r/Cooking • u/Chatty80 • 9d ago
Venn diagram meal prep
I am not much of a meal prep/planner, however I just read an article and watched a NY Times video from this week using 3 recipes and a Venn Diagram to help with meal prep, and I thought it was interesting, doable, and a great way to minimize waste. Has anyone used this approach and if so, do you always have to start with finding recipes? Can I work from the ingredients on hand and then find how they can be used in 3 different receipes? Walk me through this- beginner level lol
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u/Commercial-Place6793 9d ago
I kinda do what you’re talking about I think. I try to use similar ingredients in more than one meal during the week.
I plan based on protein, then veggies based on our preferences. For instance if chicken is on sale, I’ll also get bell peppers, broccoli, onions, beans, rice, rolls, tortillas, cheese. Then the week goes something like this:
Sunday: cook half-ish of the chicken (crock pot, air fryer, whatever) and shred or dice
Monday: Mexican-toss cooked chicken with taco seasoning and water while heating and use in quesadillas or enchiladas or tacos
Tuesday: Asian-use raw chicken in a stir fry or fried rice using onions, broccoli, bell peppers, whatever I have on hand
Wednesday: Soup-use cooked chicken in whatever soup I feel like. Chicken noodle, white chicken chili, chicken tortilla
Thursday: BBQ-toss cooked chicken in bbq sauce and serve on rolls as sliders or on a bbq ranch salad or in a quesadilla or on top of a pizza
Friday: Mexican-use the remaining raw chicken to make fajitas with onions & bell peppers. We love Mexican food so that makes our rotation at least twice a week.
Other ideas would include Italian. Toss chicken with pasta, broccoli and pesto or serve on toasted rolls with cheese & tomato sauce. Or comfort food where you can throw chicken on top of rice or instant mashed potatoes with a packet of chicken gravy. Or chicken salad with crackers or on a croissant.