paprika and paper

Yes! I am finally seriously fixing my meal plan so I will eat well and on time for the rest of the year.

I was derailed for the past four or five days because of projects (from the Other Business) that came and needed to be attended to. Meetings alone ate up a lot of time and I had to postpone the grocery shopping many times. On the other hand, it also made me think even more seriously about having a meal plan that can withstand work loads and lazy modes.

Last night I found myself organizing my digital files (trying to find old work files) and realized that my digital clutter is more horrible than my physical clutter (which, I am rather proud to say, has been managed not too badly since the start of the new year).

So I made a craft file-book where I collated important articles, e-courses, references -- everything I will need and use over and over again as I move forward with my creative pursuits. I (re)discovered articles I had saved for reading at a later date. I un-bookmarked old articles that are no longer relevant. Basically I cleaned up and organized. And no matter what app or software comes out there, nothing yet can match the tangible order and versatility and flexibility of folders and paper. Yes I printed on paper but I was selective and the file-book itself is promising to grow into a beautiful collage and collection. I  have blank pages where I can write and draw as my notes and comments to the articles.

This led me to the idea of doing the same for my meal plan and recipe collection. I have lots of cookbooks and food magazines and I subscribe to a lot of online food blogs and websites yet it is such an effort to find something to cook for dinner. It really is time to have a system so I also get to cook or bake something new at least every week. I also want to keep vegetables as regular mainstays in every meal.

Paprika is an iPad app that I am finding to be very useful in collating all my online recipes from across all the blogs and websites. It is accessible offline and it has a wonderful amazing system for capturing recipes. From my physical cookbooks I intend to put together a recipe file-book (or file-box!) just like what I did with the crafts and re-write the recipes in my own kitchen shorthand so it is also easier to use and refer to. Then I will also turn it into a kitchen diary of sorts and paste photos of what I have cooked or baked. This way I can also easily check ingredients.

I am now wondering if there are printing papers out there that are made of recycled materials? I think I will be using a bit as I do more organizing. Perhaps I should check the bookstores thoroughly. I am sure something is bound to turn up.

:)

simple dinner and planning a meal plan

I realized today that I need meal plan. My problem is I tend to miss proper meal times, and worse is when I get too lazy or harassed to prepare a proper one. So I often eat late and not too well. Worst is I totally miss a meal.

Like today, I had oatmeal for breakfast at around 830AM, then I missed lunch in the midst of errands and instead had a light meal of butter and jam sandwiches at around 2PM. I did have dinner on time at 7PM but I only prepared a quick (but delicious!) meal of onion and mushrooms in scrambled eggs eaten with bread.

I am considering what others do which is to cook a week's worth of meals in one day and freeze them and heat them when it's time to eat. Or at least have everything marinated and ready to fry or pop into the oven. The point is to make meal preparation quick and easy and not left to chance (like whatever is left in the refrigerator). If I also know ahead what's to eat and to prepare I can pace my time better.

I am also thinking of good ways to make the kitchen chores be more of a productive ritual than a chore that takes up precious time. Sometimes I am discouraged from going through the whole meal preparation because of the all the washing afterwards. This often happens in the evening when I have already put in a lot of work throughout the day and would sometimes just like to sit down to a nice meal and wind down afterwards without having to be disrupted by dirty dishes.

Any thoughts on efficient meal planning and turning kitchen chores to positive rituals will be appreciated! :)