Cook Once, Eat All Week is the ultimate meal prep series that helps walk you through an entire month of Paleo-friendly meal prep with delicious recipes and a budget-friendly plan. This is the perfect FREE guide to follow if you’re looking for efficient, healthy success in the kitchen.
BOY HOWDY am I ever excited about this brand spanking new meal prep series!
When my team and I were brainstorming our wishlist of content for 2018, we knew that we wanted to kick off the year with a MAJOR effort to help support your healthy kitchen endeavors. We really wanted to provide support for those of you who just want a little meal prep support (vs. total healthy lifestyle design overhaul).
For the longest time, the working name for this series was “Efficient Meal Prep” because THAT is what we want to bring you. Our dreams included a series of kitchen/ingredient/recipe hacks that will help you created delicious, nutritious meals with an *efficient* use of your time and resources (ahem: money). Because our recipes don’t call for flours, fancy pre-made sauces, or expensive cuts of meat, this series IS budget-friendly (by design). It’s also all “squeaky-clean” Paleo-friendly, so it will comply with most healthy dietary protocols that you may be following in the New Year.
I have to say that I’m extremely proud of this upcoming easy meal prep series! True to our design, the days when we prepared the foods for testing + photographing were our EASIEST days in the kitchen. Working through this entire series is also the primary way I prepared a chest full of frozen meals that we’ll be able to lean on when baby girl makes her arrival (anytime now).
The Cook Once, Eat All Week series is structured to offer support one week at a time.
How the Cook Once, Eat All Week Meal Prep Plan Works
Here’s what you can expect from this healthy meal prep plan:
- 3 “Base” Recipes: a protein, a veggie-based starch, and a vegetable with instructions on how to prepare in bulk.
- 3 Unique Meal Recipes: these will make use of the base recipes, in addition to a few strategic ingredient additions.
- 1 complete eBook that includes shopping lists for the week, a bonus breakfast recipe idea, and additional meal ideas on how to creatively use the “base” recipes. NOTE: this eBook is sent out to Fed & Fit Newsletter Subscribers ONLY. You can grab Week 1 of the series HERE.
Cook Once, Eat All Week Recipes
Week 1: Ground Beef, Kale, and Russet Potatoes
In Week 1 of the series, we are making ground beef, kale, and russet potatoes in bulk and turning them into 3 delicious dinners! You can view the individual recipes below, or you can click here to download the complete eBook!
- Week 1 Base Recipes
- BBQ Bacon Burger Loaded Potatoes
- Taco Breakfast Hash
- Veggie-Loaded Shepherd’s Pie
Week 2: Chicken, Butternut Squash, and Brussels Sprouts
In week 2 of the series, we are taking shredded chicken breast, butternut squash, and brussels sprouts to make a variety of delicious meals. You can view the individual recipes below or you can click here to download the complete Week 2 eBook!
- Week 2 Base Recipes
- Sonoma Chicken Stuffed Butternut Squash
- Hoisin Chicken Bowls
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Week 3: Shredded Pork, Plantains, and Red Bell Peppers
In week 3 of our healthy meal prep series, we are taking shredded pork, plantains, and red bell peppers and using them to make some of our favorite recipes, including pizza! You can view the individual recipes below or you can click here for the complete Week 3 eBook.
- Week 3 Base Recipes
- Cuban Pork and Plantain Casserole
- BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza
- Carnitas Stuffed Peppers
Week 4: Chicken, Spaghetti Squash, and Spinach
In week 4 of this easy meal prep series, we are giving you a week’s worth of low carb-friendly recipes made with shredded chicken thighs, spaghetti squash, and spinach. You can view the individual recipes below or you can click here for the complete Week 4 eBook.
- Week 4 Base Recipes
- Chicken Carbonara Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Balanced Breakfast Egg Cups
- Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Bowls
Reheating Tips:
- For Best Results: the best place to reheat a dish (for the best texture) is where you cooked it the first time. If it was baked, pop it in the oven again until warmed-through. If it was created on the stove, pop it back in a pan, cover, and simmer or sear until warmed (whether frozen or just chilled). If you’re reheating from frozen via the oven, I suggest putting the dish in a COLD oven and then turn the oven to heat to 350 F. Once it’s at temperature, it’s likely your food is perfectly defrosted and heated. Leave in longer if it needs more time.
- For Easiest Results: pop that baby in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, or however long it takes to warm-through, and move on with your day. If you’re microwaving from frozen, I suggest adding 2 minutes for a single serving. Note: it’s best to NOT microwave directly in a plastic container. Transfer to glass or ceramic before microwaving.Â
How to Freeze Your Meal Prep
- Freezing in Bulk: allow the dish to cool completely, wrap tightly with a layer of parchment paper (or wax paper) and then seal with plastic wrap. Label with the name of the dish and date cooked. Most frozen meals are good for 5 months. To re-heat, follow the instructions listed above and cook right from frozen or allow to defrost first before cooking from a chilled state.
- Freezing Single Servings: allow the dish to cool completely and then spoon serving-size portions into the containers of your choosing. I like THESE BPA-free plastic ones because they’re inexpensive to stock up on (I have about 200 of them in my deep freeze right now) and stack well. Seal, label, and then when you’re ready to enjoy, pop them out of the plastic into a glass or ceramic plate/bowl for re-heating or follow the “for best results” reheating tips above.
I hope you love this Cook Once, Eat All Week healthy meal prep series as much as we do! I hope it helps to empower even more kitchen confidence as you pursue your healthy lifestyle in the New Year.
xo, Cassy Joy
Hi Cassie,
In the book, you said that there is a weekly ingredients list for shopping on the website. Is that something other than the weekly recipes, and if not, where can I find it?
Thanks!
Hi Morgan! You can download your printable shopping lists HERE!
I bought the book “Cook once eat all week” . It says in Step 2 under using this book I can down load an ingredient list for each week on this site. I am having a hard time finding these list. I need help.
Thank you
Aeesah
Hi Aneesah! I email the shopping lists to you!
How many servings per week. If I’m only feeding one person how should I cut it?
Hi Margie, each “Cook Once, Eat All Week” week makes 3 meals, and each meal makes enough for 4 adult servings (giving you 12 servings altogether). I hope this helps!
I am allergic to many foods including tomatoes, corn, squash and many others. It looks as though many of the recipes include tomato products or ingredients like BBQ sauce which includes tomato and products that include cornstarch. Do you know how many recipes don’t call for these or if any substitutions are offered in the book? Simply omitting ingredients doesn’t always work. Thank you so much!
Hi Brenda! The book includes dairy-free, grain-free, low-carb, egg-free, Paleo, and nut-free swaps, but unfortunately, we don’t list substitutions for squash or nightshades. I hope this helps!
Hi Brenda, you can purée a combination of cooked carrots and beets with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, to use in place of tomato sauce. I make a spaghetti sauce this way. You can purchase BBQ sauce made without tomatoes or make your own. Do a search for AIP BBQ sauce or AIP tomato sauce, sometimes called No’mato sauce. For corn use small diced carrots. These substitutes won’t taste exactly like the original recipes but they come fairly close.
One more thing … you can use arrowroot or tapioca starch/powder in place of cornstarch, in the same proportions.
Why does it say cook once, eat all week when it makes only 3 meals? What about the other 4 days?
Hi Corinne! We’ve found that 3 meals a week accommodate more family sizes (a family of one, two, or three will have leftovers while a larger family will still have 3 solid nights of dinner). We also know that many families enjoy one dinner out a week, so we want to allow for that too. If you need more than one week provides, you can prep two weeks OR double the week you’re prepping so that you have meals for 6 nights. I hope this helps!
I met you are the CF event last night any you were by far the most beautiful woman there ! I am excited to learn all your cooking tips
I’ve done week one and I’m PUMPED! I hate to sound over the top…but holy Toledo this is exactly what I’ve been looking for, for years! This is do-able, efficient and even fun. I felt so accomplished and excited to eat what I made and then be full and truly satisfied..what a concept!! I cannot say enough good about this method…I’m cooking for myself alone, and I’m actually doing it. (Cereal has its place…but it should NOT be dinner every night) YAY! Thank you so so MUCH.
So glad it is working for you Leah!!
I bought the book. I’m trying to find a printable shopping listing starting on week one. Is there a link for that?