Meal Prep Monday Podcast™

In episode 219, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf continues the meal prep basics series by addressing a common question: what's better to have in your kitchen - a blender or food processor? Though Allison does have both tools in her kitchen, she advises that just having either a blender or a food processor is necessary. But which one to choose? A lot depends on what you'll be whipping up in the kitchen. Blenders work best for recipes with mostly liquid ingredients. If you're mixing up smoothies, marinades, dressings, homemade nut milk, or soups, then a blender is the way to go. Pro chef tip: elevate your simple salad dressing recipes with a stick (hand) blender. It makes all the difference in taste and texture! A food processor is the kitchen tool of choice for making energy bites, thicker pesto or dressings with herbs, homemade flours, or in baking recipes such as when making a crust. Head over to our Facebook group and weigh in on which kitchen tool is in your meal prep space - we'd love to hear from you! Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! Vitamix: https://www.vitamix.com/us/en_us/ Prep Dish Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1537447836539716/

In episode 218, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf discusses basic kitchen skills in a month-long series and shares some of the best ways to keep your knives sharp. One of the number one items on Allison's list of kitchen equipment must-haves is a good quality knife, and she encourages meal preppers to upgrade their kitchen knives. Some brands Allison has in her kitchen include Wusthof, Shun, Nakano, and Eberhard Schaaf. Allison notes that the best way to find the right kitchen knife for you is to put it in your hand and see what feels most comfortable. Once you've got a high-quality kitchen knife, it's important to keep your tools in top shape on a regular basis, preferably sharpening them twice a year. Allison has used local sharpening services, door-to-door services, and most recently Kife Aid, which sharpens your kitchen knives by mail. Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! Choosing Quality Kitchen Knives | Ep#160 https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep160/ Three Must Have Knives for Your Kitchen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icilR3xb164 Knife Aid https://knifeaid.com/

In episode 217, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf welcomes cookbook author, chef, and seasoning mix creator Michelle Dudash to chat about healthy flavorful meals. Michelle is a Registered Dietitian, personal chef, seasoning mix creator, and one of Allison's earliest mentors when she started her career. She is the cookbook author of Clean Eating for Busy Families and Clean Eating Kitchen: The Low-Carb Mediterranean Cookbook, created her own seasoning mix line, SpiceKick Seasoning Mix, and loves helping people get delicious, healthy meals on the table. Allison and Michelle discuss what inspired the beginning of the SpiceKick Seasoning Mix line, as well as helpful kitchen tips and tricks to flavor food that everyone in the family can enjoy. Plus, Michelle shares what's worked best in her family when it comes to serving up food her two children love to eat! Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! Michelle Dudash: https://www.michelledudash.com/ SpiceKick Seasoning Mix: https://spicekick.com/

In episode 216, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf shares about clothing management and how her working from home clothes evolved into a new uniform. Allison enjoyed many benefits from streamlining her closet during a home renovation, and maintained a smaller wardrobe even afterward. She notes that many of us have a go-to wardrobe for working at home or in the office. Allison finds that when she changes into her work clothes and maintains a simple skincare routine to begin her day, she feels more put together and productive, which often leads to having a productive day. The new staples in her work from home clothes came about after receiving a gift of two new skirts. From there, Allison's uniform became a skirt, a tank top, and a sweater or cardigan as needed. She loves the brand Mate the Label for their organic cotton material, especially for workout clothing that lies close to the body. We'd love to know: what's in your work from home (or office) wardrobe? Do you have any staples that are your go-tos? Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! Mate the Label https://matethelabel.com Best of Both Worlds Patreon (Jan 25 - Work Uniform): https://www.patreon.com/bestofbothworldspod

In episode 215, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf talks about how she manages closet clutter and shares her Rent the Runway review after trying the service for a year. While renovating their home, part of the plan was to include Allison's master bedroom closet. Allison discovered that the Rent the Runway service wasn't just relegated to fancy dresses for black-tie events, but that the service also offers clothing rentals for everyday outfits and she decided to give RTR a try. She streamlined her closet and made a commitment to minimize additional clothing purchases while using this clothing rental service. Allison found several uses for the RTR service, including having a wardrobe ready for events (gatherings with friends, work events, date nights), a travel wardrobe, for filming video footage for work, as well as going out for dressier events like weddings and other celebrations. Perks Allison found with RTR include fewer decisions about what to wear, sticking to her commitment of minimizing additional clothing purchases, having a much smaller wardrobe in her closet, and confidence in the up-to-date clothing fashions she's wearing. Allison recommends the RTR or similar services for those who aren't as much into fashion and the process of clothes shopping and putting together outfits. She also learned to always read the reviews, especially with sizing notes for your own reference. Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! Rent the Runway $30 off link: https://www.renttherunway.com/shares/u68eQKP2_DgrS0-19L5Omg== email info@prepdish.com if code is expired

In episode 214, Allison Schaaf, founder of Prep Dish, discusses some key takeaways she's gained from the book Home Management Plain and Simple, and notes home habits she's incorporated into her daily routine for simple management. Allison has implemented home habits such as: Each time she takes a bathroom break, she will clean or tidy something. Using a timer for her own household tasks, or as a means to make a chore fun with the kids (think of a "beat-the-clock" game to get the job done before the timer runs out). This is a great habit to use for meal prep, too! Setting the stage for a great meal by cleaning up from the meal you just enjoyed. Having kids indicate they need your attention or assistance by coming over and resting a hand on your arm. When an issue arises with the kids, ask yourself the important question of "Is this a kid problem, or is this a mom problem?" In other words, work to discover if the problem is arising by how the child has received instruction about a task or how to work through something. Work through the "how" of teaching kids to do chores. Model the chores for them, do the chores with them, and repeat! Modeling chores includes both the how-to as well as the attitude with which we complete the work. Eventually, kids will be able to independently complete various tasks around the house; make tasks fun! Have tea parties! (Or picnics, or make s'mores). Including various special family time into your home habits adds elements of whimsy and helps foster fond memories. Allison also includes a bonus boy mom tip that can work wonders for helping to keep bathrooms clean :) Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! Kim Brenneman interview: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep212/ Home Management Plain and Simple: Home Management: Plain and Simple

In episode 213, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf highlights daily home routine tips inspired by Kim Brenneman's book Home Management Plain and Simple. Allison includes Kim's daily house management recommendations along with what works in her own home in her current season of family life. In Kim's home, Monday is dedicated to taking care of laundry. Allison's personal hack for laundry is having multiple washing machines in the house and batching all of her clothes cleaning, drying, and putting away on the same day. Tuesday is a kitchen day, where a batching practice (like meal prep!) comes in handy to prepare all of the meals for the week ahead. Kim uses Wednesdays as her office day, and Allison notes that this time could be used for business as well as family schedule management. Thursdays are dedicated as town day, when running errands in town can be accomplished. Like Kim, Allison lives in a rural area and batching errands, appointments, and meetings on one day of the week has become a useful approach to checking off important to-dos. Home Management suggests Fridays as cleaning days, Saturday for gardening, and Sunday for the Lord's day/day of rest to spend with family. Kim also approaches deep cleaning by dividing the month up into a five-week rotation. Allison has adopted a similar approach in her home, but focuses on organizing each of the areas (dining room/bookshelves, bathroom & mudroom, bedrooms, living/family rooms, and play room) on a monthly rotation. Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! Home Management Plain and Simple: Home Management: Plain and Simple

In episode 212, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf welcomes author Kim Brenneman to the Meal Prep Monday Podcast where she shares how she went from a new mom struggling to manage her home rhythms to a thriving homeschooling mother of nine with routines that keep home and farm life humming along. Kim is the author of Home Management Plain and Simple and founder of The Home Management: Plain and Simple Blueprint Course. She lives in Iowa on a farm and is a wife of 33 years and a homeschooling mom of nine children. Kim realized she'd grown up with the advantage of having outside systems manage her life through school, college, and her employment. She'd never truly had to be the boss of her own life until she was an adult starting a family. Her book started as a blog in 2004, where Kim began documenting all the systems she was creating to manage her home, as more children were added to the family, the farming business grew, and homeschooling became a part of her day-to-day life. Kim's home management system is based on getting a strong evening rhythm established first, to set up your morning of the next day for success. She notes that the evening rhythm consists of a kitchen routine and a personal routine, and that these will be personalized to you to set up what's needed for the morning. The kitchen routine involves cleaning and tidying from the previous meal, and can be personalized by setting up what you'll consume in the morning, such as coffee or tea, or prep-ahead breakfast items that can be set up the evening before. The personal routine includes what you do to get yourself ready for bed and how you'll wind down your evening, perhaps with a book or a bath. Getting the kids involved with mealtime and chores has been an important part of Kim's home management strategy, and she details some additional tips about setting the tone for different parts of the day and having the kids contribute to these household tasks. Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! ‌Nourishing Traditions: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/117835 Home Plain and Simple https://homeplainandsimple.com/ ‌Home Management Plain and Simple book ‌Home Management Plain and Simple Blueprint Course https://homeplainandsimple.com/blueprint Instagram instagram.com/homeplainandsimple

In episode 211, Allison Schaaf, founder of Prep Dish, discusses the best digital planner apps for home planning and management with her husband and shares what has worked well for them to navigate their family's schedules, trips, and activities. ‌ Allison and her husband use Google Calendar as an invaluable shared digital planning resource to help them ensure everything at home runs smoothly. With this tool, Allison's husband is able to share the details of his work schedule, but Allison is able to pull up his calendar notes as needed without overwhelming her own calendar. This schedule view helps the family see where there might be overlap with work and daily family tasks. Allison's husband also books all of his work travel through Tripit, which can sync with their Google Calendar apps. ‌ Together, Allison and her husband also have a shared calendar for the kids' schedules. Allison has her own personal digital calendar with combined work and personal tasks. She uses this digital tool in conjunction with a portable classic paper planner. Allison finds putting pen to paper extremely helpful in managing day-to-day life and focusing on important tasks that, when completed, will help propel bigger goals forward. ‌ A weekly meeting helps Allison and her husband review upcoming scheduling conflicts and work out details with their au pair. They also use this time to plan ahead over the upcoming weeks or month, especially if a new event or activity has recently been added to their schedules. Allison has also used the Trello App as a digital tool to help her organize specific longer-term projects and keep track of detailed project tasks. ‌ Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 ‌ Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans! ‌ Interview with Sarah Hart-Unger: https://prepdish.com/podcast-show-notes/ep209/ Google Calendar: https://calendar.google.com/ Tripit: https://www.tripit.com/ Trello App: https://trello.com/

In episode 210, Prep Dish founder Allison Schaaf reviews some of her favorite classic planners that she's used over the years to manage family, work, and personal goals. ‌ Allison has used and enjoyed several different types of paper planners to help her keep track of important details and work through longer-term achievements. Why switch through multiple planners over the years even when she finds one she enjoys? Allison can't resist trying something new and mixing up her planning routine! Different planners each offer a unique approach and have features that work best for the variety of life stages Allison has found herself in. ‌ Allison's recommended classic paper planners include: ‌ Day Designer https://daydesigner.com/collections/shop-all-flagship - An ideal smaller portable size ‌ Sol Planner https://solplanners.com/products/2024-sol-planner - Great for when there's a baby in the house to track all of the details. The bigger size worked well for all the daily notes and when Allison was home more. ‌ Full Focus Planner https://fullfocusstore.com/collections/planners - Allison used this planner daily when work was her main focus. Pages are purchased and updated quarterly. Cons were that many tasks needed to be copied over and Allison didn't care for the daily pages setup. Pros were that the planning and project pages worked well. ‌ Golden Coil Planner https://www.goldencoil.com/ - A beautiful, aesthetically pleasing planner. This planner is highly customizable, which is a fun way to personalize the planner, but so many choices could be overwhelming. Has a weekly calendar "at-a-glance" style. ‌ BestSelf Planner https://bestself.co/products/self-planner - An undated 6-month, week-to-week style planner that also includes daily pages and top 3 tasks to complete. Allison liked not having to transfer anything over, the option to write out notes for the week, and monthly reflection questions. This planner is not customizable and isn't as aesthetic in style. ‌ Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777 ‌ Resources mentioned in this podcast: Get your free trial at prepdish.com/mpm for two weeks of free meal plans!