Prep... it just makes sense!

Whether you are eating for health or to lose weight… or even if you don’t give one iota about what foods you eat… PREP is a great habit to get into.




So you are probably asking “Sandra… what exactly do you mean by the word PREP?”



Well… I’ll tell you!



OKAY! HERE IT IS!

I get asked all the time…”Saundra, how is it that you have 3 kids, your kids play in 4 different sports sometimes at the same time, you have your own home business that you do truly at home, a husband that works far from home, and you cook almost every night?!?”

My answer to that is simple “ORGANIZATION AND PREP TIME” & I do with my time what I deem important to me and my family, not what others deem important.

Ladies… women are natural organizers. We compartmentalize everything in our lives. Our kids, our work, housework, even our free time!

I know everyone likes to say they don’t have any free time. We seem to be brainwashed into thinking that the less time we say we have, the more important we become. Well, we all get the same 24 hours in a day, and we all get a choice on how we use them.

We ALL have “busy” lives. Just because I have 3 kids DOES NOT automatically make me more busy than a woman with one child or even no children! Just because I don’t have a “regular” 9-5 job does not make me less busy than a Mama that works 10 hour days.

Our times are just shifted.

Everyone has their own priorities, quality of life, family time, reading time, craft time, sport time etc…

We all have choices… and if one of your choices is to find time to do the things you have been wanting to do, but don’t get too, this is the place for you!

I have had 25 years experience in how to do things in an organized, methodical, (my hubby says “sickeningly methodical” ) way. (He just doesn’t “get” my way of doing things… but he sure isn’t complaining when he sits down to a 4 course, hot, ready meal 5-6 nights a week, and made for pennies on the dollar) And yes ladies and gents… the kids do the dishes… every night.

Here is the rule for this post…

Use what you love, don’t listen to what doesn’t sit well with you or your family, and comment on what works for you!

My way isn’t the only way… for everyone, but it is for me. If I can help even one guy or gal get a good, hot, easily made, satisfying meal on their table a couple times a week, I am a happy girl.

Seem like a plan?

Good!

So let’s journey on… shall we?

Prep is meant to be a helper to you. To help you “just get it done” so you don’t have to worry about it during your busy week. Whether your prep is paying your bills up, ravaging the freezer for items that will expire soon, shopping for staples and food needs for the week,

or cutting and chopping all my dinner and lunch items for the week, so all I have to do is dump and cook it, as long as it creates peace for you…IT’S PREP!
 
Since my business is about food prep, and my kids are human garbage disposals these days,


my food prep has become my “peaceful place”. When it’s done… I feel like all I have to do for dinner is put it together… all the brain work is done on Sundays.

I just don’t fret anymore. I rarely ask myself… “What am I going to make for dinner tonight?”

And now… I frequently have an answer for my men when they ask “What’s for dinner?”

The key to cooking a hot meal every night or at least some nights is…

ADVANCED PREPARATION!

In my household, it is key to success.

I set aside about 2 hours every week, usually on Sunday Evenings when Desperate Housewives is on, to cut, chop and cook whatever I can ahead of time.

I, ideally, like to plan what I am cooking ahead… but sometimes life gets in the way, and I have to rummage through my freezer and pantry and plan from there. THIS is where real recipes come from.. necessity.

90% of the time… I know I will need at least a few onions, some peppers and celery, and some ground beef, chicken or turkey browned up.

The picture below… is how I get all that prep done in a SNAP!!! Ask my cousin Elena… she reads me every day… and she’s seen this baby in action… it is truly AWESOME!
 
There is nothing I can’t do with this tool. It’s called the Genius Nicer Dicer and it does to onions what it takes professional culinary students a week to do perfectly! I can chop, into PERFECT dices, 10 onions in about 10 minutes flat… I’M NOT KIDDING! I just put all the onion into some Lock N Lock and I have onion at the ready for a week. Same goes for peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, hardboiled eggs, celery, carrots, etc… BUY IT! IT IS WONDERFUL!!!


I make all the lunches for the school week on one day… I cut all my onions, make soups, brown meats, chop veggies, make bread dough, bake morning muffins, wash and dry and cut all the lettuce, and whatever I can do to make the rest of the week just a quick throw together for meals. MY FAMILY… SITTING AROUND THE TABLE TOGETHER…is what’s important… not how long it took me to make the meal.

Now that we eat our larger meals during the day, and don’t eat meat or bread in the evenings… IT’S EVEN EASIER to do the prep, and to get a meal on the table at night. Since my soups are already made on one day, and all the beans are soaked and cooked in one day, I can whip up a great salad, soup, and wonderful bean dish in minutes flat!!! On weekends… we eat a feast together at 1 p.m. and have some nice fruit for dinner.

Whatever you do to make life easier for you… do it all in a couple of hours…and ENJOY YOUR FAMILY!…