I love cooking. If I had the time, I would cook every meal from scratch, going to the market for specific ingredients and eating things hot off the stove [this has become especially true since we got rid of the microwave!]. But life doesn’t quite work that way. And my farmer’s market is only open on Saturday mornings.
To make things easier on myself during the week, I like to take some extra time during the weekend to wash and prep a few of our favorite fruits and veg. It makes it ten times easier to make a healthy meal when everything is set up nicely for me.
When we’re especially in a rush but don’t have much time to cook, Ben and I will make protein smoothies with frozen fruit, spirulina/dark leafy greens, maca root, and chia seeds. I usually just mix my protein powder with water [I’ve really been loving this all-natural ProEnergy supplement!], but Ben’s smoothies usually contain some frozen banana or berries and maybe a bit of nut butter to up the calorie content.
To freeze bananas for smoothies [or muffins or whatever], first peel and slice the bananas and place them in the freezer on a cookie sheet. Once they’re frozen through, place them in a ziploc or tupperwear in the freezer. Freezing them in small pieces ensures that they won’t stick together, so you can pull one piece out at a time rather than having to work with a huge hunk of banana-mush.
Another thing you’ll always find in our fridge is some type of dark leafy green [usually kale, chard, and/or spinach]. Kale preparation isn’t difficult, but it does feel time-consuming after a long day’s work.
To prep kale for the week, de-stem the leaves and tear them into small pieces, then rinse and spin-dry.
Place the clean, dry kale pieces in a ziploc or air-tight container with a paper towel at the bottom, and you’ll have kale ready for the week!
Do you have any time-saving prep tips? I’m always looking for ways to be more efficient!
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