On your marks…get set…GO!
It’s week five in the new year and it is time to implement your Table365 Feeding Your Family System plan. If you’ve been working on this since the start of year, you can add these last tools and you are now ready to put all the pieces together. If you haven’t here’s a quick re-cap and you can start anytime:
Table365′s Feeding Your Family System breaks down meal planning and prep into 5 easy steps and gives you all the tools you need to get cooking:
1. To kick off the new year, we gave you a worksheet to set the goals for feeding your family.
2. Then, we gave you a template to start a list of your family’s favorite dishes.
3. Next, we outlined how to make a weekly meal plan for your family.
4. Last week, we gave you printable check lists to organize and stock your pantry and freezer.
5. Implement Your Plan: This week is the final step in filling your Feeding Your Family tool box. These tools will maximize your time and effort by organizing your recipes for easy reference; double-batching to make two meals in the time of one; using the best storage and freezer containers to keep your food fresh; and tips on how to stay inspired to do the important work of feeding your family every day of 2015:
- Organize Your Recipes: You can quickly find your recipes when you have them organized on your computer or in a binder. Kimberly and I detail different ways to set up a recipe organization system in this post.
- Double-Batch Meals: Because double-batch meals enable you to shop, cook, and clean once, but eat twice, we try to do it with as many meals and dishes as possible. Having a freezer stocked with entrees, sides, and snacks is a relief.
10 Delicious double-batch dishes:
- Casseroles: lasagna, enchiladas, macaroni and cheese.
- Brunch dishes: quiche, strata, waffles.
- Breakfast: oatmeal, pancakes, muffins.
- Pot pies: chicken, turkey, vegetable.
- Sauces: marinara, masala, pesto.
- Meatloaf, meatballs.
- Soups, stews, and chilis.
- Bean dishes: BBQ beans, hummus, cooked beans.
- Baked goods: rolls, yeast breads, quick breads.
- Desserts: brownies, cookies, cookie dough.
- Storage/Freezer Containers: After you spend the time and money to buy and prepare food, you certainly want it to stay fresh as long as possible. The most important feature is an air-tight container, but we researched more features, including BPAs in plastic, for all your storage needs.
- Listen – Podcasts of The Splendid Table by Lynn Rossetto Kasper. This weekly hour-long show is packed with food inspiration, education, and entertainment. It is a two-time James Beard Foundation Award winner for Best National Radio Show on Food. The Splendid Table also has a website and newsletter, but nothing is as delightful as hearing Lynn talk with guests and callers about all topics regarding food and food preparation. Listen to the podcasts on the weekend while doing your food-prep for the week.
- Read – Magazines, blogs, websites, cookbooks, and apps.
- Talk – Talk with other parents, friends, colleagues, teachers, market vendors, and specialty purveyors like a butcher or fish monger.
- Watch – Neither of us spends much time watching cooking shows, but we do like to watch instructional videos on blogs and YouTube, Julia Child videos from the library, and food movies (Eat Drink Man Woman, Big Night, Ratatouille, Chocolat, Julie and Julia, Like Water for Chocolate).
- Try – Take a cooking class (local grocery store, cooking store, or restaurant), try a new recipe, a new cooking method, or a new ingredient.
- Share – Have a meal buddy. Although we never referred to each other as such, Kimberly and I were great meal buddies during the years that we lived one street away from each other. We constantly shared recipes, tastes, double-batches of meals, and family meals together. We still work to fill this void over the phone and with photos of what we are cooking, reading, and learning.
Stay in touch with Table365. We’ll keep sharing fresh ideas to keep you educated, excited, and inspired.
Happy New Year!