How I Think About Meal Planning: 3-in-1s!

Don't like eating the same thing every day? Me neither. In Simple Feel Good Food, I show you how I meal prep to keep my cooking simple, yet exciting.

Simple Feel Good Food comes out in 2 days!!! Quick reminder: if you haven’t pre-ordered yet, we have an awesome Vitamix giveaway going on AND we’re sending a free bonus e-book to those who pre-order. Head to our cookbook page to get the details and to pre-order while you still can!

Ok, logistics aside, I want to tell you about a really cool feature in Simple Feel Good Food: the 3-in-1 meal plans!

What is a 3-in-1?

I also like to call this section “Meal Prep for People Who Don’t Like Eating The Same Thing Every Day.”

Here’s how it works:

In each plan, we’ve developed 3 dinner recipes that share a grocery list. You can find the grocery list and recipe overview on the first page of each plan (see above).

You’ll do most of the cooking on day 1 so that your prep will be streamlined on days 2 and 3. Leftover components from day 1 flow into days 2 and 3, but they transform into a totally different recipe each time. You’ll never have to eat the same thing twice!

For example, the Zucchini 3-in-1 starts with Farro Stuffed Zucchini. Two components carry over to days 2 and 3:

Zucchini flesh that you scoop out of the zucchini boats in order to stuff them
Whipped feta (there’s a vegan option too)

On day 2, you blend the leftover zucchini flesh into a sauce for this creamy Zucchini Lemon Pasta.

And on day 3, you slather the whipped feta onto Grilled Zucchini Flatbreads. With the whipped feta already prepped, they come together in minutes!

Note that you’re also reusing fresh ingredients from day 1 throughout days 2 and 3. You should have very little produce left over at the end of the plan. Waste not, want not!

There are eight 3-in-1 meal plans in Simple Feel Good Food.

Five of them are produce-focused meal plans. They’ll help you use up

a garden full of zucchini
a WHOLE head of cabbage(!)
a summer haul of sweet corn
broccoli AND its stem
and bunches of leafy greens.

Three of the plans are pantry-focused meal plans. They center on

a (big) pot of rice
a batch of lentils
and a pot of beans.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve prepped a week of meals and then not wanted to eat what I’ve prepped. Using this technique instead—making components instead of full meals in advance—has been incredibly effective and enjoyable for me.

I hope that these plans do the same for you, streamlining your weeknight cooking while keeping it exciting.