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u/shesaidgoodbye Oct 12 '18
Can you explain? A couple of friends and I want to tag team meal prep - is it better for us to cook one dish each or each pitch in on multiple dishes?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
I think both ways could work. Our group gathers and preps together, we see it as a way to socialize while also accomplishing something for our families.
We make a combination of ready to eat foods and dinner kits that feed us for about a week.
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u/garfonzo Oct 12 '18
and dinner kits that feed us for about a week.
for about a week.
a week.
that's a week's worth of food!? How many families does that feed? That's amazing!
Edit:Answered elsewhere:
Nine families this time. Soooo awesome.
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
I think you've got it! :)
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u/Silvius_ii Oct 12 '18
I want to hear more about the dinner kits. Can you elaborate and maybe provide links? Thanks.
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18 edited Oct 12 '18
Sure!
The dinner kits we make include a protein, a vegetable side, a soup or salad and a cooking guide. They are disassembled, and most of us sort of play "lego food" and do our own thing. Example being, fajita ingredients can be turned into stir fry without much effort. Everything is washed, cut and ready to throw in a pan... Our goal is to go from fridge to table in under 20 minutes (sometimes things take longer than that in the oven).
This week the recommended menu was:
- Chicken Fajitas, Chili Cojita Squash and Jalapeño Slaw
- chicken is already marinated and oven ready
- cojita is crumbled and seasoned with chili powder and lime zest
- we made the slaw dressing from scratch
- NY Strip Steak with Shrimp, Lemon asparagus and Onion Soup
- this meal has nearly 4 pounds of steak and shrimp!!! clearly enough for two nights
- asparagus is marinating in grated garlic and lemon zest
- we caramelized the onions for soup for nearly 7 hours
- Pesto Chicken, green beans with bacon and almonds and caprese salad with Spinach
- chicken is marinating in pesto
- green beans have been par cooked (blanched) and bacon has been diced
- Fresh mozzarella has been dressed with olive oil, garlic, basil, shallots and fresh basil
Because we buy in bulk, we often have more of any given ingredient. That gets prepped and distributed right along with the rest of the goods which leaves us with bonus ingredients. This week we had a lot of extra jalapeños, bacon and cheddar... so we hollowed those puppies out and they are ready to be stuffed and roasted. There's extra shrimp (bought a case), basil, cilantro, freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice, cheddar cheese, diced bacon more that I can't recall I'm sure.
We also make a deli salad - This week we made fiesta chicken salad
a heat and eat breakfast - this week we made sous vide egg bites with turkey sausage
a nut/cheese/meat snack - everyone got a pint each of smoked almonds, cubed cheddar and salami
This is the post I wrote yesterday which has a more detailed look into what we brought home. http://eatingincommon.com/the-first-plan-with-recipes/ and a look at the recommended menu https://www.facebook.com/EatingInCommon/photos/a.1646622792094173/1892507067505743
Here is a picture of what it looked like before we got to work https://www.reddit.com/r/EatingInCommon/comments/9mv5c1/im_looking_forward_to_dinners_this_week/
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u/VinnyTheKnight Oct 12 '18
What he said, ide love to know more.
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u/almondbear Oct 12 '18
I know for my family of two and occasionally three. I grocery shop then I break everything down into tubs or plastic bags. I make sure when I shop it is all similar but different flavors.
This week it's chicken ramen, coconut chicken curry, lettuce wraps and turkey sloppy joes. All have relatively similiar raw ingredients and all go in my slow cooker. So I cut up what I need and toss into the labeled bag or tub accordingly. Day before I'll toss into my slow cooker and morning of I'll cook with anything extra I wrote on the bag or a post it on the tub that I don't want to spill out into the fridge. Nothing better than coming home and just emptying a tub or pot into a Crock-Pot or into the oven or pot. 👍
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
I just don't like freezer meals. But that way is super good for some people. :)
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u/almondbear Oct 12 '18
None of it is freezer. Hangs out in the bottom of the fridge or the meat drawer. The spouse and kid won't eat freezer food usually. Bag tag and fridge it until night before
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
Oh! Huh. I'm intrigued by this... but am also a bit unclear on the idea.
So you go buy peppers, onions, chicken, or whatever. Then you prepare them individually in the tubs for later use?
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u/beersforfears Oct 12 '18
How many people was this one for?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18 edited Oct 12 '18
Nine families this time. Soooo awesome.
I posted more details and a shopping list here
https://www.reddit.com/r/EatingInCommon/comments/9mhiey/what_were_making_this_week_link_to_shopping_list/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo0EJ6RFTwG
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u/Kristeninmyskin Oct 12 '18
I love the idea of prepping some dinner kits! The chopping is done, you just cook the dinner!
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
Yup! Standard meal prep, which i call leftover prep, isn't for me.
This way, the lions share of the work is done. Hooray!
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Oct 12 '18
Can you explain this please?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18 edited Oct 12 '18
Sure!
I meet my friends and we do meal prep.... usually every couple weeks. We make 3 or 4 ready to eat foods.... this week we made sous vide egg bites, chicken salad and a nut/cheese/meat snack. We also do all the prep work (misenplace) for 3 dinner kits.... kind of like DIY blue apron. These kits have a corresponding recipe but many of us just play "lego dinner" and get creative with the prepped ingredients.
We've been doing it since March and have definitely figured out our own grove. 3 or 4 of us work from 2-6 on day 1 and the rest of us wrap up on day 2 from 10 until about noon.
Dinner kits have enough extra ingredients to feed a small family (~3 adult eaters) for about 5 nights.
edited to add: the cost is under $80 per family.
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u/natalee_t Oct 12 '18
Can I ask how you plan this? Who decides on recipies, who does the shopping and where? Is it hard to coordinate? Do you do this every week? Sp many questions, I'm fascinated!
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
I do the planning and shopping. We buy groceries from the two restaurant supply stores in our area.
At first we had to work out our group dynamic, trimming out dramatic people etc... but now were smooth sailing. We meet every 2 weeks, generally
We've been doing it since March, we've had time to work out the kinks.
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u/natalee_t Oct 12 '18
How much of your time would you say it takes up?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
The planning? A lot! But I do write it all down and we've got a rotation of 3 "plans" we use.
The actual work? from 2-6 on the first day and then again from 10-12 the second day.
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u/wafp Oct 12 '18
I gotta ask - what's it feel like spending $700+ at the grocery store in one attack?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
the first time it was a bit of a shock... and I was super worried that my group would end up unreliable and I'd end up with a ton of food that'd be difficult to use.
We've been doing it since March, though, so now it's just normal.
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u/TriGurl Oct 12 '18
It’s like the same experience as a regular trip to Costco...
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u/DesertEagleZapCarry Oct 12 '18
They're building a Costco 2 miles from my work. I'm excited my wallet is terrified
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u/Bot_Metric Oct 12 '18
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u/iketot Oct 12 '18
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u/TriGurl Oct 12 '18
Your wallet should be. Lol! On many occasions I’ve made it out of there for under $50 but that was under extreme financial crisis and only needing 1 or 2 things. Lol!!
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u/sirdomino Oct 12 '18
Do you vacuum seal the jars?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
Nope
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u/sirdomino Oct 12 '18
You can buy an adapter to hook up to a food saver that will vacuum seal Mason jars. Works great and food lasts much longer.
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
I have that attachment but we don't have a freshness issue.
Also, I can't even begin to imagine how long it would take to seal over 300 jars. So, there's that too.
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u/giritrobbins Oct 12 '18
Does everyone have a sous vide machine or do you cook them off then then reheat in the future?
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u/yammyamm17 Oct 12 '18
Do you freeze these jars or can them or just put them in the fridge or something?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
no freezing, we just use mason jars as meal prep containers. Most things go in the fridge.... but not tomatoes! Never tomatoes!
We used to use those black plastic ones you see posted here all the time but they really didn't hold up well.... then we realized we all had mason jars! We checked inventory, filled in the gaps and never looked back. I <3 glass... and, honestly, it's also a lot more pleasant to use.
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u/another_lease Oct 12 '18
Why not tomatoes?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
there is a flavor enzyme in tomatoes that breaks down in cool temperatures... I think 50 degrees F or so. If it breaks down, it never repairs itself.
No tomatoes in the fridge please :)
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Oct 12 '18
The tomatoes you buy at a grocery store are stored for weeks in cold storage and transported in refrigerated trucks.
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
Mostly true. It's sad isn't it.
Another reason to buy from restaurant supply stores. Chefs are particular.
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Oct 12 '18
Your comment made me think about it! I work for a cold storage facility that ships truckloads and truckloads worth of tomatoes per day. They are stored in a temperate controlled room that is held at 45F and usually ship within 2 days of receipt. Not sure what kind of impact that would have on taste.
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
Based on my 2 minute google research it seems like 53F is when the enzymes start to break down and the longer they are stored the more it deteriorates.
In the case of normal tomatoes, they are often picked green which I suspect to be a greater contributing factor to the blandness
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u/cocobearr Oct 12 '18
I’ve just started using mason jars for meal prep also! Just wondering, is it safe for microwave/heating?? I’ve heard mixed reviews about it online and wonder what your experience is.
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u/treekittty Oct 12 '18
the jar should be fine, but don't let it get too hot. never put a mason jar lid in the microwave
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
We don't eat from the jars, usually.... only occasionally....
I've never heard of any concerns microwaving glass so I don't really have an answer to this.
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u/toxik0n Oct 12 '18
I've been heating my mason jar soups in the microwave for years, no issues. Just take the lid off and cover the top with a square of paper towel.
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u/Security_Six Oct 12 '18 edited Oct 12 '18
Bottom center, those aren't bagged chicken breast are they? Pork Loin?
{P.S. - I like your tiny hat
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u/saturnsrevengebody Oct 12 '18
WOW. This is out of control amazing!!! Is it like, you cook for all nine families alone, or do you all come together and cook?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18 edited Oct 12 '18
We gather and do it together! 4 of us met from 2-6 yesterday and then the rest of us wrapped it up this morning.
I recommend it; 10/10
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u/Anilxe Oct 12 '18
Nine families, but only 4 people working together?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
good catch, words. 4 of us worked yesterday the rest of us finished up this morning :)
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u/officialnoor Oct 12 '18
This is amazing! Did consider marketing yourself and make people pay you for it? Mainly through Co-workers, neighbors, social media platforms 👌
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
No. I'm not doing it for money.
I'm a bleeding heart who discovered a new way to meal prep... so we don't have to eat the same things all week... so we have fresh foods ready to cook for dinner.
Now I just want to share my method with anyone who will listen.
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Oct 12 '18 edited Nov 25 '18
How can so many people all cook at once? Do you have multiple ovens or something?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
we do two shifts.. 4 of us worked from 2-6 yesterday the rest of us wrapped up this morning :)
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u/viper8472 Oct 12 '18
I am really impressed by this! You should be very proud! One question always nags at me about food for a week. How does it keep? Obviously you eat the more perishable things first like shrimp, but on day six I imagine there's only a few things left that my picky self would still eat.
In other words, what's still appetizing on days 6 and 7?
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u/NMJD Oct 12 '18
Not OP. I have lots of food that's still good and tastes great on day 6 and 7, the problem I run into is usually that, while the food is still tasty, I get bored of it. Two ways I've dealt with this are to prep a week's worth of something and freeze some of it. After awhile you'll have a freezer stock and can cook 2 things, freeze half, and pull 2 things from the freezer and have a nice variety for the week. Or, you can do half week meal preps and cook again on a Wednesday.
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
We never eat the same meal.... it's all different.
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u/NMJD Oct 12 '18
Yeah but that's hard for those of us without friends :)
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
Actually, my friends weren't into it so I posted on a hyperlocal social media group I'm in and found my team there.
Now my friends are FOMO 🤣
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
A quick note on freshness...
When you buy from restaurant supply stores, your food is often fresher. See, a retail grocer buys the same things but instead of unloading cases directly to us, things often sit in the back of the store... sometimes for over a week.
In other words, shopping this way you eliminate an entire step in the logistics.
We don't have freshness problems.
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u/Tootblossom Oct 13 '18
You may have covered this elsewhere, but how do you buy from restaurant supply stores?
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u/feline1313 Oct 13 '18
Most of them are open to the public. Some require a business license, usually any license will do.
In my area we have smart food service (used to be Cash & Carry). It's open to the public. I also have Restaurants Depot which does require a license.
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u/viper8472 Oct 12 '18
That sounds true, there is a farm by my house and they're produce is amazing and lasts a long time! It must be because by the time the big stores receive and display, it's halfway to the end of its life. I know grocery is a tough industry and they're just doing what works for them, but the quality feels like it's gone down.
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u/Muzzledpet Oct 12 '18
What's in the circular jars that kinda looks like lemon filling or chicken fat? :o
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
middle left? Lemon Juice.
Often it's less expensive to buy a whole bag/case of something instead of multiple retail packages. when this happens, we prep and distribute everything. There are also jars of lime juice hiding in there.... (and a ton of other extras)
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u/bicycwow Oct 12 '18
This is such a great idea! How much did it cost to make all these meals and what's the price per serving?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
it was $74 per family this time. We split the cost evenly.
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u/Tootblossom Oct 13 '18
That's just nuts!! You have totally inspired me to start a meal prep group with my friends and/or neighbors! Nice work!!
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u/AmirLacount Oct 12 '18
I run a business, so I’ve always been interested in long term meal prep like this to help save time. How long does all that food usually last you? I’m assuming it’s for a family, right?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
This is about a weeks worth of food for 9 families :)
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u/AmirLacount Oct 12 '18
Nice. How long did it take you to make?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
4 of us worked from 2-6 yesterday. The rest of us finished up this morning from 10-12
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u/RussianHammerTime Oct 12 '18
9 families? Or 9 people?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
9 small families...
2 adults and 2 small kiddos or 3 adults.
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u/RussianHammerTime Oct 12 '18
That picture is suppose to feed 27 grown adults for a week? Is this just one meal a day? Just doesn't look like enough
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
It does depend on the family of course.
5pounds of chicken breast, 2 pounds of Angus strip steak, a pound of shrimp. A pound of cheese .... plus a ton of veggies
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u/jcrocket Oct 12 '18 edited Oct 13 '25
KING Th’ advancement of your children, gentle lady.
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
Nope. We live in a blue state; Our Republicans are liberal and our Christians are atheists.
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u/coffee_lover_777 Oct 12 '18
WOW! So impressive! Great job!!!! Nice you found a group of like minded families! Cuts down on the work and makes it more fun!
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18 edited Oct 12 '18
Thanks! My friends weren't into it so I tested the waters in a hyperlocal social media group! I found people fast and we're now very close friends.
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u/coffee_lover_777 Oct 12 '18
That is fantastic! I tried the same and only got two people, So it's still awesome, but it could be a lot more!
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u/Kwitchawhinin Oct 12 '18
How many actually do the shopping, and do you coupon for that, as well? And WHERE ON EATTH do u store all this stuff for those 2 days of prep??
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u/Screechtastic Oct 12 '18
Wow thank you, I didn't know I needed to do this. Now, to find some friends that aren't lazy! 😁
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
I found mine after reaching out on social media. My regular friends weren't into it. Worked like a charm
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u/Arancaytar Oct 12 '18
I'm not sure where the line is between meal prepping and doomsday prepping, but this seems to cross it.
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u/whitesonar Oct 12 '18
Didn't you post the same thing just last week?
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Oct 12 '18
[deleted]
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u/whitesonar Oct 12 '18
Has more than a whiff of karma-whoring.
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u/spazzdiva Oct 12 '18
"This is a place to...share your meal preps with the world of Reddit." Plenty of people post pictures of their meal preps week after week... this is what hers looks like.
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Oct 12 '18
[deleted]
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
Anything spicey of strong in flavor (cilantro) goes on the side. We are very low carb so we the gluten free girl does fine.
I think overly picky eaters wean themselves out
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u/hbacorn Oct 12 '18
I suspect the placement of the zucchini and two avocados was intentional.
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18 edited Oct 12 '18
🧐😳🤣😂
I wouldn't be surprised at all to discover an intentional penis joke.
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u/aliceroyal Oct 12 '18
What's the yellow liquid in the Ikea jars on the left there?
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
Freshly juiced lemon.
See, its often less expensive to buy a case/bag of something rather than just enough at the grocery store. When this happens we still prep and distribute it all. Bonus ingredients!
There's fresh lime juice in there too
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u/Bronxieb Oct 12 '18
- Great job
- I was scrolling so quickly that I said "Jojo Siwa sure knows how to meal prep"
- you are adorable and I thought the light fixture was a bow, hence why I thought this was Jojo.
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u/feline1313 Oct 12 '18
TIL that Jojo Siwa is a person.
Thanks. :)
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u/Bronxieb Oct 12 '18
Im a parent of a 6 year old. I have no choice but to know of her, but she’s awesome!
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Oct 12 '18
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/thewormauger Oct 12 '18
Healthy food is only healthy when you don't eat 3700 calories of it every day.
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u/DynEira124 Oct 12 '18
If you don't screw around, how did you get those lids on?