Week of Healthy Meal Prep: January 6-12

If you're not a morning person and struggle to wake up early enough to do all the prep, then make a recipe that gets better with age, such as chili or brisket. Cook it overnight while you sleep. In the morning, cool it slightly, get it in the fridge, and reheat it later for dinner. We keep prep to a minimum, but if you have more time, brown the meat for deeper flavor.

We leave out the anchovies for a kid-friendly take on classic Caesar salad. Instead of romaine, we use dark, bumpy lacinato kale leaves; a quick massage makes them perfectly tender. And instead of adding raw egg to the dressing, we add a soft-boiled egg to each serving so the yolk can run over all. A grill pan is a worthy addition to your kitchen for getting quick, chargrilled flavor without having to cook outdoors. Use it to toast the baguette slices and mellow the fresh red onion wedges.

This stew gets even more flavorful after the ingredients have had a couple days in the fridge to meld, so it’s possible this will be better (and easier) than your Sunday meal. But if you skipped it on Sunday you can still prep the whole thing Tuesday morning, and come back to a home filled with yummy smells, and dinner already prepared.

Lamb loin chops (shaped like mini T-bones) save about 11g sat fat per serving over rib or shoulder chops. You can also ask your butcher to cut "steaks" from a leg of lamb, also lean, or sub 2 (8-ounce) beef sirloin steaks.

Orzo—the little rice-shaped pasta—is practically made for soup. It cooks much faster than rice and is just as satisfying. This quick soup comes together in just about 20 minutes, but still tastes rich and full.

Fresh and fast, this meatless main redefines the art of convenience cooking. We toast the bread in the oven, but if you already have the grill cranked up, this salad easily transitions to an outdoor dish. If your bakery carries whole-grain ciabatta, use it for a nutrition boost.

Italian salsa verde, a classic red meat pairing, turns into a quick vinaigrette for this entrée salad. One 8-ounce sirloin steak, thinly sliced, is all you need.

When Michaela Rosenthal's daughter moved out, she left behind an unopened jar of almond butter. Unsure of what to do with the butter, Rosenthal was inspired to reproduce almond cookies she'd had at an Asian restaurant. It took several attempts, but the result is a satisfying and healthy version of the treat.