Meal prep with what you have in your fridge

By Elissa Nunez, Video by Elisa Tang, Faith Bernstein & Nidhi Singh

Meal prep saves money and time, but eating chicken and vegetables every day for lunch may start to get a little boring.

That’s why we asked Carla Lalli Music -- food editor at large at Bon Appétit and author of "Where Cooking Begins" -- to show us how to make a chef-approved yet desk-friendly lunch with just a few ingredients we had in our fridge.

Music rethought her meal prep approach after she found herself wasting food on repetitive recipes.

"You might think a great, big batch of chili is delicious on day one, but then you get sick of eating chili and you throw it away," she said.

Instead, she found prepping components for meals was more efficient and versatile. One of Music’s favorite make-ahead components is slow-roasted chicken, which can be turned into a soup, tacos, a sandwich or salad. And all you have to do is simply roast it on a sheet pan for 3 1/2 hours, making it easy to pull off the bone.

Clarkson Potter

Carla Lalli Music's latest book, "Where Cooking Begins: Uncomplicated Recipes to Make You a Great Cook: A Cookbook," published March 2019.

"The finished meal is what you bring to it in the moment, and the prepping is giving you lots of opportunities to go this way or that depending on what you're in the mood for," Music said.

With our combined leftovers, Music created a vegetarian grain bowl using components that can be prepared ahead of time: grains, vegetables and eggs. Vegans can go egg-free or substitute with tofu.

"What I like about this is that it's a mix of pantry, produce protein, crunchy stuff, so you have a lot of good options, and you have a ripe avocado, which alone is a miracle," she said.

Music usually starts preparing the component that takes the longest to cook. In this case, that's peppers, chickpeas and scallions fused together by grain cooking liquid.

Cutting produce into small pieces also helped reduce cooking time, keeping the meal prep under 30 minutes. Music also took advantage of inactive time by multitasking, preparing a salsa salad while the vegetables cooked.

A quart of cooked grains Music prepared over the weekend was her ultimate time-saver. The versatile ingredient can be used in multiple recipes throughout the week and stays fresh for five days.

To make this dish in a pinch, Music recommends cooking the grains, chickpeas and peppers together. Opt for a hard-boiled egg and let cool before portioning into microwave-safe containers.

"These are great foundations," she said. "If I came home and this was in my fridge, I would definitely feel like I had dinner."

Found in "GMA’s" kitchen

• Croutons
• Avocado
• Chopped iceberg lettuce
• Green goddess dressing
• Chickpeas
• Feta cheese
• 1 potato
• 2 eggs
• 1 red bell pepper

Found in Music’s kitchen

• 1 quart cooked grains (Music had pearled wheat berries, but you can use rice, farro or quinoa)
• Grain cooking liquid (Music’s secret weapon! Save water used to cook grains and add olive oil, salt and pepper.)
• Leftover sliced scallions
• Hot sauce
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Crushed red chili flakes

Vegetarian grain bowl with fried egg

Ingredients

• 1 avocado
• 1 head iceberg lettuce
• Kosher salt
• 1 can chickpeas
• Feta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 bell pepper
• 2 tbsp. sliced scallions
• 1 jalapeño pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Crushed red chili flakes
• 1 cup cooked grains
• Grain cooking liquid

To prepare

Slice half a jalapeño, keeping the pepper’s seeds and membrane for extra spice.

Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.

Add scallions to pan, then add a pinch of kosher salt, bell pepper and chickpeas. Season lightly with salt and pepper, tossing often. Add cooking liquid, then slide pan onto backburner.

Pro tip: If you’re out of onions or garlic, a leftover shallot or scallion will do.

While vegetables are sautéing, chop avocado and lettuce into small pieces. Toss together in a medium-sized bowl. Squeeze juice of one lime onto avocado and lettuce mix. Add salt to taste. Add olive oil, crushed red chili flakes, chopped cilantro and half a jalapeño, diced. Mix again.

Pro tip: To build flavor, season as you go.

When vegetables are tender, add one cup of grains to vegetables. Mix together, then remove pan from heat.

Heat 2 tbsp. vegetable oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high. Fry two eggs side by side. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Divide grain mix and salsa salad among bowls. Top with fried egg and sprinkle with feta.

Editor's note: This was originally published on Jan. 21, 2020.