methods

In an effort to hold your house tidy, group programs are key. Suppose labels and zones in your pantry, a delegated shoe storage system in your entryway, or small organizers in your kitchen and toilet drawers. It’s at all times a bummer to place main work into decluttering, solely to have your area return to being a multitude (talking from expertise!). Take time to put money into easy group instruments. Containers, a label maker or hooks for the wall will hold your area neat and tidy for a January dwelling refresh that can final all yr lengthy. 

Replace Your Decor

Respiration new life into your area can transcend cleansing and organizing—why not sprinkle in some new decor whilst you’re at it? I like strolling by means of my dwelling originally of the yr and making a listing of little design initiatives I’d wish to deal with. A decor refresh can embody small touches that gained’t break the financial institution, like new pillows, frames or throws. I like cozy lighting, particularly within the winter, and updating lamps is usually a good contact. Even one thing so simple as a bouquet of flowers in your desk or swapping out the images in your frames are excellent on your January dwelling refresh. 

Embrace The Season

Winter is a time to settle in and comfy up. Including seasonal touches to your house will hold you and your family members pleased and heat indoors. Contemplate including a winter dwelling perfume like citrus or cedar. A selfmade simmer pot with orange slices, apples, cranberries, cinnamon sticks and rosemary sprigs will fill your house with a beautiful winter aroma. Preserve just a few twinkle lights out from the vacation, and layer fluffy textiles like fake furs and knits. I personally hold fake garland out by means of January because it doesn’t scream vacation and it makes me pleased. You may also by no means go mistaken with candles. Candlelight jogs my memory of hygge, or the Danish custom of discovering consolation in coziness. To essentially flip your house right into a hygge hideaway, burn a number of candles without delay. To cut back the chance of a hearth, use battery operated ones as a substitute. They nonetheless give off an ambient glow!

Set Intentions

Refreshing your house will be tied to your new yr intentions. Take a second to contemplate how your area can assist you and your objectives for the brand new yr. Maybe you might have a studying aim—why not do some rearranging and create a comfy studying nook? If wellness is in your thoughts, dedicate a nook for meditation or declutter your kitchen so you’ll be able to deal with your cooking objectives with ease. Or it may be so simple as displaying your imaginative and prescient board in a spot the place you’ll see it usually. Investing in a house improve that can make your life simpler is a improbable January dwelling refresh concept. The easy act of making area in your house on your desires will help get you there sooner. Create an atmosphere the place it’s straightforward to do the belongings you wish to do, and watch because the magic unfolds.

Rearrange

A value-free means so as to add new vitality to an area is to easily rearrange it. I rearranged my bed room final yr and moved the mattress to the alternative wall and it made all of the distinction. It felt like a wholly new room! If there’s a spot in your house that doesn’t really feel fairly proper—method it with new eyes and give attention to having enjoyable. Mess around with new preparations, then attempt one out for per week and see the way you prefer it. If there’s a room with an issue, ask your self how one can remedy it. My husband and I moved our mattress as a result of it was towards a closet. We weren’t capable of open the door all the way in which, and I obtained to some extent the place I used to be simply sick of it. A easy swap made it occur!

Beginning January in a refreshed, peaceable dwelling is a superb begin to the brand new yr. Our outer world is a mirrored image of our inside world, in spite of everything. If you happen to’re craving for calm, let your house be your information. Right here’s to falling in love together with your area this yr!