Avoid the 5pm Panic

How recteq makes meal planning, batch cooking, and meal prep easy

If you have ever dragged open the door of the fridge in late afternoon to stare resentfully into the belly of a cold empty cave, you know the 5pm panic! Because, when you are managing all the things, it can be stressful having to feed all the people, too. Planning ahead can feel very overwhelming but we are here to help break it down step by step and help you take advantage of the convenience when cooking on the recteq wood pellet grill. Here are all the reasons why recteq makes meal planning, batch cooking, and meal prep easier than ever!

Preparing to Prep

Before we get into the “meat” of this post, let’s make sure you have everything you need to rock meal planning. Some of our favorite recommendations would be the Sear Kit and BBQ Tool Set for turning up the heat. You will also love our Mesh Cooking Mat to help cook small or messy items and to making transporting to kitchen and grill simple. A front-folding shelf for your recteq is like adding an extra hand and the Interior Shelves will increase your cook space significantly! You might enjoy the Griddle to add some versatility and the Grill Pad will make extending cooking sessions even more comfortable. While you're shopping, check out the Accessories category for more ideas.

Meal Planning

recteq-style meal planning is easy breezy: just choose a protein and jot down several meals based on it. On the weekend (or at a convenient time) you’ll be batch cooking your meat and prepping some of your sides. Throughout the week, the steps to putting those meals together will be amazingly simple because you’ve already put in the prep time. It doesn’t have to be crazy-complicated; simple meals can be just as delicious as multi-course spreads.

Batch Cooking

With a recteq wood pellet grill, batch cooking couldn’t be easier! When you add on an extra interior shelf you’ll gain so much space; you can cook up meat for the whole week. An easy idea to make batch cooking your new default is to always double or even triple your meat and serve it throughout the week in different ways. To truly embrace batch cooking, you might need to re-frame your perspective on leftovers. Some people cringe at the idea of leftovers, but chances are, even your favorite restaurants reheat portions of the meal to serve fresh to guests. For the best results, don’t use your microwave. Reheating in the oven (or the recteq, of course) with a little water will keep your results as close to fresh as possible. Just remember, you aren’t serving leftovers, you are batch cooking like a pro!

• Chicken: Smoke a huge pack of chicken on the weekend, shred, dice, or debone as needed, and serve throughout the week as main course for endless meal options. You can vary the seasoning and split up in separate storage containers for convenience or just choose any of our Rubs to create a great foundation for any recipe. Serve up the chicken in a million different ways though the week: chicken on salad, chicken soup, chicken pot pie, chicken fajitas, chicken alfredo. The options truly go on and on!
• Steak: Batching steak might be a little pricier, but even the cheaper cuts can make for great leftovers; just be sure you don’t over-cook. Use our Sear Kit to get classic grill marks, also! Steak can be reinvented into family favorites like steak fajitas, steak on salad, soup, steak bowls, stir fry, and so many more. Enjoy it again for breakfast with fried eggs and Texas Toast!
• Pork: Talk about versatility! Batch cooking pork is an amazing way of getting a great mix of tastes to start out your week. For example, you can take one affordable pork loin and get very different cuts from it, perfect for creating some variety in your meal plan. Check out our Pork recipes for more inspo. Always versatile, pork can become the base for so many amazing dishes: stir fry, carnitas, enchiladas, pulled pork sandwiches, and even chili!

Meal Prep

When it comes to meal prepping, you need to do what works best for your family. Maybe at your house, meal prepping means creating a week’s worth of grab-and-go lunches to integrate the meats you already cooked. Rice bowls, wraps, salads, and sandwiches are easy ways to use up that pre-made meat. Or it might mean getting all your sides ready to cook for busy weeknight dinners. Here are a few suggestions to springboard your experiments with meal prep:

• Peel and cube potatoes for easy potato salad or mashed potatoes
• Wash produce so it’s ready to go for the week, whether you plan to roast or serve raw
• Cook and pre-portion grains like rice or pasta for easy reheating
• Pre-make marinated salads like pasta salad, slaw, or kale salad; the flavors will become even more delicious when chilled overnight and it’s one less thing to do at the last minute
• Make up a huge fruit salad for the whole week and serve as sides, desserts, or breakfasts
• Dice peppers, onions, carrots, or celery in one big batch to make dinners much quicker
• Pre-measure spices: throwing together spices ahead of time in a container or sandwich bag can make recipes come together much faster
• Pre-cook Eggs & Potatoes: if you want to serve baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, or hardboiled eggs, these can all be made ahead to mark one more thing off your to-do list

Have you found any tips to make meals a little easier in your home? We’d love to hear about them! Tag us on social media:
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