It's a crazy week around here with my husband and I having several home improvement projects on the go. To help ensure we're eating well during this busy time, I've planned a few make-ahead meals for us that are all very easy for me to put together. These meals don't need to be made in advance, but I'm doing so as I can prepare them in the mornings when I will have the free time. Dinner will then be ready to eat whenever we're hungry and we can round things out a little more by adding some fruit or a green salad.

The planned make-ahead meals:

• Barley and Black Bean Salad - I always make plenty for a dinner and leftovers for a couple of lunches. I have black beans and barley precooked and frozen (separately) so no cooking!
• Spicy Sesame Noodles with Veggies - All of the ingredients are pretty much always on hand in my kitchen and easy to throw together. For the green beans, I have a bag of organic frozen I can use, which is convenient as they're ready to cook - no prepping. I toss them in with the noodles a few minutes before they're finished cooking for a one-pot deal.
  
• Three Bean Dinner Salad with Apple-Flax Vinaigrette - It's easy, it's healthy, it's filling and we both love it. All of the required cooking can be done in one pot, too, by either cutting ingredients into appropriate sizes to allow for it or by dropping the veggies into boiling water in order from longest to shortest cooking and finishing all together.

Other meals I have in mind:

• Simple Red Lentil and Tomato Soup - I made enough earlier for two dinners and we've finished it off. I'm making more as it really is simple and so very good.
• Red Bean and Lager Chili - I have 4 servings left in the freezer so that's two ready-to-heat meals for us.
• Dinner Out - we're heading over to a friend's home in town one night this weekend and we're all ordering in from a restaurant. Vegan options are available for us and though the food isn't exactly the healthiest, it is delicious and a nice treat every now and again.

Conveniences to have on hand for meals and for snacking:

• Chopped Veggies - carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. I prep and pack 2-3 days worth at a time and put them in the fridge for convenient snacking and to include with our meals.
• Salad Greens - Depending on the particular greens I have, I'll often prep enough for 2-3 days worth of salads at one time. A little squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of oil is a nice simple dressing we often use. I may also make an extra large batch of apple-flax vinaigrette to use for the Three-Bean Dinner Salad and for salad greens.
• Fruit Salad - My husband likes to make this for us using any fruits we happen to have on hand. We eat it for snacks, add it to meals or have as an after dinner treat with a little vegan ice cream.

That's it! Three make-ahead meals with leftovers, a freezer meal, a super-easy lentil soup and a dinner out. Sounds good to me.

I hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!

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