If you find yourself too exhausted to make your family dinner every night, there is a better solution than bringing home fast food or serving spaghetti constantly. This organizational tip will save you time and money, as you will end up cooking and shopping only once a week.
Step 1 – Categorize your favorite recipes' ingredients
Find your favorite recipes and enter their ingredients into a spreadsheet by category as shown in the below graphic. The initial set up for this task will take some time, but once it is done, you do not need to do it again. For the first week, enter the ingredients for seven meals. Do this once a week for a month, or for the length of time you want to go before repeating cooking meals for your family. This can be done for other meals as well. Once you have entered all the ingredients, print out the spreadsheet for your upcoming week. This is your grocery list.
Step 1 – Categorize your favorite recipes' ingredients
Find your favorite recipes and enter their ingredients into a spreadsheet by category as shown in the below graphic. The initial set up for this task will take some time, but once it is done, you do not need to do it again. For the first week, enter the ingredients for seven meals. Do this once a week for a month, or for the length of time you want to go before repeating cooking meals for your family. This can be done for other meals as well. Once you have entered all the ingredients, print out the spreadsheet for your upcoming week. This is your grocery list.
Step 2 - Shopping
Pick the day before you prep your meals to go through the grocery list for your upcoming week and see what you need. Then head to the grocery store and purchase all the ingredients from the list. Your shopping trip should be a breeze as all the ingredients are listed in order by category. Be sure to purchase plastic food storage bags or containers as you will need them for prepping your meals.
Step 3 - Prepping
The next morning after shopping, prep the meals for the upcoming week. Start with your first meal and put out all the ingredients for that recipe on the counter. Repeat for the next six recipes. Now prepare the first meal as much as you can without actually cooking it. For example, the recipe may call for sauteing sliced sirloin. Slice the sirloin and put it a marked plastic bag. On the day you will make the recipe, the sirloin has been sliced, and all you need to do is saute it. The same could be done for meatloaf. Prepare the meatloaf, cover in aluminum foil, and refrigerate. All you need to do is bake it on the day you plan to serve it. Only prep one day's worth of recipes at a time. When finished prepping the perishables, put in the refrigerator for the designated day.
Pick the day before you prep your meals to go through the grocery list for your upcoming week and see what you need. Then head to the grocery store and purchase all the ingredients from the list. Your shopping trip should be a breeze as all the ingredients are listed in order by category. Be sure to purchase plastic food storage bags or containers as you will need them for prepping your meals.
Step 3 - Prepping
The next morning after shopping, prep the meals for the upcoming week. Start with your first meal and put out all the ingredients for that recipe on the counter. Repeat for the next six recipes. Now prepare the first meal as much as you can without actually cooking it. For example, the recipe may call for sauteing sliced sirloin. Slice the sirloin and put it a marked plastic bag. On the day you will make the recipe, the sirloin has been sliced, and all you need to do is saute it. The same could be done for meatloaf. Prepare the meatloaf, cover in aluminum foil, and refrigerate. All you need to do is bake it on the day you plan to serve it. Only prep one day's worth of recipes at a time. When finished prepping the perishables, put in the refrigerator for the designated day.
For the non-refrigerated items, group them by recipe on a shelf as in the picture below. Usually all the non-refrigerated items require is opening and heating up. Repeat this step for the remaining six days. Time to complete this task depends on the complexity of the recipes. The simpler the recipe, the faster this will take.
Step 4 - Make Dinner
When you get home from work or your children's activities, finalize the meal by cooking as required by the recipe, and dinner will be ready in a snap.
When you get home from work or your children's activities, finalize the meal by cooking as required by the recipe, and dinner will be ready in a snap.
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