Before I started this Networked Learning Project, I hardly ever cooked dinner because I was just too busy to do so, and it was also the last thing I wanted to do when I got home from work or after kickboxing. The Crockpot I have just sat on the counter without being used. When this project came up, I immediately thought about meal prepping and using my Crockpot to do this.
The resources I have used so far are Skinnytaste.com, Newleafwellness.biz, Buzzfeed and looking at Youtube as well to continue to get ideas for different meals I can cook on Sundays and last me the whole week for dinner. The two sources I have found extremely helpful on my journey are Skinnytaste.com and Buzzfeed. These two sources are extremely user-friendly and can provide a variety of ideas depending on what I feel like I am going to be in the mood for the rest of the week. These two sources also have step-by-step images to go with their recipes and sometimes Buzzfeed even has short 30 second videos on how to make their food. So far cooking a dinner I can use for the whole week has been extremely helpful and is efficient for my daily routine. It has even been healthier for me because I am not going out to dinner or buying pre-made meals, which has also saved me money over the long-run.
The major challenge I have faced with meal prepping on Sunday with my Crockpot is that it makes a lot of food for just one person, which also means it can make it hard to store all of this food in my fridge in my apartment. The way I have remedied this situation is by using one large container to actually store my food instead of many small containers, as my fridge cannot hold all of the tiny containers. I recommend placing all of the meal into one container because it definitely saves storage space in the fridge. Another challenge I have faced is getting tired of the actual meal for an entire week. The way I have overcome this challenge is by mixing it up some way each night. For example, I had chicken chili last week, one night I would have it on a tostada and then another night I would have it with a baked potato. There are variations that can be made so you do not get tired of the same meal every night.
From this project, I have truly experienced how one can learn how to do something they want to do through the use of various websites and blogs. The resources are truly endless when it comes to the Internet.
Hand in Hand: Education and Technology 