This past week, I have discussed the convenience of meal planning with several friends. I think many people (I used to) have the misconception that cooking dinner nightly is a hard task that takes up a lot of time. I have spoken to several women who said that the reason they don't plan to cook on a regular basis is because by the time they get home from work or other activities, the last thing they want to do is slave away in the kitchen for hours making a meal. This leaves people eating out on a regular basis or buying convenience meals that are high in preservatives and price.
I would like to share with you all what makes menu planning and cooking meals on a regular basis much easier for me. As I have mentioned in a previous post regarding meal planning, I grocery shop once a week (some people cut this down to only every other week- just a thought) and buy all of the supplies I need for our meals throughout the week. I shop with a list and it usually does not take me over an hour. This is much easier than not planning and thus having to run to the store on a regular basis for ingredients, which adds to the total time it takes to prepare meals. I have all of my meals planned in advance.
Another huge part of what makes meal planning WORK FOR ME that I did not share in my previous post is preparing at least part of our meal in advance. The night before or in the morning, I look at the meal I have planned for the (following) evening and determine what part of the meal I can prepare in advance. For example, if I am cooking lemon tilapia, rice, and veggies-I will thaw my tilapia, place my seasonings and lemon on the tilapia, wrap them in foil, place it in a pan, and store them in the fridge. Then, when I get home, all I need to do is place the pan in the oven and boil a couple pots of water for the rice and veggies. While things are baking and boiling, I usually have the time to do other small tasks in the kitchen, so I don't feel like I am standing over the stove for long periods of time.
It usually always works for me to prepare my meat portion of the meal the night before. Several of my common menu items (spaghetti, chicken and rice, etc.) allow me to fully cook the meat the night or morning before I serve the meal. Menu items such as turkey pockets allow me to cook my meat and mix all of my ingredients together in advance, so all I have to do to prepare dinner in the evening is place the mixture in the dough and bake the pockets. I also often chop veggies and other ingredients early in the week that I will use for future meals during the week, which again, saves me time in the evening.
There are several benefits to preparing at least part of your dinner in advance:
1) It shortens the amount of time it takes to prepare dinner in the evening. This is extremely helpful when you are running behind schedule, feeling tired, or have hungry people waiting on your meal.
2) It helps you and your family to eat out less because you know that you have part of your dinner prepped and ready to be cooked at home. You also know that it won't take you long to prepare the meal since the "hardest" parts are already done. If you prepare a part of your meal dinner in advance, you have committed to eating at home that night, so there are far less temptations. Besides, you wouldn't want to waste good meat or fresh chopped veggies.
3) By prepping part (or all) of the meal in advance, you have made the completion of the meal more simple, so it will be easier to call on your spouse or children to help you finish cooking the meal.
"What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow." - Martin Luther
***Thanks to all of you who are sharing what "works for you" with me! I have so much to learn :).
Another huge part of what makes meal planning WORK FOR ME that I did not share in my previous post is preparing at least part of our meal in advance. The night before or in the morning, I look at the meal I have planned for the (following) evening and determine what part of the meal I can prepare in advance. For example, if I am cooking lemon tilapia, rice, and veggies-I will thaw my tilapia, place my seasonings and lemon on the tilapia, wrap them in foil, place it in a pan, and store them in the fridge. Then, when I get home, all I need to do is place the pan in the oven and boil a couple pots of water for the rice and veggies. While things are baking and boiling, I usually have the time to do other small tasks in the kitchen, so I don't feel like I am standing over the stove for long periods of time.
It usually always works for me to prepare my meat portion of the meal the night before. Several of my common menu items (spaghetti, chicken and rice, etc.) allow me to fully cook the meat the night or morning before I serve the meal. Menu items such as turkey pockets allow me to cook my meat and mix all of my ingredients together in advance, so all I have to do to prepare dinner in the evening is place the mixture in the dough and bake the pockets. I also often chop veggies and other ingredients early in the week that I will use for future meals during the week, which again, saves me time in the evening.
There are several benefits to preparing at least part of your dinner in advance:
1) It shortens the amount of time it takes to prepare dinner in the evening. This is extremely helpful when you are running behind schedule, feeling tired, or have hungry people waiting on your meal.
2) It helps you and your family to eat out less because you know that you have part of your dinner prepped and ready to be cooked at home. You also know that it won't take you long to prepare the meal since the "hardest" parts are already done. If you prepare a part of your meal dinner in advance, you have committed to eating at home that night, so there are far less temptations. Besides, you wouldn't want to waste good meat or fresh chopped veggies.
3) By prepping part (or all) of the meal in advance, you have made the completion of the meal more simple, so it will be easier to call on your spouse or children to help you finish cooking the meal.
"What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow." - Martin Luther
***Thanks to all of you who are sharing what "works for you" with me! I have so much to learn :).
0 comments:
Post a Comment