Food Prep Thread

[diablita]

If you do any kind of food prep (even if just for a couple of meals, doesn't have to be mega prep) I'd love to know all the details.

What do you make?  How do you divvy it up?  What kind of containers?  How long does it take?

[monster2]

I don't ever make food ahead of time, but sometimes on Sundays I chop all my veggies that I will need, measure out spices, marinate meat, that way I can just get to it, lately I have been lazy, and then dinner takes forever.

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[merigayle]

I often make 1-2 big batches of something on the weekends and put in a large container in the fridge. Every day before work i portion it into my glass or ceramic containers and if I make a salad for dinner, I will make one for the next day's lunch at the same time, chop once, use twice.

[BonitaApplebum]

I would like to do this a lot more. I've gotten so lazy about cooking, planning, and budgeting. I blame summer!

[diablita]

Me too.  I blame...me.

[leggova]

I do this a lot.

Each week I roast around five (two trays) of chopped up sweet potatoes in a herb salt mix with a bit of olive oil. Then a typical dinner is spinach + salad ingredients like cherry tomatoes, red pepper + a piece of salmon baked in the oven which takes 8 minutes + some of the roast potatoes re-heated in the microwave. Quick and yummy.

I also cook a batch of boiled eggs for the week for snacks or breakfast which I mix with sardines and have on toast with tomatoes.

Then I also make a large pasta salad with a load of oven roasted vegetables with chopped up chicken thighs. Mix in some pesto sauce. This gives me 4 lunches and I wing another lunch at the staff lounge with friends.

Food prep allows me to have quick meals during the weekdays with loads of vegetables and a good amount of protein.

[BonitaApplebum]

I roasted a bunch of veggies this week. And I made a bunch of chicken thighs, but the monsters in my house devoured them all the first day.

Making eggs upfront is a good idea!

[Rochey]

I like to make a chicken and hard-boiled eggs in the IP each weekend to use in the upcoming week.  I also save the broth, since a lot of IP recipes call for it.  Then I'll make chicken salad to take to work, typically for breakfast or a mid-morning snack.  I also roast sliced sweet potatoes or sprouts for my lunches. 

As far as dinners go, on Saturdays I plan meals on our calendar and then make my shopping list for the week.  If I need to brown or chop anything for meals that are coming up, I'll do that while I'm cooking each night's meal.  Salad is a big hit in our house, so I get a bag of spring mix and chop up carrots, cukes, and red bell peppers, so we can just grab a handful with meals.  As much as I'd love to have gourmet meals each night, it's just not possible, but I feel like just eating something home cooked is still 1000% better than eating out. 

For the kids, Mason isn't much of a snacker, but Maddie loves fresh fruit in her lunch, so I trim and slice strawberries and wash and take grapes off the..vines?  That way she can just grab and go.  Another brilliant time-saver we discovered is making her PB&J sandwiches all at one time and freezing them for the week.  One dirty knife, one dirty cutting board, and it saves her loads of time in the morning.  The sandwich also helps keep the other items cool while it's thawing. 

[diablita]

lots of great stuff there Rochey.  Genius on the PB&Js!!  Of course my DD doesn't want them right now, but since she now makes her own lunch it's all good as long as she is willing to put in the effort.  But maybe I'll teach her some Sunday night prep.