I\u2019d love to tell you that, as a staff writer at a food magazine, I have my life together enough to boast a longstanding meal planning routine<\/a>. The truth is, I\u2019ve historically been more of a scrounger than a prepper when it comes to weekday meals. I live with one roommate and am often cooking just for myself, so I\u2019m reliant on my well-stocked pantry<\/a> and the fact that I live half a block away from a grocery store. All that said, over time I have developed a grocery shopping strategy that sets me up for success.<\/p>\n Rather than plotting out every single breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I like to stock up on enough groceries to cover most breakfasts and a couple of multi-serving dinners that can double as office lunches throughout the week. Work events, friend hangs, new store-bought snacks<\/a> I need to test out, and leftovers from tastings in the Test Kitchen tend to make up most (if not all) of the remaining meals. Read on for everything I added to my grocery cart last week, plus how I turned it into a week of meals.<\/p>\n For this week\u2019s Sunday shop, I bought ingredients to make Shilpa Uskokovic\u2019s Basil Chicken Stir-Fry<\/a> and Andy Baraghani\u2019s Honey-Chipotle Shrimp Tacos<\/a>, plus some Greek yogurt<\/a> (Fage\u2019s 2% is my favorite).<\/p>\n I was meeting friends for tacos at Greenpoint\u2019s El Chato Sunday night, so there was no need to cook\u2014but in the name of setting myself up for a calm entry into the week, I prepped three servings of protein overnight oats: Just combine \u00bd cup oats, \u00bd cup almond milk, a spoonful of Greek yogurt, \u00bd scoop protein powder<\/a>, and a pinch of salt in each container. I\u2019ve been working my way through a bag of Be Amazing\u2019s Brown Sugar Oatmeal<\/a> vegan protein, which tastes like an oatmeal cookie.<\/p>\n Be Amazing Vegan Protein Powder<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mondays always feel hectic, so I was glad to have prepped a hearty breakfast the day before. I grabbed a jar of my overnight oats from the fridge and topped it with a handful of frozen Maine blueberries<\/a> before tossing it in my bag and heading to the office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n For dinner, I made a riff on Shilpa\u2019s Basil Chicken Stir-Fry<\/a> using the ground turkey, basil, and shallots I bought on Sunday, plus some sugar snap peas I snagged from my mom\u2019s CSA haul after visiting my parents over the weekend (thanks, Mom!). The rest of the stir-fry came together with pantry staples like oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sambal oelek, which I always have on hand. My roommate and I ate it over white rice (Team Rice Cooker<\/a> forever), and I packed the leftovers<\/a> up to reheat throughout the week.<\/p>\n This savory and spicy dinner takes less than 30 minutes to make.<\/p>\n View Recipe<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Sure enough, the leftover stir-fry made for an excellent desk lunch that kept me full for the whole afternoon. My Sunday shop covered most of the ingredients for taco<\/a> night, so all I needed to grab on my way home from the office were the shrimp, which I prefer to buy the same day I\u2019m planning on cooking them. I bought just enough for my roommate and myself, because I\u2019m not a huge fan of day-old cooked shrimp. The beauty of this recipe is that it\u2019s easily adaptable for however many people you\u2019re serving.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n These tacos have been a go-to since I was in college because they use just a handful of ingredients and come together so fast.<\/em> Did I set off my smoke alarm trying to get a good sear on the shrimp? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes.<\/p>\n These easier-than-easy shrimp tacos are packed with flavor, and ideal for busy weeknights.<\/p>\n View Recipe<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I\u2019ll be honest: I did no cooking whatsoever on Wednesday. I ate stir-fry<\/a> leftovers for lunch again, then spent the evening watching the Knicks game and eating take-out Indian food.<\/p>\n I finally finished off the chicken stir-fry for lunch and can confirm the dish was so craveable, I never got tired of eating it\u2014even four days in!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I met my roommate for dinner at La Cantine to celebrate our June birthdays, where we demolished romesco-slicked potatoes, a crispy chicken Caesar<\/a>, and a springy lemon and pea pasta I\u2019m still thinking about. We got dessert, ate half of it, and then I proceeded to leave the other half on the train somewhere between Bushwick and Park Slope. I hope our half slice of birthday tiramisu is doing well, wherever she is.<\/p>\n This classic-done-right is moist but not wet, extra-fluffy, boozy but not overwhelmingly so, and made with real coffee instead of espresso powder.<\/p>\n View Recipe<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I work from home Fridays, so I usually take to scrounging around the pantry when lunchtime hits. I found a microwave cup<\/a> of Goodles<\/a> deep inside a cupboard and dressed it up with some freshly cracked black pepper<\/a> and Calabrian chili olive oil<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was my best friend\u2019s birthday weekend, so I made one more trip to the grocery store to grab ingredients for a lemony cake<\/a> and cream cheese frosting<\/a>. I speed-baked the cake so I could get out of the house in time to snag a seat at a wine bar\u2019s NBA watch party, where my friends and I had a snacky dinner of charcuterie and grilled cheese<\/a>. Paired with a bottle of juicy red wine<\/a>, it was the perfect fuel for watching another Knicks win.<\/p>\n Team butter? Team mayo? This crisp, gooey sandwich won\u2019t make you choose.<\/p>\n View Recipe<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I had a lazy Saturday morning, which I spent watching Love Island,<\/em> drinking an iced matcha<\/a> latte, and eating an orange-and-cranberry-studded English muffin. I\u2019ve fallen hard for Stone & Skillet\u2019s muffins<\/a>, which I like to buy in packs and store halved in my freezer. A quick toast and a swipe of salted butter brings them back to life.<\/p>\n Stone & Skillet<\/p>\n Strawberry English Muffins<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I spent the day with friends out and about in the city, so lunch was a grab-and-go situation. I had a quick turnaround time at home before my friend\u2019s birthday party that night, so I made more Goodles<\/a> (from the box this time), to which I added a handful of frozen peas<\/a>. The cake was a hit and miraculously made it to the party without melting into a cream cheese puddle despite the 90-degree heat.<\/p>\nRecipes Sunday<\/h2>\n
![\"recipes](\"https:\/\/assets.bonappetit.com\/photos\/6835cdc2f741b7fcdfef4eea\/3:4\/w_748%2Cc_limit\/be-amazing-vegan-protein-powder.jpg\" "\\"recipes\\"")
<\/picture><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nRecipes Monday<\/h2>\n
![\"recipes](\"https:\/\/assets.bonappetit.com\/photos\/6a3184fae450f723798b0598\/3:4\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/IMG_5137.JPG\" "\\"recipes\\"")
<\/picture><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n![\"recipes](\"https:\/\/assets.bonappetit.com\/photos\/667494da742a935b32f5b2a3\/master\/w_775%2Cc_limit\/fgfp-chicken-basil-stir-fry_LEDE_061124_2004_VOG_final.jpg\" "\\"recipes\\"")
<\/picture><\/span><\/p>\nRecipes Tuesday<\/h2>\n
![\"recipes](\"https:\/\/assets.bonappetit.com\/photos\/5b4362282264d46863323801\/master\/w_775%2Cc_limit\/honey-chipotle-shrimp-tacos.jpg\" "\\"recipes\\"")
<\/picture><\/span><\/p>\nRecipes Wednesday<\/h2>\n
Recipes Thursday<\/h2>\n
![\"recipes](\"https:\/\/assets.bonappetit.com\/photos\/5cad19a64692d487058bb33e\/master\/w_775%2Cc_limit\/old-school-tiramisu.jpg\" "\\"recipes\\"")
<\/picture><\/span><\/p>\nRecipes Friday<\/h2>\n
![\"recipes](\"https:\/\/assets.bonappetit.com\/photos\/6917b6e28552dda8588ece36\/master\/w_775%2Cc_limit\/best-grilled-cheese_RECIPE_V1_111125_13783_VOG_final.jpg\" "\\"recipes\\"")
<\/picture><\/span><\/p>\nRecipes Saturday<\/h2>\n