How Fraîche and Simple Author Tori Wesszer Takes The Stress Out Of Weeknight Dinners

Instead of trying to become a flawless meal planner who preps seven elaborate meals every weekend, Wesszer advocate for starting small: mapping out just a few realistic dinners per week, leaning on customizable meals such as build-your-own tacos, and learning to let go when busy schedules get in the way.

Below, she shares her best advice for beating decision fatigue, feeding picky palates and keeping weeknights stress-free, along with a few preview recipes from her new book, which comes out September 15.

What advice would you give to a first-time meal planner?

Give yourself a break and start small. If feeding everyone feels overwhelming, it’s because it is. There are so many little decisions involved in getting dinner on the table, and they often land at the end of the day when you have the least amount of energy left to make them.

So don’t start by trying to become an incredible meal planner who has seven dinners mapped out and spends Sunday prepping all of them. That’s a recipe for failure. Start by taking some of the decisions away: look at the week ahead and choose three or four dinners that actually fit your schedule. Keep a few easy family favourites in rotation and leave space for leftovers or an SOS meal when life inevitably doesn't go according to plan.

Meal planning is not another thing to be good at. It’s a tool for making life easier.

Is there a method to how you meal plan? A particular day of the week you do the shopping and/or cooking for meal prepping?

Years ago, I’d walk into the grocery store without a real plan and somehow expect inspiration to strike somewhere around aisle five. It never did! I’d race around throwing things into my cart, leave with far more groceries than I needed and somehow still be missing the one ingredient required to make dinner.

And I remember thinking, Why is this so hard? I’m a dietitian. I love food. I know how to cook. Eventually I realized that cooking wasn’t the problem. It was everything that had to happen before I could cook.

That realization ultimately led me to create Fraîche Table, my meal planning program. Now I start the week with my meals already planned and my grocery list created for me. I can adjust the plan around our schedule and preferences and order the groceries I actually need. I’ve taken a whole string of decisions that used to live in my head and essentially handed them over.

The book Fraîche and Simple was created with the same philosophy. It includes eight weeks of meal plans with grocery lists, along with SOS meals, freezer-friendly recipes and practical shortcuts. With both projects, the point is the same: you shouldn’t have to reinvent dinner every single day.

Your kids have likely grown out this stage (or may not have even had one!), but: What’s your best advice on parents of young children who are meal planning for adult and small-kid palates?

This is such a good example of why feeding a family can feel like a lot. You’re not simply asking, “What’s for dinner?” You’re trying to find something nourishing that you enjoy, your partner enjoys, your four-year-old might eat—and that you can actually make with the time and energy you have.

My advice is not to become a short-order cook. Make one family meal, but try to include at least one familiar food your child is comfortable with. Meals that can be served in components are wonderful, too. Tacos are a perfect example because everyone can build a plate that works for them without making three separate dinners.

Keep offering different foods without making every bite a battle. Kids’ appetites and preferences change, and that’s normal.

Real-life dinnertime at this stage of life for families can make it hard for everyone to sit at the table together at the same time. How do you tackle this?

I’ve become much less interested in perfection and much more interested in protecting the opportunity for connection. There are seasons when everyone sitting around the table seven nights a week simply isn’t realistic. We have work, sports, commitments and busy kids just like everybody else. Maybe we all eat together three nights this week. Maybe someone eats before practice and the rest of us eat later. Maybe Sunday dinner is the one we protect. Family dinner doesn’t need to be perfect to be meaningful.

Say you were inviting people over to a super last-minute casual dinner with your fam on a weeknight. What would you make them from this book?

I’m make the Smashed Greek Chicken Tacos with my Herby Green Salad. I’d put everything in the middle of the table and let people dig in. It’s delicious, relaxed and exactly how I like to entertain.

And if we wanted something sweet, I’d make the No-Bake Strawberry Yogurt Cheesecake Jars.

That combination really captures what I wanted Fraîche and Simple to be. The recipes are delicious and beautiful enough that you’re excited to share them with people, but they’re designed for real life.

Butternut Squash Ravioli Lasagna

Prepare to fall in love with this simple yet sophisticated twist on a classic pasta bake! Butternut squash and sage are a match made in heaven, and I love this modified lasagna that uses tender ravioli in place of the noodles. Topped with a Sage Pine Nut Panko Crisp, this prep-ahead meal will have your family or guests swooning. Get this ravioli lasagna recipe.

Pierogi Breakfast Bake

I could gladly eat pierogies to start my day, and this breakfast bake lets me do exactly that. All the flavours of pierogies, but in a delicious casserole. This Ukrainian gal’s dreams have truly come true! Get this pierogi breakfast bake recipe.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

These Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars are so dreamy, made with a blend of cashews, tofu, pumpkin purée and cream cheese for the perfect balance of indulgence and feel-good ingredients. These creamy bars get better with time—if you can resist. Get this pumpkin cheesecake bar recipe.