Page 16 - The complete woman - WomenWithDifference

most often neglected. Pay a little attention to that kitchen and you will be proud

of it. Your dream kitchen might not be a reality, but there is still plenty you can do
to ensure that you enjoy spending time in it. Get your kitchen organized. Make it

colorful and make sure you have your basic tools handy. Have pretty/colorful dish
towels and fine dish holders, spoon holders, etc available and easily accessible.

ii. Prepare food ahead of time. Have your ingredients ready like slicing onions,
cutting your carrots, marinating your meats, chopping your vegetables, etc ahead

of time. Don’t always wait until you are about to cook before you start. Boil meat
and clean dry fish and store in the refrigerator. Things like ogbono, crayfish, egusi,

etc should be milled and stored in containers for instant use. This makes your
meal preparations stress free and fun

iii. Make simple but nutritious meals with foods that you have on hand. You
should make double batches of your favorite recipes and store the other half in

the refrigerator to be heated and served another day. Left overs may be turned
into next days lunch or dinner.

iv. Involve other family members. There is no reason you need to be in the
kitchen all by your self cooking, when everyone can have a little job to do like;

peeling, chopping, table setting and cleaning up. The more the merrier, isnt it?

v. Meal Plan, Meal Plan, Meal Plan.

You will all agree with me that the worst part of cooking is when you have to
decide on what to cook. If you meal plan ahead, the hardest step is out of the

way.

Let family members help in menu planning, and each member taking turns picking

their favorite menu. Not only is it more fun to meal plan with someone, but it is
also a sure way to make sure the little mouths eat the food you prepared, which

makes the entire process more enjoyable.