Sunday, March 14, 2021

Sunday Is All About Preparation #SOL21

Sunday is all about preparing - lessons, clothes, and food.  

I would say the preparation that has had the biggest impact on my life lately is my Sunday meal prep.

In late fall in an attempt to eat healthier and make life easier, I started preparing dinners and lunches for the entire week on Sunday.

I also started participating in a lunch swap with two friends at work.  We each prepare four servings of a healthy dish and bring them into school.  Each day we have a different healthy lunch.  We eat very well!

My husband and I explore Weight Watchers and Skinny Taste cookbooks for recipes.  Usually, we pick three meals, and I double at least one to take to school.

The preparation starts first thing Sunday morning.  After selecting the recipes, I create a list of ingredients needed, and then Scott and I go to the grocery store.  Another perk is that my husband helps me, and that never happened during the week.  

After we return from the store, we pull out all of the ingredients and stage them on the table.  

We then spend Sunday afternoons together cooking our three dishes.  Scott does the chopping and measuring of spices, and I put the ingredients together and do the cooking.  Today, we will be using the Insta Pot, the oven, and the stovetop.  

Our menu for this week:

1.  Breaded chicken thighs, roasted balsamic vegetables, and brown rice.

2.  Instant Pot chicken and dumpling soup (we are expecting cold weather this week)

3.  Korean beef and rice bowls

And this week we are adding a breakfast.

4.  Sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches

The result has been life-altering.  I do not have to cook during the week.  I do not have to wonder about or figure out what we are having for dinner.  I do not have to go to the grocery store or order out.  It is simply grab a container and sit.  We still eat together, but the nights are stress-free.  

At the end of my morning pages, I put a quote as a send-off for the day.  Today, I ended with this quote, and I find it applicable to my Sunday preparation.

"Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now."

 - Alan Lakein

I am excited to be participating in the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Challenge.





10 comments:

  1. Good for you, your husband, and your friends! Meal swaps have intrigued me, and I've never been able to pull them off as something that actually happens in my life!

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  2. Your menu is mouthwatering! Now I'm hungry.

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  3. This is wonderful from the intention to the teamwork. I, too, spent this morning thinking about the two main courses I'd use to get me through. I'm a vegetarian, my husband not so much. Together we make it work, as obviously you and your husband do!

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  4. I love this Slice and I love how you and your husband are making meal prepping work for you. I meal prep breakfast and lunch, but eat whatever my husband cooks for dinner. I too eat good. I love this quote also. I'm writing in it in my notebook.

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  5. Meal prep is so helpful! I love not having to decide what to cook every night, have an idea of what I'm eating throughout the week and it definitely saves in the grocery budget. Glad it's working for you!

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  6. A lunch swap sounds intersting. Since I am off this week, I plan to try a few new recipes. Maybe they will go into my regular rotation.

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  7. This sounds like a very good routine to have. I really need to get myself doing this. I have been pretty consistent with having a meal plan for the week, but don't always do the prep work. I like that you go ahead and actually cook the meals so you just have to reheat them later in the week. Great idea! I absolutely love the lunch swap idea and will be seeking out coworkers that want to do that with me if/when we get back into the school building.

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  8. what a great idea and such a great way to eat well. It is always hard to work all week and then cook at night. I love that you now do this together. What a great way to spend Sunday!

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  9. A fellow meal planner! People have laughed at my monthly meal planning, but I've been doing it for decades. It saves us money at the grocery store, for sure. I don't pre-cook meals like you, but what I do cook gives us enough leftovers for the week. And I make my lunches for the week on Sunday too. Great minds think alike!

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