jjquantz
Full time employment: Posting here.
While reading the thread on meal preparation services I was intrigued by some of the hints that cooks were dropping about their meal preparation process and some of the attitudes that people seemed to be expressing about the relationship of grocery shopping to meal preparation.
So, I guess, the questions I have for you cooks out there are: 1) How do you decide what you are going to cook on any given night (let's limit the discussion to the evening meal or main meal of the day)? and 2) How does your meal preparation strategy affect your grocery shopping?
Although there are days when I just say " I think I want to make ______", my meal prep process usually starts about 3:00 PM when I walk to the freezer and see what strikes my fancy as a protein source. I then check the fridge and pantry for produce at hand. I might also give some thought to the preparation method, in the summer, for instance, this means grilling. This info is entered into a Google search, for instance, Wednesday's search was "grilled chicken mango". One of the first few hits was for grilled chicken with mango salsa served on a bed of rice - sounds good, was good.
This method means that grocery shopping is all about gathering resources. DW and I rarely think about specific meals when we are at the grocery, we are thinking about collecting raw materials for the food prep process. So we buy things that are on sale (especially seasonal produce) and we stock up in large quantities on things that are flexible and keep well, i.e chicken breasts. We also have a large stash of herbs and spices at hand so that we can dabble in lots of cooking styles.
I've really only been cooking since I retired (almost 3 years now) and I really enjoy my approach. It becomes a bit of a puzzle solving process. DW's process is somewhat different from mine, it seems to involve something called "cookbooks", but the basic philosophy is the same.
So, I guess, the questions I have for you cooks out there are: 1) How do you decide what you are going to cook on any given night (let's limit the discussion to the evening meal or main meal of the day)? and 2) How does your meal preparation strategy affect your grocery shopping?
Although there are days when I just say " I think I want to make ______", my meal prep process usually starts about 3:00 PM when I walk to the freezer and see what strikes my fancy as a protein source. I then check the fridge and pantry for produce at hand. I might also give some thought to the preparation method, in the summer, for instance, this means grilling. This info is entered into a Google search, for instance, Wednesday's search was "grilled chicken mango". One of the first few hits was for grilled chicken with mango salsa served on a bed of rice - sounds good, was good.
This method means that grocery shopping is all about gathering resources. DW and I rarely think about specific meals when we are at the grocery, we are thinking about collecting raw materials for the food prep process. So we buy things that are on sale (especially seasonal produce) and we stock up in large quantities on things that are flexible and keep well, i.e chicken breasts. We also have a large stash of herbs and spices at hand so that we can dabble in lots of cooking styles.
I've really only been cooking since I retired (almost 3 years now) and I really enjoy my approach. It becomes a bit of a puzzle solving process. DW's process is somewhat different from mine, it seems to involve something called "cookbooks", but the basic philosophy is the same.