The secret to beating the weeknight dinner rush? Planning in advance. But before you cancel your weekend plans in the name of meal prep, we promise all you really need is a few minutes to get a jump on the week.

Everything's easier when you’re not starting from scratch each night, so give yourself a head start. In just a few minutes, you can chop, wash and dry salad greens. Or saute some onions. Blanch veggies. Cook off a batch of grains. Grill a few chicken breasts. Then use these prepped ingredients to make a grain bowl or big salad for dinner on shopping day. The prep won't feel like drudgery and everything will do double-duty later in the week.

Why should Tuesday get all the fun (and tacos)? In a few minutes, you can give every day of the week a theme — and suddenly it becames easier for you to shop and plan. Make it a Spaghetti Monday, Slow-Cooker Thursday, Pizza Friday, or whatever best fits you and your family.

A super-quick tomato sauce (like pureed tomatoes simmered with half an onion and a chunk of butter) can play a few different roles over the course of the week: It can be a base for baked eggs, an easy pasta sauce or the seasoning in a shepherd’s pie. Tomatoes not your thing? You'll get the same versatility with a simple white sauce (flour, butter, milk). Use it for sausage gravy, creamy pasta casserole or a veggie gratin.

Scoop the ingredients for a slow-cooked stew (think sausage and lentils, beef and butternut squash, or root veggies and red wine) into a plastic bag, then write cooking instructions on it and refrigerate (or freeze) until you need it. Thaw overnight if frozen, then drop it all into the cooker in the morning and come home to dinner.