Meal Preparation

A little meal preparation can go a long way

        Zero meal planning often means frequent trips to the grocery store combined with the dreaded "What do you feel like eating?" conversation. Total meal planning can mean predictable meals that get boring after a while. There is a happy medium out there for just about everyone. Here are my top five tips for easy weeknight cooking.

    1. Stock your pantry. Take a look at your favorite recipes and see what canned, frozen and dried ingredients they require. Keep these ingredients on hand to avoid missing something at mealtime. Even better, keep some recipes on hand that use only pantry staples, like spaghetti with canned tomatoes and beans. That way there will always be something quick and easy to prepare.

    2. Plan by meal type, not by specific recipe. I like to plan my meals out by planning a type of dish each night of the week, not an exact dish. For example, Monday could be pasta night, Tuesday could be piece of meat with a frozen veggie and baked potato night, Wednesday could be slow cooker night, that kind of thing. If it's Monday, I know I'm having pasta and can just pick out a recipe from my collection and make it.

    3. Save preparation time when you can. Frozen vegetables are my best time savers. They taste good, and often (especially this time of year) they are healthier than the "fresh" ones in the store that were picked weeks ago and shipped to the store. They don't require cutting and washing either. So I keep my freezer filled with these to save on preparation. Pair with a piece of meat (also from the freezer) and a baked potato or rice and dinner is done in no time.

    4. Dust off those kitchen appliances. A few slow cooker recipes are a wonderful addition to any recipe collection. Prep all the meat and veggies the night before and keep in the fridge. Put the spices in the slow cooker and leave on the counter. In the morning, dump everything in and in the evening dinner is ready. A food processor speeds up prep time for recipes using onions, celery, carrots and more. I also have a rice cooker for easy (and perfect) rice to accompany almost any main dish.

    5. Admit that some days you won't feel like cooking. Kitchen burnout occurs often in some people who try to make a meal from scratch each and every night. Instead of hitting a point of frustration and ending up with pizza, breadsticks and brownies on the table, plan for a regular night off from cooking. I keep a few easily prepared items in the freezer like frozen stuffed chicken breasts. It's not quite as healthy as a home-cooked meal, but when paired with vegetables it's a lot healthier than restaurant take-out food.

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