Weeknight Meal Prep Flow with Latin & Thai Flair

Four Different Meals That Feed You for Four Days

Steak and chicken, bold sauces, fresh herbs, and flexible sides, designed to keep weeknight cooking interesting.

This Week’s Menu

This Meal Prep Flow is designed to create four distinct meals using the same core prep:

• Steak with peanut satay, roasted curry potatoes, and pickled cucumber salad

• Steak with chimichurri, pan seared plantains, and a simple tossed salad.

• Chimichurri chicken with roasted zucchini batons, tossed salad, and pan seared plantains.

• Chicken satay with brown sticky rice and pickled cucumber salad.

  
  

The Big Picture

This Meal Prep Flow is about how to think about meal prep, not so much about the recipes.

Instead of cooking four separate meals, we're starting with just two proteins and "styling" them differently throughout the week using sauces, sides, and fresh elements. Some components are cooked ahead, some are cooked fresh, and everything is organized so meals come together quickly.

I do share original recipes on the blog when, but this post is focused on strategy, sequencing, and organization, so you can apply the same flow using flavors and recipes you already love or find these exact recipes online!

Step 1: Start With Proteins and Flavor

Everything begins with the elements that take the most time and attention.

For this flow, I worked with chicken and steak, but each protein is prepped in more than one way so it can show up differently on the plate.

Chicken thighs are cubed and seasoned for a peanut satay dish. Separate chicken thighs are left whole and seasoned simply so they pair well with chimichurri later. The steaks are generously salted and left to rest so they develop better flavor and sear nicely when cooked.

At this stage, nothing is cooked. The goal is just to season, marinate, and set yourself up so proteins are ready to go later in the week.

Step 2: Prep the Grain

For this flow, I use short-grain sweet brown rice.The rice is soaked overnight, which improves texture and shortens cook time, but it isn’t cooked during prep. When it’s time to eat, the rice is steamed fresh.

To cook it, set a steamer basket over a pot of gently boiling water. Line the basket with cheesecloth or steamer paper so the grains don’t fall through, then add the soaked rice in an even layer. Cover and steam over medium heat until the rice is tender and slightly sticky, about 45 minutes to an hour depending on the soak and your preferred texture.

Once it’s done, it holds well while you finish the rest of the meal, and the texture stays much better than reheated rice.

Step 3: Make the Sauces

Sauces are what allow the same ingredients to feel completely different.

For this flow, I made a peanut satay sauce, a fresh chimichurri, and a tangy rice-vinegar vinaigrette. These three elements define the flavor direction of all four dishes.Once the sauces are done, most decisions are already made. The proteins and sides simply follow their lead.

Step 4: One Round of Produce Prep

Next, all of the produce is prepped at once. Everything used across the four meals is washed, cut, and stored so there’s no chopping during the week.

Plantains and cucumbers are bias-cut. The plantains are used for the more Latin-inspired plates, while the cucumbers are used both for the simple salad and the cucumber pickle.

Peppers are julienned so they work across salads and pickled dishes. Onions are sliced specifically for salads rather than diced. Romaine is chopped for a simple, fresh base. Basil and mint are cut chiffonade style, and stored so they can be added right before serving.

Zucchini is cut into thicker baton-style pieces so it roasts well, and potatoes are cubed for roasting. At this point, all of the vegetables that appear in the meals are fully prepped.

Step 5: Roast What Stores Well

Some components make sense when cooked ahead like the zucchini and potatoes (plantains can also be lightly pan fried ahead of time but it's chef's call).

The zucchini is tossed with good olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano so it pairs naturally with chimichurri. The potatoes are roasted with olive oil, curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, salt, and pepper: a warm seasoning profile that complements the peanut satay dishes.

Both are roasted once, cooled, and stored for easy reheating during the week.

The plantains can be cooked ahead if you prefer, but I like to pan-fry them fresh right before eating so they keep their texture.

Step 6: What Gets Cooked Fresh

Not everything should be cooked in advance. This is what keeps the meals from feeling flat.

Proteins are seared fresh when you’re ready to eat. Rice is steamed the day of. Plantains are pan-fried just before serving.

Because everything else is already prepped, this “day-of” cooking takes about ten minutes and requires very little thought.

How Meals Come Together During the Week

When it’s time to eat, the rice goes on the stove, a protein hits the pan, and the roasted vegetables are reheated. Salads are tossed quickly with dressing, sauces are spooned over, and fresh herbs finish the plate.There’s no measuring, no recipe-checking, and no decision fatigue.

The Four Meals This Flow Creates

From the same prep, this flow turns into four different plates.

Steak paired with peanut satay, roasted curry potatoes, and cucumber pickle.Steak paired with chimichurri, plantains, and a simple salad.Chimichurri chicken with roasted zucchini, salad, and plantains. Chicken satay with short-grain sweet brown rice and cucumber pickle.

Same ingredients. Different styling.

Why This Works

This approach prevents meal prep burnout because you’re not eating the same plate over and over. Proteins stay fresh, sauces do the heavy lifting, and the structure gives you flexibility instead of rules.A Meal Prep Flow is a system that supports consistency without rigidity.