Always fed

Always Fed

Today we speak of accomplishment. Of getting things done that you've always dreamed of. Of this past weekend.

First off, let me say that I and Kerri have now been nicotine free for two weeks. Good for us. With that demon being slowly and continuously slain, it's time to move on to bettering ourselves in other ways. I've started doing pushups, laughable as that paltry attempt at fitness may be, we're beginning to change over our possessions to reflect the bitchin' registry gifts we received, and I'm trying to save money in every way possible as I slowly inch my way back into full-time student-hood.

Packing a lunch has always been known to be a money-saving practice. Hell, it's even healthier for you. I've always tried to do it as much as possible. But aren't there more extensions to this method of planning ahead and not indulging in the convenience of commerce when it's time to consume? Ever since I graduated college, I've had this grand plan in the back of my head that I've always thought would save money and time, but I've never had the chance to test it out. Namely, the "plan" is cooking about a months worth of dinners ahead of time, freezing them all, then having dinner ready for you whenever you need it. No cooking, no ordering, just reheating in one of many ever-present microwave ovens. Swanson's does it, Lean Cuisine does it, Hell, Seattle Suttons does it. Why not do it myself?

So this weekend, the plan was set in action. As I type, my homemade breakfast protein bar has digested in my stomach, my lunch is almost ready to be eaten, and my salmon cakes with broccoli are chilling in the fridge waiting for later. I'm giving the whole program (which in 'project form' in my GTD documentation I'm referring to as 'Always Fed') a two week test run through the end of August and then implementing monthly in September. I sound like a freaking project manager.

It was a great feeling to just make meal after meal yesterday, though there are still some that need to be made. The way I planned it out was to corral seven recipes, then buy ingredients for 4 servings of each. This way, there's a meal for each night of the week for me and for Kerri. Our menu consists of soy ginger chicken, black bean cakes, salmon cakes, Spanish rice with beef, stuffed pork chops, turkey chili, and chicken Parmesan. The soy ginger chicken is marinating to be grilled tomorrow, when I'll probably also make the black bean cakes and Spanish rice. Kerri is making the turkey chili tomorrow as well. At that point, all that will need to be made is the chicken parm, which may be a Thursday night activity, before heading out to Toronto (oh yeah, I'm off to Toronto this weekend!).

So far, the process will have small tweaks organizationally, namely finding recipes ahead of time, and buying ingredients and cooking on different days. As for cooking, I'll know more when I try the dishes in their reheated form. The pork chops were incredible last night, though. I'm excited to eat faster, healthier, and tastier.

I'll speak to Toronto this week, hopefully. Until then, more to come...