What to cook on a week-long vacation: simple, budget-friendly meals that save time and waste less
Vacations are meant for resting, enjoying your free time, and creating special moments around the table; not for spending hours in the kitchen or spending more than necessary at the grocery store. With a little organization, you can prepare delicious, balanced, and budget-friendly meals using simple, versatile ingredients.
In this selection, we’ve put together recipes that are perfect for a week-long vacation: easy-to-make dishes that the whole family will love and that help you mix up the menu without any hassle. That way, you can enjoy each day with more time for yourself and fewer worries about what to cook.
Day 1: Cook a base and save time
Make a larger batch of rice. Use some of it in this salad and save the rest to serve with chicken, omelets, or bowls.
Rice salad is the perfect recipe to take on a picnic! Very easy to make, it will be just as simple to slip it into a Tupperware to take anywhere with you. A perfect idea to keep in mind when you're short on inspiration for your packed lunches at...
Day 2: Dinner in 5 Minutes
An omelet is always a great option, and it’s ready in 5 minutes!
Serve it with a salad, bread, or leftover vegetables. It’s inexpensive, quick, and fills you up.
Heat up your frying pan and make your best omelette in no time! Nothing is better or easier to make than an omelette for breakfast, brunch, or simply for lunch, served with a salad for a balanced meal ready in just a few minutes. For an even more...
Day 3: A simple, no-frills meal
Super-easy pasta with broccoli, made with just 2 ingredients.
Great for vacations because it doesn’t create a lot of dishes. You can top it with tuna, a hard-boiled egg, or grated cheese.
Pasta with broccoli is the perfect way to introduce vegetables to young and old alike! With its lovely green color and melt-in-your-mouth texture, it's both comforting and light on the plate. Can't believe it? Wait until you try this simple and...
Day 4: Quick and filling chicken
Chicken with bell peppers and zucchini: ready in 20 minutes!
Make a little extra: the next day, use it as a filling for wraps, sandwiches, or salads.
Chicken with peppers and zucchini in an air fryer is a quick, healthy, and flavorful recipe , perfect for a light but flavorful dinner. Using an air fryer with a double basket , you can cook chicken, peppers, and zucchini at the same time, reducing...
Day 5: Effortless wraps or tacos
Buy ready-made tortillas and fill them with hummus, leftover chicken, tuna, eggs, cheese, salad, beans, or vegetables.
The Mediterranean wrap filled with hummus , arugula, peppers and feta is a delicious and versatile option for anyone looking for a light , tasty and nutritious meal . This combination of fresh, vibrant ingredients, inspired by the rich...
Day 6: Smart reuse
Pasta au gratin with cheese and ham
Perfect for using up leftover pasta, cheese, ham, and vegetables. Just pop it in the oven, and dinner is taken care of.
Long live leftover cooking! Use up those last few slices of ham and the bit of grated cheese left in the fridge with this pasta gratin :-) This easy recipe is sure to please the whole family. You don't need to be an experienced cook to feed your family...
Day 7: A light, cold, and complete lunch
Cucumber, chickpea, avocado, and feta cheese salad.
Perfect for a hot day, the beach, or a picnic. To save money, you can substitute a less expensive cheese for the feta and a hard-boiled egg for the avocado.
Fancy a hearty salad that's a little different from the classics? This version ticks all the boxes! Between the crunch of the cucumber, the creaminess of the avocado and the crisp, spicy chickpeas, every bite is full of texture and flavor. The...
Quick side dishes for snacks or light meals
Have you ever heard of tamago sando ? It's the Japanese egg sandwich that's all the rage in konbini (small Japanese convenience stores). Imagine perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs , mashed with a little Japanese mayonnaise , all sandwiched...
No time to make traditional pizza dough for your homemade pizza? Try wheat tortillas instead! This easy, quick recipe lets you make several individual pizzas. Perfect for sharing as an appetizer or enjoying while watching a game, movie, or series, just...
Choose this chickpea and cod salad for a light, nutritious, complete, and fragrant meal. It’s also a great option to take along on a picnic or to work. Easy and delicious, this dish comes together in just minutes. Mix everything together and it’s...
If you want a tasty, gluten-free , low carb dinner idea, this zucchini sandwich is the perfect choice. Instead of traditional bread, it uses fresh zucchini thinly sliced and baked with grated mozzarella (or scamorza) for a flavorful, low-carb...
The best strategy: Cook rice, eggs, and chicken at the beginning of the week; then put together salads, wraps, omelets, and gratins as needed. That way, you cook less, use everything up, and avoid expensive last-minute shopping trips.
Mirella Mendonça
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