So far we have talked about monthly meal planning and the importance of having ingredients on-hand thanks to a once-a-month shopping trip.
Today let’s talk about how to cut down on some of the prep time for our meals. In October, I planned lots of quick, simple meals. But there are still ways to make the process smoother.
Just in case you got to this point and thought, “That’s fine for her. She probably enjoys cooking…” I guess this is just as good a time as any for me to make my next confession to you: Y’all, I don’t really enjoy cooking all that much. I could think of thousands of things I would rather do. But I do like to eat. And I don’t want my kids or husband to starve. And I can think of better ways to spend our hard-earned money than on fast food. And going to an actual sit-down restaurant with five kids is not my idea of a good time. So, we cook dinner at home.
The Fridge
First, can we just talk about the fridge for a sec? Nobody likes cleaning it out. I get it. But there’s no way to fit a month’s worth of groceries anywhere if you have last month’s old leftovers turning hairy on the shelves. Before I run to the store (or sometimes right before I put the new groceries in), I quickly take out all of the old food that somehow managed to not get eaten last month. Out with the old and in with the new! Because I have my old meal plan fresh off the clipboard, I can see how long it’s been since we actually ate something if I have a questionable leftover. And now my fridge is ready to welcome some fresh, new groceries for the new month.
Cook Ahead
With the fridge clean, we can move on to one of my favorite hacks. I remember sitting in a room full of women at an event and having this sweet, young, newly married woman stand and ask everyone if they knew of a way to cook chicken so that it wasn’t too dry. The room got silent. Maybe it was because her question was completely off-topic, but maybe it was also a little because lots of people struggle with chicken.
My favorite way to cook delicious, juicy chicken is in the
The same is true for recipes that require browned meat: ground beef or sausage, for example. You can brown the meat in advance and store it in the fridge if only for a
It is so much more motivating to put a meal together when you already know you’ve done the first step.
Remember: we have a finite amount of willpower and it gets depleted throughout the day. By dinner time, it is so easy to just give up and go for the path of seemingly least resistance. You can combat that by prepping ahead of time. It’s like you’re setting your future self up for success. Like in those movies and TV episodes where the main character gets a time machine and goes back into the past to set things up for their future. You know what your future looks like: it’s probably pretty darn similar to last week. So set future self up for success by giving her the help she needs to get her future work done.
I hope these ideas help! Come back tomorrow when we’ll talk about another helpful tip for saving time and energy in the kitchen.
