A Nutritionist’s Flexible Plan for Weeknight Cooking

Pandemic cooking came with lessons connected relying connected the pantry, riffing erstwhile you don’t person the close ingredient, and stretching what you person to marque it past betwixt buying trips. Now, arsenic galore radical participate a hybrid signifier of pandemic living—with immoderate household members moving oregon learning remote, going successful idiosyncratic to the bureau oregon school, oregon a operation of the two—we privation immoderate updated, flexible strategies for packed and prepped meals.

Maya Feller, MS, RD, a New York–based nutritionist, mom, and wife, gets what it takes to program for a full family’s varied needs. “This modulation backmost requires cautious planning, thought, and volition astir mealtimes,” she says. Her advice, arsenic always, is clever, practical, and workable for galore types of households and schedules: “All you request are a fewer time-saving tools, a curated pantry and fridge, and partially prepared foods to streamline repast prep.”

MAYA’S FAVORITE TOOLS

1. 

   Ninja Foodi Air Fryer

   “This aerial fryer has a grill and an aerial fryer relation that is fantabulous for vegetables and carnal proteins. It transforms nutrient from the farmers’ marketplace into crispy, grilled, oregon baked delights. It’s precise elemental to usage and has a cooking guide, truthful foods are cooked to perfection.”

   Ninja Foodi 5-in-1, Amazon, $200

2. 

   Instant Pot

   “Dry beans are a large staple successful my house: They are delicious and an fantabulous root of plant-based proteins, vitamins, and minerals. With this pot’s galore functions and settings, I tin hole batches of beans, soups, stews, and adjacent desserts with minimal effort.”

   Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1, Amazon, $89

3. 

   CRUXGG BRED Bread Maker

   “During the shutdown period, similar the remainder of the country, we got truly into making sourdough. I fell successful emotion with this breadstuff shaper due to the fact that I could dump each of the ingredients successful and travel backmost an hr aboriginal to a loaf of caller bread. I would play with the grains arsenic good arsenic ingredients and travel up with awesome combinations, similar multiseed breadstuff with dried blueberries oregon spelt breadstuff with walnuts.”

   CRUXGG BRED 2LB Bread Maker, Williams Sonoma, $170

4. 

   Shun Knives

   “Having a bully weapon allows you to slice, chop, and dice with easiness and precision. As an RD, I’m alert that I’m asking my patients to walk much clip successful the kitchen. If they are going to bash that, they request tools that volition marque it a pleasure-filled acquisition truthful that they are apt to support it up. Shun knives grip truthful beautifully and are exquisitely made.”

   Shun Cutlery Classic 3-Piece Starter Set, Amazon, $325

5. 

   Big Berkey Water Filter

   “So often we deliberation astir the foods we devour but hide astir water. It’s an integral portion of wellness arsenic due hydration is needed for each strategy successful the body. My Berkey filter provides delicious, cleanable h2o for my family.” [Editor’s note: Berkeys are a goop favorite, too.]

   Big Berkey Water Filter, Berkey Filters, $317

A CURATED PANTRY

If your pantry and fridge are stocked with a premix of reliable and versatile staples, you tin marque delicious meals with ease. Feller often uses no-recipe look formulas truthful she tin easy enactment with immoderate she has connected manus to make hearty salads, atom bowls, veggie tacos, and loaded toasts. The cardinal ingredients she ever keeps connected hand, and immoderate go-to formulas:

PARTIALLY PREPPED FOODS

Meal prepping tin beryllium hugely helpful, but it requires a batch of effort and doesn’t ever permission wiggle country if your plans oregon moods should change. That’s wherefore Feller prefers partial prepping to full-blown meals. She thinks of it arsenic a endurance kit—with a fewer important elements to marque weeknight cooking easier and tastier: 1 crockery dressing, 1 stew oregon cookware of beans, and 1 tray of veggies (either earthy for snacking oregon roasted for adding to bowls and salads).

Meal-Prep Ideas from the goop Recipe Archives:

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