Save Time with Meal Preparation
We are all so busy that we need a crash course in Time Management. People have gotten so frustrated with meal preparation, sometimes it is just too easy to order out. That is just what I did last night. Usually, I just phone my favourite restaurants and order my favourite meals. I looked at the prices. Oh, my things have gone up recently. Blame it on the new carbon tax. It is costing more to ship things around and guess what; We ship everything. It reflects these shipping prices back to the consumer. Here in Canada, or the Great White North as some Americans call it, we cannot go into the backyard to harvest bananas, oranges, or anything in winter.
What is for Supper?
There is a collective sigh when people get off work, “What can we have for supper?” How about spaghetti? Crap, there is no ground beef in the freezer. This is after ten minutes of digging around. The list goes on.
Make a Menu and a List
Let’s think about meal preparation. Let’s try a menu, you can start small, try five days or a week. Then let’s look at favourite recipes and pick five. (no four-course meals please.) Check the ingredients and list what you will need to pick up. This would be a great time to make use of that hamburger you found at the bottom of the freezer. Cut your preparation time and not stick to one-pot meals with the use of frozen vegetables. We can buy hamburgers ready-made into patties, while they bake, throw together a quick salad.
Things to have on Hand
You should have a running inventory of things you use most. For instance, with me, I have tomato soup, cream of mushroom soup, canned diced tomatoes, tomato paste, kidney beans and so on. When I get down to two cans of one of those, I put it on the grocery list so I never run out. This way when you go grocery shopping you will only need to pick up fresh things, vegetables, fruits, milk, butter, eggs and those staples on the list. This will save money as well. No rotting fresh fruits and vegetables in the fridge’s bottom. Only buy what you need. Resist the urge to buy fresh things just because they are “on-sale” because there are no savings when the food at the back of the fridge rots.
Preparation Time
Chop and measure vegetables the night before and put them into freezer bags. I see grocery stores already sell prepared and packaged fresh or frozen vegetables. Of course, there is a premium for that. But I have found after ricing cauliflower, the entire house smells because they are cruciferous. They are so named because the shape of the flowers resembles a cross. (a bit of useless information) Because of the smell and the work, I am seriously considering buying frozen riced cauliflower. Call me old-fashioned but frozen sliced onions seem a little too much for me.
Meal Subscription Plans
You cannot go a day without hearing about pre-planned meals being delivered to your door on a subscription basis. Hellofresh is the main one I hear about, although there are local farmers here in Nova Scotia who are doing it as well.
Some companies, like Cooksmarts, offer quick and easy meal plans and shopping lists on a subscription. These menus can cater to special diets and household sizes and ensure you do not tire of eating the same old thing.
Try these ideas, make some changes to suit your budget and tastes. Your pocketbook will love it, and your health will improve as well. You will free up some time and lose some of your daily what-to-have- for-supper frustration.