Graduating from the Institute of Culinary Education and working in kitchens from California to New York City couldn’t prepare Catherine McCord for her toughest palate yet: her first child’s.
The founder of Weelicious, a food blog full of easy, family-friendly recipes, was just as clueless as most parents when it came to figuring out what to feed her growing daughter. Even today, she still acknowledges that making meals for her three children, aged 7, 14, and 16, can be challenging.
McCord’s fifth and latest cookbook, “Meal Prep Magic,“ is like a cheat sheet for stressed-out parents who are simply overwhelmed with the question: ”What’s for dinner tonight?”
“Success in the kitchen comes down to two things in my view,” McCord writes. “A well-organized space and meal prep.” The first, she asserts, is the foundation for the second.
“Anyone could really break this book down into little, manageable steps,” McCord said. “Step one: Purge. Look at everything in your kitchen; do you really need all those wooden spoons and spatulas you never use? When you purge and organize, you create a visually appealing kitchen and you’ll instantly become a much better meal prepper and cook.”
And when you meal prep, you save time and money and cut down on food waste. "Meal prepping creates an overall zen feeling cooking, which also cuts down on time and stress in the kitchen,” McCord said.
She spoke to The Epoch Times about her own meal prep routines, how she deals with picky eaters, and some of her best tips for home cooks.
Store fruit and vegetables in a dry place away from moisture to preserve them for longer. (Colin Price)
The Epoch Times: How do the kitchen and your family life overlap?
Catherine McCord: As a parent, you’ve got to cook 21 meals a week plus snacks per child for 18 years. Once you realize you can’t get away from it, all of a sudden meal prepping and organization helps a lot. But cooking and organizing is a secondary mission. The goal is to get everyone to the dinner table because that’s where you spend quality time with your kids. Yes, the food is nourishment, but the best part is being together.
The Epoch Times: What does your morning look like?
Ms. McCord: Besides reading newspapers, I jump right into the day when I wake up. Making breakfast, getting lunches ready. I meal prep as much as possible, first and foremost, because it’s the only way I can keep myself ahead of it. I’ll spend the weekend making chia seed pudding or overnight oats that are easy to grab for breakfast. We use our smoothie station frequently and add peanut butter, bee pollen, chocolate, pink milk, anything we can to give it variety throughout the week.
Lunch I make the night before as well. One of my daughters loves bento boxes so I always have 10 foods that she loves on hand to create meals for her lunchbox. My other daughter likes hot meals so I double anything I make for dinners to make sure she’s got a hot option in her lunchbox.
The Epoch Times: Being a parent, you can only be so prepared and organized. What happens when you can’t meal prep or when something that you did prep falls through?
Ms. McCord: I try to keep basic ingredients on hand. My brain, and most parents, will think, “How do I get a protein, a carb, and a fruit on the plate for my kids?” so I’ll look at something simple. A loaf of bread to make waffle French toast. Fruits and maybe a vegetable for a smoothie. So if there’s no plan, or if someone’s in a bad mood, I have quick options to prepare simple, but filling, meals.
A well-organized pantry is both visually appealing and makes meal prep more efficient. (Colin Price)
The Epoch Times: And when the kids are being especially picky eaters?
Ms. McCord: I use the two-choice method: Do you want an orange or an apple? Do you want French toast or oatmeal? You’re always in control of whatever those two choices are, but you give the kids agency. They like the idea of choosing their own meal and you still get them to eat what you want them to.
The Epoch Times: What’s one appliance in your kitchen that you absolutely love?
Ms. McCord: I’m obsessed with my air fryer. We actually have two so we can cook two different things at the same time. Bethenny Frankel did a reel [on Instagram] which I love: You take a frozen bagel, pop it in the air fryer for 7 to 8 minutes at 400 degrees F; it’s like the perfect bagel when you take it out. Crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle. Add cream cheese and salmon ... it’s perfection.
The Epoch Times: What’s one tip everyone needs to know?
Ms. McCord: We spend a lot of money on fruits and vegetables, and it pains me to throw them away. Moisture is the enemy of produce so you want to keep it dry when stored. For berries or lettuce, put a paper towel in either a glass container or lettuce bag to soak up the moisture and preserve your produce for longer.
Organization Tips for Home Cooks
The first step to successful meal prepping, writes McCord, is organizing your kitchen “in a manner that puts you in control of it (rather than the other way around) and feeling confident in the space.” Here are a few smart takeaways from her new cookbook, “Meal Prep Magic.”
Don’t Give Your Freezer the Cold Shoulder
Utilize the freezer like a pantry to build a base of back-pocket staples for last-minute meals. McCord organizes hers into categories including pre-prepared, ready-to-eat meals; fruits and veggies; and staple ingredients such as nuts, seeds, and whole grains that she decants into glass jars and freezes as soon as she buys them to stop them from going rancid. She arranges them for accessibility, “giving the most oft-used ingredients places of prominence.”
Streamline Your Spice Collection
Spices can transform ordinary meals into extraordinary ones, but keeping your collection both visible and well-organized is key. Lose the lazy Susan, McCord advises, as it’s hard to maintain; instead, try using tiered storage racks or laying the bottles in a drawer, labels up. Alphabetizing them “makes navigation effortless.”
Modern Meal Prep Requires Modern Tools
McCord insists that cooking “can and should be a shared responsibility whenever possible,” and digital tools can make that easier for the whole family. Try a shared document that acts as a grocery list, and a calendar that lists upcoming meals. Keeping track of spending on a shared spreadsheet can also help you make space in your budget and pantry.
Nick Dauk is an Orlando-based writer whose work has been featured in BBC News, Insider, Fox Business, and The Telegraph. He’s an avid traveler and can be found seeking out the world’s best street eats when he’s not curled up on the couch with his wife and son.
