Getting a Jump on Kitchen Prep

Monday was a perfect day to get my hands dirty in the kitchen. One of my favorite concepts to use is creating pre-prep "meal kits" used by Food Network's Robin Miller. She has a book called "Quick Fixes with Robin Miller" and a show as well.
She suggests prepping for the weekly meals on the weekend and I have to tell you this method truly works. She has a few other strategies besides pre-prepping that work as well, such as "meal morphing". This is where you take the leftover ingredients and ingredients within the same family of flavors and make multiple meals out of them throughout the week. This is all done with minimal time and minimal effort. The bulk of your time spent in the kitchen comes on the weekend. Some might say, "well, that is still a busy time for me". Try to look at it from a different angle. If you want to be your best self, you need to carve out time and put the effort in.
Here are some of the steps you can use to follow this type of a "quick fix" flow in your kitchen:

1. Make a list: Don't leave home without it! This sounds like a boring message, "don't forget your list"...however, it really makes a difference in the types and amounts of foods you bring home. Without a list you are more apt to make spontaneous decisions that are often times higher in calories, fat and more expensive. You most likely will end up with more food waste as well because the foods in the cart were not properly organized into well planned meals. Approach the list from two angles: a. What meal kits can I make today to immediately freeze for use on a busy night? b. What staples do I need for the meals I will prepare this week? (For meal kits for example I knew I was going to make a marinade with flank steak and freeze. I looked at the necessary ingredients for the marinade and bought the steak).
2. Unpack with purpose: When you unpack your groceries put the foods that you can easily separate into 1 serving snack packs to the side before you pack them away. I do this with blueberries and baby carrots. I wash and put them into little on-the-go bags right away before I get lazy and forget they are even in there! Each night, I grab that snack baggie and put it in my lunch bag for the next day. Works like a charm!
3. Meal Kits: My first kit was for chicken sausage in a delicious sauce, the second was flank steak in homemade marinade and the third was for oat encrusted chicken fingers. I tackled them one by one. After each was prepared, I poured the ingredients into individual freezer bag. I dated each bag, listed the contents, put what page I could find the recipe on in the book and lastly put what additional ingredients I would need to have on hand to complete the meal. Many of these kits will require me to simply cook pasta, cook the meat and voila.
4. Weekly Meal Prep: Cutting and chopping can be a chore, but why not do it once a week versus 5 or 6 times a week instead? Just get er done! Then when I am ready to have a salad or cook a stir fry I simply grab the chopped ingredients and start cooking.
5. Rotisserie chicken: Again,one of my favorite items. Before putting it in the fridge I cut off most of the meat and made a chicken salad with celery and cranberries. Prep it right in the bowl you will store it in the fridge in and you save a wash. Then you simply scoop out for sandwiches and salads all week.

7-Day Goals: Look at your week. What day can you carve out some time for pre-prep?

~K