Once a Month Cooking
Save Time and Money by Organizing your Preperation and Cooking Time
Jun 25, 2007
Once a month cooking can save you time and money if you are organized. Use this article to plan your meals, recipes, shopping list and more.
Organizing Tips for Once a Month Cooking
Save time, money and serve nutritious meals for your family with once-a-month cooking.
Once-a-month cooking, also known as freezer or investment cooking is a terrific way to save time if you approach it in an organized fashion. Purchasing a month’s worth of potentially perishable food could become an expensive waste if one is not quick to preserve it. You need two days to cook a month’s worth of meals. Use these steps for both days and you will be rewarded with over twenty days of easy family meals.
Day One
- Clean your kitchen. Clear the clutter to maximize your workspace.
- Ensure house is tidy and scheduled chores/jobs are completed.
- Clean your freezer. Toss any food too old to eat.
- Arrange childcare for younger children or pets. For older children, arrange activities that will keep them busy and pick some cooking chores for them.
- Assemble each recipe in written format, a pen and a shopping list.
- Decide how often you want to serve each meal per month. Write the number at the top of the recipe page as a reminder.
- Sitting in your kitchen, work through each recipe and record on the shopping list what you need to purchase. Likely, you already have some of the ingredients in your kitchen.
- Plan how you will store the meals in your freezer. Do you need freezer bags, foil loaf pans or tin foil?
- Do you have any coupons for your purchases?
- Pick up a few treats to keep your spirits joyful while you work. Perhaps you like a certain fruit as a rare indulgence.
- Write out your step by step plan for the cooking day. Start by looking through your recipes for common prep items. Many recipes have common ingredients. You can save time by preparing the ingredients for all of the relevant recipes at one time. For example, many recipes call for chopped onions. Calculate the amount of chopped onions you need for all of your recipes. Then chop all the onions you need at one time.
- Pick up talking books from the library or download four free books from Audiobooks. Don’t plan to watch television as you cook because it is visually distracting.
- Purchase the supplies you require. Return to your kitchen immediately after you shop and put the perishables into refrigerator. Put all the remaining groceries away.
- Don’t be tempted to leave any of the purchase on the counters. You will need all of your work space free from clutter.
Day Two
- Get dressed and slip into comfortable, supportive shoes.
- Ensure house is tidy.
- Serve a good breakfast and tidy the kitchen afterwards.
- Complete any necessary chores.
- Start on first common ingredient preparation.
- Divide the common ingredient into the amounts required for each recipe.
- Clean the kitchen.
- Start on the next common ingredient preparation.
- When all of the common ingredient preparation is completed, start on the first recipe.
Tips
- Clean the kitchen after each step.
- If you are hand washing dishes, wash, dry and put away ALL of the dishes before you start on the next item.
- A clean kitchen will keep you cheerful and energized.
- Do not leave out common ingredients. Take three seconds and put away the salt, etc after each use. This will keep your counters clear.
- Use food safety awareness.
- Take regular breaks to rest and have your special treats.
- Drink lots of water to stay energized.
Enjoy your meals and relax - the month is now sorted!
The copyright of the article Once a Month Cooking in Food Trends is owned by Stephanie Salonen. Permission to republish Once a Month Cooking in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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