Cooking can relieve stress, boost self-esteem, and hush away negative thoughts. Scientifically, it is considered one of the best ways of meditation.
However, it can be a tiring (and boring) task for many. That’s because it is time and soul-consuming. It’s easier said than done, but you ought to connect with the process of cooking to truly enjoy it.
If you identify yourself as someone who finds it hard to enjoy cooking, this post is for you! We’ve compiled a step-by-step guide about how you can prepare and plan meals with ease.
Step 1: Search For Suggestions
There are two common reasons why meal planning and preparation might be difficult for you:
- You feel there are way too many options.
- You feel there are no options at all.
In either case, the solution lies in your search process. You’re not looking in the right place. But then, what is the right place, and how can you do it right?
Well, it’s simple. Consider your target audience. Who will consume the meal you prepare? Is it your family? Is it your roommate? Is it you?
If it’s your family or roommates, ask them about their favourite dishes. Ask them what they’d like to eat throughout the month and note it down.
If it’s just you and you don’t know what you’d like to have over the month, consider your health goals and search for relevant recipes online. But if you do not have any health goals, reach out to a nutritionist or professional meal planner to help you out. You can book a meeting online or in person.
Once you have your need- and preference-based suggestions listed in one place, proceed to step two.
Step 2: Sort Simple & Complex Recipes
Next, sort the list you’ve just compiled. Ideally, this list should have at least 30 dishes. If you’ve got more, that’s even better.
Here’s how to divide it:
- Simple: These recipes should contain minimal steps and ingredients. Plus, they should take less than 45 minutes to prepare.
- Complex: These recipes usually involve multiple ingredients and layers of several flavours. The preparation time for these dishes is usually greater than 45 minutes.
On a personal level, you should divide dishes into simple and complex dishes based on your expertise level. If you haven’t tried a dish or you have a tough time handling a particular ingredient, place it in the complex category.
Also, apart from separating complex and simple dishes based on difficulty and prep time, you’ll need to categorise your directory of recipes. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you with that.
Organising your recipe list in this way will ease your meal preparation as you can now set up a practical schedule.
Step 3: Set Up A Schedule
Once sorted, use a meal plan template like this to set up a schedule. Note that if you are sharing meals (with friends and family), it’s best to set up a schedule with mutual understanding.
Here are a few things that you need to take care of when planning your schedule:
- Do not schedule a complex recipe for a busy day (lunch or dinner)
- Do not repeat a dish within 1-2 weeks
- Make sure your three meals for the day provide balanced nutrition
- Keep a plan to utilise leftovers
If you have kids around, sticking to a schedule may not be easy. But since meal planning is important for both your ease and their discipline, we recommend browsing through these effective techniques to discipline good kids.
Step 4: Chop, Cook, And Boil In Advance
It’s time to jump into action! Shop for the ingredients missing from your pantry and pre-chop, semi-cook, cook, and parboil in advance for all the recipes in the next week. If you’re unsure about where to find economical ingredients, you’ll find a good variety of special deals at Coles.
Remember, it’s not a good idea to pre-chop, semi-cook, and parboil ingredients for the entire month’s recipes. It will burden your refrigerator and make it difficult to find the right ingredients at the right time. This means it will only add up to your meal preparation time.
If you’re cooking the entire dish and storing it in the fridge so you can defrost and consume it later — that’s another thing.
But even so, most edible stuff does not remain fresh and nutritious if stored for too long. So, here are a few rules you need to know.
Step 5: Store Food Properly
Lastly, store the cooked and semi-cooked food properly, so you need not spend even one extra minute preparing your meal.
Ideally, you should store prepared meals in airtight containers. If possible, separate the servings for each meal time in separate boxes (i.e., if a dish is repeated). As for pre-chopped, semi-cooked, and parboiled material, you can use resealable bags. You can also use foil and plastic wraps to help you with the job.
If you follow these five steps on the first day of every month and do a follow-up every Sunday, you could be free from meal prep entirely. Just a few planned hours, and then the freedom is yours. Good luck!
