What could you do with two whole chickens? According to nutritionist and food writer Theresa Albert, a lot! The key, Theresa says, is all in the preparation. By taking time on a Sunday night to prep both chickens and any additional ingredients you may need, you free up your weeknights for quick, nutritious meals.
“I’ve seen families really struggle with week-night meals,” Theresa says. So, in partnership with Chicken Farmers of Canada, Theresa came up with a formula for making the family meal happen. “We needed a way to get the kids into the kitchen and have them be part of Sunday prep, when there’s actually time, and have that carry us through the week. It’s all about cost efficiency and time efficiency.”
It works like this: chicken number one gets thrown into the oven to be roasted for Sunday night dinner. Then the leftovers are used for meals like pasta, omelets or sandwich wraps on Monday and Tuesday. While chicken one is roasting, cut and separate chicken #2 and freeze or refrigerate each section for Wednesday to Friday. Then use all of the leftover bones, and veggie scraps from over the week to make a stock for soup on Saturday.
When prepping your chickens, it’s important to keep food safety in mind. “Raw chicken you only want in the fridge for maybe two or three days,” says Theresa. “Once the chicken is cooked it can stay in the fridge for two or three more days. You want to move food through its danger zone temperature as quickly as possible.”
Originally published in ParentsCanada magazine, Feb/Mar 2015.
