Does anyone cook before work?

[Anonymous]

My super organized and sweet MIL used to cook early in the morning. It was the first chore that got done and it has been a life hack.

- Create a detailed menu for all meals and snacks for a week. Put the menu on a excel spreadsheet so you can reuse

- Use the menu to do grocery shopping. Also, go shopping in your pantry and fridge/freezer first.

- Some prep can be done in the previous night - marinate meats, make meatballs (kofta), make boiled eggs, soak beans, prepare dough, set yogurt, chop veggies, shell peas, start the sprouts.

- Have a fair idea of what is the minimum amount of veggies, fruits, protein, dairy, healthy fats, nuts and seeds, carbs your family must have to be in good health. Your menu has to be based around that. Remember beverages or liquid foods can help you meet those goals. I am talking about drinks like nut milk, keffir, yogurt based drinks, lentil soups, veg soups, bone broth etc.

- Do some processing of ingredients as you put your groceries away. For example, I will peel onions and put all of them in a large ziplock bag (double bag) in my veggi bin in the fridge, or I will peel garlics and put in a glass bottle in the fridge etc after I get them home after grocery shopping. Herbs are washed, dried and kept in the fridge.

- My preference is to use the least amount of commercial pre-processed food if I can help it. So, I am mainly making things from scratch and making fresh food every day. Healthier for my kids and more cost effective.

- Get into the habit of building some courses in each meal that does not require cooking (or it can be precooked). For example, I prefer not to have any tea or coffee but crave something hot to drink. A light veggi soup or bone broth based soup can make me feel energized. Similarly, I drink a lot of cold beverage based on veggies. Like a cucumber-mint-lemon drink - instead of cola. Or a spiced buttermilk drink.

- Have some fruits and veggies first in each meal. Begin your meals by making your kids eat sliced fruits, follow it up with some veggies like cucumber, roasted cauliflower, sweet potato, tomatoes with healthy dips like Tzaziki,
hummus, baba ganoush or raita. You can use salad dressing also.

- You can saute a bunch of veggies separately and put it in omelettes, lasagna, rolls, sandwiches, curries etc. I usually will have sauted onions, bell peppers, snow peas, zucchini, carrots, eggplants etc already in the fridge to be used as I wish. I also keep boiled sweet potatoes, boiled beets, boiled potatoes and boiled eggs handy. It is so easy to convert them in a salad, side dish or sandwich.

- A typical meal in my house will have a lentil soupy dish (daal), paired with a starch (rice, bread, other grains), one or two vegetable sides, and sometimes an animal protein.
So, at a minimum I will make a lentil (daal) in my pressure cooker, rice or quinoa with tons of frozen mix veggies and spices in my rice cooker, one vegetable dish. I will inevitably have some leftovers in the fridge, and some soup too.

- At meal time - my teens will help to set the table, warm the food, cut fruits, cut salad, make raita, dish out the soup, portion out desserts that contain nuts, seeds etc.

You cannot do it without the help of your family. Please make even the young kids help. They can at least help to load and unload the dishwasher or vacuum the floor. They can pack their lunch. They can make good choices regarding snacks. Also, kitchen gadgets like Dash Egg Cookers can be safely used by teens to make boiled eggs.

Teach your kids recipes.

[Anonymous]

I do all my bulk preparing, chop my veggies, and prep my proteins on Sunday. Takes about an hour and a half. Then I put everything into their own containers. If I feel like it I might assemble a meal ahead of time like in the evening or morning, but generally I can prepare anything I want within a few minutes. Whatever is left over at the end of the week goes into a soup or salad so no prep there. It's efficient and easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes I fry up a pan of lightly spiced tuna.

OMG, I had forgotten lightly spiced tuna

Yes, that was nostalgic and unexpected. It got old for a while, but definitely made me laugh a little this time.

[Anonymous]

I see Indian Food Lady has found the thread! It's lovely, but probably not relateable to the OP. I love her responses!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I see Indian Food Lady has found the thread! It's lovely, but probably not relateable to the OP. I love her responses!

There are lots of Indians, vegans, people who love Indian food on this forum and it does not have to be relatable to OP only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say maximize the effort from those hungry teenagers! Many hands make light work. Whether in the morning or in the evening, think of your role as a force multiplier or special advisor, but your teens are doing much of the work.

This. I’ll buy the ingredients and then write out how to cook it and in what order (even what times to start each thing) and my teens can cook it when I am getting home late.

Or if you are really pressed for time, order Hello Fresh meal deliveries to come to your house. My teens did great with these boxes because the recipes & step by step instructions are included (with pictures). Recipe ingredients are also included in the box and are pre-measured. My teens had lots of success with Hello Fresh- they learned a lot about cooking, we had great tasting meals, and I didn't have to spend time writing recipes or shopping for ingredients. Win-win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m due back full time in the office next week. Both myself and DH will be out of the house all day and walking in with hungry teenagers. I would like to get up before work and prep meals but don’t know how that would work exactly. Essentially because of my kids sports schedules, I can dedicate 45 mins or so in the morning to cooking so I don’t have to expend that time in the evening but don’t know how to maximize it. Any tips, suggestions welcome!!

Before work. That's some dedication

[Anonymous]

Hungry teens have 2 hands each!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prep sheet pan meals and put them in the fridge so they are ready to bake. Do you have an oven with wifi? You can have it preheat while you're on the way home. If your kids are home before you, they can turn the oven on and put the sheet pan(s) in.

Crockpot chicken taco meat and cut up all the toppings in the morning, crockpot Italian beef, crockpot red beans and rice.

But also, your family might just have to get used to a different dinner schedule or a different idea of who does the work. And that's ok.

This is what we do - prep sheet pan meals, leave marinating in bowl in fridge all day, whoever gets home first puts onto sheet pan and roasts. Usually make rice or warm baguette while the meal cooks in oven, sometimes make a simple salad during that time, too.

Examples of a.m. prep:

cut chicken breasts into tenderloins, cut squash and zucchini into florets, toss both in evoo, salt and lemon pepper seasoning

cut beef into chunks, broccoli into florets, toss both in sesame oil, soy sauce, a little brown sugar, fish sauce

cut salmon into individual filets, sprinkle with TJ salmon seasoning, toss sugar snap peas in evoo and salt

[Anonymous]

It makes sense to prep at night before bed, and cook in the morning.

[Anonymous]

I prefer to block off some time on Sunday afternoon (like 2 hours max) for the entire week’s worth of meal prep.
That said, if I wanted to cook for 45 mins in the morning I’d probably use it to make building blocks for grain bowl type meals: roast some veggies, throw some grain into the instant pot, marinate chicken, make dressing etc.
Or make a vegetarian curry/ stew and cook some grain for the side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes I fry up a pan of lightly spiced tuna.

but how many spears of asparagus do you serve with it?