Family dinner prep is sucking up my weekend. Need tips!

[Anonymous]

I meal prep on weekends so that I can quickly reheat food all week for my young kids and husband. We both work full time outside the home so there is little time for cooking a full meal on weeknights and still getting food on the table at a reasonable time. The meals i make are not extravagant but fairly healthy. My son has food allergies so not only is eating takeout not the healthiest option, it’s not really an option for him at all. My husband is not around/willing to help with this task (I’m not looking for judgment or advice in that area). Does anyone have a mom’s helper or someone that meal preps for you on the weekends so you can just reheat on weeknights? I don’t need gourmet. We don’t have a nanny or au-pair (my kids are in all day childcare/school) to assist with this. Anyone know how much a meal prepper would cost and/or have other tips on how to reduce the time it takes from my weekend to do this? I only make 2-3 meals each weekend and rotate throughout the week so I’m not even cooking seven separate meals and it still sucks up so much of my weeeknd! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Can you do one meal prep during the weekend and then some after dinner one night? I make 20-25 min meals tops during the week. Many use the oven to roast chicken or fish. More complicated things are left for after dinner time and dh cleans after dinner and plays with dd before bedtime so I can get the meal prep done for the next day. Also lots of instantlot so things are done in 25 min or less.

[Anonymous]

What kinds of meals are you making? Are you already leveraging an instant Pot? I would lower your standards and get kids to help with meal prep to the greatest extent possible. You meal will still contain vegetables even if they are frozen and reheated in the microwave.

[Anonymous]

I think I'm you. It is exhausting.

[Anonymous]

The task fills the time allotted. If you had to, you could drive thru McDonalds, pick up grilled chicken, and throw it on salad from a bag.

[Anonymous]

Invest in prepped dishes from Costco and/or Trader Joe’s. Heat and serve. They are lifesavers for our family.

[Anonymous]

Honestly the more you do it - the faster the prep goes. DH and I have gotten it down to Sunday afternoons for all weekday dinners Sunday thru Thursday. You start getting this little collection of recipes and start making them faster,

[Anonymous]

Tell us what kind of meal prep you are doing.

There are ways to streamline -- reduce steps -- cut corners etc.

[Anonymous]

We have a personal chef once a week who makes four reheatable dinners for us on Monday afternoons.

[Anonymous]

I used to make gourmet vegetarian meals with, e.g., 6 different vegetables in a sauce. Now I have accepted that I can make "B+" food with far fewer ingredients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a personal chef once a week who makes four reheatable dinners for us on Monday afternoons.

Do you mind telling me what you pay for this service? I would do the menu planning and shopping (with my son’s allergies it’s just easier to do this myself)

[Anonymous]

Have you tried Galley?

[Anonymous]

tips for faster meal prep:

- get your knives sharpened
- declutter your fridge and pantry so you can find things
- prep in bulk... prep one meal for this week and one for two weeks from now
- buy veggies and fruit prechopped
- set out all your utensils and ingredients ahead of time
- use measuring cups and chopping boards with a plan -- do vegetables first, then raw chicken so you don't have to wash between uses
- use a food processor to chop instead of a knife
- use a scrap bowl for scraps instead of walking back and forth to the garbage
- use time saving tools -- kitchen shears, garlic press, lemon squeezer

- kale, swiss chard, and herb stripper: https://www.amazon.com/Chefn-LooseLeaf-Collard-Greens-Stripper/dp/B00QWNRGS8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1535977850&sr=8-2&keywords=herb+deleafer&dpID=31yE0PoLRHL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

- use a food scale instead of measuring cups and recipes by grams or ounces, not T and t and c
- do as much prep as possible in the oven as opposed to stovetop. Needs less of your attention

[Anonymous]

Do you use a crockpot and rice cooker?
Rice cooker can be set on a delay timer in the morning to be ready when you get home.
Crockpot meals can be prepped in the morning (or prepped on the weekend and refrigerated/frozen).

For reducing prep time, make sure you are buying pre-chopped garlic and skipping any "brown the meat" steps for crockpot meals. Browning the meat doubles your prep time and only makes the meal about 10% better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a personal chef once a week who makes four reheatable dinners for us on Monday afternoons.

Do you mind telling me what you pay for this service? I would do the menu planning and shopping (with my son’s allergies it’s just easier to do this myself)

$400 a week. We are in Los Angeles so I imagine it is about the same in DC. The chef does the shopping for the meals she makes and can handle any restriction. You just tell her what you want.