Take Root Hospitality’s Tara Gallina on family-friendly meal planning

Earlier this year, Michael and Tara Gallina and Aaron Martinez launched Friday night Take & Bake Family Meals at Winslow’s Table, an easy-to-assemble full meal that feeds a family of three to four without the hard work of meal prep at the end of a long week. It’s an idea that came to them from their guests but also from their own experience. As busy working parents, the Gallinas know that weeknight meals can be a source of stress. (Yes, even two experienced culinarians can fall into the same ruts and bad habits as the rest of us non-industry folks.) Over the past few months, the husband-and-wife team has found a few ways to get a handle on this ever-present part of life. It’s involved a little planning, some easy meal-prep, and, most importantly, a healthy dose of grace. 

I’m sure that, considering your backgrounds, people assume you and Michael have dinner at your house under control. Is that true? We would be kidding if we led anyone to believe we go to the farmers’ market every weekend. It would be lovely, but at this stage in our life, that’s just not practical. Really, we’re just trying to survive and figure out something for everyone to eat. It’s exhausting, and it’s funny because I’m not sure what it was, but some time over the last few months—I don’t know what the straw was that broke the camel’s back—we just looked at each other and realized what we were doing was crazy. We had no structure; putting together dinner was already difficult on a good day. We found ourselves constantly asking what we were having for dinner and, just like everybody else, we couldn’t afford to go out all the time. When we did cook at home, we were making a meal for six people when it was just the four of us. We finally realized that we had to sit down and get this organized.

What did you come up with? What we’ve been doing for several weeks now that is really working well for us is we sit down on Sunday as a family; honestly, it’s not that long because our kids are little, and they have an attention span of about four or five minutes. But as a family, we first figure out if we are buying lunch or bringing lunch and then what we are having for dinner. We write out a menu for the week factoring in the kids’ nights with grandparents or with us and then figure out what we can cook that takes on many different roles throughout the week so we are not taking out pots and pans every day. Then, we write out a grocery list based on the menu and do our prep work. It’s not the sort of prep work some do where they are chopping up everything and making their refrigerator full of containers. That seems cool, but not everyone has time for that. We’ve found that even just having an agreement of all parties on what we will all eat this week has been really helpful and has been a really good routine to get us on a schedule so we are not wasting stuff.

What are some of the ideas you’ve come up with? Every Monday, Michael roasts an entire chicken. We didn’t invent roasting a chicken, so you can use your own technique that you like; we spatchcock and roast it, then break it apart and make chicken stock and are able to work that into various meals throughout the week. We put it in salads. Our kids love tacos, so we chop up some chicken and put it in a skillet with a salsa they like. They really like the Chipotle kids meal, so I make cilantro rice and put everything in compartments. We sometimes make soup and put it in the freezer, and once a week I usually make a salad that Michael calls my “Famous Salad.” I think it’s really about the dressing, but it’s a salad that can sit in the fridge that you can eat over multiple days and it won’t die. I use kale, because it can hold well, and then I make this tahini yogurt vinaigrette. It’s super simple and delicious, and the kids think it’s a caesar or ranch without knowing what it actually is. I mix in quinoa (literally, I microwave a pack of precooked quinoa), whatever nuts we have on hand, a lot of shaved parmesan and throw some chopped chicken in it. It’s super protein rich and has all the good things in it, but it tastes indulgent and can sit. It’s perfect come Wednesday night when no one wants to cook anymore.

You note that your kids really love taco night. Are there any other family-friendly meal ideas that are big hits in your household? Smashburgers are good, and make-your-own-pizza night is really fun and easy. I love handmade pasta and will occasionally get fancy, but a lot of the time we are doctoring up boxed mac and cheese to make it more interesting. Leftover fried rice is a really good way for us to incorporate vegetables that they will eat. We actually eat a lot of rice; it’s great fresh out of the pot, and the next day we can make fried rice or stuffed rice balls, or we can throw it in a salad or make a taco bowl. A fun one we do occasionally that goes over super well is breakfast for dinner. It’s super simple and a great way to have that as a special meal for the month. They just lose their minds over it. 

I assume you and Michael get in dinner ruts like the rest of us. Do you have any advice for getting out of one? Everybody gets into ruts—us included. I think it’s a mindset reframe in some regards. Nobody is whipping out Food & Wine magazine every week and making something new, but you can think about one component you make all the time and how you can make it different. There are so many really good curries or all kinds of different flavored sauces you can mix into whatever protein you usually cook. Add a couple vegetables and start there. Everybody has a different skill set; we can riff because we have experience, but for most people, start with one thing that you want to mix up. Take pasta for example; take the sauce and make something different with it, like a shakshouka. Or instead of having the sauce with pasta, have chicken Parmesan. I think it’s good to find different ways to incorporate things and flavors you are familiar with. If you’re bored with tacos, turn them into enchiladas. If feels similar in flavor, but it also feels different. 

Have you found any tools that have helped you in your planning, like delivery services or apps? I order from Thrive—which is the quality of Whole Foods but not with the prices—and get delivery once a month. We have some subscriptions like that which are good for snacks and dry goods, then we shop fresh for fruits and vegetables. I love grocery shopping and am always the person who gets the little cart, but realizes at the end that I should have gotten the bigger one, but having a plan and sticking to it has really helped with over-buying. I also think it’s very helpful to have an app or website that you like where you can save recipes. I really like the New York Times Cooking one because its search functionality is really easy, and I like their newsletter. I don’t always have the time to plan what I’m going to make, so it’s nice to have something that I can do a quick scan of things I’ve saved. 

We’ve talked about the planning, prep, and work side of it all, but what about the fun? How do you still keep the joy in cooking, even when it can feel stressful? I enjoy cooking, but for me a lot of weeknight cooking is about utility and not fun because I do not have the time. But I need that outlet too, so we have another couple we are good friends with and our kids are friends; sometimes every month, but at least every six weeks, we trade houses and have dinner back and forth and we cook together. That is a fun outlet to really experiment. We will pick a different destination or something in life that has inspired us. Recently, we made Korean steam buns from scratch and made this incredible pork belly. It wasn’t in our wheelhouse, but we followed a recipe and it was really fun. If you do like to cook and find all of this exhausting, find an outlet to make it fun like that. One thing I think is really important for people to know is that it’s ok if your weekly meals are not perfect. Don’t hold yourself to that Instagram standard, because it’s not realistic. 

Photography courtesy of Tara Gallina

Photography courtesy of Tara Gallina

Recipe: Tara Gallina’s Kale Salad with Tahini Yogurt Dressing

Michael Gallina refers to his wife Tara’s kale and tahini concoction as her famous salad, and there’s a good argument for that title. With its indulgent taste, wholesome ingredients, kid-friendly flavor and ability to hold up in the refrigerator for multiple days, this delicious salad is destined to be a staple of many dinner tables.

For the dressing: 

• 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Calabrian chili paste (optional)

For the salad: 

• 1 large bunch curly Kale (about 4 cups)
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (or seed of your choice)
• Wedge of parmesan (to shave on top)

Instructions:

1. Start by removing the kale from stems, tearing into chunks. Clean and dry while you make the dressing. 
2. In a mixing bowl add the yogurt, tahini, vinegar and lemon juice. Whisk until everything is creamy and smooth. Tahini will look broken at first; just keep whisking and it will come together. Add salt, chili paste (if you like a kick) and olive oil and whisk until everything is emulsified. 
3. To make the salad, pour half of the dressing in the bottom of your salad bowl, add the kale, then add the remaining dressing on top. Using tongs, or your hands, massage the dressing into the kale so everything is evenly distributed. Now add the quinoa and seeds and gently toss. Adding these last ensures they don’t get mushy while you massage the kale. To serve, shave a hearty amount of parmesan on top using a vegetable peeler. 
4. This salad is great right away, but even better the next day once the dressing has tenderized the kale. Feel free to mix in some of your favorite ingredients like pickled red onions, olives, grilled peppers, or feta cheese. You can make it a meal with grilled chicken, or enjoy a fresh take the next day stuffed into a wrap.

*Pro tip: Seasoning greens evenly can be a challenge, make sure your dressing is really seasoned so that every bite is perfect.