#mealtips

  I’ve always preferred cooking meals over eating fast-food or even restaurant food. Besides the taste, it’s healthier and I know what I’m putting into my body. It also saves a lot of money and is a fun way to create new dishes. While I enjoy cooking, I don’t have time to slave away in the kitchen. Long work hours coupled with 1-2hr workout/training sessions for endurance events, means less time for the kitchen. The key is doing meal preparations (meal prep) in advance. Here are a few shortcuts I use every week:   1.     Plan Meal Options Put together a quick list of dinner options that you enjoy. I usually start with the main meat or vegetable ingredients and then build from there. Think about meals that take 30 minutes or less to prepare. You can also narrow down your main ingredient options to 2 or 3 so that it’s easier when shopping. For example for this week my menu looks like this:  Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Stir-fry, Chicken Fried rice, Chicken Pizza, Breaded Tilapia & Lemon Garlic Tilapia.   2.     Prepare Meats I wash, season, marinate, slice, dice or pound my meat ingredients as soon as I get back from the grocery store. I then put each meat in separate storage bags and label it with a dish from my menu options and freeze it. It makes it easy to identify and defrost in the morning when leaving for work.

3.     Cut Fruits & Vegetables Chop fruits & vegetables like pineapple, mango, tomato, onions, garlic, peppers, cucumbers etc. ahead of time and store in individually labeled Ziploc bags. Separate them even further based on the way they’re cut i.e. sliced, diced or chopped. So I’ll have a bag of sliced green peppers great for stir-fries & pizza separate from bag of diced green peppers which is great for stews. A food processor is a great time saver for diced fruits & vegetables.

        4.     Wash & Store Greens Pre-wash greens like lettuce, kale, spinach. Pat them dry with paper towels and place in airtight containers or storage bags. It’ll make it easy for you to throw salads together. 5.     Fix, Supersize and Freeze Dishes Cook large amounts of dishes like soups, stews, chili, rice, pasta, quinoa and beans on the weekend and store them in the freezer. This is a real time saver especially if food is stored in individual bags or containers. A few minutes in the microwave and you’re ready to serve. Ensure that food is stored in airtight containers and/or freezer bags to prevent freezer burn. 6.     Use Convenience Foods Ready-made pizza crusts, frozen vegetables and canned beans can cut down significantly on food cooking time. Just ensure that you select products that are low in preservatives and artificial ingredients.   7.     Start with Longer-Cooking Foods Always start by making the longer-cooking foods first. This will allow you to prepare the rest of your meal while it’s being cooked.   So pick a day when you have a couple hours to do prep work. This will definitely help making dinner a bit stress free every day of the week. Happy Cooking!