Every Sunday, we set ourselves up to make a few meal staples that can turn into quick, healthy meals, or can morph into something more complex during our hungry, busy weeks.
1) Flavor of the week: choosing a type of cuisine (think mexican, italian, greek, or thai) can help guide your choice of herbs and spices and simplify meal planning and grocery store stops.
2) Plan at least one soup, grain, protein, vegetable, and sauce/dressing. With these staples, you have a meal at your fingertips in less than 5 minutes. Use your favorite cookbook for unfamiiar cook times/temperatures. I like Mark Bittman for his insistent imperfection and creativity.
3) Cut up your veggies: wash and cut the veggies you are going to use. It's the easiest way to commit to using them up during the week...no more sad stalks of celery or wilted kale for this tribe.
4) Have a party: don't overthink getting started. Turn on your favorite podcast or invite over a friend. You will become more efficient over time and your planning process will become increasingly natural-make it as simple or fancy as you like. Store in glass containers and you're set for the week.