Meal planning is all the rage. And it sounds like a smart solution for getting organized in the kitchen, the kind of habit that should spark joy. But all the attention on meal plans and meal prep starts to feel pretentious. I’ve tried it and my attempts quickly get too ambitious and the whole thing stresses me out.
Two years of pandemic eating gave me a new perspective. Rather than a structured meal plan, I settled into a routine-based strategy that reflects my cooking and shopping habits. It’s a kitchen rhythm that keeps me eating well with less waste and minimal stress.
There’s no set plan, but a flexible framework that makes cooking at home a pleasure, or at least manageable. There’s enough variety to avoid boredom, with a built-in ease that feels satisfying and stress-free.
My strategy is twofold, leaning heavily on standby meals but always leaving the door open for special meals. First, I’m always prepared to make a series of meals that repeat often. These are my go-to standbys. That means quick, easy meals with familiar recipes from ingredients I’ve got on hand. Cook, eat, repeat!
Mornings revolve around oats or eggs (sometimes just coffee). Midday means leftovers, maybe a sandwich. Standby dinners are variations on pizza, pasta, and tacos. I aim to get fruit on the table at every meal and vegetables on most plates. I’m a meat eater but strive to make plant-based meals on the regular. That’s the basic framework.
Secondly, to add variety and fun, I choose one or two special meals per week. This might be a long-standing favorite (like pasta Bolognese) or a new recipe that I want to try. Special meals include indulgent cravings (steak night!) and time-intensive foods like homemade chicken noodle soup or a long braise.
For groceries, I stock up on items needed for standby meals. I keep a working grocery list on my fridge, adding items that need to be replaced as they run out. Before shopping, I add ingredients for the upcoming special meal(s).
In the past, my attempts at meal planning meant harried shopping trips only to arrive home frustrated and missing key ingredients. Now I trust the routine. If it’s taco week, I know to throw tortillas and avocados in my cart. When its pizza on the menu, I’ll probably want fresh mushrooms and Italian sausage.
The timing is about weekly, but not set in stone. I aim to use up perishables and leftovers before shopping, so the cycle stretches as needed. There’s seasonal variation, with soups and stews in rotation for the winter. In the summer, I can’t get enough of fried green tomatoes.
Meal planning and meal prepping seem popular with many home cooks, but they don’t work for me. Instead, I’m happy with a ritual of repetition and routine. There’s comfort in consistency, made sweeter by sparks of joy that come from anticipating something special. That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it!
If there’s a single recipe that captures my approach to eating well with ease, it’s tomato butter pasta. It’s one of the standby meals that I make most often because it’s fast, easy, and delicious. I’ve included it below along with a sample framework of my standby and special meals.
| Meal | Standbys | Specials |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | · oatmeal with apples & nuts · eggs – scrambled, fried, omelet · yogurt with fruit and granola | · Dutch baby with sautéed apples · hash browns or potatoes O’Brien · sausage & egg breakfast sandwich |
| Lunch | · leftovers · grilled cheese · tuna salad sandwich | · BLT sandwich · hot ham and cheese on a roll · Greek salad |
| Dinner | · leftovers · sausage or vegetable pizza · tomato butter pasta · steak tacos | · grilled chicken with tzatziki & pita · pasta Bolognese · black bean & vegetable tacos · chicken noodle soup |
Tomato Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion cut in half through the root end
- 1/4 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
- pinch sugar as needed
Instructions
- Add butter, onion, and salt to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, cook for another minute to soften onion a little bit.
- Add canned tomatoes and their liquid to the sauté pan. Use a flat wooden spoon to start breaking up the tomatoes. Bring tomato-butter mixture to a slow simmer, stirring frequently.
- Continue to break up the tomatoes as the sauce simmers. Cook at a very low simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is silky and thickened.
- Taste the sauce, adding more salt and/or a pinch of sugar if desired.
- Remove the onion. Refrigerate for another use or dice a portion of the cooked onion to use as topping on pasta if desired.
- There's enough sauce for 1 pound of dry pasta. I like to use half the sauce immediately on 1/2 pound pasta and freeze the remaining half for another meal.
- To serve, combine tomato butter sauce with cooked pasta, tossing well and adding spoonfuls of pasta cooking water if desired to achieve preferred consistency. Garnish with freshly grated parmesan.
Notes
- Some versions of this recipe suggest discarding the onion when the sauce is done. But the onion retains a lovely mild sweetness and a crisp bite. I like to dice some of the cooked onion and sprinkle it on the sauced pasta. I keep any remaining onion in the refrigerator to use in another dish.
- If I’ve got a large enough onion, I try to cut it through the root end into 3 pieces, to maximize the amount of the onion that is submerged in the tomato butter sauce as it cooks. Regardless, I turn the onions over once or twice as the sauce cooks, to encourage more even cooking and hopefully more onion flavor in the sauce.
- Tomato butter sauce is delicious on its own, but also very adaptable. Garnish with fresh basil for a burst of flavor and color. I like to roast Italian sausages while sauce is cooking for a juicy embellishment without too much more effort.
Excellent!!!!