How to organize your weekly meals according to the expert

Then one day the Instagram algorithm suggested a video by Emma Vicario Lo Castro (@emyfoodlife), and I changed my perspective because it teaches you a method for long-term planning without spending hours—on weekends, in my case, at that—cooking. And it makes you realize that with a little more organization, you can stop improvising, eat healthily, and save a lot.

Meal prep all'italiana

Now she's also written a book in which, with her trademark sense of order, she's encapsulated the essence of meal prep. Or, to put it her way, Italian-style meal prep (DeAgostini), which is what she shares with us every day on social media and which she learned over time and out of necessity, when she moved to Austria and began having great difficulty sourcing her favorite ingredients, especially Italian ones.

The book starts with the basics, namely the accessories we need: a simple immersion blender is perfect for getting started. It then continues with some tricks for always keeping some supplies, explaining how to store ready-made food in the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry, while also taking into account the rules for ensuring food safety. Finally, there's the practical side: three examples of Italian-style meal prep, depending on the time you have available. An example? Half an hour can be enough to make flavored breadcrumbs, nut butter, frozen vegetable stock cubes, porridge mix, and jarred salads for the week. Not bad?

We asked Emma Vicario Lo Castro to give us a sneak peek, explaining how to organize your meals for the week in 5 steps. Here's what she recommended.

1. Keep it simple

"I always start from the home kitchen," says Emma Vicario Lo Castro. "I don't believe that organizing your weekly meals requires radically changing your eating habits or preparing who knows what recipes. Pasta, rice, legumes, eggs, meat, fish, and vegetables are already a perfect foundation. My method starts right there: organizing the ingredients in advance so you always have something delicious and homemade, without having to wait until the end of the day wondering, 'What are we going to eat now?'"

2. Create a customized method for yourself

"There's no single method for meal prep. I actually use multiple methods, depending on how much time I have and what I need to organize," Emma continues. "One of my favorites is preparing bases that I can then mix and match throughout the week: for example, I prepare vegetables, a grain, legumes, or a protein source and then combine them differently, so I don't end up eating the same dish over and over again. But there's also another method I use a lot: freezing bases. I prepare sauces, soups, legumes, and other dishes and freeze them already divided into small quantities. These are my single-serving cubes: small portions ready to grab from the freezer when needed. For me, they're a real game-changer because they allow me to always have a base ready without having to start from scratch."

3. Prepare the groundwork in advance

"In my opinion, the great advantage of meal prep is being able to plan ahead," says the expert. "It doesn't necessarily mean preparing seven identical containers for seven days. I prefer to prepare versatile bases that I can use in different ways. A sauce can be used as a pasta condiment, legumes can be used in a soup or to top a salad, vegetables can accompany a main course or become part of a main dish. The goal is to have 'smart ingredients' ready, which I can combine throughout the week based on what I feel like eating."

4. Focus on seasonality

"Seasonal vegetables are fundamental to me. Besides being tastier (and more eco-friendly), they often cost less and allow for natural variation in what we bring to the table throughout the year," says Emma Vicario Lo Castro, explaining a key aspect of her method. "I try to build my week around what I find in season and what's most convenient at that time. So I don't necessarily decide in advance, 'I'll always eat zucchini this week,' but I look at what's good, seasonal, and affordable, and I organize my meals and preparations from there."

5. Store properly

Storage is essential. "When I prepare the bases to use during the week, I try to store them separately, so I can assemble the dish on the spot and better preserve the texture and flavor. When I prepare something I know I won't use right away, the freezer comes into play, especially my single-serving cubes. It's a system that allows me to avoid wasting anything and always have small quantities of sauces, soups, legumes, or other preparations on hand. Ultimately, for me, Italian meal prep doesn't mean always eating the same thing or spending Sundays locked in the kitchen. It means finding the method that works best for us," she concludes.