09/10/2026
The first week back at a real schedule is where lunch falls apart. Beat it on Sunday.
September hands you your week back, and that's a good thing. But the first busy Tuesday, lunch is a sad desk sandwich or nothing at all, and by 3pm you're raiding the vending machine. You don't need more discipline. You need to make the decision once.
One pot, Sunday, and lunch is handled through Thursday. Chicken Keema with Peas, a weeknight staple in a lot of Jersey City kitchens, built here for four boxes:
2 lbs lean ground chicken (93/7)
1 large onion, diced
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1.5 cups frozen peas
1 tbsp oil
1.5 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp chili powder
salt, a handful of chopped cilantro, a squeeze of lemon
Soften the onion in the oil, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger-garlic paste and the spices, stir for a minute until it smells like dinner. Add the chicken and brown it, breaking it up as it cooks. Stir in the tomatoes and let them break down, then the peas with a splash of water. Lid on, 10 minutes. Finish with the cilantro and lemon, and split it into four containers.
About 40 grams of protein and 450 calories a container before rice, the whole lunch already made. It tastes better on day three than it did on day one.
The week you don't have to think about lunch is the week you actually eat like you mean it. That's the whole trick. This is the make-ahead lunch we build for busy professionals coming back to a full fall calendar at our Downtown Jersey City studio.
Save this for Sunday.
