Basic Pursuits

I find that I have to do quite a bit of meal prep on the weekend. If I don't, I have to accept what the world offers. That ain't good.

My main act is usually to prepare a big dish that's going to provide a lot of taste and nutrition for the coming week. If I can't eat it all, I freeze it.

Since I've already got a mess in the making, I try to think of other food prep tasks that are going to save me time during the working week when time is scarce.

Here's a list of six weekend preps that help me organize and hopefully can help you.

1. Tuna, chicken salad prep. On Sunday I knew I was going to need some tuna salad for lunched toward the end of the week, but not sooner. So I prepped my celery, scallions, jalapenos and capers and left them in the container that I'll use on Wed. or Thurs. Then I'll just dump in the tuna and mayo, stir and serve. The principle would the same with chicken salad.
2. Grind coffee. I like my coffee fresh ground, but it takes too long to do it everyday. I keep my beans in the freezer. On Sunday I grind enough for a week's worth of coffee and put the ground coffee in the freezer also. I scoop it out during the week when I'm pressed for time. The freezer keeps it fresh and tasting "fresh ground."
3. I have a power oatmeal that I eat for breakfast about three times during the week. I find it a lot easier to scoop out the ingredients and portion a serving in a baggie. When ready to cook, just add milk and water.
4. Wash fruits and vegies. So when I grab an apple on the way out the door, I don't have to stop because I washed in over the weekend.
5. Make a chunky salad. Chunky salads last a week in the frig and are an instant source of pleasure and nutrition. Mix up the vegies. My current favorite is the easy to remember 1 Chunky: 1 cucumber; 1 tomato; 1 red bell pepper; 1 large scallion. Don't forget the salt. Chunky salads have a way of improving in flavor for a certain time in the frig.
6. Finally, make your big dish. This week I made a huge pot of stale bread soup.

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