As we quickly approach the end of summer and the beginning of the new school year, I start to think about adjusting my schedule. Whether you have family in sports, just finishing with vacation or formulating a new project at work to complete before the year ends, change is coming. As some of us have realized change is good. It gives us the opportunity to reflect on past performance and make adjustments for the future.

Let’s take kids and school for example. I become more sensitive to there breakfast and dinner patterns. It’s always a goal to make sure the kids start out there day with the proper ingredients to carry them to lunch. Then hopefully with a properly packed “brown bag”, that will keep them nourished through the sporting events. Dinner is always a time to be creative and plan ahead. As we have stated before, always try to plan ahead so you don’t have to use the speed dial on your phone five nights a week!

So how do we plan for some simple changes regarding our meals?

1. Read the grocery ads when they come out and compare ingredients/prices, before you shop.
2. Have a pen and paper close so you can make a list of what you want to prepare for the first three or four days of the week. Use your repertoire of recipes or consult our blog for some great ideas and soon, chefbernards.com for even more!
3. Make a list of what you’re going to have each night and distribute responsibilities whenever possible for specific dinners. It’s more rewarding (even after the complaining) and becomes the foundation to having everyone involved.
4. After you shop and before you put everything away, think about what you can prepare to make you meals easier to compose. Sometimes it can be just marinating a piece of meat for the following day. I always cut my vegetables for the following day when I’m making dinner for that night. If I have the tools out, I know that’s half the challenge. Occasionally it’s just a matter of different cuts to make a recipe look special.
5. Use a calendar to highlight “what’s for dinner”.
6. To keep ingredients fresh, I shop twice a week and therefore rotate out (cook) any old product before I bring in new things. Besides, I always forget something from my first list so if I know I’m going again to restock with fresh ingredients, this helps eliminate running every day to the store. And we all know that can happen!

If you apply these simple habits early enough in the new season, I think you will find your meal time becomes more relaxing and the quality of time you or your family spends together is more enjoyable. No matter who is at the stove or on the grill!

So understanding we all have our own formulas to “better nutrition and family time” what do you do to create more balance to the hectic fall meal schedule? We all could use a creative idea, what’s your secret?

Ciao,

~ Bernard