Shabbos Prep Simplified

Shabbos is coming! But it's only Wednesday you say. True, but do you really want to leave it all for the last minute? Whether you're cooking for two or a crew, a little organization goes a long way. If your current Shabbos prep. system is working for you, great, you can stop reading now!

If you'd like to hear how we keep the Erev Shabbos anxiety at bay at our house read on...

Typical Shabbos meals (even simple ones) consist of several courses. This adds up to a lot of prep.time.

Allergen free ingredient shopping and experimenting with new food allergy recipes can mean even more time.

I've found that making Shabbos gradually throughout the week makes it more mangeable. Here's the system that works for me:

• Tip #1- Only save for Friday the things that can only be done on Friday
• (Ex putting up the cholent, prepping fresh salads and fruit)
• Tip#2- Make a menu list at the beginning of the week (scheduling guests in advance helps)
• Tip#3- Break that menu down into a shopping list
• Tip#4- Figure out what items on your menu can be made ahead and frozen Ex (kugels, shnitzel, challah, even baked goods.  hint(wrapping food tightly with foil goes a long way).
• Tip#5-Shop for ingredients early in the week so you have them on hand when you have a few minutes to cook ahead ( I typically do a big grocery run Sunday morning and then a pre-shabbos run on Thurs.).
• Tip#6-Think about your schedule for that week and when you have cooking slots available (keep in mind the prep time involved in different foods- you'll want to leave a larger time slot for challah and a shorter one for a quicky recipe like pareve ice-cream.
• Tip #7- Cook and Freeze throughout the week gradually ticking all your menu boxes
• Tip #8- Shop on Thursday for any items you still need for Shabbos (this is usually my flowers and salad trip)
• Tip #9- Do as much Thursday as you can that to do list should be very short going into Friday(don't forget to defrost all of your well wrapped goodies).
• Tip #10-Friday should be mostly spent on cleaning with all of the cooking out of the way. If the cleaning  can all be done before the kids get home from school that is ideal.(including setting the table).

Hope that's helpful. Sorry, have to go now and make my challah.
            


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