Find one day per week for 90-minutes of food prep
You’ll enjoy these benefits
- Preparing foundation meal ingredients ahead will allow you to put together a dinner quickly with already cooked-from-scratch foods
- Engage in healthful commitment
- Delight in creating and sustaining your own vibrant health
- Shop for and eat local foods when possible
- Support small farms using sustainable agricultural methods
- Know that you are contributing to the health of the planet
- Cultivate a time for mindfulness
- Express gratitude
- for giving yourself the time and for the good quality food you are about to enjoy
- Experience the “Zen” of cooking
- Experiment during one or two dinners per week…
- Family time
- Age-appropriate kitchen and food preparation jobs
- Quality time with your sweetheart and/or your children
- share the workload!
- Role-model your commitment to the planet and to your health
- Opportunity to discuss the environment and the impact of your decisions
- Create a comfort level in the kitchen for the next generation
- Explore the benefits of eating “real food” versus drive-through food
How to’s
- Veggies
- Cut ahead of time, store in glass, tupperware or zip lock bag
- salads, casseroles, stir-fry
- Grilled peppers, eggplant, zucchini, onion, you-name-it: brush with (garlic infused) olive oil; place under broiler on low or onto grill for 5-ish minutes each side. These will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks!
- Roast garlic, peel, and store in fridge for added zip to any meal!
- Wash greens and dry well. Tear into small pieces for salad mix
- make up salads ahead and store in fridge
- add “wet” veggies at meal time to avoid a soggy salad
- cukes, cut tomatoes, olives, onions…
- Pre-cut veggies are available in the produce section of some grocery stores; they are more expensive, but very convenient!
- Fruits
- Cut ahead of time, squeeze a drop of fresh lemon juice on top, and seal well in glass or tupperware
- Perfect for smoothies, salad with yogurt or cottage cheese, or just as a snack
- Grains
- 2 parts water to 1 part grain
- Bring to a boil, simmer for ½ hour
- brown rice, millet, couscous, barley, bulgur
- Exceptions
- polenta requires more water, longer cook time and constant stirring!
- quinoa cooks in 12 minutes
- Cook up a pot of grains each week to be used in salads, casseroles, and soups
- Meat, tempeh, and eggs
- Marinade beef, chicken, or pork ahead of time, then bake, sauté, or roast for quick cutting or dicing for a salad topper, to put into a casserole or soup, or for a sandwich
- Bake tempeh early in the week for a yummy addition to a dinner casserole, a lunch sandwich, or on top of a salad
- Hard-boil a half-dozen eggs for a salad topper or snack
- Beans
- Soak overnight
- Rinse with fresh water. Add fresh water to pot and bring to a boil, simmer 2 – 6 hours, depending on the bean
- Cook up a pot of beans each week to be used in salads, casseroles, and soups
- NEWS FLASH! Beans are available in cans with low or no salt
- Nuts
- Roasted: no oil needed; put in a pan on medium heat, stirring often, until they pop—about 5 minutes. Store in fridge
- Not only are roasted nuts very high in nutritional value, but also add a lovely flavor to a salad or on top of a cooked casserole
- Other Tidbits
- Choose a small-sized plate; notice how gorgeously full of food it is!
- Serve from the kitchen, taking your plate to the dining area. All leftovers go into the fridge!
- Each Day: unlimited veggies, 2 – 4 servings of fruit, 4 – 6 servings of whole grains, 2 – 3 servings of protein from farms
- Share an entrée with a friend, when eating out
- Add raisins or dried apricots for flavor and interesting texture, especially with sun-dried tomatoes
- Try one new recipe every other week!
