Meal-planning printables
A pantry list that prevents double buys
A pantry list is the boring page that stops a fourth jar of paprika. Write the staples you rebuy: oats, rice, no-salt tomatoes, oil, and spices, and glance at it before the store.
Planning · 4 min read · Updated 2026-11-05
In the portions written below, protein is about 30–42 g, calories about 410–500, and sodium about 170–280 mg. Those are rounded kitchen estimates before extra cheese, bread, or a heavy pour of sauce.
Do not inventory every tea bag. Track the things you accidentally buy twice.
How to run it
- List ten staples you always need.
- Note what is low before you shop.
- Add a line for 'opened and ignored.'
- Cook one ignored item this week.
Cook these
Pork and cabbage skillet
25 min · serves 4
- Protein
- 30 g
- Sodium
- 280 mg
- Calories
- 410
Protein, sodium, and calories are rounded kitchen estimates, not a lab test or a medical plan.
Ground pork is often cheaper than beef and richer than turkey. A teaspoon of soy sauce across four plates is enough.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds ground pork
- 1 small green cabbage, shredded
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oil
- cooked rice, for serving
Method
- Brown the pork in oil, breaking it up, until cooked through. Drain extra fat if there is a pool of it.
- Add cabbage, garlic, and ginger. Cook until the cabbage wilts and sweetens, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in vinegar and soy sauce. Serve over rice.
Fridge 4 days. Cabbage softens further each day, which some people prefer. Freezer: best quality within 1 month. If you serve it hot, reheat to 165°F with a food thermometer.
Storage times are general guidance, not a lab test of this recipe. A shorter package or recipe instruction governs. Freezing and reheating do not rescue food left out too long, or a heat-stable toxin that already formed. USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety and USDA FSIS: Freezing and Food Safety.
Chill cooked rice promptly. Vomiting-type Bacillus cereus illness is generally tied to rice and other starchy foods, and that emetic toxin can survive heat that kills the bacteria. FDA Bad Bug Book: Bacillus cereus.
Also used in Breakfast meal prep for weight loss, High-protein meal prep without chicken breast, One-skillet meals for two.
Yogurt-marinated chicken bowls
40 min · serves 4
- Protein
- 42 g
- Sodium
- 170 mg
- Calories
- 500
Protein, sodium, and calories are rounded kitchen estimates, not a lab test or a medical plan.
The marinade yogurt is partly for tenderness. The second half-cup on the plate is for protein and for something cool against the spice.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 pounds chicken thighs
- 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 2 tomatoes or a cucumber
Method
- Stir half the yogurt with garlic, cumin, paprika, and half the lemon. Coat the chicken and let it sit 15 minutes, or overnight in the fridge.
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Roast the chicken 25 minutes, to 165°F.
- Serve over rice with tomatoes or cucumber and the rest of the yogurt mixed with the remaining lemon.
Fridge 4 days. Freezer: best quality within 2 months (roasted chicken). Keep the fresh yogurt sauce for the day you eat. If you serve it hot, reheat to 165°F with a food thermometer.
Storage times are general guidance, not a lab test of this recipe. A shorter package or recipe instruction governs. Freezing and reheating do not rescue food left out too long, or a heat-stable toxin that already formed. USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety and USDA FSIS: Freezing and Food Safety.
Chill cooked rice promptly. Vomiting-type Bacillus cereus illness is generally tied to rice and other starchy foods, and that emetic toxin can survive heat that kills the bacteria. FDA Bad Bug Book: Bacillus cereus.
Also used in Grocery list for weight-loss meal prep, How to read sodium on a label, Low-sodium chicken dinners.
Details that matter
- One notebook or one binder door is the system. Five apps and a scrap of mail are not.
- Print the page you will touch this week, not the whole catalog.
- Hang the meal plan where the cooking decision happens, usually the fridge, not a desk drawer.
Easy mistakes
A list that is just meal names
Translate two dinners into the actual groceries, including oil, lemons, and tortillas, or the plan dies in the store.
No 'already have' column
The pantry list and the freezer log exist so the grocery list stays short.
Grocery starter
- 1 1/4 pounds ground pork
- 1 small green cabbage, shredded
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oil
- cooked rice, for serving
- 1 3/4 pounds chicken thighs
- 1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 teaspoon cumin
Questions
How should I store pork and cabbage skillet?
Fridge 4 days. Cabbage softens further each day, which some people prefer. Freezer: best quality within 1 month. If you serve it hot, reheat to 165°F with a food thermometer.
How much protein is in a serving?
Pork and cabbage skillet is about 30 g; Yogurt-marinated chicken bowls is about 42 g. These are kitchen estimates, not a lab analysis.
What is the easy mistake here?
Do not inventory every tea bag. Track the things you accidentally buy twice.