Prep Cook, STAT!

As soon as you walk through the door, in some homes, the questions start, especially my favorite:  What's for dinner?

And just like that, the  second shift,  an unpaid shift,  begins before your shoes are off.   "Bringing home the bacon and fry it up in the pan"  was  a great  hook in a 70's commercial, but for home chefs with an 8 or 12 hour  work schedules,  finding time to prepare a home cooked meal remains challenging.   So many  food apps exist now that are inexpensive,  and can  even deliver a meal before you get home.

But  with those deliveries, apps and drive-thru meals come  some hidden numbers that can be astronomical. Some restaurant meals contain over 1200 calories per meal with more saturated fat, salt and sugar than is  needed for a day. The latest food apps  and food trucks deliver fully cooked meals in under an hour, give or take, but what else? How much salt, added sugar , food dyes?  

For some Americans, most of their sodium intake,  — over 75% --  is found in packaged and  processed food, and restaurant food, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And in restaurants, some of us eat an extra 200 calories more per meal. 

Now, switch up the chefs. You in the kitchen, with the right ingredients,  in the right portions, can  help prevent or manage common chronic health diseases like Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease.  And  with time, create a entree on par with  most restaurants.

The medicine cabinet  may be in the bathroom, but the  real command center at home, when it comes to health,  is in the kitchen.

Every meal  or snack has  numbers attached- calories, fat , sodium and sugar content- that hyperlink to  these numbers- blood pressure, glucose ,cholesterol, and pounds. A holistic approach to disease prevention or management  that includes diet modification  and  home cooked  meals can serve up   the necessary numbers  for a healthier household that  saves money  in the household budget ,and maybe,  reduces  valuable time  spent in the physician's office, hospital or emergency room.
 
The  DASH Diet- Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension- , Mediterranean diet,  or African Heritage Diet, can help manage or prevent prehypertension,  hypertension, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and some cancers.  The MIND Diet- Mediterranean- DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay-  may even offer  protection against dementia and cognitive impairment with meals filled with berries, dark green leafy vegetables, fish, lean meats, olive oil, nuts and beans.

But who has time to cook?

If you are a foodie that  pins recipes, or consumes cable food shows religiously,  you make time for home cooked meals.  A weekend prepping, labeling , packing , and storing  weekly meals neatly in the refrigerator may be part of your  weekend routine.  If not, personal chefs are just a click away to prep and cook personalized menu selections based on food preferences, allergies, food intolerances or medical conditions. And then there are the  subscription meal kits that include recipes, herbs, spices, veggies and in some cases, a meat or seafood selection. And if you like  farm fresh and local food,  CSA memberships  and farmers markets serve up a variety of vegetables, herbs, cooking demonstrations  and recipes.  

What happens next is easy. Grab a glass a wine ( or herbal tea) , put on some music and relax. Home cooked meals with  local  and fresh food doesn't have to be stressful.

First, you wash.
​The leafy greens need a good rinse and soak to remove the clingy critters that sometimes accompany your veggies from the farm to your kitchen. You never know when you will discover a tiny snail, ladybug ( let them fly away please) or aphid. Not to mention the occasional corn worm clinging on your ear of your bicolor corn. 

Flavonoid rich berries need a quick spray of water right before you use them. Rinse off the tomatoes, squash, winter and summer, and bell peppers if they're in season. And before the first bite of your  sweet melon from the back of the pickup truck,  rinse well under running water.  Cantaloupes especially need a rinse because of the unique netting that can harbor Salmonella and other pathogens.

Time to process
Next step for a CSA share , depending on the season, is stripping the leaf from the tough stem , shelling peas, clipping the  ends from green beans, shucking corn and , removing skins from the garlic and onions. And then it's time for the rough chop,  chiffonade,   grating, zesting, mortar and pestling.

Here are some tips to win in the kitchen:

 1. Find your  prep cook. End the "what's for dinner "questions.  If everyone eats, everyone can help with the prep. Children of all ages can do more than take the chicken out of the freezer; they can wash vegetables and dishes. Your resident food critics can shell peas, clip green bean ends ,and remove garlic  and onion skins like a pro.  Depending on their age, kids  can safely cut an onion, crush garlic cloves and peel potatoes.  

2. Mise en place.  No more " where is the.....? " Everything in its' place, clean, and ready to use.  Your designated prep cook can even learn a little French at the same time.

3.Meal Plan. A weekly meal plan shaves off time in the kitchen, grocery store , or  even on your smartphone app once you decide what's for dinner  before dinnertime  You can also keep track of your calories, sodium, sugar, simple carbohydrate and saturated fat intake with a meal plan  that includes recipes with nutritional facts.

4. Marinades, Rubs and Sauces. Aji verde, salsa verde, dry rubs, wet rubs, pesto...Prepare  and refrigerate these well before you're ready to cook. When it's time to tenderize and/or season meats and vegetables, this part of the recipe is done . 

5. Prep, Cook and Freeze.  Casseroles and one dish meals are great meals that you can cook and freeze for later . If it's a family favorite, double the recipe, savor some, label and freeze the rest. With a  CSA membership, sometimes there's a bounty of one or more vegetables or herbs.  You can freeze part of your share for the winter months. Have a surplus of  green beans in your CSA share? Blanch, label, and store  some in the freezer. Why buy frozen vegetables when you can freeze your own?

6.Communication. This is important. Your prep cook can quickly transform into an executive chef, and improvise a meal or snack with the ingredients  needed for your weekly meal plan. Make sure everyone understands that some of the ingredients  in the kitchen are for everyone ,and not for just a table for one.