Twice a day, we cook from scratch…for the dog.
Not that he doesn’t deserve it. Our healthy, home-made meals have helped him overcome irritable bowel disease that threatened his health–and drained our bank account to pay the vet. There’s no question that our dog, who just celebrated his sixth birthday, is healthier for our efforts.
Trouble is, that we’re not always so dedicated to making meals for the rest of us. Nor are we alone.
Americans spend nearly half their food budget—42 percent—on meals eaten away from home, according to the US Department of Agriculture. That’s not only hard on the wallet, but also on the waistline. The USDA reports that for the average consumer, just one meal eaten out per week translates to an extra two pounds per year.
So the irony of cooking for the dog, then ordering takeout for the family, hit me while chopping his dinner one day. This was made all the more absurd by the fact that I love to cook and have a graduate degree in nutrition, a well-equipped kitchen and plenty of cookbooks and recipes.
Thus was born Project Dinner. The challenge that I set for myself is this: Make a family meal on most nights of the week. Do this despite erratic schedules, occasional times of heavy business travel and the many other demands of a busy life that can interfere with cooking nightly.
Dinner is important for many reasons. It’s a way to bookend the day. If you eat a healthful dinner, you may be less likely to graze all night. And there’s striking evidence from Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD., and her colleagues at the University of Minnesota that eating together as a family has a protective effect. Children who dine with their parents regularly are less likely to engage in risky behaviors (smoking, taking drugs, drinking alcohol and sexual activity) than those who don’t eat with their families.
During the eight months that Project Dinner has been going–and yes, it is still going, despite some detours–here’s what I’ve learned:
Begin small. I set the kitchen timer for 15 minutes and then skim through a few cookbooks to plan dinners for the week ahead or use Epicurious and other Web-based recipes. Any meals that take more than 30 minutes of prep time are eliminated.
Do as much ahead of time as possible. When I putter around the house on the weekends, I make large batches of rice and grains, then freeze in individual packets for later use. The same strategy works well for meat, poultry, fish and bacon that can be thawed quickly in the microwave and then sauteed or broiled.
Sometimes I rise a few minutes early to marinate meat, poultry or fish in a plastic bag that sits in the ‘fridge all day, ready for instant cooking at night. Occasionally, I set the table in the morning too. It serves as a commitment to that night’s meal and is a welcome sight on returning home.
Have a back-up plan. Our family schedule, like most others, rarely goes as planned. So I try to be ready to punt. It helps is to have staples on hand. I stock eggs (omelets, frittatas and scrambled eggs can be ready in 15 minutes), pasta (a food with a long shelf life) canned beans, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato sauce and broth that can be reconstituted. Garlic, ginger and fresh spices are kept in my ‘fridge along with soy sauce and some other Asian sauces including oyster sauce, fish sauce and garlic paste and some long shelf-life cheeses, including parmesan. The freezer has also been a life-saver. Staples include frozen vegetables, fruit, tortellini, herbs and pizza dough.
Use the grocery as your sous chef. Whether its pre-washed veggies, broccoli florets, grated cheese or marinated meat, there are plenty of ways to shave minutes off food prep without breaking your budget.
So what’s your nightly game plan for dinner? How often do you cook per week?
