Starch by day: Wed none, the squash is the noodle · Thu rice · Fri potatoes · Sat rice · Sun rice · Mon roasted butternut · Tue whatever is left. One a day. Sunday's and Tuesday's bean lunches are on toast, which is that day's second starch — that is deliberate and within Leila's 1–2.
Greens, stated plainly: massaged kale in four lunch bowls, a whole bunch of dandelion greens plus the rest of the kale wilted into Thursday's stew, a celery salad Friday, a romaine salad Sunday, and curry leaves and cilantro through the sambar. The box and the Whole Foods order covered greens between them; nothing extra bought.
Protein, stated plainly: chickpeas and a boiled egg in every bowl, the pot of beans and crisp tofu Thursday, salmon Friday, yogurt Saturday, toor dal Sunday, cod Monday, sardines tonight and again on the bean toasts. That is where Leila's ~125 g comes from.
Tonight's prep, Wednesday — by station, not by day
About 85 minutes, of which roughly 30 are hands-on. The greens go in an ice bath first and revive while you work. The Instant Pot runs long and unattended; load it first and do everything else while it works.
Before anything else — revive the greens (Wed, tonight) — ~10 min, 2 hands-on
The kale, dandelion greens and romaine came in already wilting. Limp is not spoiled: a wilted leaf has lost water, and it will take it back. Do this the moment you walk in, before the Instant Pot, because it runs unattended in the sink while everything else happens.
Ice bath (kale, dandelion greens, romaine — all three bunches): fill the sink or a big bowl with cold water and a tray of ice. Trim ½ inch off the cut stem ends first, the way you would with flowers — the old cut has sealed and cannot drink. Submerge everything, leaves and all, 15–30 min. They come back crisp. Longer does no harm; an hour is fine.
Do not use warm water and do not rush it. Warm water makes a leaf limper, not crisper.
Dry them properly: salad spinner in batches, then lay on a towel for a few minutes. Water left on the leaves is what rots them — this step matters more than the soak.
Store (kale + dandelion greens, for Thu stew and the bowls): loosely bagged with a dry paper towel, with the bag left open rather than sealed. Greens give off ethylene and need air; a sealed bag of damp kale is slime by Friday.
Store (romaine, Fri + Sun): whole leaves, dry, bagged with a paper towel. Replace the towel if it is damp on Saturday.
Triage after the bath. Anything still limp after 30 minutes is not coming back — pull those leaves and use them in Thursday's stew, where they cook down and no one can tell. Yellow or slimy leaves go in the bin, not the pot. Save the crispest romaine for Sunday's salad, since it has the furthest to travel.
If the dandelion greens are the worst of the three, move Thursday's stew to Wednesday and tonight's squash "pasta" to Thursday. The squash keeps for a week; the bitter greens do not.
Instant Pot, back to back — ~80 min of pot time, ~10 hands-on
Load, walk away, unload, load the next. Start the chickpeas before you do anything else — they are the long one and everything else fits around them.
A pot of beans (Thu stew, Sun + Tue lunches, one freezer portion): 1 lb dried cannellini or great northern, unsoaked, water to cover by 2 inches, 1 bay leaf, a small pinch of salt. High pressure 38 min, natural release 20. Salt properly once they are out and still hot. Keep the cooking liquid — it is what you loosen leftovers with. Freeze a third of the pot plain, before any dressing; dressed beans do not freeze well.
Dress half the beans while they are warm (Sun + Tue lunches) — this is Beth's method and the warmth is the whole trick. Drained beans, salt to taste, then 2 parts vinegar, then 3 parts olive oil, until there is a slight surplus pooling at the bottom of the bowl. Cover, fridge. They keep a couple of days dressed, so dress the second half on Saturday rather than tonight.
Chickpeas (lunch bowls Wed–Sat, Friday's celery salad, and the baby's):2 cans, drained and rinsed. Deliberately not dried — the pot is busy with the beans and one long bean run on a weeknight is enough.
Farro (lunch bowls Thu–Sat): 1 cup dry + 1¾ cups water. High pressure 10 min, natural release 10. Drain any excess, spread on a tray to cool. This is the week's only anchor grain — 1 cup dry, at the cap, not over it.
Eggs (bowls Wed–Sat, breakfasts): 1 cup water, 8 eggs on the trivet. High pressure 5 min, natural release 5, ice bath 5. Refrigerate unpeeled — they keep far better and peel cleanly on the day.
Oven, one run at 425°F — ~30 min, 6 hands-on
Two pans, not one. A crowded pan steams instead of browning, and these peppers are the backbone of four lunches.
Red peppers + sweet potato (bowls Wed–Sat): half the red peppers in wide strips, both sweet potatoes in ¾-inch cubes, olive oil, salt, smoked paprika. One pan.
Butternut, half of it (Mon dinner + the breakfast dip): peel, ¾-inch cubes, olive oil, salt, cumin. Second pan. Leave the other half uncut — it goes into Thursday's stew raw and keeps better whole.
25–30 min, flipped once. Pull the peppers first if they colour early.
Hold back a handful of plain, unsalted sweet potato and butternut before the oil and salt go on — that is the baby's, for the week.
Shred and chop — ~15 min
The things that hold all week. Bag them.
Kale (bowls Wed–Sat): stem and tear half the bunch, 1 tsp olive oil and a pinch of salt, massage 2–3 min until it darkens and softens. Holds all week and is better on day 3 than day 1.
Kale + dandelion greens (Thu stew): stem and roughly chop the other half of the kale and the whole bunch of dandelion greens. Bag them together — they go into the pot as one.
Romaine (Fri + Sun): separate, wash, spin dry, bag with a paper towel. Leave the leaves whole — chopped romaine browns at the cut edge in two days.
Celery (Fri salad): slice 8 stalks on the bias, chop the leaves and keep them — the leaves are half the flavour. Bag separately. Do not slice the apple until Friday; it browns in an hour.
Carrots (bowls Wed–Sat, Thu stew, baby sticks): shred 4 for the bowls, cut 4 into coins for Thursday's stew, cut 3 into sticks for the baby. There are 2.5 lb, so this barely dents them.
Quick pickle, daikon + red pepper (bowls all week, Mon fish): thin-slice half the daikon and one red pepper. Pour over ½ cup red wine vinegar, ½ cup water, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt. Ready in 30 min, holds the full week, and it is what keeps the bowls from tasting the same four days running.
Dressings, two jars — ~8 min
Lemon-tahini (bowls Wed–Sat): 6 tbsp tahini · 5 tbsp lemon juice · 5 tbsp water · 1 grated garlic clove · ¾ tsp salt. It seizes before it loosens — keep whisking past the point it looks wrong.
Lemon-Dijon (romaine salad Sun): 5 tbsp olive oil · 3 tbsp lemon juice · 1 tsp Dijon · 1 tsp dried oregano · salt and pepper. Oregano and garlic powder are both on the shelf.
Lemon vinaigrette for the celery salad (Fri): ¼ cup lemon juice · 2 tsp maple syrup · 1½ tsp Dijon · 1 grated garlic clove · ¼ tsp salt · black pepper · ⅓ cup olive oil drizzled in while whisking. Maple syrup, no honey — the source recipe offers either, and maple keeps the baby's spoonful safe.
Slice — 3 min
Cucumbers (Wed + Thu): slice 2. Leave the other 4 whole — sliced cucumber weeps after two days, and Saturday's mast-o-khiar wants them fresh.
Overnight chia puddings for the baby — ~8 min
Four small jars, made as one batch. No sweetener, no honey — she is under one.
(Baby, Thu–Sun): whisk 6 tbsp chia seeds into 2 cups whole milk with a pinch of salt. Wait 10 minutes and whisk again — that second whisk is the entire technique; it breaks up the pockets before they set. Divide into 4 small jars, lids on, fridge overnight.
Toppings, mashed not whole: half a banana mashed in per jar, or a few blackberries crushed with a fork. Add them on the day, not tonight, or the fruit weeps.
Keep it looser than you would for an adult — chia thickens again in the mouth. Serve on a spoon, never as finger food.
Keeps 5 days. A second batch goes in Saturday's session so the back half of the week is covered.
Butternut tahini dip, if you have 5 more minutes — ~5 min
(Breakfasts Thu–Sun): blitz half the roasted butternut with 2 tbsp tahini, juice of half a lemon, salt and a pinch of cumin. Savory breakfast on toast with a boiled egg, which is the format that actually gets eaten.
Mid-week top-up, Saturday evening — ~15 min
The things that would be sad by Monday if they were done tonight.
Roast the second tray of red peppers (Sun + Mon): 400°F, 20 min, single layer. Roasted tonight they are limp by Monday; roasted Saturday they are still good Tuesday.
Mast-o-khiar (Sat dinner): grate 2 cucumbers, squeeze out the water, fold into 1½ cups yogurt with dried mint and salt. Make it an hour ahead, not three days ahead.
Slice the remaining cucumbers (Sun + Mon).
Bake the apple oat baby muffins while the peppers are in — same oven, no extra heat-up.
Second batch of chia puddings (baby, Mon–Tue): same ratio, 6 tbsp chia to 2 cups milk, whisk twice.
Dress the second half of the pot of beans (Sun + Tue lunches) — warm them for a minute first so they take the dressing, then 2 parts vinegar to 3 parts oil, salt, fridge.
Roast a tray of tomatoes for the bean toasts (Sun + Tue): halved, cut side up, olive oil, salt, pepper, a pinch of dried oregano. 400°F until collapsed and browning, alongside the peppers.
Day-by-day assembly
Wed 7 — squash "pasta" with sardines · Grab: the zucchini and one yellow squash · 2 tins sardines · pecorino · lemon · basil or parsley · chilli flakes. Ribbon or spiralise the squash, warm it 2 minutes only, toss with the sardines, lemon zest and oil from the tin. Baby's plain squash ribbons and a flake of sardine out before the chilli and the salt. 20 min
Thu 8 — smoky white bean stew with crisp tofu · Grab: the bagged kale and dandelion greens · 2 cans cannellini · the uncut half of the butternut · 4 carrots · 1 can chopped tomatoes · onion · garlic · smoked paprika · cumin · bay leaf · 1 block tofu · lemon · bread or rice. Onion and carrots 7 min, bloom the paprika and cumin in the oil 30 seconds before any liquid, tomatoes 3 min, then squash, beans and stock for 20–25 min. The greens go in by the handful in the last 3 minutes. Sear the cubed tofu separately in a dry-ish pan and spoon it on top so it stays crisp. Baby's portion out before the salt and lemon — squash, carrot and beans, mashable and mild. 40 min, mostly unattended
Fri 9 — sheet-pan salmon with red peppers & potatoes, celery salad · Grab: salmon · the 3 potatoes · 3 red peppers · lemon. Potatoes in first at 425°F for 20 min, then peppers and salmon on top for 12 more. Baby's plain potato and a flake of salmon out before the lemon and pepper. 35 min, 8 hands-on
Fri 9, the celery salad · Grab: the sliced celery and its leaves · ½ cup sliced red onion · 1½ cups chickpeas · 4 Medjool dates diced · 1 apple sliced now, not earlier · parsley · almonds · Parmesan · the vinaigrette jar. Toss everything but the almonds, Parmesan and parsley with half the dressing, then refrigerate 20 minutes — that rest is the recipe, it softens the onion and lets the celery take the dressing. Toss again, top, season. Baby's plain chickpeas and a little soft date out before the salt and dressing; no almonds. 15 min, 20 of it waiting
Sat 10 — baingan bharta · Grab: both eggplants · onion · tomato · ginger-garlic · the baingan bharta masala from the pantry box · rice · the mast-o-khiar. Char the eggplants whole directly over the gas flame until the skins blister and collapse, 12–15 min, turning. Peel, chop, cook into the masala base. Baby's plain roasted eggplant flesh out before the masala. 50 min, and the charring is the only part that needs attention
Sun 11 lunch — marinated beans on toast · Grab: the dressed beans, with a slotted spoon · Saturday's roasted tomatoes · a tin of sardines with its oil · basil or parsley · toast · lemon. Pile it on, then taste and adjust — salt, a drizzle of oil, or a squeeze of lemon, whichever is missing. Beans and tomato take more salt than you expect. Baby's plain beans out of the freezer portion, mashed. 6 min
Sun 11 — vegetable sambar · Grab: toor dal · the rest of the daikon · the second yellow squash · the green pepper · tamarind · sambar masala · curry leaves · rice · romaine and the lemon-Dijon for the salad. Instant Pot for the dal, vegetables in after. Baby's plain dal and soft vegetables out before the tamarind and the masala. 40 min
Mon 12 — cod in parchment · Grab: cod · the quick-pickled peppers · Saturday's roasted peppers · lime · the roasted butternut to reheat. Parcel, 400°F, 14 min. Baby's plain fish out of the parcel before the pickle goes near it. 25 min
Tue 13 — use-up · Grab: the rest of the marinated beans and roasted tomatoes for toast, plus whatever farro, chickpeas, greens, pickle and dressing are left and any stew in the fridge. Not a recipe, deliberately. 10 min
Any lunch bowl (Wed–Sat) · Grab: farro · chickpeas · massaged kale · roasted peppers and sweet potato · the daikon pickle · a boiled egg · the lemon-tahini jar. Layer grain, greens, vegetables, protein, dressing. 3 min
Any breakfast · Grab: a boiled egg · the butternut tahini dip · toast · an apple. Savory, repeatable, and it uses the apples down. 4 min
Baby portions
Named at the step inside every dinner above. Plus, from the prep: plain unsalted roasted sweet potato and butternut, plain chickpeas, plain farro, a boiled egg yolk, cucumber spears, and the apple oat muffins from Saturday. Plus the overnight chia puddings, four jars from Wednesday and four more from Saturday, on whole milk with mashed banana or crushed blackberry. No honey, and no maple in her jars either. No whole nuts — omit rather than chop them small, and that includes the almonds on Friday's celery salad.
Storage, in the order things die
Sliced cucumber — 2 days. Only Wednesday and Thursday get sliced tonight.
Roasted peppers and sweet potato — Saturday. After four days they go slack, which is why the second pepper tray waits until Saturday.
Dandelion greens — Friday, raw. Wilted into Thursday's stew they are fine for four days. This is the most perishable thing in the box; do not let it drift past Thursday.
Romaine, whole leaves, bagged — the full week. Chopped, two days.
Zucchini and yellow squash — about a week, but the zucchini is for tonight anyway.
Mast-o-khiar — 3 days, which is why it is Saturday's job and not tonight's.
Marinated beans — 2 days once dressed, which is why only half get dressed tonight and the rest wait until Saturday. Plain beans in their liquid keep 5 days, and the freezer portion keeps months.
Chia puddings — 5 days, which is exactly why there is a second batch Saturday.
Celery, sliced — 4 days in a bag. The apple goes in Friday, not before.
Farro, chickpeas, eggs (unpeeled), the pickle, all three dressings — all week.
Apples — weeks. Leave them whole until the day; a cut apple browns in an hour.
Butternut, uncut — a month. Only half gets roasted tonight; keep the rest whole on the counter if you would rather use it next week.