Do you love spending time in the kitchen?
In this video, Carol and the Dressing Your Truth Experts share their own tips and routines that keep their kitchens running. Find out which Types like to meal plan on the same day each week, and which need structure—this one may surprise you!
- (6:54) How each Type approaches meal planning.
- (8:26) How each Type follows (or doesn’t) a recipe.
For even more insight into your Type read my book It’s Just My Nature.
Let’s see if your preferences match your Energy Type! Leave us a comment and tell us what your cooking preferences are!
Enjoy these extra resources:
I really need to be consistent with meal planning. When I do it – life does run so much easier. I just realized that like Carol described with T2 overwhelm – I become the cow standing in the road and not moving when it comes to meal planning! I would rather eat vegetarian meals, but hubby is totally a carnivore. I get frustrated planning out so many meat meals, and end up just doing whatever. But… perhaps if I get better about planning I can get some healthier dishes thrown in the mix. Maybe. He is quite picky LOL!!
I meal plan exactly like Sarah, but cooking style is more like Anne. I think I’m a Type 2. Maybe.
While we shared cooking duties before children, my T4/1 husband took over cooking after we had our first. This was partly because I really don’t like cooking meat (we were vegetarian for 12 years and realized we needed meat for health reasons), but also because he and our kids like to eat his food better! It’s also something he enjoys, and his father is a great cook who took over dinners when my husband was in high school. Cooking dinners stresses me out, but I wonder if I wouldn’t do better if I did things in a more T2 way. For breakfasts (which I cook), I have kind of a template–hot cereals of various sorts on M, W, F and egg-based breakfasts T and Th, with pancakes or muffins on one weekend day.
For recipe reading I always read them through at least once, and as I go I’ll often check a couple of steps ahead. For steps when you’re adding a bunch of ingredients and the order doesn’t matter, I rarely follow the order on the ingredient list (S1?) so I have to go back and check several times to make sure I got everything.
I’m the same as Sarah I love to bake! I will cook but my passion is baking. I’m intuitive as a baker. I google starting with those words too carol! I’ve been known to start a recipe and will say, “oh crap!” My t2 husband who knows me well will call out, “Didn’t read the entire recipe did you? What do you need me to run and grab?” Thank heavens the store is just down the road now. LOL! I try to plan, it doesn’t really work but I do try. My husband and I take turns in the kitchen. It’s either me or him. I’m a t3 get it done and move. He’s a t2 take time read prepare.
When I used to do the cooking, I would read cookbooks and through recipes multiple times (T2/4). I would try new things occasionally, but I liked to stick with things I knew I could do well. I would always plan menus for the week and order everything online to be delivered. But now my husband does all the cooking – he’s a T1/4 and cooking is ‘fun’ for him and a creative outlet, whereas I always found it kind of stressful because I would worry about how things were going to turn out. When he’s in the kitchen, there’s a lot of loud music and a lot of mess! I set up a shared pinterest board where we both pin ideas. If left to his own devices, he would just stop at the supermarket every day and spontaneously decide what he felt like cooking. I noticed this was leading to a lot of extra expenditure on food, so I sit down with him every week now to help plan and make a list. I do enjoy baking though, maybe because I can take my time with it.
This was a such a fun discussion! I’m a 4/3 and my style in the kitchen is a mix between Sarah and Kalista. I make my meal plan when the food runs out. I usually plan 3-4 dinners a week and make extra for leftover nights or lunch. I glance at recipes and make sure I have the ingredients but I don’t always read through all of the steps which backfires at times. I love cooking and baking and I think I’m a very intuitive cook. I like to find inspiration on Pinterest, Instagram or cooking shows and make my own healthier version. I enjoy baking with my girls when we don’t have time constraints. We usually make banana bread or cookies or something fun. I don’t let them “help” me with dinner. I can’t resist my T3 daughter when she says “We are bakers mom! What’s next?” It’s too cute!
Fun! Two options;
I’ll either look in the fridge round dinner time and decide on the spot what to make with the ingredients I find in there, or I will be preparing a meal from sth like ‘Hello Fresh’ a service we use regurarly. I hate to meal plan, never works out if I do it anyway. When I plan a meal it’s like making it twice.
what type are you, Yve?
1/4 🙂 (I do take care to buy the healthy stuff)
I am a 4/1 and your text could be mine.
Well, when I do my grocery list I make sure to list all the ingredients for 7 dinners. When I cook from a recipe, I always read it over and I have to have the recipe there and I will double check as I am cooking to make sure everything is correct and is going in the correct order. This is even with things that I have made before. I have tons of recipes and probably make routinely about 10 or so. Makes me crazy when I need an ingredient or something like aluminum foil and we are out. I become the kitchen Nazi, “Ack! Who used the last …….! Why wasn’t it on the grocery list!!!!” Thanks for this video, it was very fun to watch. I’m a 2/1. 🙂
I am a 2/1 and don’t meal plan because I generally eat my the same meals week to week. What produce is available and fresh dictates how I change up or vary my meals.
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I haven’t used this list in forever. We made several copies and hung them on our family board. Anyone would highlight common items that were running on empty or empty. When I meal planned I added the ingredients needed. I got bored I think and now I rotate between two systems: leftovers on Tuesday and clean out fridge for trash on Wednesday then go shopping for next week or all I have is cake mix and a can of tomatoes so I need to go shopping. Just where I am right now so I roll with it. Oh, and I only meal plan supper. Breakfast is usually a choice of eggs, toast, oatmeal, grits, bacon. Lunch is leftovers or sandwiches. As for the cooking, it’s a variety. I do look over new recipes to check ingredients, directions and how I can change it up. It depends on the work space and the time frame I need as to whether or not I have all ingredients on the counter. I try to use as few dishes as possible because it is my husband who does the washing and I don’t like him to feel overwhelmed. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE trying new recipes, especially if they are light and full of fresh flavor. I prefer to cook alone because I’ll get overwhelmed and distracted with someone helping. However, I do appreciate help with the prep work needed at times.
I’m so type 3 in the kitchen and everything I do. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before!
I prefer to be spontaneous and just have a variety of groceries on hand to make whatever I feel like eating in the moment, but I waste a lot of food that way. Now I use Pinterest and the Paprika app to plan 3 meals a week. One meal for each day: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Then we have those meals as leftovers Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Sunday is unplanned. I do 3 weeks of this and then repeat the sequence, substituting or changing meals for various occasions. It’s super easy and flexible.
Sounds like a good app! Thanks for sharing.
With cooking meals especially new ones I will read the recipe, make sure I have the ingredients and measure the ingredients to the T. Except for butter I usually don’t put the full measure it calls for. Then after the first or two times I make it I will maybe add some things but not all the time.
I will worry with new recipes if it will come out right, would it taste good, would my family eat it. By the time I’m done questioning the new recipe I usually say “Nope!” Then start making something I will make and everyone likes. I will make the same meals over and over again. My husband has mentioned to me to find more recipes but then I start worrying what recipes are good and way too many options out there.
I’ve tried meal planning and then we got out of the habit. I don’t get out of my bubble with meal cooking much.
I LOVE baking! Even though I don’t bake as much as I use to when I was a teenager.
I’m a t1 but I don’t do what Jaleah does. I do more of Anne or Kalista’s way. I’m not sure now.
Anne, I totally can relate to the reading of the recipe multiple times… I am a secondary 1 so I love the pictures on Pinterest and online as well as cookbooks. I have folders of recipes that I have printed out, filed by categories (meats, salads, etc..). My ears perked up when Kalista was sharing – getting the ingredients out, the meal planning not necessarily for specific days.. Very interesting video!
I do not make meal plans and I rarley cook according to recipe. I buy good things and cook intuitively. I think that is not Type 4… Maybe my S 1? 😉
I’m a T1, and I do the same thing: no meal plan but seeing to it that we have all the staples we need. Since I buy mostly fresh, organic produce, it’s difficult to store stuff for a long period of time…
Now I know that I’m a Type 1 and find clues everywhere! 😀 I was too locked up in my Type 4 box!!
I do the same thing with reading multiple version of the same recipe and then use my intuition to create a final result I know my family will love.
Me too! Then I compile my own recipe in google drive with what I like of each and links back to each recipe in case I want to go through the details again ;). I also read a recipe several times beforehand (if I don’t know it), so the process flows more smoothly as I make it. I’m a 2/1. My 1 comes out in the mess I create, I love the idea of using few dishes but often end up with a lot…
In an effort to decrease my trips to the grocery store and budget more effectively I have created a month long meal plan for January, instead of going week by week. I am really excited to see how it goes! I counted last month and went to the grocery store almost 20 times! I shop between 4 stores to get the specifics I need (ranging from raw milk at a local farm store, to bulk items at Costco, the local health food store and Walmart). 20 times is too much! My goal for January is 1 trip to Costco, and the health food store, and 2 trips to Walmart. Has anyone else tried planning out this far? Any tips to share?
Well it helps to not run to the store often if you live 110 miles from the nearest Costco and 45 miles from Walmart in the other direction, lol!
I think that definitely would help! Haha. I live within 10 minutes of 3 Walmarts and 2 Costcos!
I’m actually impressed you only went 20 times last month! That’s only each stop once a week plus a mid-week extra-lettuce run.
When I’ve planned out 2+ weeks, the hardest thing has been being realistic about how much of an ingredient I’ll need and planning for snacks/breakfast/lunches (which don’t usually make it to my meal plan, but need to if I want to avoid extra trips to the store, or worse, drive thru!) And the initial sticker shock of how expensive my bill is. But worth it, if I can not freak-out!
I only go to the store once a week, every Thursday. I have a meal plan and make my shopping list from that meal plan and then add any other things we are low on or have run out of. I keep a running list so as soon as I notice we need more I can add it to the list. This saves money, also I only shop at one store. I find I spend less money this way. I used to go to more than one and shop the sales but I found I just ended up buying and spending more than I would have saved from the sale. Also I have to take my one year old with me so I don’t want to go to more than one store with him.
God bless you. I can only manage to plan a week at a clip and even so, usually just do a few days at a time. At this point though, I shop for recurring pantry and household items mostly via Amazon, so my grocery list is 90% perishables. I live near several stores and tend to shop once or twice a week at different stores. I might hit Walmart and Wegmans one week and Stop and Shop the next. I usually only go to Sam’s (like Costco) if we are entertaining. I’d say I average 2 trips to Walmart in a month and 6 trips between the two grocery stores total for the month. Both grocery stores have decent health food offerings.
Hi Anne, I just joined Lifestyle so I’m a few months behind on the videos and comments. If you don’t mind my asking, I’m just curious how January went for you? Did you keep it up since then? And do you have any tips to share at this point? I would love to hear how it went/is going for you, if you don’t mind sharing. I think it’s a great idea that I would like to try to implement.
As for the video, I very much relate to the things you said. I’m fairly sure I’m a T2, but I’m new enough ( I just learned about DYT 2 months ago) that I keep flip-flopping. It’s kind of disconcerting realizing you don’t know who you are! Anyway, thanks in advance for sharing about month-long meal planning if you care to, and in general for all the sharing you do with all of us.
Hi Sarah, welcome to LS! My month plan went pretty well! I reduced the times I went to the store from 20 in December to 5 in January. And I did Walmart Grocery pick up so I didn’t even have to go in the store for one of those. It required time to plan the whole month out and it worked out pretty well. I was able to stick to it pretty well. I didn’t do it in Feb, April or May. But I’m going to do it again in June. With the birth of my baby I wasn’t in the kitchen as much in Feb and Mar. If you’re thinking of trying it out, you may find this article helpful: https://www.self.com/story/grocery-shop-once-a-month
I LOVE the prepear app! Thx for the tip!
Fantastic!
I also love the Prepear app! It is everything I would want in a meal prep app. My husband and I started using it and it has helped more than we could have imagined in two areas that have previously caused us a lot of unnecessary stress: meal planning and organized grocery lists. Thank you, Carol!
I never cooked while growing up. I was one to be out doors mowing the lawn or painting the house. In my early years of cooking I would bring cookbooks to bed with me as reading material. I too loved the pictures. I find cooking to be creative, like Carol’s approach I guess…a. project. I shop for basic fresh meats and veggies as often as I need, when I’m running low. At meal time I see what’s available and create a meal around that. Sometimes I’ll google ingredients to get an idea for additional ingredients. I used an electric fry pan, meat on one side, veggies on another, sometimes combined in a dump method. Easy cleanup. Spices are my best friend!! No planning, no structure! I love variety and couldn’t imagine planning in advance for something that I might not fancy on that day. I live a lone, but dream of a PREP CHEF!!! T3
I just got a diploma from the excellent online plant-based cooking program called ROUXBE. Organizing your mise en place (collecting all the ingredients and measuring them beforehand) was key. It would not have been my instinct/habit to do this (I think I am a 3) but we had to take photos of our mise en place for each recipe and upload it to be graded. I must say it really helped me stay organized and on task!
I live in community with a couple of other adults, and I tend to follow my whims in the kitchen or at the grocery store, regarding food and cooking. Unless I’m entertaining, I just go with whatever I feel like making in the moment…with whatever may be on hand. (I have one housemate who is constantly frustrated by my spur of the moment/no planning necessary eating/cooking habits.) Hmm…actually, I follow my whims when entertaining, too. I might look through a cookbook or at pinterest, and if something looks intriguing, off I go. My mother once said that she admired my confidence and courageousness in the kitchen, as I nearly always try something completely new on guests. And I rarely repeat anything. T1/4
This is ME! <3
I can usually tell by reading a recipe if it is going to be good or not, so I also have tried new recipes out on guests with confidence and great success (most of the time LOL).
There is a running joke in my family when I create my own dishes that if comes out really good "Oh, we'll never get this again." LOL It's so true because I don't always remember what exactly I did…sometimes I make it up on my own and sometimes I will take two or three other recipes and kind of Frankenstein a dish together based on what I have on hand. LOL
T1/2
Hahahaha!!! Yep. I buoyantly remind them about appreciating the present moment…and they are ALWAYS game to come back at the next invitation.
I totally do this! I buy whatever is on sale or in season and then make it up as I go along. I rarely repeat meals and when I try it never quite tastes the same as last time. Sometimes, I’ll just look at pictures of dishes for inspiration without ever reading the recipe. I know what flavors my kids like and I will try to repeat those flavors on a regular basis for them but there’s always some sort of substitution or twist depending on what we have on hand. Luckily for us, my hubby does the bulk of the grocery shopping to make sure we always have the staples (milk, bread, diapers, etc ). T1/4
Man, Sarah, you hit the nail on the head! Love to bake, less love for other cooking. Meal planning looks like a list of meals I have ingredients to make and rarely do I assign them to certain days. I can let excuses get in the way of having a meal plan, but I do function better when I’ve taken time for a rough plan. I usually cook the same things, often recipes my husband came up with and I paid enough attention to recreate.
My kids say “Mom is the baker, Daddy’s the chef.” He does a lot of cooking and I’m amazed at how he pulls together meals from unrelated ingredients, usually without any kind of recipe. He does a lot of grocery shopping too. He’ll take my list if I have one but always buys extra stuff he thinks looks fun or that we typically use. When I shop it’s only what’s on the list, no fun stuff. Haha… everyone prefers his shopping to mine! I’ve learned to appreciate this, and not get anxious over the amount of money he spends. He is really buying FUN for the family. He must be a 1/4 or 4/1.
I usually cook solo, but if I can slow down enough to involve one of my kids I enjoy it more and feel like I’m doing two things at once (bonding, and getting the meal on the table!) I’ll also be a prep chef for my hubs, chopping veggies or making sauces etc. I enjoy that.
I like cookbooks, but normally only make one or two recipes out of any given book, so I have started snapping photos of them to keep in a memo on my phone. All my cookbooks are in storage right now, but I can see the recipes I use most. And google. If I don’t have a recipe I can look it up and that works great too. I try to read over a whole recipe before I start, as I was taught to do, but there are so many times when I get to a step and go “oh crap!” If it is a recipe I like and will make again, I re-write the steps chronologically so there’s no surprises. And my husband is great about running to the store for oops ingredients!
T1 who has also done the ‘oh crap’ thing when trying new recipes! LOL Have had to change my meal plan at the last minute very recently for this very reason (it was something that needed to be marinated overnight LOL). It’s a good thing I am used to cooking/creating meals on the fly! 😀
When I was younger I definitely fit Carol’s description of a T1 in the kitchen: puffs of flour and pretty much anything else flying all over…cabinet doors left open, the sink and counter tops FULL of dirty dishes, utensils and ingredients –basically a totally wrecked kitchen….AND a really great meal in the end! Through the years, since those ‘kitchen elves’ never showed up to clean up after me, I have developed some habits like washing dishes as I go and putting ingredients away as soon as I am finished with them. I also read the recipes and make sure I have all the ingredients before I start (well, most of the time LOL). Back in the day this is what would, in part anyway, lead to cabinets being left open — me digging through looking for a quick substitute. (Note: through the years and after many flops I have gotten pretty good at substitutions! LOL).
I don’t do well at menu planning. I might have a general idea of what I want to make for the next several days, but for the most part I just look at what I have on hand, do a quick survey of what others in the household are in the mood for and/or how I am feeling that day and make my decision on the fly! I have tried menu planning and it works for a little while until I disconnect from it — usually after about two or three weeks. To help with this, I do some things to help make things go a little more smoothly in the kitchen though….like chop up a bunch of onions, peppers, celery and maybe carrots so they are ready to go in a hurry. In a similar vein I keep packages of those things in the freezer as backups.
When I grocery shop, I might have a list for a few items that I don’t normally need every time (like a spice/seasoning for instance), but otherwise I buy pretty much the same things over and over each week, so I don’t need a list.
This is the first video on which I have TOTALLY related to Jaleah. I think I am also a 1/4, but have had a hard time relating to either Jaleah or Marcie, for some reason. This video was so great. Cooking is something I really struggle with, and Pinterest has saved my bacon (hahahaha!!!!!!) a number of times!! I tend to be great at planning holiday or special meals, but not so great at the ordinary, boring meals!!!
I’m a type 2-4 and I use a mixture of Anne and Kalistas ways of planing but Anne’s way of moving through the kitchen.
Ha! I am 1/2 also and this is pretty much how I do things, too! Right down to the family joking that we can’t have the same dish twice. LOL Too funny!
I hardly ever cook the same dish twice since I cook intuitivel. My son, who is a T4, doesn’t appreciate that. He can’t understand either that I may try out a ne recipe when guests come…
I can so relate to Jaleah’s story. I love cooking and baking, but if my meal plan would be left to me it would consist of cakes and cookies all day, with coffee and occasional fruit. Lately I realized that my family would benefit from some structure in our everyday meals. I was so random with my cooking that it caused arguments with my husband. As a solution, I hired a food coach who helped me create a diverse and healthy meal plan for three months. I print out a weekly menu and pin it on my fridge. The info is within my reach and making quick and easy, plus healthy recipes is a breath now. My type 3 husband, really enjoys the structure and the notion of tasty and healthy meals every day. 😉
But when the cooking times come, I take everything out from the fridge and lay it out on the kitchen table. I like help in the kitchen, and my husband often would be my sous chef. One, by one the ingredients find their way into the pot and it’s fun to see them disappear from the big pile. Unfortunately, I do not like to clean after my messy cooking, and since my husband is not found of my meal prep style , I am suck with cleaning. 🙁 Dance music to the rescue!!!
I also love to bake with my T2/4 daughter, who is very precise and clean in the kitchen, not like her crazy dancing while cooking mama.)))))))))))
I am a T1 and it has been a struggle getting myself to commit to a meal plan, buy all of the ingredients at one time and make what I planned every day. I love Pinterest so I started to do what Jaleah said she does: look at Pinterest and throw together a plan. I am someone that does not like to eat the same meals over and over again so finding meals that are new and exciting is important and tough to do. If a recipe ends up being too difficult and I find that out midway through the recipe I have the habit of giving up and getting take out instead -_-. New years resolution is to do better with planning, eat better and waste less food.
3/2 here. I’m off and on about planning. We are whole food plant based so I don’t buy very much prepared stuff (whole wheat bread and pasta is about it). I’ll go great guns for a week or so–putting up stews and soups in a crock pot so that there’s something ready when I get home but there are so many more interesting things to do (like knitting–my passion). Then we end up with repetitive meals until I get up a head of steam again. I do try to do a weekly plan in my bullet journal… Since it’s only me and my adult son at this point it’s less of an issue than it would be with kids but I do hope to improve. It really does make life easier to have a plan…
I prefer to meal plan but don’t always stick to the plan as ‘things’ always happen, but I’ll transfer the meal to another day or week. I rarely follow recipes… If it has too many ingredients or too many steps, I don’t bother, or I’ll minimize the steps to the bare minimum by highlighting the particular steps ie… Fry or Bake or Mix etc… I can randomly make an awesome dish out of ‘nothing’ in the pantry. And my kids/family know to be honest if they don’t like something; otherwise, you may be eating it again down the track! T1/S2 here. 😉 Love cooking thanks to my Mom allowing us to experiment and do the washing-up for my brother and I growing up..(We were home-schooled.) I don’t have that sort of patience to teach my own kids, but I try to when they’re interested.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but I grocery shop totally T3. Born out of necessity (my son as a baby HATED being strapped down and would cry the ENTIRE time I was at the store so if I missed something I was not back tracking!) I jotted down the aisle headers in the order that I weaved the grocery store and then made my list in that order. So now my trip is really fast with everything listed in the order that I walk by it on my route. I have a dinner menu for a week that I write down what we’re having and then shop for the things that are necessary, because I hate making multiple trips and finding out that one key ingredient is missing.
This is a fun topic! As a T4, I don’t do grocery lists–I have a pantry app on my phone and have key ingredients I always have on hand, and then other’s I supplement with as needed. I meal plan week by week, and keep a record of what I did each week so I can use it as a reference or cut & paste to keep things simple. To also help with simplicity, I am always on the hunt for new favorite recipes that we can rotate through on a “regular” basis.
I have Jaleah’s socks 🙂 Great video!!
My husband (T2/3) and I (T2/1) figured out a long time ago that we have to make a menu for 5 or 6 dinners to choose from during the week. On the right hand side of the page is a shopping list according to our route through our organic grocery store. He zooms off with his S3 get it done energy, while I use my S1 to stay open to random inspiration and things I might have forgotten to list. We often cook together, but I prefer getting in the flow by myself. He sometimes moves too fast for me and skips over details. So we switch off sometimes or split dishes to prepare. I have to read a recipe through, but don’t follow it slavishly, even the first time. Fun to hear everyone’s different approaches. And, Carol, I love that outfit, those colors on you!
I prefer to meal plan because it allows me to focus on the things that are important to me throughout the week rather than fretting over what to prepare for dinner each night. I know which days I need to go to the store, so I can adjust my schedule around that. I have noticed that when I don’t meal plan we tend to eat out more which messes up our budget. And staying on budget is key for us since we took a cut in pay so I could go back to college full-time to finish my bachelors.
I prefer baking over cooking but for different reasons than Sarah mentioned. I like the preciseness of it. I like that you have to be super particular about what you are doing. You, well I, cannot just throw some ingredients together and expect everything to turn out perfectly. Baking is almost an art form. In a weird way, it is almost a stress reliever for me.
When I find a recipe to cook or bake, I am like Kalista. I read through the recipe and get out all my ingredients. I hate having to go back and forth throughout my kitchen. It throws off the timing of my recipe. Once all my ingredients are gathered, I get out all the cookware and utensils that I will need for the recipe. Then I will start the recipe.
Like Kalista, I keep my grocery list and meal plan on my refrigerator. However, I use a white board. I have a small white board for grocery items. My husband can put things on the board when we run out, and I can add them to my paper list when I go shopping. I use a separate white board calendar for my meal planning. I have a blank white board calendar on our fridge that I can fill in the name and days of the month. Once my weekly meal plan is done, I write down the dinners for that week. I don’t plan lunches or breakfast unless there is a specific recipe I want to make.
My husband was a little apprehensive about meal planning because he thought that meant there was no room for flexibility. In his mind, if the meal plan said we were having chicken on Tuesday then that meant we could not choose something else or we could not go out to eat on that night. I had to explain to him that while the meal plan is there to be followed, it is more of a guide. It is not a concrete thing. Things can be moved around. Once he accepted that there was flexibility (and that I was willing to be flexible with the schedule), he was on board. It was interesting to experience how he initially viewed a meal plan as restrictive and how I viewed it as a reprieve from the stress of guessing what’s for dinner.
I definitely prefer cooking alone. When I am ready to tackle a recipe, I have a plan made out in my mind and I like to stick to it. I prefer not to deviate from said plan.
Another affirming video that made me feel like I was joining a party! I just love to watch your interactions – they are so genuine and fun! As a type 3 I laughed out loud at both Sarah’s comment of “oh no!” as I often go so fast I miss steps and Carol’s comment of desiring a prep chef! No one in my house wants to play that role either Carol 🙁 My secondary 2 energy comes out in the planning – I enjoy planning meals and looking at cookbooks a lot actually, but the follow through is just not there. My children have food allergies, are teen-age boys and my husband has awful eating habits so as a type 3 I have just accepted that I will not waste my time or energy on wasted food. I think through my meals and try to include my kids in decision making when they are more accepting. Thankfully my youngest has a bit of healthy streak to him (Carol’s type 1 eating habits video reminded me of him – light, crisp, fresh) and we can prepare yummy salads and fruit salads together. I love learning about nutrition and as a T3 will share what I know with anyone willing to listen (which might turn some away) – it is truly fascinating to me! Thank you for another great video Carol!!
Meal plan? WHAT MEAL PLAN?! Lol. I have to admit..i just started a goal of cooking 5 times a week for dinner. So far so good. I’ve never been good about it and maybe that’s because I don’t have kids but sometimes I find it overwhelming because my husband is picky and we both have totally different tastes. So cooking something we both like can be hard. I like cooking….but I just don’t like the clean up! 😉
Meal planning is such a struggle for me! (type 1/3) I related a little more to Carol and Sarah when they talk about how they’ll realize that they’re missing an ingredient or that they should have done a prep step (like marinating) in advance. I also find that I’ll go through so much effort to plan and buy and put away and then I’ll get distracted or tired when it comes time to make the meals and sometimes the veggies will go bad (oops). I was really enjoying the meal services until I got tired of the price and the packaging.
Just like Kalista I read through and make sure I have ingredients ahead of time. I mise en place as well — sometimes even pre-measuring and putting away ingredients before I cook. I usually cook alone but my children helped when they were younger and once in a while still do — especially if they can chop something or break eggs. I have a set grocery list in my phone. As I need items I uncheck them. For Christmas my daughter gave me an Amazon Dash wand. I keep it in the pantry and add pantry and household items as we run low/or out. I plan two or three dinners at a time and use my plan to be flexible with evening and after school activities that might mean more time or less on a given evening. I can also adjust for appetite. Each member of my family seems to have a set one or two breakfasts or lunches that mean I only need to have the usual items on hand. I plan more involved breakfasts or lunches on weekends. I am excited to try PrePear! An app that lets you pick any recipe and turns it into your grocery list! I like to sound of that.
same here, Our freezer is always packed and our fridge always looks empty because of this.
I nearly fell over when I saw Kalista’s grocery list pad. I actually MADE my own list like this on the computer with items that we buy in different categories. I make my meal plan for the week on the back and highlight what I need to buy on the front. I’m in shock that you can actually buy these! Also huge aha for me in knowing my type.