How many times have you come home from work/school/etc., opened the fridge and asked your spouse, kids, significant other –  “What do you want for dinner?”  Did you take the time to cook a healthy meal from scratch?  Did you pick up the phone, order pizza; grab something frozen from the freezer?  Or better yet, drive through your favorite fast food joint and order the super-sized meal of choice (with diet drink, of course)?  I’ve asked my family this same question so many times.  We’ve succumbed to each of the scenarios above.  However, once my then 6-year-old started answering “I want to ‘run for the border at Taco Bell’ mom!” – I decided enough was enough.  Not only was I going to plan in advance and continue to cook healthy meals for myself, I was going to take charge of my family too.  This is how I became a weekend ‘power cooker.’  It has become a Sunday ritual in my household, one that often involves myself, my husband (who can give Bobby Flay a run for his money with a grill!),and my sons.  It’s my hope that my experience with power cooking can help you and your significant others avoid the dreaded “what’s for dinner?” questions down the road!

Before you embark upon a power cooking session, I need to warn you – it is labor intensive and time-consuming.  I typically spend 4-6 hours between prep, cooking and packaging.  Because of this I will create 14 days’ worth of meal plans.  Invariably we will eat out once a week, so this usually lasts for longer than I originally planned.

Benefits to Power Cooking and Planning Ahead

• Buying in bulk can often save you money.  Buying organic (which I highly recommend) can be costly.  However, some healthy grocers will offer discounts if you buy in larger quantities.
• Planning in advance ensures that each pre-planned meal will meet the nutritional needs for you and your family.  As a bonus, it also allows you to spend less time on prep work and more time at the table with your family through the week.  For a lot of families, dinner time is the only quality time you spend together – having pre-planned meals allows you to have more time together.
• Research shows that people who plan their meals at least 3 days in advance are less likely to succumb to cheating on their diet.  Pre-planning your meals takes the guess-work out of what foods you should eat each day.  If you weigh your food, you have a predictable and reliable way to measure your daily caloric intake.

What You Will Need

• Proteins of choice.  I usually buy ground turkey, salmon, white fish and chicken.  I save lean red meats for cheat meals on the weekends, dinners out or when we have time to grill.  I  recommend having at least 3 types of protein to cook.  This will prevent boredom and give you variety throughout the week.
• Digital Scale.  You don’t have to spend a lot of money here.  Make sure you buy a scale that allows you to measure in both pounds and grams.
• Vacuum Sealing System.  Since you will be planning multiple meals in advance, I highly recommend investing in a vacuum sealing system.  A vacuum system allows you to freeze meals for longer periods of time without fear of freezer burn ruining your creations and wasting your money.  Plus, reheating is easy!!  With a vacuum sealed bag, all you have to do to reheat your protein is drop the bag in boiling water for roughly 5 minutes.  The vacuum sealing helps the food retain the original flavor.  My sealing system of choice is the FoodSaver V3460.  I have had it for over a year and it has held up well.  However, there are a lot of comparable brands on the market that work well within budget constraints.
• Freezer space!  Preparing meals and freezing them takes space, so make sure you can accommodate what you make.  A deep freezer is not necessary; however I have one and it is very helpful.  If you do not have a deep freezer and do not plan to invest in one, here’s your opportunity to clean out the sodium-heavy freezer meals, junk food, etc. from your freezer and replace with nutritious, pre-made meals!

The Process

 1.    First, write out your menus.  Decide what type of recipes you want to make.  Be careful of too many types or trying new marinades.  You can easily overwhelm yourself trying to keep everything separate and in order.  Also, if you use power cooking as a time to try a new recipe, you might be stuck with a big batch of something you really don’t like.  Save the new stuff for the weekends!  (Be sure to check our recipes tabs for suggestions if you’re at loss on what to prepare.)

2.   Prep your foods and marinate your proteins.  Trim additional fat from your meats, cut your vegetables and line up your seasonings.  I will often marinate my fish, salmon and chicken in the morning.  Most foods will absorb the flavor in 4-6 hours.  If you want a deeper flavor, prepare them the night before.  Prepping your food is also a good way to get your kids involved.  Let them help you with this part.  It will help them learn how to prepare healthy meals and hopefully take an interest in healthy eating.  With the prevalence of childhood obesity on the rise we have to do all we can to make sure our kids aren’t part of the statistic!

3.    Fire up the grill!  (Or turn on the oven).  Cook your foods as you normally would prepare them.  The difference this time is you are cooking in bulk.  Depending on how much you are making, it may take two or three rounds in the oven/on the grill to finish.  Allow 10 – 20 minutes for the food to cool.

4.    After your food has cooled, it’s time to seal it.  I typically freeze each item in packs of two.  If I am thawing a protein for myself, I just put the package in the fridge the night before to thaw, then I have protein for two meals.  Or, I can pull out 2 packages for the family dinner.  I found over time that trying to wrap each piece individually was twice the work I was willing to invest.5.    Store in your freezer and congratulate yourself on a job well done!

What about Sides?

• Juicing – (We’re talking about veggies and fruits here, not the other kind!)  I recently bought a juicer and have found it invaluable to increase my intake of vegetables throughout the day.   I even freeze a weeks’ worth to take with me and enjoy throughout the morning.   I will not expand on the benefits of juicing in this article, but look for more articles to come on the benefits of juicing fresh vegetables.
• Salads – My personal mantra is that each main meal should be accompanied by a salad.  They are easy to prepare and healthy too!  If you don’t want the hassle of cutting and separating your lettuce, you can buy bags of pre-cut, pre-washed lettuce that will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.
• Fresh Vegetables – It’s easy to add fresh vegetables to your meals.  You can buy pre-cut vegetables in bags that you can throw in the microwave.  Frozen vegetables are available as well, however I recommend going fresh whenever possible.  You will derive more vitamins and minerals from the fresh versus frozen.
• Canned Goods – sometimes prep work for tasty sides can be just as labor intensive as your protein.  While I try to avoid canned goods as a rule, I do keep a large stash of low-sodium green beans.  These are a healthy addition to any meal, low in sugar and salt.
• Starches – small amounts of starches have their place in your menu.  I recommend sweet potatoes, brown rice and quinoa as staples to include in your meal planning.  Sweet potatoes can be baked or cooked in the microwave.  I cut mine into cubes, add a little olive oil, stevia, cinnamon and nutmeg and bake in large quantities.  I then measure and freeze into individual baggies.  My family loves these!  Measuring them in advance and separating into individual servings also ensures that they don’t overdo on them.
• Soups, stews & casseroles – Don’t limit yourself to just meat, vegetables and potatoes!  Soups, stews and casseroles freeze well and reheat easily.  You can make large batches and separate them as you would for a side, or package them for an entire meal.

Don’t Forget Breakfast!!

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day, is often the least thought out and most often skipped.  How many of you grab a packet of instant oatmeal and consider that healthy?  It is oatmeal, after all.  Instant oatmeal is tasty, but it’s laden with sugar, which is not a good way to start the day.  Instead, try this:

• Buy snack size baggies the next time you are at the grocery store.  You can get 100 of them for less than $2.  Measure out ½ to 1 cup of Old Fashioned rolled oats (not the quick cook kind) into a snack baggie.  Add the seasonings of your choice.  I typically put one packet of stevia, some cinnamon and nutmeg in with the dry ingredients.   You can also add a tablespoon of ground flax seed, chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc. Seal and set aside!  These are great to keep at home and at work.  They have a long shelf life and are a quick fix.
• When you are ready to reheat, pour the oatmeal mixture in a cup and add boiling water (you want to use twice the amount of water to oats).  Lay a plate on the cup and let it steep for 2 minutes.  Voila!  Just as quick as your instant oats!  For added flavor you can top with ¼ cup berries or a sliced apple or drizzle with honey (avoid the honey if weight loss is your goal).
• I also make protein pancakes in advance.  Since I only eat these 2 times a week, a batch of them will last me a month.  They freeze well, reheat quickly and maintain their consistency.  (For the recipe, please see “Protein Pancakes”, categorized as breakfast under the Recipes tab.)

Not every meal each day of the week is a pre-cooked meal.

Even rotating the meats will get boring over time.  I also try to keep the ingredients for two crockpot meals per week on hand so I can throw the ingredients in before I head off to work.  Plus, cleanup is minimal after.  For suggestions on easy crockpot meals, please be sure to check our Recipes tab!

I hope you find this information helpful.  It has definitely taken the pressure off of daily choices, and I feel everyone in my household has benefitted from it.  If you have any questions, have recipes or your own suggestions to share, please contact me.  I’d love to hear them!

Kerri