How to stock your kitchen for last-minute meals
Imagine you’ve just gotten home from work with the kids in tow. It’s dinnertime, and as the kids scatter to do homework, you try and figure out what to make.
When you open the fridge and freezer, will there be ingredients ready to grab and put together into a quick and healthy meal, or will it be another expensive takeout meal that you didn’t want to order?
There is one action you can take now to make weeknight dinners, even the ones you’re winging, easy.
The number one strategy we recommend to everyone is to keep your kitchen stocked. Dinner is a breeze with the right mix of ingredients on hand, and ordering in is an option instead of a must.
How you stock your fridge, freezer and pantry will depend on your weeknight cooking style, but these tips can help you get started:
Clear the clutter - Just like your closet, get rid of it if you haven’t used it. The specialty spices and sauces, the canned food that you bought in bulk that’s now just gathering dust, the half-used, expired, freezer-burned, or otherwise unusable foods. They clutter, crowd, and distract when you’re short on time and energy at the end of a long day. If the food is still good, donate it or see if family and friends can use it.
Use the same ingredients for more than one meal and mix up the flavors.
Use bagged coleslaw veggies for fish tacos one night and then in a quick saute for Asian lettuce wraps later in the week.
Use pre-cooked quinoa for a Mediterranean Power Bowl one night and a Baja Bowl the next night.
Chop extra bell peppers and onions to use in a stir fry one night and burrito the next.
Keep staple ingredients on hand to whip up a quick mix + match meal on incredibly crazy nights.
Canned beans, whole wheat tortillas, frozen fajita veggies and brown rice, jarred salsa, and cheese to make a quick loaded veggie burrito.
Curry simmer sauce, frozen stir fry veggies, canned garbanzos and frozen brown rice for a quick curry bowl.
Pre-cooked lentils, salad mix, cheese, whole wheat pita bread and dressing for an easy salad.
Stock for your weeknight cooking style.
If you prefer quick and easy, keep pre-cooked grains and veggies in the freezer, salad kits and prepped veggies in the fridge and canned beans and bottled sauces in the pantry.
If you prefer a little more homemade, keep the same basics on hand, plus prep for the week by cooking large batches of grains for the freezer and pre-chopping veggies to grab out of the fridge for meals.
If you prefer something a little more gourmet, keep the same basics on hand along with more flavor-forward sauces and spices to take your mix and match meals to the next level.
Make a big batch meal for more than one night. Cooking a different meal every night isn’t always practical. Try meals like:
One-pot chili
Enchiladas
Sheet pan meals (veggies and protein)
Stocking your kitchen for last-minute meals can make all the difference during the week. Follow these tips to reduce the stress and feel good about dinner again.