Power Hour: How I Prep a Week of Spring Meals for 1 Person in Just 90 Minutes

Cooking for one should be as simple as it is satisfying. After all, the shopping lists are shorter and there’s no call to cater to anyone else’s preferences. Most recipes are written for a “family of four”, so as a solo cook you find yourself stuck in a spiral of leftovers or reducing recipe yields with complicated culinary calculations.

That’s where this week’s Power Hour meal prep plan comes in. This small-scale plan is perfectly portioned for solo eaters. While there is space built into the plan to use up leftovers (an essential step of meal planning, no matter the size or style), you can look forward to enjoying a variety of spring-inspired dinners all week long. Set aside just 90 minutes before your week begins to shop and prep according to this plan, and you’ll be set for a stress-free week of fast and fresh breakfast, lunches, and dinners. Here’s how to plan and prep a week of spring-inspired meals for one person.

• Breakfast: Sweet and savory options that are ready to go. 
• Lunch: Nourishing meals for your midday break. 
• Dinner: A different spring-inspired meal for one each evening.
• Nutritional Goals: This small-scale meal prep session is focused on serving spring flavors to feed one person all week long.

• Feeds: 1 person
• Prep Time: About 90 minutes
• Meals Covered: About 70% of meals (no weekend meals)
• Weekday Cooking Required? Yes. Most ingredients are prepped and dinner is easy to finish and serve.

• Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf Cake and hard-boiled eggs

• Chicken Shawarma Salad
• Leftovers

• Roasted chicken thighs and asparagus. (Make 2 pounds chicken thighs.)
• Cobb Salad (recipe as inspiration)
• Scrambled Egg Flatbreads
• Potsticker Stir-Fry
• Flatbread Pizza (recipe as inspiration; omit spinach)

Here’s a list of everything you’ll need to prepare this week of spring-inspired breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Cooking oils, kosher salt, and black pepper are considered pantry staples so they are not included in the list. Check this list against your pantry, fridge, and freezer stores to avoid over-buying ingredients that you already have on hand.

•  Deli: 2 flatbreads
• Produce: 3 lemons, 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 small red onion, 2 heads butter and/or romaine lettuce, 3 tomatoes, 2 English cucumbers, 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, 1 pound asparagus, 1 carrot, 1 to 2 inches fresh ginger, 2 medium scallions, 1 ripe avocado
• Dry Goods: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon extract, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1/4 cup tahini,  ground sumac (optional), 1 jar artichoke antipasto spread (or marinated quartered artichokes), 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame seed oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Dairy: 11 large eggs, 1 cup sour cream, 1 (8- to 12-ounce) bag shredded cheese (such as Italian-style blend or Trader Joe’s Quattro Formaggio)
• Meat/Seafood:  2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 2 slices bacon
• Frozen: 12 frozen pot stickers or 16 frozen gyoza

1. Bake lemon loaf. Take eggs and sour cream out of the fridge first thing as you gather ingredients for the meal prep session to give them time to come to room temperature. Heat the oven to 350°F. Prepare and bake the lemon loaf following this recipe. Once done, remove to a wire rack to cool.
2. Marinate chicken thighs. Since most of the chicken will be served for lunch as the Chicken Shawarma Salad, I’ll use the seasoning — a flavorful paste of olive oil, garlic, kosher salt, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, and turmeric — from that recipe to season 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Arrange the seasoned chicken in a single layer in a 9×13-inch baking dish or rimmed baking sheet. Set aside at room temperature until the oven is free. 
3. Hard-boil eggs. Hard-boil 6 eggs according to your preferred method. While the eggs cook, prepare an ice bath to quickly chill the eggs and stop the cooking process. If desired, peel the eggs. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. 
4. Roast chicken thighs. Once the lemon loaf is out of the oven, increase the temperature to 425°F. Roast until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool, and refrigerate in an airtight container. 
5. Prep vegetables. For the Chicken Shawarma Salad and Cobb Salads: Thinly slice 1/2 small red onion and cover with cool water for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Tear or chop 2 medium heads butter and/or romaine lettuce. Cut 2 tomatoes into wedges and halve 1 English cucumber then cut into 1/2-inch-thick pieces for the Chicken Shawarma Salad and cut 1 tomato into bite-sized pieces and slice another English cucumber for the Cobb Salad (and snacks!). Trim the ends off of 1 pound asparagus. Set aside 1/4 pound asparagus for the air fryer side dish. Cut the remaining asparagus into 1-inch pieces. For the Potsticker Stir-Fry: Peel and cut 1 carrot into 1/4-inch-thick ovals, finely chop 1 tablespoon peeled fresh ginger, slice 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, and thinly slice 2 medium scallions. Combine the asparagus pieces and carrot, but refrigerate the remaining ingredients separately.
6. Microwave bacon. Cook 2 slices of bacon in the microwave. Crumble and refrigerate in an airtight container.
7. Make dressings & sauces. Cobb Salad: Prepare 1/2 of the dressing in a small lidded jar using 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1 clove garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. You’ll have leftovers, but it’ll keep for another week or two in the refrigerator. Chicken Shawarma Salad: Prepare the dressing  in a lidded jar. Potsticker Stir-Fry Prepare sauce in a small lidded jar.
8. Glaze lemon loaf. Once the lemon loaf has cooled, drizzle with a lemon juice powdered sugar glaze. Let the glaze set while you clean up or leave it to go about the rest of your day. 

• Monday through Friday, Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf Cake and hard-boiled eggs.Skip the drive-thru in favor of an easier (and more delicious!) option. Cut a thick slice of lemon loaf and serve with a hard-boiled egg dusted with freshly cracked pepper and kosher salt.

• Monday through Thursday, Chicken Shawarma Salad. I love this salad for spring because it combines a bright lemon-tahini dressing with crisp vegetables. I prefer the flavor of chicken thighs so I’m slicing all but two of the reserved boneless thighs I baked during the meal prep session. Feel free to substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts if that is what you like. Arrange the greens, cucumber, tomato, and red onion in individual containers and top with the sliced chicken. Portion the lemon-tahini dressing separately and drizzle it on just before serving. 
• Friday, Leftovers. I always build in a time to eat the leftover bits from the week’s meals, because no matter how carefully I plan there’s always something left in the fridge. This week, I’m planning my leftovers — the potsticker stir-fry from Thursday night’s dinner — but if something else catches my eye I can always eat the stir-fry over the weekend.

• Monday, Roasted chicken thighs and asparagus: While you can prepare the asparagus any way you like (steamed, roasted, or sautéed), I’m opting for the air fryer because I can reheat the chicken thighs and cook a few spears of asparagus at the same time.
• Tuesday, Cobb Salad: I’m using this recipe for inspiration since I’m the only one indulging in it. Arrange a few handfuls of washed and prepped greens in a large bowl. Take the time to arrange the toppings in an orderly fashion over the top of the greens, including sliced chicken thighs, sliced red onion, quartered hard-boiled egg, cucumber, bites of fresh tomatoes, crumbled bacon, and diced avocado. Use shredded cheese instead of blue cheese. Drizzle with the red wine vinaigrette just before serving. 
• Wednesday, Scrambled Egg Flatbreads: Warm your favorite flatbread in a dry skillet, then scramble a pair of eggs (adding cheese, chopped-up leftover asparagus, or other fridge finds if you’d like). Serve it on top of the flatbread and call it a night. 
• Thursday, Potsticker Stir-Fry: Prepare the stir-fry, making sure to whisk the sauce again to dissolve the cornstarch. Transfer half of the stir-fry to a container for lunch tomorrow, and serve the remaining portion immediately.
• Friday, Flatbread Pizza: Using this recipe as inspiration, spread artichoke antipasto onto a flatbread (alternatively use finely chopped marinated artichoke hearts). Add chicken (if any left from the week), sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake until the cheese melts, about 12 to 15 minutes at 400°F.

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Power Hour Meal Prep is the series where we help you put it all together. We show you how to eat well during the week with an hour or two of Power Hour prep over the weekend. Every plan is different; mix and match to find your own personal sweet spot.