MODULE ONE The Organized Cook

NOTE: The material in the audio and video is covered on the following pages in written form if you prefer to read.

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The Organized Cook, An Overview.

Before we get started I just want to say a huge WELCOME to the Organized Cook. If you’re ready to get more organized in the kitchen then you’re totally in the right place. This program is all about helping you prepare food for the busy week ahead so you can still eat well and be well.

In Module 1 we’re going to get you started and really set you up for success but before we dive into the module 1 content I just wanted to give you a quick overview of the program so you know what’s ahead.

MODULE 1: Getting Started

You’ll discover a secret that chefs use that will give you a head start in getting ahead of your cooking. And the good news is you won’t necessarily have to sacrifice your precious free time and spend the whole weekend locked in the kitchen to make it work

MODULE 2: Prepping Ingredients for Multiple Meals with ‘Building Block’ Recipes

Building block recipes are a key tool to helping you be ready to pull together delicious, healthy meals with minimum effort. Perfect for weeknight dinners. Preparing ingredients like this means you’re prepared without being confined to specific meals. They’re also brilliant because they also generally help to ‘preserve’ your ingredients meaning you’ll be less likely end up with waste!

MODULE 3: Do Ahead Meals

For those days when you just want to come home and have dinner already made. This module is all about arming you with a collection of new ideas to help you get ahead and ‘cook once, eat twice’ or more…

MODULE 4. Meal Planning

For those weeks when you can’t be bothered to ‘think’ about what to cook, this module has you covered! Even though I normally don’t like to be told what to do, every time I use one of my pre-prepared meal plans, I’m surprised just how nice it is to buy the ingredients on the shopping list and then walk into the kitchen each night and just cook from the plan.

MODULE 5. Leftover Love

In this surprise bonus module we’re going to be doing a deep dive on leftovers. This includes 6 tips for Keeping leftovers safe, How to handle leftover ingredients and my favourite ways to use leftovers.

BONUSES
If you haven’t already, make sure you check out the ‘bonues’ page and download your complimentary copy of my ecookbook ‘The Tired & Hungry Cook’s Companion’. And there’s also the Soupstones Pantry eCookbook which is all about setting yourself up with a life saving pantry. I’m a huge believer in having a well stocked pantry to help in the organization department so if you think you could do with some help I highly recommend checking out that bonus.

There will also be some ‘graduation bonuses’ which will be released after module 5 is complete. These include the ebook for the entire class which you will be able to download and keep forever. Your eCookbook includes links to all the videos and audio as well as the written content. There will also be surprise bonuses but we’ll keep them a surprise for now 🙂

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The easy way to make ‘mise en place’ work for you.

When it comes to getting results from this program, I have two words for you. Take. Action.

It’s all well and good to watch these videos or read through the content but unless you actually take action you’re not going to see any results.

So now that you’re going to take action the next question is what action to take?

Here’s what I recommend…

1. Make a regular ‘date’ with yourself for some ‘mise en place’.

Think about your schedule and what is going to work best for you. It might be every Sunday afternoon or every Monday evening. Making a regular time in your schedule will help embed this as a new habit.

It doesn’t need to be loads of time either. You could get away with just 15 minutes and still be able to get a few things done. But if you can allow 1/2 hour that would open up a lot more possibilities.

I recommend choosing a time when you would already be in the kitchen if you can. This way you’re not creating extra cleanup work for yourself.

2. Choose 1 thing to make.

Have a look through the recipes section of this module. I’ve started you out slowly with 7 of my favourite ‘mise en place’ recipes that I make on the most regular basis. I’ve kept the list concise for this module on purpose so you don’t get overwhelmed.

In module 2 you’re going to get the full compliment of over 20 different options but I really recommend choosing 1 recipe this week, buying the ingredients and then making it during your ‘date’ with yourself.

3. Use your chosen item during the week.

Check out the ‘usage suggestions’ that come with each building block recipe for ideas.

And that’s it.

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How to form life changing habits that will put the whole process on autopilot and set you up for success.

I’m a huge believer in the benefits of developing healthy habits as a way to set yourself up for success. We go into the whole psychology of habit change in great depth in the Healthy Meal Method Program. So if you’d like to really go deep with habit change, I highly recommend checking out that program once you’re done with The Organized Cook.

But since habit formation is so important I thought I’d run through the basics with you now…

1. Choose the habit you want to change.
Since you’re in this class it’s probably being more organized with your shopping and cooking. But try and be more specific than that. The clearer the better.

For example your habit might be that you want to have at least 2 meals per week that you completely ‘do ahead’. Or it might be that you want to get into the habit of preparing at least one ‘mise en place’ or building block ingredient each week.

2. Make a commitment to change.
And make it public! Research shows people who share their commitment with one or more people that they care about are far more likely to succeed with their habit change.

3. Start small.
This is SUPER IMPORTANT. The number 1 reason for failure in starting any new habit is that we ‘bite off more than we can chew’. If we get over excited and over ambitious and you know where that leads… It’s key to remind ourselves to take baby steps. It’s all about progress not perfection.

4. Expect failure.
Even though I consider myself to be pretty organized, there are still times when I buy too much food. Or I just cant be bothered roasting those beets and they end up going bad in the fridge. The thing with failure is that the important thing is to pick ourselves up and keep going rather than getting discouraged and giving up.

5. Keep trying.
One of my favourite words is perseverance. And that’s what it’s all about 🙂

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How to best handle fresh ingredients

One of the biggest challenges with healthy cooking is that fresh produce doesn’t stay fresh forever.

You’ve probably had the experience of getting excited about eating healthier and gone out and stocked up on fresh veg and fruit. Only to feel overwhelmed every time you look in the fridge. And a few weeks later, you’re trowing out a heap of veg gone bad with that guilty feeling.

I’ve been there too. And it’s not great.

So we want to make sure you avoid that whole fresh produce trap. Here’s how…

1. Resist the urge to over buy.

Remember when we were talking about habit change and I said how it’s important to start small. I really wasn’t kidding.

So when you’re at the market and you’re feeling excited about your new organized cooking habit. All that great looking veg will be tempting but for now it’s important to take it slow. Only buy what you know you’ll actually cook and eat. It’s all about baby steps. About gradually building your new habit and making sure you don’t go into overwhelm.

2. Refrigerate ASAP.

If you’re not sure where to store something, the best bet it is to pop it in the refrigerator. The rule of thumb to remember is that at lower temperatures everything happens more slowly. This includes the three main causes of food spoilage: microbe growth, dehydration and oxidation.

3. Protect from exposure to the air.

Uncovered food dries out very quickly, especially in the dry air of the refrigerator. And since fresh produce, like humans, is mostly made out of water, the best thing we can do to keep our fresh things fresh is to prevent drying as much as possible.

I keep pretty much all my fruit and veg wrapped in either the plastic bags I purchased them in or I transfer them when I get them home. Having a fridge full of veg in plastic bags doesn’t look as nice as having the crisper overflowing with uncovered veg. But at the end of the week when I can still pull out a head of broccoli that looks just as fresh as when I got it home from the market, I know it’s worth it!

The same goes for protein.

I generally just keep my meat, fish and poultry wrapped in the packaging they were purchased in. With cheese I tend to leave it again in sealed packs. But if I buy a loose piece of parmesan I wrap it in waxed paper or baking paper and then keep in an airtight container or ziplock bag. This way the cheese can breathe but won’t get dried out.

If you follow these three guidelines, you’ll have most things covered.

4. Follow the ‘Waste Avoidance Strategy’.

To make life easier for you and really embed these principles, I’ve included a ‘Waste Avoidance Strategy’ section with each recipe. This gives you detailed instructions for how to best store each ingredient and what to do if your plans change and you aren’t going to be able to cook that meal or building block. You’ll know exactly how to ‘preserve’ your ingredients and avoid needless waste.

However, if you’re interested in learning more about minimizing waste I recommend checking out Module 4 of Master Your Meal Plan.

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4 Food storage best practices to help you minimize waste.

In the previous tab we went through the best way to handle fresh ingredients. Now we’re going to focus on storage tips for cooked ingredients and meals. You’ll notice a lot of common ground but I wanted to talk about them separately because there are some subtle differences.

1. Chill asap

Once something is cooked and you know it’s not going to be eaten, the safest thing is to chill it quickly. Food spoilage and disease causing microbes thrive in ‘warm’ food so the less time spent at room temperature and above the better.

I usually leave food on the stove of bench top until it is cool enough to touch and then cover and refrigerate as soon as I can. But if I’m not going to be around, I prefer to put warm food straight into the fridge. Modern refrigerators are designed to cope.

2. Cover

As with fresh produce, uncovered cooked food quickly dries out so it’s important to protect it in the fridge and freezer. I like to keep cooked food in pyrex containers with plastic lids so my food is touching glass not plastic. They’re also great for stacking in the fridge. But covering a bowl with cling wrap will do the job.

Just remember if you cover something hot, you’ll get condensation which generally isn’t a big problem but can make things soggy down the track. And longer term the higher moisture area can make it easier for mould to grow.

3. Freeze ASAP.

If you are planning to freeze something, now is better than later. Unfortunately no one has invented a freezer which magically makes food fresher than when it went into the freezer. So the earlier you freeze, the better your food will be when it gets defrosted.

We’ll be covering the ‘7 Golden Rules of Freezing Food’ and ‘Defrosting 101’ in Module 3 when we focus on ‘Do Ahead’ meals.

4. Follow the ‘Storage Best Practices.

Every recipe comes with details of how to best store and reheat. So if you’re unsure just check out the recipe page and you’ll know exactly what to do.

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Your Actions

Basically this is repeating how to make ‘mise en place’ work for you…

1. Make a regular ‘date’ with yourself for some ‘mise en place’.

2. Choose 1 thing to make.

3. Use your chosen item during the week.

4. Share your results in the comments below. [/tab][/tabcontent] [/tabs]

My Top 10 Favourite ‘Building Block’ Recipes

To avoid overwhelming you I’m starting off with my all time favourite building block recipes. Don’t worry there will be plenty more released in module 2 and beyond!

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