There’s no question that cooking meals from scratch is more time consuming than using packaged convenience foods. The solution is to cook in bulk and in advance so that your Recipes for Repair refrigerator and pantry hold homemade packaged foods.

This is a glimpse inside my refrigerator. There are some important habits that I’ve developed over time that help cut down on time when I’m preparing meals for my husband and I.

• On a day off I will wash and cut up fruits and vegetables that I know I’ll be cooking with in the upcoming days. I also cut up fruit and vegetables so that they are on hand when we want a snack or a bowl of fruit with breakfast. I cook with sauteed garlic and onions nearly every day and find it to be invaluable to cook just one large batch that I store in a jar. This way they are on hand when I’m preparing a meal. Read “Preparing Cooked Vegetables Ahead of Time” for more tips.

• I like to cook in bulk so that we always have leftovers. On the top shelf you will see several containers, including the Pickled Beets and Gluten Free Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins. On busy days this ensures that there is a quick breakfast or snack and a side dish or salad topper, for example.

• I wash and store lettuce, kale and/or spinach in our salad spinner. This cuts out a step when I decide to bring a salad to work with me or want a salad to go with dinner.
• I use only one vegetable drawer for vegetables. The other houses nuts, seeds, dried fruit, dried beans, lentils and other grains. This helps to extend their shelf life. I also like to have a variety of the aforementioned so that I don’t get caught in a rut cooking and eating the same foods on a weekly basis. This also ensures that we are getting a nice variety of nutrients in our diets.

• There are ingredients that I use often, some of which I purchase and some of which I make. I tend to cook and shop in bulk and store these condiments on the door. When I make a sauce from scratch I write down what it is and when it was made so I am sure not to let it sit too long. Made-from-scratch meals don’t have preservatives so they won’t last nearly as long as their store-bought counterparts.

• Cultured vegetable are super easy to make and store for months. There’s nothing quicker than spooning out a serving of any type of cultured vegetable as a side dish with lunch or dinner. They are a tasty accompaniment to most meals and are chock full of probiotics and nutrients! As you can see I have several varieties, both store-bought and homemade on the door. Read Adding Cultured Foods Into Your Diet for more information.

These suggestions take time, of course, but if you do them over time on a day off it makes preparing your meals when you have limited time go much quicker. Also see what’s inside my freezer for more tips.