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Make It Easy

A Healthy Meal Prep and Menu Planning Guide [A Cookbook]

Author Danielle Walker

Hardcover

$35.00 US

Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed | Ten Speed Press

8.04"W x 10.04"H x 1.07"D | 43 oz | 12 per carton

On sale Sep 10, 2024 | 304 Pages | 9781984863096

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A super-flexible meal prep cookbook featuring 125 healthy gluten-free, grain-free, and paleo recipes plus 15 weeks of menu plans, detailed meal prepping advice, grocery lists, and more—from the author of the Against All Grain series.

In this practical, time-saving guide to meal prepping and menu planning, beloved author Danielle Walker removes all the guess work from your daily effort to get food on the table. Make It Easy presents fifteen weeks of menus, along with prep-ahead and make-ahead tips, shopping lists organized by grocery store departments, and proven methods for getting it all done quickly and effortlessly.

Because we all prep in different ways depending on the size of our families and the busyness of our lives, Danielle has identified six “prepper personas” and developed recipes for each type. Recipes such as Greek Lemon Chicken with Artichokes or Teriyaki Meatballs can be made in large quantities and frozen for later, while Fried Pineapple and Pork Rice or Meatballs Marsala with Mashed Roots use store-bought ingredients for no-fuss, quick meals. And Steak and Eggs Breakfast Tacos or Veggie and Shrimp Bowls are designed so components can be made ahead and then repurposed for other meals the same week.

Meal plans can be followed in any order and nearly every recipe is photographed. And with additional recipes for breakfasts, snacks, sides, and back-pocket dinners (dishes using pantry ingredients you already have!), this deliciously healthy cookbook provides everything you need to meal plan right.

Danielle Walker is the author of two New York Times bestselling cookbooks, Against All Grain and Meals Made Simple. She is also the voice behind the most popular grain-free website on the Internet, AgainstAllGrain.com. She is a self-trained chef who tempts a range of appetites with innovative and accessible grain-free recipes that are not only healthy and delicious, but also can be credited with saving her life after a diagnosis of a serious autoimmune disease. She lives with her husband and two sons in the San Francisco Bay Area. View titles by Danielle Walker

Introduction

Healthy Meal Prepping and Menu Planning

Are you tired of scrambling to make dinner at the last minute (and resorting to unhealthy takeout or frozen dinners)? Does the thought of planning, shopping for, and making five to seven dinners a week stress you out? Well, here’s some good news: By dedicating just a couple of hours each week to meal prepping and menu planning, you can have a variety of nutritious, homemade meals readily available without spending hours in the kitchen.

In this cookbook, I will help you transform your eating habits, save time, and reduce waste—while enjoying incredibly delicious and satisfying meals that also happen to be free from grains, gluten, and lactose. Did you know that the average American family of four throws out between $1,600 and $1,800 a year in produce alone? In the US, we waste more than $408 billion in food annually, and a lot of that waste can be attributed to poor planning and impulse buying.

If you’ve long wanted to become a better menu planner and an advance meal prepper, I’m here to guide you through the process step-by-step. I’ll provide easy-to-follow instructions, helpful tips, and foolproof recipes that have gotten the stamp of approval from gluten-free and paleo eaters, as well as from those who can eat whatever they want. I’ve served these recipes to kids and adults alike, and while everyone’s palate and preferences are different, I am confident that everyone you cook these for will love them. (And they’ll be asking you for the recipes and meal plans, too.)

My goal with this book is to eliminate the stress you feel about what to eat, and teach you how to plan meals that use a variety of ingredients to their full potential. Using the menu plans in this book and my tips on what to prepare ahead of time will allow you to spend less time in the kitchen every day, while providing yourself and those around your table with nourishing meals.

To begin, first read through the next few sections of the book to understand how and why the recipes are laid out the way they are, to discover some secrets for very quick meals (hello, newly stocked freezer and ready-to-go pantry), and to learn more about the methods that will make you a meal planning superstar.

When it comes to the fifteen meticulously crafted meal plans and recipes, you don’t have to start with Week 1, but if the recipes in that chapter speak to you, then jump right in! You can use the weekly meal plans in any order you like. Some of the plans utilize frozen, make-ahead meals or components that were prepared in previous weeks, but I’ve also explained how you can improvise if you end up skipping around the book.

Each weekly meal plan comes with an accompanying shopping list, along with a QR code to scan so you can take a digital copy with you to the grocery store. After scanning, you will find an option to access the weekly meal plan shopping lists by recipe, too, in case you only want to cook three of the meals that week or you need to double a recipe.

These meal plans and recipes are intentionally designed to reduce waste, be sustainable, and use all the ingredients in your fridge. Say goodbye to spoiled bunches of herbs and forgotten jars of condiments hidden behind bottles on your fridge door, and hello to a pantry, freezer, and fridge stocked with tasty meals. By following these meal plans, you’ll not only minimize waste but also take the guesswork out of menu planning. Shopping will be a breeze, as you confidently pick up the items you need, knowing they’ll be used in delicious, healthy meals throughout the week.

I’ve designed these recipes to be family-friendly and cater to different flavor preferences and dietary needs. Whether you have picky eaters to feed or have your own special dietary requirements, you’ll find recipes to satisfy everyone at your table. And I’ll walk you through prepping ahead or even making whole components or dishes in advance. That means you can spend less time in the kitchen during the week and more time enjoying meals with your loved ones.

Get ready to experience the convenience, health benefits, and, honestly, the joy and satisfaction of meal prepping and menu planning. With this book as your guide, you’ll be an expert in make-ahead and quick-to-thetable dinners in no time, giving you the kitchen confidence you’ve been seeking, the nourishment your body craves, and a repertoire of go-to meals your family returns to again and again.