Cooking in batches is one of the best tips my wife would give you, because it saves you a lot of time in the kitchen. We usually batch-cook our protein (meat or poultry) and freeze what we don't eat right away. That way, we always have a meal available when we don't have time to cook. As side dishes, we often have fresh (raw) veggies, such as avocado, tomatoes, peppers or cucumbers.