On the Fifth of July Two Thousand and Eight, I stood at the altar and vowed to love and cherish, in plenty, in health, in every good thing, till death... Fast forward to three months plus being married, I can tell you I have had to become really creative with my cooking.
Cooking has never been a difficult task or chore for me, if anything, I'm always up for a challenge in the kitchen. From my discussions, quiet a number of ladies are not comfortable in the kitchen and do not like to cook usually for one of these two reasons- (1) No time/stressful (2) I don't know what to make.
I'll share 5 points that have helped me now to keep the meals healthy and interesting most of the time, we really work at keeping the carbs on a low at our house.
1. Planning- You can go as detailed as planning for the month or writing a menu guide that you follow and sticking to, personally menus do not work for me, they could be a fair guide, but I would hardly stick to a menu, thankfully my husband is not really picky and we both have #wanderingtastebuds
What I like to do is plan for the week from the weekend, I have a few staples prepped that help me with making quick week day meals.
Veggies for stir fry (cabbage, zucchini, carrots, peppers etc.) or a big bowl of salad (lasts for two days)
A bag of frozen peas, carrots and corn always in my refrigerator)
2 or 3 kinds of fruits
One stew or sauce/One soup
One big pot of beans every other week
Grilled meats to add to any weekday quick meal
Breakfast- I usually have (oatmeal, coffee, a fruit) or (eggs, some of the already made stir fry veggies, sausage) or (breakfast smoothie) all with my coffee as usual. My husband doesn't really care for breakfast each day but I make sure to pack a meal to work for him, usually leftovers from the night before. Some days I go the extra mile to make a sandwich or smoothies etc
Lunch- I always get free lunch at work so I don't bother making none for myself except on special occasions, for this reason I feel guilty since he doesn't get free lunch so I try to always pack him some, again could be left overs from the night before or a quick meal I make in the morning using all the pre-made meals for the week, e.g boiled plantains with stir fry or salad and stew/sauce with grilled meats or beans, plantains, stew and meat or rice or pasta... All the pre-made meals always accompany any thing additional. I always make sure to have one or two servings of fruits and vegetables.
Dinner- Again just like lunch all the pre-made meal items accompany the mains and make the entire process faster, for me nine out of ten times leftovers from dinner always becomes lunch the next day for him.
2. Storage- Since I prepare a few things ahead of time, I need to make sure they are properly stored to avoid contamination.
All fresh foods have a compartment, all Raw meats (sausage, shrimps etc) stored together in one corner of my freezer.
Food storage containers with tight lids of different sizes.
Bottles of water and juices on lower racks
3. Make Fresh Juices- As part of our health goal, we don't take any sugary drinks or fizzy drinks so I have started to make my juices at home. Pineapple and Ginger, Zobo(hibiscus flower) drink, Tiger nut/coconut milk etc.. I try to make at least one every week and they are very easy to make.
4. Try out one new recipe every week or every other week- This point might be the joker you need to score points. Truth is you want your meals to be interesting and fun, not boring and mundane, maybe its just me but I could easilyyyy get bored of food and feel like I'm eating to survive rather than enjoy my meals. I watch a lot of food videos and I try to recreate them or get inspired to create my own recipes. I try everything from appetizers to main meals and desserts . You can check out a few recipes coming on here soon.
5. Make each meal special- Don't just serve the food, do it with intention, do it with a desire to entertain and feed and create memories, start from the plates you use, to how you serve or pack foods, do it with a special touch, a smile, a beautiful attitude, I consider it a privilege to be the creative engine, cranking up the fuel my family needs to survive. I do it with all pleasure and love putting into consideration our health. Attitude makes a lot of difference to whoever you are cooking for and serving.
To all my single ladies, newly married ladies or even married for years, I hope these tips are useful. Lets discuss more in the comments.
peace!!!
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