#make ahead meals

[bigheckinbraindrain]

Once-a-Month Meals

I recently found a website called Once a Month Meals (OaMM). The idea behind it is that they have many MANY recipes that you can prep ahead of time and freeze for later. You can create a menu plan, add up to 15 recipes from their site to your menu plan, and then tell the system how many servings you want each meal to be and how many make-ahead meals of each recipe you want, and it guides you through it.

Yesterday was my first attempt at this. I picked 15 meals that looked/sounded like they'd be really good. I made my shopping list (they allow you to download an exact shopping list, but I wanted to write it out to combine a few things, like there would be an entry for Chicken breast and another for chicken thighs, but I only eat breast, another entry was for diced tomatoes and one for diced tomatoes with chilis that I combined together). And when I got home from the store, I started in.

As I understood it, the basic steps for doing a meal plan session are to

Make your meal plan from the available recipes

Print out a shopping list (the website creates this)

Shop for the items on the list

Print out the prep-day sheet

Make all the recipes

Freeze

My experience of last night's endeavor was that it sucked. Hard. The recipes were good and the prep wasn't really that bad, but there are some things I could have done differently that would have made a huge difference.

I learned a lot in my first go-round. Some things I realized part-way through, some I realized once I was cleaning up my disaster of a kitchen at the end.

My tips for my next round will be:

PAY ATTENTION TO PREP TIMES ON THE RECIPE CARDS

Make my meal plan

Shop at a warehouse grocery store like Sam's, Costco, or BJ's because bulk, man

Pre-prepare my cooking by figuring out how much hamburger meat I need to have "cooked" for a recipe, chopped onions, etc. Do all that the night before

Use these little cups to measure out my spices for all recipes beforehand

Figure out what I'm going to eat for the next 2 or 3 days to keep in the fridge instead of freezing.

Make up my Ziploc bags and bowls with their labels

Group similar recipes together (like my Santa-Fe chicken and my taco pasta) because I can reuse some of those mixing bowls without having to wash and dry them in between when a rinse would do just fine

WEAR MY GOOD SNEAKERS FOR ARCH SUPPORT because I didn't last night, and my feet were dead weight about 5 recipes in

Download an audiobook to listen to while I'm prepping. Or a podcast. Or something.

Make sure I do my flash-freeze recipes in a logical order. Somehow, all my flash-freeze ones were near the end. Since I needed freezer room to store the pans before packaging the item, I couldn't do them in succession. Honestly, I'll probably ensure I only do 2 or 3 flash-freeze recipes per prep day, and do one at the start, one in the middle, and one at the end. Or just start and end.

Make an "eat" calendar. I will make a little post-it note and pre-write each individual meal on one note, then add it to my calendar (so I can move them around if I want to). I could also use calendar software to do this, but I like the tactile feeling of placing and moving stickies. I'm a very techy person but this is one thing I do like doing with paper.

Get 11 inches-wide plastic storage bins. I can freeze all my bags lying down, flat, and then put them into these storage bins in order of when I'm going to eat them

[gameofspice]

Freezer meals | How to make a week ahead meal prep

Frozen food is bad for you! What? Yes, I am telling the truth. Fat, taste enhancers and preservative-loaded frozen food are bad for you. Not the home-cooked frozen meals, though. This blog contains some of my frozen food/freezer recipes and meal prep ideas to ease your daily routine if you like to buy groceries and stock up for your week. Meals that freeze well are handy time savers for the busy…

[mariewaltonrealtor]

Taco Soup Casserole Recipe: A Budget-friendly Fusion of Casserole and Soup

Taco Soup Casserole Recipe: A Budget-friendly Fusion of Casserole and Soup  

[thrivetrend]

5 Genius Meal Prep Hacks That Will Change Your Life

Eating healthy, home-cooked meals is one of the best things you can do for your health and budget. But finding the time and motivation to actually meal prep can be a struggle. We’ve all been there – getting home from work feeling exhausted and grabbing takeout yet again because the thought of cooking a full meal sounds overwhelming. Well, those days are over. These five simple meal prep tricks…

[luvabigglassored]

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Burritos

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Burritos

I saw this video on #TikTok and got inspired to use the method but slim down the ingredients used to make it #KetoFriendly and not just low fat, like the original intended. Thanks, Nikita fair for the inspiration! 1 Pound Chicken Breast, cut into 4 equal pieces 1/4 Cup Franks Red Hot Buffalo Sauce 1 Cup Cottage Cheese 1 TBLS Ranch Seasoning (Homemade or Store Bought) Paprika Garlic…

[lilliths-httyd-blog]

i got dat dawg in me (adhd paralysis)

[triglycercule]

triglycercule..

STOP I HAVENT FINISHED MY THANK YOU ART FOR THE FIRST BUNDLE OF JK AU DRAWINGS YOU SENT ME AND NOW YOURE GIVING ME THE FULL VERSION OF THE FOURTH ON E??? 🙁🙁‼️⁉️⁉️⁉️🙏🙏😭😭😭😭 THEH LOOK SO CUTE AND ADORABLE ANS PERFECT YOU DRAW THEM SO WELL I LOVE THE GRAYSCALE LOOK AND SEEINF THEM WITH LEGS THIS TIME IS SOOO CUTE I LOVE SEEING LEGWARMERS I M GENUINELY TEEKING GEEKING DYING IM SO THANKFUL FOR THIS‼️‼️‼️!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU'RE A LEDGEND YIUR A GOD YOUR EVERYTHING THST THE WORLD NEEDED IM SO HAOPY SOMEONE DREW THE JK MTT I DIDN'T EVEN PUT THST MUCH EFFORT INTO IT.,,,,,.... theyre so happy they make ME so happy AND ASIDE FROM THST YOURE ACTUALLY SO GOOD AT ART THOUGH THIS IS JUST A sketch PROBABLY. clothing folds 🤤🤤🤤🤤 expressions 🤤🤤🤤🤤 hahhnds 🤤🤤🤤🤤 why do i feel like i shouldve see this artstyle from someone before. who are you gshaewru. what type of name is thatHUH??? NTBE TYPE OF NAMR AN AMAZING PERSON WOULD HAVE FOR THEIR UMBLR ACCOUNT YOURE SO AMAZING PLEASE DON'T DIE. ok but again thank you so much for the jk!mtt art i've never been more overjoyed in my life this is like a blessing from the gods themselves for me. NOBODY KNOWS HOW MUCH THIS MEANS TO ME

[dude-iloveu]

ah. old reliable for whenever i'm obsessing about characters with very few fan creations and i don't have energy to make them myself:

incorrect quotes generators

[gamebunny-advance]

I didn't get a chance to vote on the poll, but also noticed what would have been my answer wasn't there so I'm writing it in now- I personally see it as he's their CREATOR first, manager second. They don't call him manager in a lot of materials, and they also don't call him father, they call him "Captain" or "sir," (this being pulled from largely the additional voice actor's portrayals at least, which I think are worth at least considering in a wider scope of interpretation)

That feels like the title or nickname he'd prefer they use, hence programming them TO use it for him- and that betrays neither fatherly intent nor producer intent, but pre-existing intent he didn't change (lifting from prior coding) or that he preferred. Beyond that he definitely refers to them as troops- it is their aesthetic, but it's more impersonal

the items you get for the lore on 1010 are toys, and while it's not stated, I've always thought there was an implication that he had made them- His relationship then isn't one of a father to sons, but of a creator about his creations, which IS different. It's why he's as willing to literally throw them at you in combat and, simultaneously, seemingly instinctively, puts a hand out in front of himself to protect them when the final attack is coming- even if they are tools to some degree, he MADE them what they are and he's PROUD of that- He doesn't want to see his work destroyed

Obviously this gets increasingly more complicated if you believe that 1010 gain sapience of some degree, but I still think the relationship isn't quite what I'd call fatherhood. He is simultaneously all the family they have and deeply, inherently unlike them- yet there is undeniably pieces of him and influences from him present in them, because every creation will reflect its creator in some way, in ways they can't even predict

Then, y'know, yeah, it's being a manager time. Ultimately he's gotta organize them and tell them what to do- how he feels about that could be a variety of ways, but he is doing it nonetheless, so something about it matters to him as well- likely the vow to serve the city thing, if leading a boyband is the way to ensure the lights stay on, then he's going to do it 'till his heart gives out.

To start, I do think you're getting a little caught up in the semantics of the poll, but since you're making the case that "creator" is different from "father," I'll hear you out.

And tbh, I really like that interpretation. It's a little more nuanced from what I'm used to seeing, and it is giving me something to sink my teeth into.

I do differ in that I don't think Neon J. personally made the toys or the base 1010: I felt like the implication of the MKI - MKIII standee was that 1010 has actually been around since the wartime era, since MKI 1010 are build more similarly to the recycled battlebots in the Metro Division. Parallel to that, I think it's implied that Neon J. is a cyborg due to suffering injuries in the war. Since they appeared to exist at the same time, it seemed more likely to me that 1010 and NJ's body originated from the same source, but not that NJ was necessarily the direct creator of either them or the toys. (Though, I will admit that knowing that the toy company is called "J-1" does imply that he has something to do with it. But to rectify that, I'm gonna say that he just bought out the company/factory, but he didn't start them.)

But that's just an argument of history. Both interpretations can still lead to the "creator" theory in the sense that NJ still views 1010 impersonally, but still fondly. Even if he didn't make the base, he still turned them into what they are today, which is still a lot of hard work and dedication to the craft.

It's not making him out to be this overly sentimental guy (which is ultimately what I dislike about most "father first" interpretations), but he's also not heartless, and I like that. It's retaining what many interpretations (including mine, sadly) sometimes miss out on, and that's that he's an artist, just like all the other stars. He values his craft, and 1010 are the result of that, for better or worse.

[strengthandsunshine]

Sweet and Sour Chickpeas is an easy vegan recipe for your favorite Chinese takeout! Gluten-free, allergy-free, and made without chicken! This quick weeknight meal is made in one pot with a simple sticky, sweet, and tangy sauce, tossed with chickpeas and veggies! It's a healthier way to enjoy sweet and sour without any deep-frying!

Sweet and Sour Chickpeas (Vegan, Gluten-Free) https://wp.me/p4UrDz-9j8

[ratcandy]

do you guys ever think about the beauty of the world

[thethingything]

y'know between sitting in the garden yesterday and cooking today I've ended up feeling like I've done loads of stuff like it's been really eventful but in a fun way. it's the best I've felt in months and suddenly I want to do more stuff.

apparently I need to add touching grass and living deliciously to our list of coping mechanisms

[cripplecryptid]

Why is it so hard to make a meal for one

[sadbeautifutragic]

looks like i'll have to skip lunch at work today because lunch got canceled, the deli is closed, and all the nearby food places have extremely long lines 🙃

[viovio]

ohhhh ok i get my problem now. i don't cry often at anything because I'm so emotional i can't talk honestly how i really feel around people i trust and what they deserve like my siblings and that's why I don't talk back to my parents when they treat them like shit because they never listen to me and tell me how I'd like if i took care of the house myself. and if i speak this out loud i get the overwhelming urge to cry

[spikeyjo]

also uh im kind of not thinking about it much because its insane. but if everything goes right (and i mean a considerable amount of things that probably wont go as planned) but if they DO... i will have a major surgery in like two weeks