‘Step Up To Dinner’

Part IV – Inspiration for Creating Healthy Home-Cooked Food Every Day

By RUTH LAURENT-KOCHER | Contributing Writer

In the final part of this four-part series, it’s all about the execution.

I have three simple steps to my success at dinner times. Plan and make time to cook, get in the right mood, and prep, prep, prep.

Plan your cooking time

You know I love to plan, but honestly, I cannot recommend this enough, as I know from first-hand experience—and suffering the consequences—you must give yourself ample time to cook.

Look at what’s for dinner tomorrow and decide how and when you will cook it. Take out the meat or any produce you need that is frozen and place it in the fridge the day or night before to defrost.

The recipes you selected for each day should have considered your time, so if it is a slow cooker weekday meal, you may have to get up earlier and prep to get it going before you leave for the day or even marinate something the night before.

You may have been able to prepare and even cook some food on a Sunday, and have it ready in the fridge or freezer. (There are whole books, websites and blogs dedicated to this, it will be one of my future topics.)

You may be able to allocate time to prep that day in the morning before you leave for work or at lunchtime if you are at home, or you may choose to cook everything fresh that night.

Whatever you are cooking and your personal circumstances, make sure you know how long it will take and work backward from the time you want to eat with a plan for the time it will take. (Note: Always add at least 10 minutes to most recipe times; they consistently underestimate the prep time.)

Get in the mood

Shake off the day, put your phone down, put on some music or a favorite TV show, get a cup of tea or pour a glass of wine, and make this cooking time something for you.

Tell the kids and family you are cooking, so only emergency interruptions are allowed. Ask them to set the table with utensils, mats and drinks for everyone, and then shuffle everyone out of the kitchen unless they are there to cook with you. Or, if you find this a great time to chat and catch up with the family, invite them in—find whatever works best for you as you cook.

Prep, prep, prep

Read your recipe from start to finish. Set the oven to warm up if needed and get out any equipment. Get out all your ingredients. Prep them the way required before starting to cook anything.

I follow recipes as much as I can the first time, but end up simplifying or adding ingredients and steps to make them easier to cook or tastier. You can do this easily as you cook more and more. If you make changes—change them on your recipe so you don’t forget next time.

And finally, dinner is served

One of the benefits of planning home-cooked food is the time together with your family, eating and sharing stories of the day. Numerous studies show that sitting together for family meals has many benefits, so remember this vital part.

If you make an effort and cook, then you get to decide (or dictate!) where and when dinnertime is. Make sure you have any trimmings ready on the table before you serve—salt, pepper, grated parmesan, mustard, soy sauce, etc. Add flowers or a candle for special occasions or every night, treating your other senses too.

Food tastes better when it looks great on a plate, so choose the best way to present your meal. Setting the table and having food in dishes to serve out creates a sense of ceremony, and honors the time and trouble you have taken to provide this home-cooked meal.

If you are serving the food, make up your plates in the kitchen or at the stovetop, and set them down for each person. Dinner is ready.

Hopefully your fantastic food beneficiaries will help clear and clean the dishes. Make sure to package and label any leftovers to freeze for another meal if you have enough left, or cool and pop them in the fridge for lunches and snacks, then go and put your feet up—you deserve it.

Order a copy of “Step Up To Dinner” for more tips, tools and downloadable templates, including efficient shopping and food storage, plus 30 tried and tested recipes for dinner inspiration.

Palisadian Ruth Laurent-Kocher brings executive function to her personal passion for healthy home-cooked food in her first book, “Step Up To Dinner.” To arrange a group workshop, private consultation or purchase a copy of her “how-to” guide and cookbook, email ruth@uptotheplate.org or go to uptotheplate.org.