Sunday Preps for a Smooth Week

Hi gals, we are back again with some planning tips for you to save your time in the kitchen. When we talk about planning in general, there is always an element of pre-preparation involved in it. You cannot always have shortcuts in the kitchen to reduce your cooking time. Most of the times, it depends on how well prepared are you to take on the 30-minute cooking challenge. Today, we get you some tips on how to be well-prepared all the time about the items in your kitchen, so you’re not stumped when you need to do even some complicated dishes at the last minute. Its simple, just do these Sunday preps for a smooth week ahead!

Most of us have both Saturdays & Sundays off at our workplace. Designate one of the days as prep day, and spend a couple of hours prepping for the next week. I know weekends are meant for resting, but if you want to have a smooth week ahead, with less amount of stress over cooking, please steel yourself to do this. This 1-1.5 hours of prepping will save a huge amount of your timing during the week.

So, below is the list of things you can do on a weekend beforehand for the next week:

Sunday prep Step 1: Plan your week ahead:

1. Make a meal plan that you can follow the next week, taking into account your nutrient requirements, any guests which might be coming in, and your schedule.
2. Stock that meal plan on the fridge, and try to follow that to the max extent possible.

Sunday prep Step 2: Stock up on the larder:

First thing you check is the inventory of your veggies and groceries. Stock up on whatever is missing or less in quantity, as required for your meal plan. Since there are more number of people in my place, I need to restock my fridge every four days. So, I’ve designated two days in a week for this activity. You can check how to go about this, as per your requirements.

Sunday prep Step 3: Prep Veggies:

1. Peel Garlic cloves and store in the fridge
2. Chop whichever veggies as possible, and store in the fridge
3. Make fresh ginger-garlic paste and store in the fridge
4. Peel Corn cob and store in an airtight container in the fridge
5. Peel green peas and store in a zip lock bag (after removing all air from it) in the freezer (not in the fridge!)

Sunday prep Step 4: Prep Fruits:

1. Peel pomegranate and keep in the fridge
2. Chop fruits like muskmelon, watermelon, pineapple and store in a tight container in the fridge
3. Wash ripe grapes, figs, chikkoos and store in the fridge in a colander
4. Grate coconuts and store in the freezer (not in the fridge!)

Sunday prep Step 5: Other Preps:

1. If you like coconut gravies, you can grind coconut, coriander, chilies into a fine mix and store in an air-tight container in the fridge. This mix can be used in gravies for pulses, like matki, green peas, green moong dal, etc. Also, you can add tadka, and dahi, and quickly make a chutney of the same. Make sure you make enough only for a week, it will not stay good for longer than that. Also, ensure you store in a proper air-tight container.
2. If you like red gravies, you can also make onion-tomato paste and store it in the fridge. Make sure you sauté both the onion and the tomatoes nicely, when doing this. If undercooked, the paste will go bad sooner. Again, make only enough for 2-3 vegetable gravies, i.e. for a week at the most.
3. Cook tamarind and dates in a pressure cooker till soft. The grind in a mixer with a little brown sugar added (optional). Store this sweet mixture in a glass jar in the fridge. This can be readily used for items like karela sabji, or if you decide to make some last minute chaat items.

Ok, gals, these are some things I know. Will try to come up with something more next time!

Tell us about your kitchen hack. What preps do you do beforehand to save your time in the kitchen while cooking? We would love to hear back from you…

If you are interested in knowing more about kitchen organisation, read this blog!