Food Preparation for Better Nutrition

January 3, 2015 — cooking, diet, food, health, preparation, strategy

I have cleared out my fridge and started a food preparation calendar for 2015.  My first inquiry into this popular practice started on Pinterest, where there are many enthusiastic plans to use time and ingredients more wisely.  I notice that most of the preppers favor a style of doing the work on Sunday to have planned healthy meals all through the work week.  This is brilliant for anyone with a 9-5 job Monday through Friday.  I am lucky enough not to have one, so my goals are slightly different.  I still want to concentrate the effort into a compressed time slot, so I save time on clean up and on presentation later.  I plan to keep the cooking and cleaning to a bare minimum 4 days a week.  I can afford to have 3 active preparation days, and spread out the tasks as well as the freshness. I also am dedicating a day to drink preparation.  I have been making shrubs, bitters and other infusions.  I want to expand my repertoire in the beverage department.  There are so many fun recipes to try, and a tasty beverage stands on its own for a pick me up any time of day.

For the first week I have planned (subject to revision in the future):

• Sunday- Start sprouts.  They are ready to eat in 3-5 days, so they will liven up the salad offering late in the week. This takes virtually no time. Make recipe decisions based on food on hand.
• Monday-Juice, beverage mixes, and salad bar.  By mixing up a few new drinks and dressings new each week, this can be creative and educational.
• Tuesday-Soak beans and make soup- beans add texture and nutrition to everything, and soup is flexible
• Wednesday- Biscuit, muffin, or bread production.  Create pickles and condiments.  This is another area of cooking I enjoy, and want to make a regular habit of fermenting or pickling foods for healthy and more interesting cuisine.

The rest of the week I am planning to enjoy the fruits of my labors and find out how well I have estimated the proper amount for the week.  I already love the organized fridge and the new outlook I am adopting from the food preppers.  It is a solid way to improve the way I shop, cook, and eat. I like restaurants, but honestly I prefer pretty and delicious meals concocted by my own hand.  I can suit my own whims and moods.  The advantage of the food prep practice is having something healthy and ready no matter what happens.  I believe it will remove stress and extra money from the whole process of eating.  If you have an interest in leaning more about my new found hobby, I can direct you to some highly educational pins:

There is a plethora of information on this subject.  I think it offers me a way to structure a long time interest, making and eating food, into a more elevated and pleasurable experience.  I think I will learn a lot.  Do you use a meal planning and food preparation schedule? This is a first for me.  I am sure I will tweek it, but it is a superior way to look at diet.