I used to be a chef, but now I’m an IT project manager at a major multi-national corporation. I love new flavors, different cuisines, fun textural combinations, but I’m a busy woman with a busy life of work, volunteer activities, travel for work and pleasure and so on. Mealtimes in our house had become chaotic and frustrating.
There were two catalysts for change. First, my husband’s brother came to live with us for a few months. My brother-in-law has some developmental challenges and craves structure. I needed to feed three for the price of two and I also knew that we needed relieft from the chaos that is dinner time. Secondly, I had two surgeries in two and a half weeks and was on disability from work for about two months. I wasn’t going to be able to help prepare meals, but I could prepare meals in advance and help my husband by creating a plan for what we would eat (for the entire 8 week time period – I went a little overboard) and so I did. Here you can see a picture of the big freezer in my basement, full of prepared meals and raw meats portioned for the grill. I also bought two 20-pound turkeys for our 3-person household, which is when my husband decided I had lost my mind and he put a stop to further frozen midden-making. My freezer is now about half-full most of the time.
Once both the surgeries and the brother-in-law had been successfully survived, I found that I liked the structure that planning brought to our lives. It’s so easy to get home from work and know what I need to do. I also make fewer trips to the grocery store and I’m still saving money on my food budget.
When I talked about prepping food ahead or planning many meals from one big meal, my friends and co-workers started asking me how I do it. My blog is a collection of my planning ideas, my recipes, and how I keep dinner time under control. I hope you enjoy reading. I welcome your comments and suggestions.
