Turn meal prep aspirations into reality

Our 25 weekly dinnertime meal plans strike just the right balance between guidance and flexibility so that you can customize them to fit your preferences and ever-changing schedule. ATK has done the work of building smart, varied meal plans that minimize shopping and kitchen time and let you choose from prep-ahead options, make-ahead options, and ingredient substitutions to make your life easier, your grocery bill lower, and your dinners better.

Practical test-kitchen strategies include:
* Prep all your vegetables and grains for the week in a weekend "power hour."
* Prep big batches of pantry ingredients ahead in a "pantry power hour" so they're ready to go in a flash.
* Cross-utilize fresh ingredients creatively to prevent food waste and dinner boredom.
* Make, store, and reheat full meals with no loss of flavor.
* Double meals or meal components to freeze half for later.

Let's-get-real features simplify your kitchen life:
* Weekly grocery lists max out at a dozen items.
* Active cooking time for recipes maxes out at 45 minutes.
* The Pantry Meals chapter showcases 30 meals that don't add anything to your weekly grocery list, making them perfect for any night you want.

Follow one of the plans (with complete shopping and pantry lists and prep and substitution guides) to create fresh, delicious meals that everybody at the table will devour. Or mix and match among the 130 recipes to create your own custom plan. For times when it's just too much to commit to a full plan (we've all been there), every recipe is self-contained with prep-ahead and cook-ahead instructions. And even if you don't do anything ahead, you can still get dinner on the table fast.

A thorough introduction explains how to build a strong, diverse pantry (and make the most of it), how to store prepped ingredients to keep them fresh, how to store cooked food safely, the smartest ways to reheat food, essential meal-prep equipment, and more.