The Routine of Making Preparation a Routine

Each night, right after dinner, I've made a dedicated effort to create a new routine: prepping my breakfast and lunch for the next day, and planning out the following night's dinner. Last night, I even sat down with my trusty little "What to EAT" note pad, and planned out meals for the rest of the week.

Somehow, I felt calmer knowing exactly what was coming, and exactly what I'd need in my kitchen to get through the rest of the week. Many nights, there has been a battle of "What do YOU want for dinner?" "I dunno, what do YOU want?" So now there's no question. Just action. Tonights dinner cooked in the same amount of time that it took me to empty the dishwasher, and even managed to clean up the kitchen...a little. In my defense, we were out of town for 9 days, and just got back Sunday. Add in the cold I'm battling, and you get a wreck of a house. 

Luckily, on Monday after I did a massive grocery shopping trip, where I barely went down a single aisle, and instead ended up walking mostly the perimeter of the store, I came home and prepped a bunch of food, including tonight's dinner: grilled teriyaki chicken (it has been marinading since Monday), steamed wild rice blend from the Korean market nearby (LOVE that store!), and steamed broccoli. So good...so SIMPLE. I didn't use the sweet teriyaki sauce my husband loves, but watered down a saltier version, added TONS of fresh chopped garlic, and then let it sit for two days, flipping the bag around about 2-3 times per day to ensure that every bit of chicken soaked in the flavor.

Even after making dinner (and of course, eating it), I made sure to take some time to continue with my nightly routine. So tomorrow's breakfast is ready, my coffee is set to be brewed, and my lunch and snacks are prepared, packaged, and ready to go. I'm making preparation a routine. Tomorrow's dinner is even figured out, as seen on the "What to EAT" notepad. Have I mentioned I love that thing? It makes meal planning a BREEZE! There's even space for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. 

Feel free to post questions, or if there are any topics you'd like me to cover. I'm open to suggestion! I'm also now posting onto my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/lifestartsinthekitchen). Wow...looks like I'm really doing this! Ready, set...GO!