cooking

5 Tips for Meal Prepping


I’m not sure exactly when I started meal prepping regularly (i.e. every weekend) but I think it was about 2 years ago now, maybe longer. I never imagined I’d be one of those “boring” women who enjoys cooking & shares recipes regularly, but here we are. Ha! Actually, it’s important to me to note that what I’ve discovered is something that perhaps should have been obvious- just because you love cooking doesn’t mean you have to turn into your stereotypical grandmother. You can still enjoy all of your previous, more “exotic” interests- in my case rock/metal. Which I frequently listen to while cooking!

Anyway, today I thought I’d share a few tips for those who are just getting started with meal prepping- or maybe just contemplating it. Even if you don’t concentrate all (or most) of your cooking to the weekends like I do, these are still useful tips for making cooking easier in the modern age. We have so much technology these days- we may as well use it to our advantage. You’ll see what I mean below.

The BEST noodles! They taste great & are much healthier than regular pasta.

1. Save a list of recipes you like to your phone. Copy & paste the website links to a note on your phone & add notes of any edits you make when using them. This way you have a convenient way to access your recipes any time you need them. You can even bring up the list while grocery shopping if you forget what ingredients you need or just need inspiration for what to cook that week. Might not be as sentimental as an old school cookbook but it definitely gets the job done. And if you’re really adventurous you could print out the recipes & make your own physical cookbook. I just haven’t gotten that crafty yet. Ha!

This is NOT mine. But it looks nice.

2. To piggyback on the above, take screenshots of recipes you find on Facebook or other social media. Save them to a folder entitled Recipes on your phone so you can conveniently access them any time. As noted above, you can easily reference them while shopping if you need inspiration or a reminder of what ingredients to buy. You can even take pictures of recipes you find in magazines or cookbooks & save those to the same folder. I do this every time I visit my grandmother & find recipes in her Taste of Home & other such cooking magazines.

3. Keep a running grocery list on your phone using the notes function. This way as you find recipes you want to try, you can add the ingredients you need to the list. Then when it’s time to go grocery shopping, your list is already prepared. I started this during the pandemic in 2020 because I got tired of losing my handwritten grocery lists & then forgetting items (whether they were for cooking or other household items). Gamechanger, I swear.

One of the most underrated spices- so, so good!

4. As you start gathering recipes & finding out which ones you use the most, try to stock your pantry with as many of the basic ingredients they require so that you always have them on hand. With inflation what it is these days, I realize this may not work for everyone, but if you can afford it, I highly recommend doing this. Items I’d recommend always having in stock include salsa, canned beans of various types, canned corn, canned tomatoes, oats, bread crumbs, pasta sauce, grated Parmesan, noodles, lemon & lime juice, olive oil, & quinoa or rice. I usually try to keep some type of fish (swai &/or flounder) & chicken thighs in stock in the freezer too. But again, if your budget is tight, I realize this may not be practical. I highly recommend the no salt added canned veggies, by the way. They taste just as good, are healthier, & usually cost the same or only marginally more (especially at WalMart).

5. Invest in a good spice rack. I’m not talking about the rack itself, although that’s certainly worth having, I’m talking about the spices themselves. I’d recommend everyone keep the following basic spices on hand: garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, basil, cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, cumin, & yellow curry powder. Then, if you can afford it & have one available to you, check out a local spice shop to try different blends that will make your cooking way more exciting. We are big fans of Savory Spice Shop (https://www.savoryspiceshop.com/pages/locations/raleigh-55889?sscid=61k7_maovv&source=shareasale). That place has revolutionized my cooking, no joke! My favorites from there include Peruvian Chile Lime, Bohemian Forest European Seasoning, Black Hills BBQ, mild yellow curry powder, Black River Creole, & Ras el Hanout, among many others. The best part is you can order online so even if you don’t have one close to you, you can still partake in the goodness. Remember, if sealed properly, spices last a LONG time. Plus, the more cooking you do at home, the less you’ll eat out which also saves money. So while there may be a bit of an upfront cost, in the end investing in a variety of spices/seasonings will save you money.

I hope that was helpful. What tips would you add to those just getting started (or thinking about getting started) with meal prepping?

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Chicken Marsala & Rosemary Butternut Squash Recipes


Cooking for me is a lot like exercising.  It’s something I never really WANT to do, but if I make myself do it I always feel better afterward.  I wish I were one of those people who naturally love exercising & cooking because I’d probably be a lot healthier if I were.  But sadly I am one of those mere mortals who thinks of exercising & cooking (& cleaning while we’re at it) as mostly drudgery that I somehow never really look forward to no matter how much I know I’ll feel better if I just do it.  In any case, in keeping with last week’s blog post about making 2014 a healthier, happier year, I felt inclined to post two recipes that I employed for lunch today, both of which turned out absolutely deliciously!

chicken marsala and squash

The “main dish” I made today was chicken marsala.  I’ve made it once or twice before but this time I had to adapt the recipe a bit because I didn’t have any mushrooms.  Here is the original recipe that I based mine off of: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-marsala/

I’m basically incapable of following a recipe “to the T” because I never seem to have all of the exact ingredients on hand or else I just don’t feel like using them all.  For example, any time a recipe calls for salt & pepper as seasoning, I almost always skip them (like with this one) because I figure as an American I probably already eat way too much sodium as it is so why add more when it doesn’t impart much extra flavor anyway (in my opinion, that is)?  So below is a quick description of how I adapted this recipe to fit my tastes/needs.

  1. Place a couple tablespoons of butter in an iron skillet on medium low setting on the stove top.  (My other cooking issue is I hate measuring so mostly I just guess & hope for the best.  It usually works out just fine.)
  2. While the butter is melting, combine about ¼ cup flour & a few teaspoons of garlic powder & oregano.
  3. Dip chicken breast strips in the above mixture.  I use pre-cooked frozen grilled chicken strips from Sam’s Club because they are easier & encourage me to do a lot more cooking than if I have to work with raw chicken all the time.
  4. Place the lightly breaded chicken strips in the skillet.  Cover with lid & cook for 2-3 minutes (considerably longer if using raw chicken I suppose).
  5. After a few minutes, add a few tablespoons of white cooking wine (I couldn’t find actual marsala wine but plain white cooking wine seems to work & taste just as well).  Replace lid & let simmer for another 3-5 minutes; again length will depend on if you use raw or pre-cooked chicken.

Next up is baked rosemary butternut squash.  I truly cannot believe I’ve learned to enjoy any type of squash because as a child it was something I hated.  Even the smell of it made me nauseous.  But I have learned over time that most Southerners cook vegetables completely wrong.  No offense to my family & many other Southern families, but boiling vegetables & then seasoning them with nothing but salt, pepper, & butter is quite possibly the least tasty & least healthy way to eat almost any vegetable (boiling can kill off some of the vitamins & other healthy ingredients in veggies).  I recently discovered an AMAZING recipe for a butternut squash/sweet potato/carrot soup (http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2010/05/curried-carrot-soup-with-pan-toasted.html),

& since then I’ve been enamored with butternut squash & finding new ways to cook it.  Here’s the original recipe that I used today: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/rosemary-roasted-butternut-squash/

Again I had to adapt the recipe a little bit because I didn’t have fresh garlic or rosemary twigs on hand.  And again I left out the salt & pepper.

  1. Set oven to 400 F.
  2. Peel & cut butternut squash into small chunks.
  3. Coat long cooking dish with olive oil.  I used an 8 X 11 (I guess?) Pyrex dish.
  4. Sprinkle rosemary & garlic powder into the oil.  Again I didn’t measure; I just guessed.
  5. Add in squash pieces to evenly cover the dish.
  6. Sprinkle a little more rosemary & garlic powder on top the squash.
  7. Place in oven & cook for 30 minutes.  The recipe says 45-50 minutes but mine was done in 30 minutes.

Voila!  Two very easy & relatively healthy homemade dishes.  I guess my idea of healthy is a little different than some.  I for one do not espouse the idea that to be healthy you have to be a vegetarian or vegan (nothing wrong with doing that if you choose; I just don’t think it’s the only right way).  And I would much rather use REAL BUTTER than some disgusting fake margarine crap any day.  Yes, it might have more calories but it’s also REAL.  I trust cows more than stuff created in a science lab.  (With that being said, I am very guilty of drinking diet sodas.  It’s a bad habit I’m working on.)

I hope these recipes have given you some inspiration today.  If you decide to try them, let me know how they turn out!

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