Every time I bit into a piece of fruit this summer, I was amazed at how sweet and delicious it was. At first I thought it was because I had become better at picking out fruit, but if you have read my food waste posts, you know this is not the case. What was different then? I had adjusted my sweetness set point. By limiting sugar in my diet I had redefined what sweetness was for my taste buds, so fruit tasted sweeter than it had in years.
The same principle can be applied to convenience food. When we found out that my daughter was gluten intolerant, I had to give up many of the prepackaged items that I had relied on to make dinner on busy nights because they contained some form of gluten. After making ev.er.y.thing from scratch for several months, my convenience set point was recalibrated! Now making homemade soup, chili, or spaghetti are my easy fall back meals.
Here are some ways that I make cooking fast and easy without relying on prepackaged convenience food:
1. I precook meat and store it in glass containers, so that I can reheat it quickly in the microwave. I like to broil several pounds of chicken, cut it up into bite size pieces, and package it in two cup containers. I can then add the chilled pieces directly to a salad, or I can add them to the the last step of a soup, or I can freeze them for future use.
2. I premix seasonings, sauces, dressings, and syrups in advance of when I will need them. I store the mixes in an air tight container where they will last for several months (the dressing only lasts for a week or two). You can search online for seasoning mix recipes. Here are some that I have found: Taco Seasoning Mix, Spaghetti Seasoning Mix, Chocolate syrup, Asian Sesame Salad Dressing, and Chili Seasoning.
3. Make Breakfast ahead of time. We often make a double batch of pancakes, waffles, or muffins on the weekend. We freeze the leftovers and pull them out as we need them through out the week. I also like to make a triple batch of scrambled eggs and store them in glass containers for an easily reheated breakfast.
4. Make and package home made snacks. I individually wrap and freeze cookies and cupcakes. We pop them into a lunch bag frozen and they thaw by lunch time. I also buy nuts and dried fruit in bulk and individually bag them and keep them in a snack basket in the pantry. The baggies can be washed and turned inside out to air dry to cut down on wasted plastic.
N.B. The pictured cookies are No Bake Cookies and you can find the recipe here.
5. Wash and prepare fruits and vegetables. Melons are more likely to be eaten in our house if I cut it up and put it in a large bowl. I wash and precut some vegetables that I am going to use in cooking through out the week like onions, bell peppers, carrots, and radishes. I also put some fruits and vegetables in individual bags or containers for lunches.
6. I make a large salad and use it over several days.
7. When I cook a one pot meal, I make a double batch and freeze the leftovers. On a busy night I can pull the leftovers out and reheat them for a fast and easy home cooked meal.
I realize that these ideas won’t work for everyone. I also realize that since I have a child with food allergies, I have extra motivation to prepare all of our food at home. We have enjoyed the health benefits, but another bonus is that making food from scratch has saved me money and has offset the cost of buying expensive gluten free flours.
How do you define convenience food? Have you found ways to stream line your cooking and preparation methods to make home cooking a little more convenient for you?
This post has been linked to Works For Me Wednesday.
Alea says
Jane, I completely agree! It is so much faster to make an easy dinner like chili at home than it is to go out to eat.
Rebecca, Thanks for the links!
Lady Macbeth, Thanks for the tip!
Angela,
You are right, I don't add dressing to the bowl of salad. And I use baby lettuces so they don't have to be torn. The main reason I use baby lettuces though is because I like to incorporate greens that are tastiest when young, and have a tendency to become bitter or tough when older like spinach, arugula, and swiss chard.
I add carrot, raddish, and celery slices to the salad. I will also add uncut cherry tomato. But I keep cucumber or squash slices in a different bowl because they add too much moisture, which is why I don't add cut up tomato. I also keep contiminates like olives and mushrooms, that are not universally enjoyed, in separate containers.
Angela Barton says
The same thing happened to me this summer about fruit tasting sweeter! I always love fruit, especially berries and stone fruits in the summer, and this year they were better than ever because we've been eating a little less sugar.
Thanks for all the great tips- I do a few of them, like saving batches of one-pots for other meals, and washing and prepping fruit so it's more appealing. When you eat a salad more than once, it doesn't wilt? Obviously you haven't added dressing, but I find lettuce wilts pretty fast if it's already been torn up into a salad.
Lori says
Wow Alea, there are some wonderful ideas here!! Thank you so much for posting this!
Loved your applesauce post too! 🙂
LadyMacbeth86 says
I love the tips you have just posted, I think they're very useful. As a custom, back home we always marinate out meat in advance, at least 24 hours before cooking, and if there's any meat left, we freeze them. The flavour will be there always, and you don't have to worry about forgetting to season things, or making sure you season them well enough
Jessica says
Looks like you have some handy ideas when it comes to cooking!
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Rebecca says
Great ideas, all consolidated into one convenient post! And thanks for the reminder that I have mini loaves of zucchini bread in my freezer… and a daughter who will be wanting something tasty for breakfast very soon. I'm going to go pull it out right now!
oh – and I have a great recipe for faux cream of chicken soup. I keep a container of the powder on hand and mix up the soup when I need it, similar to your sauce and seasoning mix stashes:
http://looseendshere.blogspot.com/2009/08/casserole-sauce-mix.html
It's really good used in this chicken recipe, which was a huge hit Monday night with our Life Group:
http://looseendshere.blogspot.com/2009/08/company-chicken.html
The Thrifty Countrywoman says
Man! You sure are organized! I used to be when I had to be. Those sure are great tips. I always say it takes less time to make up a pot of chili than it does to get in the car and drive to the fast food joint, not to mention a lot healthier!
Jane