How 2 proteins become 8 dinners (and you cook only once!)
Originally published at Chronically (Br)ill by Cheryl Scoledge
I’ll be right upfront!
I don’t mean saving the physical spoons in the kitchen so that there’s less to clean up! (Although that will undoubtedly happen as well!) But cook just once during the week, in about the time it takes to make one meal, and have 8 different dinners ready to go!
Let me explain.
“The Spoon Theory” is a saying used in the Chronic Disease world, referring to how you plan to spend your energy each day. The theory was originally conceived by Christine Miserandino, but now a quick google search shows how prevalent the lingo has become in explaining the limitations a chronic disease can have on a person.
Each of us wakes up with our own number of “spoons” (energy reserves). A shower may take some. Dressing will take more. Those who are not chronically ill wake with a nearly unlimited supply of spoons — but those who are chronically ill need to meticulously plan where and how to use their spoons.
When I was in bad shape, I’d save up my spoons then when I felt well enough, I’d spend my spoons preparing food for the week/ month to use when I might not have quite enough spoons to cook that particular day. The Mix and Match method was the brainchild of one of those Spoon-saving days!
Mix and match meals — Choose 2 proteins
When I am in a flare, I store up my energy and plan to spend Sunday cooking. (Some Sundays I still need to take many, many breaks between even though I have stored up spoons!)
My weekend plan would be making a roast chicken on Friday night (a roast chicken can be thrown into the oven in a short amount of time), using the bones to make broth on Saturday and shopping for food while the broth bubbled away, and then preparing my meals for the week on Sunday.
For Mix and Match Meals you cook:
2 proteins
2 carbohydrates (carb) or carb alternatives
2 vegetables (veg)
Select your favorites!
By cooking each item separately, instead of in a one-pot meal, you have the ability to mix and match to make a variety of meals for the week. You can further change up the flavor profile by adding seasonings/ sauces/ condiments when creating the individual meals.
So as examples:
roasted chicken (from the Friday chicken), and steak
quinoa and baked sweet potato
onion/ pepper mix and asparagus
And from this you make:
1. Slice of chicken breast on a plate with mashed sweet potato and asparagus
2. Slice of chicken breast with asparagus cut up into the quinoa
3. Shredded or chunked chicken mixed with onion/ pepper over sweet potato
4. Shredded or chunked chicken with diced onion/ pepper mixed into quinoa (for a quinoa salad)
5. Steak on a plate with asparagus and mashed sweet potato
6. Sliced Steak with cut asparagus mixed into quinoa (for a quinoa salad)
7. Sliced Steak mixed with onion/ pepper over sweet potato
8. Steak with a side of diced onion/ pepper mixed into quinoa
That’s 8 meals with enough variety to keep things interesting!
Kids aren’t fans of onions/ peppers or asparagus (or the vegetable you chose)? Either select other vegetables for the whole family — or just for them. Since you’re in the kitchen already — it’s not difficult to put another item on the stove and get everything done in the same amount of time.
And the following week, you can select 2 different proteins, 2 different carbs and 2 different veg. How about salmon, shrimp, linguine, wild rice, zucchini and tomatoes?
The Mix and Match method is easily customizable for any food plan, can take into account any allergies or food sensitivities, and can streamline the amount of time spent in the kitchen. Let’s figure out how much food you need to buy to pull this off!
Let’s do the math!
To find what needs to be purchased on Saturday, let’s do the math. For each item, you will need 4 servings per person.
If you don’t rely on the roast chicken, but decide to buy chicken for the meals, let’s say we want a 4 oz serving size per person for each protein. We’ll say 1/2 a sweet potato as a serving, a 1/2 c quinoa per person, and 1/2 cup of veggies.
For a family of 2:
- (4 oz chicken X 4 servings X 2 people) / 16 oz / lb = 2 lbs chicken
- (4 oz steak X 4 servings X 2 people) / 16 oz / lb = 2 lbs steak
- 1/2 sweet potato X 4 servings X 2 people = 4 sweet potatoes
- 1/2 c rice X 4 servings X 2 people = 4 c cooked quinoa (about 1 – 1/3 c dry quinoa)
- 1/2 c onion/ pepper X 4 servings X 2 people = 4 c total (approx 2 onions and 2 peppers)
- 1/2 c asparagus (approx 5 spears) X 4 servings X 2 people = 4 c total (approx 40 spears asparagus)
For a family of 4:
Let’s say 3 oz protein for the kids (although perhaps you’d want 6 oz for teenagers!), and I’ll leave their other portion sizes the same:
- (4 oz chicken X 4 servings X 2 people) + (3 oz chicken X 4 servings X 2 kids) / 16 o z/ lb = 3.5 lbs chicken
- (4 oz steak X 4 servings X 2 people) + (3 oz steak X 4 servings X 2 kids) / 16 oz / lb = 3.5 lbs steak
- 1/2 sweet potato X 4 servings X 4 people = 8 sweet potatoes
- 1/2 c rice X 4 servings X 4 people = 8 c cooked quinoa (about 2 – 2/3 c dry quinoa)
- 1/2 c onion/ pepper X 4 servings X 4 people = 8 c total (approx 4 onions and 4 peppers)
- 1/2 c asparagus (approx 5 spears) X 4 servings X 4 people = 8 c total (approx 80 spears asparagus)
You may want to consider buying items to add different flavors to the meals you are serving at serving time:
- herbs, like fresh basil, to chop into the quinoa salad
- cinnamon to add to the mashed sweet potatoes
- lettuce and other vegetables for a simple salad
- condiments like a steak sauce or barbecue sauce
- avocado or jicama sticks
- fruit
- nuts or seeds
- or even cheese, pita or tortilla wrap if your eating plan allows.
Putting the method to work!
Cooking
Steak on the grill, chicken (if not a whole roasted chicken) in the air fryer or InstantPot, rice in the rice cooker, and sweet potatoes in the oven. The items that need the most attention are the vegetables , for instance, snapping the ends of the asparagus and chopping the onion and pepper.
I will usually place the asparagus into a steamer trying to keep their length, and fry the onions and peppers on the stove. It may seem not important, but I cut the onions and peppers into chunks one week, and slice them the next time. Even something as simple as the cut will make meals seem different.
Storage
Once the food has safely cooled, it can be packaged for use during the week. Decide if the meals need to be grab and go, or stored in bulk to mix and match later. The mix and match meal preparation method lends itself well to healthy lunches so consider expanding to include making lunches. Packaging into the individual meals to reheat at the office will make you colleagues jealous!
Split each item into 2, and place half in the freezer for the later part of the week. Keep each bulk item separate and create the individual meals at dinnertime.
The reason I tend to opt for this method is simply the fact that I don’t have dinner 32 containers to hold the individual meals! Another reason I like to keep the items separate is since I tend to reheat in the microwave (saving spoons!).
I like to put the protein in first since it often takes a longer time to reheat, and then I add other items to the plate like rice or cooked kale.
Heating each item separately, making sure they have a covering to keep in the warmth while waiting for additional items ensures all items are heated more evenly.
Reheating and Serving
Dinnertime becomes a breeze! Chop or shred the protein and veggies if that meal calls for it, dish out the items onto plates, add any seasonings and reheat in the microwave. Add any fresh vegetables like lettuce and condiments and enjoy!
8 healthy, diversified meals that are easy enough any family member to put together last minute!
For when you need to save your spoons!.
