As somebody who films cooking videos for a living, I keep my meals off camera way simpler than you’d expect. I’m not eating steak frites or rigatoni alla vodka on an average weeknight. During the week, I’m not striving for perfection every single meal. I just want something nutrient dense, satisfying, and delicious.
I don’t meal prep because I don’t like to eat the same thing every day, plus I like to cook whatever I’m craving. Paired with a stocked pantry and a decent spice drawer, you can go in literally any direction you want with this type of grocery order. You can turn your ground beef into a sheetpan kefta or a pad kra pao. Chicken thighs can become a chicken tikka masala or a teriyaki chicken. For steak, I’ll usually just sear it and serve it with a whole baked sweet potato and lemony arugula. You get the idea.
This is what works for me—it’s the perfect format for eating throughout the week. It’s non fussy, time efficient, and these nutrient-dense dishes leave me feeling healthy and energized to tackle my busy days (there’s a lot more to content creation than you might think).
I train first thing in the morning, fasted, so by the time I eat I’m ready for a big meal. Eggs are always on the menu, and because I eat them every day, I keep a rotation of egg dishes going to keep things exciting. Then I’ll usually also add a bowl of Greek yogurt and fruit for extra protein and healthy carbs.
Light and quick, and it’s almost always tinned fish. It’s the quickest nourishing protein there is and there are so many ways to dress it up—in a salad, over leftover rice with kimchi, or on top of pan con tomate.
Either last night’s leftovers or some form of protein with a veggie and a carb (usually rice or sweet potato, sometimes pasta or noodles).
My schedule is pretty packed, so I prefer to do one big grocery delivery each Sunday. It saves on time, and because we walk to and from everywhere in NYC, I don’t have to lug heavy bags from the grocery store back to my apartment. I use FreshDirect—their produce goes farm to door, which means it tastes better and lasts longer in my fridge.
Some weeks don’t go as planned and I’ll end up spontaneously deciding to go out to dinner with friends, leaving me with leftover groceries. Because the groceries from FreshDirect are 7 days fresher than other grocery stores, my produce will still be good to use the following week.
Since I have the same simple framework of eating every day, these grocery orders are basically the same format every week:
Usually a mix of steak, ground beef, fish, and chicken.
Full-fat Greek yogurt, whole milk, eggs.
Kiwi and berries, most weeks, plus whatever is in season.
Garlic and onions if I’m out, lemons and limes, any herbs I might need, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, arugula, and then whatever vegetable I’m actually craving that week.
None of this is complicated. It’s an incredibly efficient system: a repeatable grocery order, a stocked pantry, and dozens of dishes I can rotate through without thinking.
This comes straight from my Persian side. Dates and eggs are a classic pairing in Iran, and I know it sounds strange if you didn’t grow up with it. Trust me on this one, it’s absolutely delicious; plus, it keeps you full for hours. Alongside it: a cup of full-fat Greek yogurt and a handful of blueberries. That’s what I like to call a brekkie of kings.
Today it’s pan con tomate with sardines on whole wheat sourdough. Best with sweet, summer heirloom tomatoes and a sourdough toasted until very crispy and dark for structural integrity. Under ten minutes, no cooking, and it’s genuinely one of my favorite things to eat when tomatoes are in season.
Sheet pan meals are a go-to on weeknights for me. You take a protein and a vegetable that cook at the same rate, roast them together, and you get hands-off cooking time to prep something else or just clean as you go. Way less mess than searing everything in a pan.
This is so versatile, and you can take this in any flavor direction you want. This variation here is Korean-inspired, using the sauce you’d normally coat Korean fried chicken in as a marinade. It’s sweet and spicy, and goes with any protein; boneless, skinless chicken thighs are perfect for this. I roast that off with some broccolini, and when it’s ready, I’ll turn the roasted broccolini into a delicious salad with shaved carrot, kimchi, scallions, and a simple dressing.
Slice the chicken and all of that goes on top of some freshly steamed white rice. I recommend you make extra so that you have leftovers to eat for the next day or two!
Zach Neman is a home cook in NYC who shows his over 2 million followers how to make approachable but elevated and always craveable family-style recipes. Growing up in a Persian-Jewish household shaped his relationship with food long before he worked professional kitchens. At his site cheffinwithzach.com you’ll find full recipes with technique and sourcing notes, as well as his subscriber-only Foundations series, the ingredients and gear he actually uses, and his writing on restaurants, travel, and dinner parties.
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