

Meal prep typically 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 essentially the most enthusiastic residence cook dinner draw back. However in keeping with board-certified nutritionist and classically educated chef Mia Rigden, it doesn’t should be this manner. The truth is, Mia Rigden’s meal prep ideas provide a contemporary method to simplify your week, preserve your recipes thrilling, and help your diet objectives with out the stress. For Mia, it’s not simply in regards to the meals. As a substitute, it’s about creating rituals that nourish your physique and thoughts whereas holding 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 Vitamin 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 Vitamin. She resides in Santa Monica, California together with her household.
Mia Rigden’s Meal Prep Ideas for a Wholesome, Stress-Free Week
On this information, Mia shares her professional ideas 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 effectively with out sacrificing time or taste. Mia’s method redefines meal prep, proving it’s potential 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 convey 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 typically turns individuals off as a result of they suppose 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.
“While you’ve deliberate forward, you may 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 collection. “It does the be just right for you with 5 weekly dinner recipes and a buying listing, so that you’re arrange for achievement.”
Easy Is Nice
One of the releasing items of recommendation Mia shared? Don’t overcomplicate it. “Cooking is a good passion, however typically you simply must eat,” she says with fun. To keep away from the temptation of ordering takeout, Mia recommends holding just a few go-to dishes in your again pocket. “Pasta, scrambled eggs, or floor turkey bowls are simple to throw collectively and all the time satisfying,” she shares.
By giving your self permission to simplify, you may create meals which are fast and nourishing with out the stress to whip up one thing elaborate. “Easy is commonly what we find yourself craving most anyway,” Mia provides.
Know Your Proteins
Of all of the meal elements, Mia says meal prepping proteins will be the toughest to improvise. “Greens will be eaten uncooked or sautéed, and grains will be cooked rapidly,” she explains. “However when you don’t have a plan on your protein, it’ll be onerous to place a fast meal collectively.” Her recommendation? At all times cook dinner further. “If you happen to’re grilling hen, roasting salmon, or making meatballs, make sufficient for lunch or dinner the subsequent day.”
Mia additionally loves the flexibility of straightforward proteins, which might simply be remodeled into fully completely different meals with dressings and sauces. “For instance, roasted salmon works fantastically with brown rice, roasted greens, and pesto, however 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.
Maintain an Organized Pantry and Fridge
Mia emphasizes that meal prep begins together with your kitchen setup. “It’s immeasurably simpler and extra pleasing to cook dinner in an organized kitchen,” she says. If you happen to’re committing to meal prep, take into account it the proper alternative for a pantry and fridge refresh. “A kitchen reorg is a good way to set your self up for achievement and replace your pantry staples,” Mia notes.
She additionally suggests stepping into the behavior of a weekly fridge clean-out. “Virtually-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 inventive and pleasing ritual as an alternative of a chore.
A Pattern Meal Plan to Make Prep a Breeze
You will discover all of the recipes from this meal plan in our Substack interview with Mia right here. Every recipe is designed to be vibrant, simple to organize, and supportive of your diet objectives. (To not point out, make wholesome consuming accessible and pleasing.) From hearty dishes to contemporary choices, Mia’s meal plans provide every week of scrumptious meals that can preserve you glad.
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 best way, 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 inventive juices flowing when you’re caught in a dinner rut.