Now it may start off feeling a little bit like therapy and I won't say it's not going to shake you to your core (ala Oprah discovering her long lost half sister!) but I promise that if you give it a go and stick with it, you will find your kitchen, cooking and shopping life becomes much simpler. It does take a bit of time but it's well worth it. The time spent doing a bit of planning and organising at the start of the week (or whenever it works for you!) will mean less time stressing about what to cook and eliminate having to pop into the supermarket for "just a couple of things" (that somehow always cost $60!) every second night. You will be calmer and more in control of dinner time and might even have time to watch the wine, oops I mean 5, o'clock news or help the kids with their homework. It will also improve your family's health and nutrition because you will usually have something ready to go which means less last minute take away and more homemade, wholesome options. Give it a try....let's face it, it has to be easier than trying to get fit!
Buy a cute shopping list with a magnet on the back, a nice pen and pencil, a highlighter, an A4 visual diary or sketchbook, a glue stick, some nice scissors, some post it notes or flags and a meal planner pad. Yes...this is shopping but I have found that if I have some nice bits and pieces to work with, it actually makes the whole process of planning, shopping and cooking so much more pleasurable and so much less like root canal! You will also need to pick up a couple of recipe magazines. Most are published monthly so when you see them grab them. Alternatively, if you want to make life even easier and save a little bit of money invest in a couple of recipe magazine subscriptions...you will save a few dollars off the cover price and they will be delivered right to you door! Once you have all your bits and pieces store them in a way that works for you, like a nice box, a basket, a totebag...whatever you like, so you always know where they are. I use an A4 storage box for mine because it fits everything in together nicely.
Step #2 - Hunt & Gather
Go through your magazines, when you have a moment of peace and quiet, with a nice cuppa next to you and place post its or flags on any recipes that you like the look of. If you are not a dedicated cook then maybe just start with simple dinner ideas - most of the magazines have a section dedicated to this every month which will make it easier. You might also find some good lunch box snack ideas, simple desserts or tempting baking recipes that you can keep for a rainy day. You should make this a monthly habit which will mean that you will always have fresh and inspiring ideas ready to go.
Step #3 - Store
Create your own recipe scrapbook. Once you have flagged the recipes from your magazines that you're going to try, rip or cut them out and glue them into your A4 visual diary or sketchbook. Make sure you include the picture with the recipe so when you look through they stand out and are easily identifiable. Try to stick a couple of recipes onto each of the pages to make the most of your space. Ideally, add to it once a month so you continue to build a library of recipes to cook from. The best part about doing it this way is that you know that every recipe in your scrapbook is something YOU have chosen...no more sifting through a whole book to find one thing you like and everything you need is all in one place. If you want to go really crazy you could create an idex at the front or back of the book for your recipes or even make a spreadsheet on the computer that categorises them all so you can find things easily. This is especially helpful once you find you have filled one book and need to move on to a new one.
Ok, so now you have all the tools you need to be an organised kitchen-er! This next step is probably the most difficult because it does involve a little bit of committment. You need to decide on a day and time of the week when you are going to review, organise & plan. It may suit you better to do it fortnightly but it's completely up to you. The main thing is that you pick it and stick it! Personally, I do it on a Sunday morning but sometimes that's not possible so I switch it to Saturday or even Friday night. Work out what's best for you and make sure you put aside the time to do it. Once you get used to doing it, it will only take you about 30 mins.
So the time is picked....get your tools out and check out the recipes that you have flagged in your scrap book. Choose the ones you want to make for that week (or fortnight or whatever time frame your working in) and write them down on your menu planner. Take into account nights that you have activities, meeting and other things that will affect your meals...choose simple and quick things for those nights or even something you can make ahead and freeze. For example if you know that you always have a meeting on Mondays pick something like a quiche or pasta bake that you can make over the weekend and place in the fridge or freezer ready to just reheat when you get home.
If you really get into the swing of this step, you can even plan ahead for kids lunchboxes, after school snacks etc and write those on the planner also. Either fold the corners of the pages down on the recipes you've chosen or use a different coloured post it to mark them so you can find them easily when you come to cook. Now get your shopping list, check the recipes and write down what you need to buy so you have everything you need to make them all. Don't be scared to get up and actually look in the fridge or pantry to check if you have (or don't have!) something because when you don't it's usually the one ingredient that will bring you undone. For me, my nemesis is tomato paste! Once you've got the dinners covered add your everyday stuff to the list like toilet paper, rubbish bags, bread, milk etc. Again, always go through your pantry and bathroom to check things like deodorant, cling film, al-foil etc. During the week I also make sure my shopping list is stuck on the fridge so I can add things as they come up, which makes it easier when I come to finish it off later. Educate your family to do this too for things that they use the last of like toiletries and snacks.
Now take your meal planner sheet and stick it up on your fridge or noticeboard so it's there for quick reference during the week. If you've added lunches and snacks on there too, you'll be amazed at how much easier it feels to add more variety into what you and your family eat and how little time you will now need to put into thinking about it during the busy week!
Step #4 - Shop
Hit the shops with your shopping list, highlighter and your "green bags". This might be on the same day as you "review, organise & plan" or a different day, but again, make sure you allocate a time and stick to it as much as you can. When you're shopping, stay on your list as much as you can...your budget will thankyou! Mark things off the list as you put them in the trolley with your highlighter. It may seem a bit OTT but this will make it easy to see if you've forgotten anything before you get to the checkout and once you get used to doing it you will find it speeds up the process because you don't keep looking at the things on your list that you've already put in the trolley!
Step #5 - Cook
Now that you've shopped and your pantry and fridge are filled with everything you need, I guarantee you will feel such a sense of achievement and relief! Your meal planner is ready to go up on the fridge, so you have all your meals ready at a glance and your shopping list is there to add to during the week. Every evening before you go to bed, spend 5 minutes checking what's on for the next day. Get anything out of the freezer that needs to defrost for tomorrow night and place it in the fridge. You may even be able to make some of the lunch items ahead of time and store them ready to go. Then you're ready and armed with a whole lot of organisation, a variety of new meals and more time to just get dinner on the table in the evenings.
And that's it.....I guarantee you that if you get into doing these steps you will become a new calmer dinner time person...you may even be able to get your other half to cook dinner now that the recipe and ingredients are at their finger tips. Older kids can also get involved...don't be scared to get them to pick a recipe during Step #3. Then buy their ingredients and allocate them to a night to cook for the whole family. When it all boils down you only really need to spend an hour or so once a month doing Steps #2 and #3 and then about an hour or two once a week for Steps #4 and #5.
Good luck....I hope you give it a try and I would love to hear from you about how it goes. If you have any questions please feel free to ask and I'll try to help as best I can. Cheers to your New You's Revolution in the kitchen.
Chin chin xx
No comments:
Post a Comment