Posted on 6 Comments

3 Reasons I Cook Only Once a Week

I love to eat, but I don’t love being in the kitchen. Yes, I love trying out new recipes and experimenting with new ingredients, but that’s probably just the adventurer and weird scientist in me. I hate the long standing, the heat from the stove and oven, the constant washing of utensils, the essential prep of the ingredients, or the moments in which the Small, Bright-eyed Human runs in circles around my feet and screams until I pick her up. But, this post isn’t about my ‘laziness’ as much as it is about time management and prioritising.

 

Menu Planning & Batch Cooking

Having transitioned from Homemaker to Employee, I needed to find a way to be present with my daughter for the few hours we are together each day (since she goes to daycare while I teach). But, even more so, I needed to avoid exhaustion while feeding my family hearty and nutritious meals. I remembered how for my CXC practical exam in Food & Nutrition, I was able to make the birthday cake (baked and decorated with freshly made icing), drinks, different types of sandwiches, snacks and fruit table pieces all from scratch and decorate the table in a couple of hours. This is because I had learnt how to make a menu plan and a time plan to make it all work, and I decided to put this aspect of my high school education to use!

What I do is cook all the food my family will eat, once a week (on the weekend) and simply heat and serve throughout the week. It may sound like a lot of work, but I can get 3 or 4 entrees and the same amount of side dishes made in 2 or 3 hours. Which works out to about 3 hours of intense work to cover the whole week, instead of cooking an hour a day, every single day. So, let me give this disclaimer before going any further:

If you are one of those persons who claims, “I don’t eat over-night/hot-up food.” Then I suggest that you don’t read any further. I’ll also recommend that you don’t eat anything you haven’t cooked yourself, because all commercially prepared food involves batch cooking and réchauffé. So, if you eat food from restaurants, hotels, school cafeterias, office canteens, hospitals, or caterers, you have eaten réchauffé or reheated food. The main reason the food looks and tastes differently from what you’ve re-heated at home is because food service operators have been trained to observe industry standards in food safety (sanitation, storage, preservation, time and temperature). I’m grateful to have received the same training when I got my food handler’s permit, but even more so, for having worked in the food service industry to learn, first-hand, about things like ‘food danger zone’.

 

Ital Stew (Photo Credit: JCSKitchen.com)

 

That little issue addressed, these are my reasons – plain and simple – for cooking once a week:

1. Free To Relax
Since I’m away from my family all day, I want to know that I can enjoy the time reconnecting with them when I get home. We can sit together and play, or do any other fun thing together before we settle down for dinner. Plus I don’t need to rush with my daughter when I go to pick her up from the daycare. If she wants to just hug me for a little or wants me to join her with digging up dirt in the yard, I feel comfortable to do that without watching the time.

2. No Extra Work After Work
Since all my meals (lunches and dinners) are already cooked, I don’t need to go grocery shopping or spend time in the kitchen cooking dinner and the next day’s lunch. After work is finished, I can truly come home and de-chakarise.

3. Fancy Dishes Without the Hassle
Who wouldn’t like to eat a fancy, weekend-style meal during the week? Entree with two or three different sides? How about two entrees? I can do that because it’s all made in advance, I just need to heat and serve.

 

Japanese Vegetable Curry & Rice (Photo Credit: BakerBoom.blogspot.com)

 

This Week’s Menu
For this week, I made 3 entrees (Ackee & Mixed Veggies, Japanese Curry with Lentils & Pumpkin, and Ital Stew), and the main starches were Brown Rice, Mushroom Rice (used my rice cooker), Roti and Naan (bought them frozen and put them in the toaster oven before serving). I served these sides as well: Cucumber-Basil Pasta Salad, Garden Salad and another Mushroom Sauce Pasta Salad. It may sound like a lot, but I also bought a deli box (with simmered veggies and tofu skin) from the supermarket, and each day I have a mug of Miso Soup along with my lunch. My game plan for getting this done each week is basically: Plan. Shop. Cook. I give a detailed breakdown in this article that I wrote for Baby & Blog: HERE.

 

Do you plan your meals and do once a week cooking? If you don’t, would you try it?

Posted on Leave a comment

“Jamaican Green Smoothies” is on Kindle!

Yes, you read correctly! I’m officially a self-published author.

 

It has been quite the journey – one year to be exact – since I got the idea to publish my own books. I have always enjoyed writing and have drafted the outlines for a number of books and even started working on the manuscript for a few. But, I never really knew how to write a book or how to get one published. Let’s just say that because of the selfless and high quality investments of a number of writing/publishing and business coaches, I have woken up to realising my dream is my reality. So, I am forever grateful and thoroughly excited about the prospects from here on.

 

So, What’s In The Book?

Hundreds of persons have joined the Jamaican Green Smoothie movement and this train is not stopping any time soon. In fact, my newly published Kindle eBook: “Jamaican Green Smoothies” is here to take things to another level! Maybe you heard the buzz and you probably gazed quizzically at a green smoothie or two, but you’re not quite ready to take the plunge. Or maybe you’ve been sampling cups of the green goodness, but you still want to know more about this trend of blending leafy greens and fruits into creamy emulsions. The Jamaican Green Smoothies book will fill all those gaps.

Jamaican Green Smoothies: The Essential Guide to Transforming Your Life, One Cup at a Time, with the Leafy Greens & Fruits in Your Backyard” will help you to:

  • Learn what green smoothies are and how to make them.
  • Discover the benefits of a green smoothie habit.
  • Avoid the potential hazards that come with drinking leafy greens.

But, Jamaican Green Smoothies is not just a Green Smoothie 101 textbook – it includes recipes! You will be able to explore over 30 Recipes – a different Jamaican Green Smoothie for each day of the month – including recipes for:

  • Your Daily Green Smoothie Habit
  • Your Weekend Treats
  • Your One-Week Detox
  • Your Weight Loss Plan

The recipes that you will find in the Jamaican Green Smoothies Kindle eBook are one of a kind, because they will guide you in making smooth and creamy blends that:

  • Use affordable (or free), locally-grown ingredients.
  • Take 5 minutes or less of your day to make.
  • Deliciously satisfy your daily requirement for fruits and vegetables.
  • Balance your diet, improve your health and transform your lifestyle.
  • Will not place any dietary restrictions on you.

Jamaican Green Smoothies also includes 15 BONUS Celebrity Gourmet Recipes! This additional chapter features some favourite Jamaican Green Smoothie blends created by some prominent, yet regular Jamaican men and women, who have been enjoying the Green Smoothie habit for a long time and continue to reap the benefits.

 

Giving You Free Downloads

The price in the Kindle Store is currently US$4.99 and that’s a deal! Just a Nanny ($J500). After all, where else can you find Green Smoothie recipes using Jamaican leafy greens, fruits, liquids and extras? Well, I’m so happy to share the book with you, that I’ll be giving it away for FREE!

Free Download

On Friday May 9th, please go to Amazon’s Kindle Store and get your copy, completely FREE of cost! The only thing I ask in return, is that you leave a great review on Amazon for others to see.

Don’t have a Kindle device? Neither do I! LOL. That’s because Amazon offers Free Kindle Reading Apps that allow us to enjoy ebooks on our PCs or mobile devices (e.g. Blackberry, iPhone, iPad, Android). I read most of my Kindle books using the Kindle Cloud Reader (in my internet browser – no downloading required). So, please get your copy of my book, tell a friend to get a copy and PLEASE be sure to leave a review!

Thanks again for all the support and encouragement. I hope you enjoy the book’s content and the benefits of  developing a green smoothie habit.