How These 4 Staples Can Feed You For The Month

Everyone likes two-for-one deals, right? When it comes to cooking and meal planning, food has its own kind of two-for-one deal: For example, turning a great home-cooked dinner into a packed lunch the next day. In our two week #TakeoutTakeOut Challenge, I really have come to appreciate these kinds of recipes. But, I tend to stick to what I know, and that can make for repetitive eating.

To switch things up, I called the Natural Gourmet Institute and asked them to help me figure out a way to cook once on Monday, and use that dish as a foundation for a week's worth of meals. I wasn’t convinced it could be done, however — as per usual — they came back with some genius “four-for-one” dishes: All are easy to make, lunch friendly, and take me out of my cooking-eating rut. Who would have thought to turn leftover quinoa into risotto? Or baked beans into delicious chili? Click through to see how cooking just four meals can feed you for the entire month.