Michelle My Bell Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I saw this post on a blog and loved the idea of making up lunches for a few days and storing them in the fridge till needed. I think making up dinners like this would be great also because I HATE cooking in the summer. I would like to try it this week but I am looking for ideas or links to blogs that do this. Do you pre-make any of your meals? Do you have a different spin on meal prep / organization? What does your fridge look like? (food organization) I need a new system. Making a menu plan doesn't completely work for me because sometimes I am too tired to make a meal from scratch. Sometimes it is too hot to cook and sometimes the kitchen is still messy from lunch. I really like the idea of one effort for multiple meals. Any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassy Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Like Wendy I always make quite a bit more for a lot of meals than we need so that we can have leftovers for lunch the next day (this doesn't work with all meals, and sometimes the boys are extra hungry and a lot more of it goes than I'd expected). I also make batches of things like lasagne, filling for steak pie, sauces for pasta and meatballs, pastry, etc. If we need sandwiches for a packed lunch I always make them the day before, although when we're here I think they are much better fresh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassy Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Yeah it's my husband I have trouble with. ;) Same here :glare:. Although DS13 is getting as bad (and he's the one who up until he was 7 ate so little I wondered how he managed to survive). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I did premake meals for this week. We should have enough food in the fridge for 3 meals for 3 people to last until Saturday. We have odd schedules this week and the need was there. Otherwise occasionally I'll precook some things for the week but not often. I did decide that in order not to heat the house up I ought to precook during cool days so on hot days I don't have to turn on the stove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BridgeTea Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Do you pre-make any of your meals? Do you have a different spin on meal prep / organization? What does your fridge look like? (food organization) Yes, I try to do a lot of prep all at once, similar to the blog you linked. For example, when I come in from a shopping trip everything gets put away EXCEPT for most produce. I used to be such a food waster and I finally figured out that if I do all the washing/slicing/dicing right away then we actually eat what I buy. Bonus is we snack healthier, the tools/mess/clean-up happen one time instead of several, and when it's hot or we are running around we can grab and go instead of making a burger run. See how the blogger has a stack of plastic dishes with grapes, etc? That's basically what I do. I wash, spin and bag the greens. Slice the peppers. Prep radishes. Cut up the entire stalk of celery. Note: Not every kind of produce holds up washed and prepped this way - I don't precut watermelon, for one - but many foods are fine for up to a week. Once the produce mess is cleaned up, I'll tear into a couple packages of tortillas to make wraps, assembly line style. (We use a lot of turkey breast and spinach for our wraps.) I like the blogger's bagel sandwiches and muffin ideas, also. Her ingredient list would be easy to adjust for personal tastes. Other things I do: Never cook just one chicken breast or part of a pork loin! Cook the whole package, and dice or shred it before freezing. (I put some of the broth in each freezer container so it's not dry.) I'm always so happy to find my precooked chicken! Chicken Caesar Salad, anyone? Black Bean Chicken Salsa with Chips? Instant supper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I don't premake lunches. They tend to get soggy and then no one will eat them anyway. It is very easy to put your own sandwich together. Dinners I would like to make in bulk but I get so burnt out being in the kitchen all day with that 30 day freezer stuff that I end up not cleaning for a couple of days and then it really does defeat the purpose. I am also working on mostly veggies and paleo so freezing some of that would make it way too mushy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle My Bell Posted June 21, 2012 Author Share Posted June 21, 2012 Inspiring suggestions so far! Anyone have an inspiring blogs to link me to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momee Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I think there are lots of things to make ahead. We do this often. I just never gave myself credit for it before. Fried rice with egg and veggies - easy, makes a bunch in the big big skillet from Sams Vegetarian Chilli - kids love this in winter, summer, not so much Tabbouleh salad with either couscous or bulgar wheat Dal is in the crockpot right now, we'll serve over rice when it's done and eat off of it throughout the weekend, I hope. pasta salad spaghetti (and meatballs before we went veggie crazy) this really filled folks up and was easy to triple for our family lo mein - like spaghetti and fried rice combined, haha Salad fixins - chickpeas, cukes, carrots, celery then we just grab stuff to make our own salad burrito fixins - mixed veggies with fajita seasoning baked in oven till softer, sweet potatoes diced with taco seasoning on them, black beans and spanish rice taco stuff is next on my list to make in bulk, want to try lentils instead of meat but have all the taco fixings in fridge so they can make their own hth I feel your pain. I am SICK of food, cooking, shopping for food, and even eating food most days :) We really took a hit when dh asked us to do away with meat. Lunch without turkey, ham and cheese?? What else is there for lunch, haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I like to get those metal containers with plastic tops and when I cook something for dinner that will freeze well I make double. One to eat, one to freeze. I always have at least 3 to 5 meals in the freezer for quick meals with little prep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I pre-make our salads, fruits, and veggies for the week. I use these Ziploc containers for salads, small Ziploc bowl containers for fruits and veggies in individual portions, and tiny Ziploc bowl containers for salad dressing. I also make our dinner salads (just the beggies) and put them in plastic rectangular containers in the fridge, ready to dump in a bowl and serve. (I don't mind plastic for cold foods.) I make 10 individual salads, a few dozen different fruit/berry cups, baggies of cut veggies, etc. We would never eat enough fruits and veggies if I didn't do it ahead of time. :D I also traded the shelves in my fridge around. The top shelves are now all fruits and veggies, wtih dairy on the bottom and meats in the two crisper drawers (it's a cheap fridge, so it's all the same temp anyway. :D) That way we can see the produce right away. The top shelf is stacked with little plastic containers. I always try to make dinner early in the day or do two at once during the summer. We make a lot of grilled kabobs (2-3 times a week) and grilled marinated fish or chicken, so those can be cut/prepped/marinated a day or two ahead of time. That way, I only have to cut up onion, garlic, ginger, herbs, etc. once. Dc are willing to eat soup for lunch in the summer, so they keep on using frozen soup (I make it in the crockpot every few weeks) a few days a week. I am inspired by the Well Fed cookbook and her discussion of kitchen prep. I wouldn't eat a sandwich or wrap that had been made less than a few hours ago, though, like the linked blog. My kiddos might, if they were hungry. :D That would be the one sticking point here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I keep meaning to try this. As for premade sandwiches, a tip I read somewhere if that if you butter the bread before assembling, it won't be damp or soggy. I know I've used that for daily packed lunches but haven't tried it on longer sitting lunches. I would love to make this a consistent part of our week but getting started just hasn't happened just yet. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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