Meal prep usually will get a nasty rap. Visions of limitless chopping, bland containers of hen and rice, and whole Sundays spent within the kitchen could make even probably the most enthusiastic house prepare dinner draw back. However in response to board-certified nutritionist and classically educated chef Mia Rigden, it doesn’t must be this manner. In truth, Mia Rigden’s meal prep suggestions supply a contemporary method to simplify your week, preserve your recipes thrilling, and assist your diet targets with out the stress. For Mia, it’s not simply in regards to the meals. As an alternative, it’s about creating rituals that nourish your physique and thoughts whereas conserving your meals vibrant and contemporary.
Mia Rigden
Mia Rigden is a Los Angeles-based board licensed nutritionist, educated chef, and the writer of The Nicely Journal (2020) and Foodwise. Rigden holds a Masters of Diet and Integrative Well being from the Maryland College of Integrative Well being, together with a Holistic Well being Teaching license from the Institute of Integrative Diet. She resides in Santa Monica, California along with her household.
Mia Rigden’s Meal Prep Suggestions for a Wholesome, Stress-Free Week
On this information, Mia shares her professional suggestions for mastering meal prep in a method that feels intuitive and provoking. From realizing which proteins to prioritize to making a game-changing pantry, these habits are designed that will help you eat nicely with out sacrificing time or taste. Mia’s method redefines meal prep, proving it’s attainable to streamline your cooking routine whereas nonetheless having fun with dynamic, joy-sparking meals that go away you feeling energized and supported all through the week.
To deliver these tricks to life, Mia has additionally curated a pattern meal plan that serves as the final word reset for 2025. Assume comforting but nourishing dishes like Rooster & Lentil Soup, Wild Rice & Roasted Vegetable Salad, and Salmon Fusilli with Lemon, Capers, and Broccolini. Every recipe is designed to work in concord with the information she shares, providing a basis for meal prep that’s something however boring. Able to revolutionize your kitchen and embrace the facility of considerate preparation? Let’s dive in.
Psychological Prep Is the First Step
“Meal prep usually turns folks off as a result of they assume they’ll be spending their total Sunday within the kitchen,” Mia tells me. “However sensible meal prep shouldn’t take greater than an hour or so of bodily prep time.” In keeping with Mia, the important thing to creating it work is definitely the psychological planning. Taking simply 20 minutes to map out your meals for the week and grocery store effectively units the stage for a seamless routine.
“Whenever you’ve deliberate forward, you possibly can repurpose proteins, greens, grains, and sauces to make new and thrilling dishes in minimal time,” she explains. If the considered planning feels daunting, Mia suggests beginning with a framework, like her Sunday Meal Prep sequence. “It does the give you the results you want with 5 weekly dinner recipes and a purchasing record, so that you’re arrange for fulfillment.”
Easy Is Nice
Some of the releasing items of recommendation Mia shared? Don’t overcomplicate it. “Cooking is a good interest, however generally you simply must eat,” she says with fun. To keep away from the temptation of ordering takeout, Mia recommends conserving a number of go-to dishes in your again pocket. “Pasta, scrambled eggs, or floor turkey bowls are straightforward to throw collectively and all the time satisfying,” she shares.
By giving your self permission to simplify, you possibly can create meals which are fast and nourishing with out the strain to whip up one thing elaborate. “Easy is usually what we find yourself craving most anyway,” Mia provides.
Know Your Proteins
Of all of the meal parts, Mia says meal prepping proteins may be the toughest to improvise. “Greens may be eaten uncooked or sautéed, and grains may be cooked rapidly,” she explains. “However when you don’t have a plan in your protein, it’ll be arduous to place a fast meal collectively.” Her recommendation? At all times prepare dinner further. “When you’re grilling hen, roasting salmon, or making meatballs, make sufficient for lunch or dinner the following day.”
Mia additionally loves the flexibility of easy proteins, which might simply be remodeled into fully completely different meals with dressings and sauces. “For instance, roasted salmon works superbly with brown rice, roasted greens, and pesto, nevertheless it’s additionally glorious in a salad with kimchi, cucumber, avocado, and a sesame dressing—or tossed into pasta with broccoli rabe, lemon, and capers.”
For weeks when time is very tight, Mia leans on premade proteins. “Rotisserie hen, tofu, frozen burger patties, or tin seafood are lifesavers,” she shares.
Hold an Organized Pantry and Fridge
Mia emphasizes that meal prep begins together with your kitchen setup. “It’s immeasurably simpler and extra satisfying to prepare dinner in an organized kitchen,” she says. When you’re committing to meal prep, think about it the right alternative for a pantry and fridge refresh. “A kitchen reorg is an effective way to set your self up for fulfillment and replace your pantry staples,” Mia notes.
She additionally suggests entering into the behavior of a weekly fridge clean-out. “Nearly-off greens are nice in a frittata or blended right into a soup,” she shares. With a tidy and well-stocked kitchen, meal prep turns into a artistic and satisfying ritual as an alternative of a chore.
A Pattern Meal Plan to Make Prep a Breeze
You could find all of the recipes from this meal plan in our Substack interview with Mia right here. Every recipe is designed to be vibrant, straightforward to arrange, and supportive of your diet targets. (To not point out, make wholesome consuming accessible and satisfying.) From hearty dishes to contemporary choices, Mia’s meal plans supply every week of scrumptious meals that may preserve you happy.
Sunday: Rooster & Lentil Soup
Monday: Salmon & Roasted Inexperienced Beans with Pesto and Brown Rice
Tuesday: Wild Rice & Roasted Vegetable Salad with Rooster
Wednesday: Salmon Fusilli with Lemon, Capers & Broccolini
Thursday: Grass Fed Ribeye with Fall Harvest Salad
Make forward:
- Rooster & Lentil Soup lasts as much as every week within the fridge (or freezer for a month!)
- Pesto for the salmon
- Roasted greens for the salad
Lunch concepts:
- Double the soup and eat it for lunch all week.
- The salmon and inexperienced beans will yield leftovers—gently reheat for lunch.
- The wild rice and roasted veg salad is nice eaten chilly.
By the way in which, I’m obsessive about the meal plans that Mia shares on her Substack, Btwn Meals—they’re all the time so wholesome, easy, and actually get the artistic juices flowing when you’re caught in a dinner rut.
