Fall is here which means it's back to school time! And while I don't have any (non-fur) children to wrangle nor am I attending school myself, there's something about this time that just feels...busy! And whenever I'm feeling particularly time-constrained, there's one kitchen strategy that I turn to again and again. You guessed it: it's meal prep (duh). I put together this epic fall meal prep for you, complete with game plan and links to some amazing autumnal recipes in the hopes that it can help you manage this very hectic time as well. I'm also cooking through this menu in this video, so for all you visual learners out there, take a peek:
The Game Plan
A game plan is a list of steps to follow while you meal prep to ensure you're multitasking in the most effective way possible. You can learn more about designing your own game plan and how to multitask efficiently in the kitchen in The Beginner's Guide to Meal Prep. I reference this game plan in the video of this meal prep, so wanted to share the exact steps for you here as well!
- Get farro on the stove
- Get sheet pan meal in the oven (set timer)
- Make the slaw
- Add the sausage to the sheet pan meal (adjust this step as necessary based on when timer goes off)
- Make the pasta and sauce
- Get the broccoli in the oven
- Toss together the grain salad
- Massage your kale
- Make the dressing for the grain salad, the slaw, and to have on the side
Meal Prep Suggested Pairings and Remix Ideas
As always, my menus mix and match well together across the board, but I'm sharing a few suggested pairings and some ideas for remixing this meal prep to keep it interesting all week long!
- Serve the farro salad over the massaged kale with a drizzle of the tahini dressing.
- The sausage sheet pan meal works great served alongside the cabbage slaw.
- The penne with pumpkin sage sauce really compliments the balsamic roasted broccoli.
- Try tossing the sheet pan meal with some of the pasta and a few spoons of the tahini dressing for an ad hoc autumnal pasta salad. If you have extra goat cheese, that would be great in here too!
- Make a chopped salad with your fresh green of choice (I like romaine) and mix in the farro salad, some of the broccoli, and a handful of the massaged kale.
- Serve the sausage sheet pan meal like a hash by frying an egg and serving that overtop.
If you found this guide helpful, I have so many additional meal prep resources for you! If you'd like to learn more about my meal prep philosophy, you can check out The Beginner's Guide to Meal Prep. If you'd like to take a meal prep class from me, head this way to check out my live and on demand class options. And as always, don't forget to check out my YouTube channel where there are so many other meal-prep-focused videos!