If you take a little time and implement these meal preparation tips and properly setup your kitchen, you will have the keys to successful meals. Once you arrange all of the materials that will be required to prepare the meal at hand, you will find that
If you forget to thaw a necessary item, move to the next meal on your weeks meal plan and push that meal back one day.
If you take a little time to set up and arrange the foods, spices and cooking utensils that you will need in the meal preparation, you will save time, energy and stress.
Once you arrange all of the material that will be required to prepare the meal, you will find that you will save lots of energy while cooking.
Meal Preparation
- Food preparation is the only real work in putting a meal together. Cooking takes its share of time and effort.
- Wash and dry all food items at the same time. Don't move back and forth between your work area to wash them separately. Dry the foods together using paper towels or spinners.
- Slice and dice fruits and vegetables first, starting with the blandest, such as, celery, zucchini or potatoes and working to the strongest, such as, onions, radishes and garlic.
- You will not need to clean the bowl between items until you have processed the strongest foods. If you shred foods, you will probably need to wipe the bowl with a wet paper towel after processing each food.
- Do the wet foods last. It will be necessary to wash out the bowl between processing of sauces, purees and marinades.
- If you use a chopping block for peeling or mixing foods, wipe the board with a damp paper towel between jobs.
- Use both fruits and vegetables with the skin on whenever possible to save time and effort and to retain the greatest amounts of fiber, vitamins and minerals.
- If your need to peel soft fruits, drop them into boiling water for about 45 seconds, then rinse them under cold running water. The skin will split and lift right off.
- To avoid the discoloration of freshly cut fruit, submerge it in water to which you have added the juice of half a lemon.
- If you are going to cook pasta and have a choice of pasta type, remember thin pasta cooks faster. Angel-hair pasta, for example, cooks in just 3-4 minutes. Couscous is even quicker.
Cooking Shortcuts
To save time when baking potatoes, use baking nails or slice the potatoes in half length-wise and bake cut face down on a greased or nonstick cookie sheet.
Steam two or more vegetables simultaneously in your steamer. Wrap them loosely in aluminum foil to preserve separate flavors.
Place soft cheeses in the freezer for a few minutes to make them easier to grate.
If your kitchen wastebasket is not usually kept close to your work area, move it now. Don't walk back and forth to a wastebasket at the other end of the kitchen
If your kitchen space allows, set serving bowls and individual dinner plates on counter space between the stove and the dining area.
Timing is everything. Before you turn the heat on any dial, first make a quick coordination plan. You don't need to write this down, just be aware of cooking times for various dishes. Consider cooling times and time for the movement of hot foods from the cooking surfaces to the table. Much of the stress that occurs in the kitchen is a result of hit-and-miss procedures.
If dessert is on the menu, take a moment while your main courses are cooking to complete any necessary chores that the dessert will require. This is especially important if it is inconvenient and destructive to family harmony for you to leave the table to put the finishing touches on dessert.
Decorate the table with flowers or a seasonal centerpiece and serve attractive dishes. It takes almost no effort to add a sprig of parsley or a small garden bloom to the corner of the plate.
