Cooking Tip #2: Cooking Ahead

Whenever I would pull out my lunch at a previous job, co-workers would often say 'how do you have time to make something like that for lunch?'.  My response was always the same - I cook ahead.  My life, like many others, is very busy during the week and I have little time to make a lunch that is much more then a cold sandwich.  Often not cooking ahead leads to ordering out for lunch which is bad for the wallet and the waistline.  That is why I make my lunches and sometimes dinner ahead of time.  The first step is the menu planning.  During the week when you are planning your dinners, go ahead and plan your lunches too; maybe a nice homemade soup or a casserole.  Then on Sunday afternoon's take 1-2 hours and prepare the food ahead of time.  Then you can just pop it in the microwave during the week for lunch.  This will save you time and money, in addition to being healthier for you.  You can also prepare dinners ahead of time.  Do all your chopping a head of time or prepare a casserole that all you have to do is put in the oven the evening you want to eat it!