Cooking Whole Foods Fast: Mise en Place

Today I am introducing a new series on aMichiganMom: Cooking Whole Foods Fast.  A series that will focus on different tips and techniques for cooking real, whole foods fast.  You can find all the posts under the tag Whole Foods Fast.


First tip, dinner.  I get home at 5PM from work and we like to eat at 6PM.  I also like to try and rest for 15 mins while the kids was Caillou.  So I usually have about 30-40 mins to prepare dinner.  With a little preparation I can easily make a fast whole foods dinner in this time, or less.  How?  Mise en place.  I try to prep the ingredients the night before.  For example, Tuesday we were having the quick noodle stir-fry from the Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.  So Monday night as I was cleaning up dinner, I chopped up all the veggies for Tuesday's stir-fry, layered them in the order I needed to add them, mixed the ingredients for the sauce, and put it all in a container.  So Tuesday night, all I had to do was boil the noodles and fry up the already cut veggies.  The dish was excellent (it was the first time I made it), and it was ready in just 10 mins.  I used two pans, but I could have easily made it a meal with a one-pot clean up by draining the noodles and stir-frying everything in the pan the noodles had cooked in, while the noodles were in the colander.


Do you have a Cooking Whole Foods Fast tip for the new series?  Email me at jmagro@gmail.com with your tip (and ideally a picture) for consideration.

Door to Door Organics

Door to Door Organics is a service I have been using since the end of summer 2009.  Why?  They deliver fresh organic food to my door every week.

Here is what I really like about the service:

• I don't have to go to the grocery store.  It is delivered to my door.
• All the food is organic
• I can add on an increasing number of other grocery items like oils, coffees, grains to my order.
• I can sub out the items I don't like in my box for items that I do like (I personally am not a big fan of Mangoes)
• No Delivery Fee

The only thing I am not completely crazy about, is that the produce isn't always local.  But, my reality is that I live in Michigan, and I am not going to get fresh local produce in winter.  Banana's from Costa Rica are ok with me (and my family).  I also think this service is awesome for anyone who doesn't live close to an organic grocery store.

Therefore, I am very excited to be able to offer my readers a $5 discount on your first box. 

Sign up for your first box: www.DoortoDoorOrganics.com 

$5 OFF your first box coupon code: michiganmom

Here is what the sign-up screens will look like:

1.) Select Your Box 

2) Enter Your Zip Code



...Here are the Michigan Door to Door Organics Delivery Locations and Days



4) Enter Code -  michiganmom - and Tell Them I Referred You:



5) Enjoy Your Weekly Produce Delivery