Module 1 – Setting yourself up for Success
Welcome to week one of the Kitchen Dream Team program. This first module is all about getting ready and setting yourself up for success by putting systems in place so you can cook at home as a team every day.
Create a work & recipe folder
As you work through this program, you will complete a number of activities and download some important resources. We recommend that you get a small A4 folder that you can pop all of these resources into as you work through the program. This folder will become your family’s Kitchen Dream Team workbook. This folder will also become your ‘Family Favourites’ recipe book.
Download the front page for your workbook here and place in the front pocket of the folder.
Activity – De-Clutter
Cleansing Your Mind and Your Kitchen
De-clutter the kitchen
Before we even start to think about food, grocery shopping, cooking, menu planning, recipes etc, you’re going to need a clear, clean kitchen / dining room. For some of you, this will require a de-cluttering session!
Imagine a professional kitchen in a busy restaurant. Is it piled high with books and school bags with things spilt and not cleared up? No. Because no chef would cook with a sense of pride in an untidy and messy kitchen, and similarly, neither can you.
Do this exercise together, as a couple, and show one another that you are both committed as a team to your new lifestyle. There will be times on your journey where you and your partner are in charge of different tasks, and we will cover this in a later chapter, but it is crucial to the success of the journey that you help each other as often as you can.
The Menu Board
A big part of a balanced diet is deciding what you are eating each day and committing to it.
Too often we go shopping for food before we have decided what we are going to eat – and end up opting for convenience and making poor choices with what we buy.
The simple way to change this behaviour is to decide and plan for what your family will be eating that week.
Remember – this program is all about small steps; to begin with you might only be able to commit to a few home-cooked meals on your weekly menu board. But this number will gradually increase, as will your kitchen skills and time management all of which is moving you further towards your goal of great family health.
Activity – Menu Board
Make it a family outing – drive to your local hardware store and buy a large chalkboard, whiteboard or similar. Bring it home and hang it somewhere in the kitchen / dining area.
Involve the children. Explain what is going on and why you are doing it. This is a good time to explain to them that as a family you are all going to start cooking a bit more from scratch and eat more fresh foods.
Each day, (or once a week) write on the menu board what is for dinner that night – each time you do so you’re reinforcing the idea to the whole family and committing to an enjoyable and healthy diet. Put the children in charge of writing the menu up for the week – full of colour and creativity – it could become a fun activity for them.
Understanding Your New Life Journey
All family teams are at different stages when it comes to cooking ability, knowledge and frequency.
During the program if some of the tools, activities, encouragement or information don’t apply to you and your family, that’s OK, this is a program for all levels. If you come to a part that seems well covered for you already, then simply move on to the next step. This program is so vast and full of knowledge that every family that joins this journey will benefit, and learn how to improve their overall wellbeing.
You may be wondering just what sort of changes this will mean to your lifestyle? And you’re right, there will be changes, because we are going to coach you to become efficient chefs in your home kitchen. But trust me, you will look back in 12 months’ time and it will seem like nothing at all. Because each step through this program is a small one – but at the end, the small steps make a huge difference over time.
So, hopefully having a new calling will get you excited. What often happens is that we don’t put enough effort into our diets, because we are not excited. And this is understandable, given that modern life is extremely busy. We can often give up caring and put it in the ‘too hard basket’. We might avoid talking about it to one another, but this is our family’s health we are talking about!
Our desire to be healthy is what is going to drive us to transition to eating healthy and nutritional meals throughout our busy days.
Your choices will help your family to be fit and healthy. We want you to be full of life, throughout your whole life.
Activity – Journal
Activity – Ask for Support
I’m sure you are familiar with the concept of surrounding yourself with people that are positive influences in your life.
It makes sense that if those around you understand what you are doing and support you, you will have more success in achieving your goals.
You will need their help to encourage you and support your new lifestyle. Now that fruit, vegetables, homemade lunches and dinners are going to be the norm for your family, make sure they understand that.
Recruit your best friends, workmates and close family members with whom you spend a lot of time, to join you on your new journey.
Let’s face it, having people with whom you are in regular contact join the club, gives you an added mentor. Together you can find a special bond and achieve great health through each other’s support. If people don’t want to join you through this change, that’s fine, but ask them for their support and encouragement.
Your Recipes are Right Behind You
The Kitchen Dream Team program is not about recipes. It is about the change you are making to your life.
And let’s face it, if you look over at your bookshelf right now, chances are you probably have plenty of cookery books. Each book will have loads of recipes for delicious meals that you can make for your family. And if you don’t have the books, then you know that there are thousands of recipes online… you just have to search for them.
People who cook from scratch often have 20-25 favourite meals that they rotate and use again and again. If these home cooked meals are nourishing, and they contain what our bodies crave and need in order to keep us healthy, then that’s a great recipe.
For the most part, people stick to cooking their everyday favourite meals, because they are part of a routine, easy to make, loved by the kids, freeze well for another day, use common ingredients that are easy to find… whatever the reason, these staple favourites are really important and you probably already have a few of these in your repertoire.
Activity – Family Favourites
Create a family favourites recipe book so that when you are looking for some inspiration, you have it to refer to. Some recipes you will already know by heart, choose ones that the whole family love to eat and that both parents are comfortable cooking (or happy to learn how to make).
You might already have a folder or book on the go, maybe it needs a clean out to get rid of recipes you are unlikely to ever cook. Maybe it needs a bit of an index in the front, and grouping recipes into categories (for example soups, salads, mains, desserts and snacks).
Note: It is the everyday main courses that we want to concentrate on to begin with.
To begin with, you will need to find about 20 recipes for this book. Use your cookery books you have in your home, the internet, even your local library. You can simply photocopy, jot down or print the recipes and pop them into the folder.
Activity – Recap