Map the parallel cooking schedule

Free everyday life tip: Map the parallel cooking schedule (step 3 of 13 from "Meal Prep Sunday: Five Lunches in One Hour").

Here is the secret to finishing in one hour: your oven and your stovetop run at the same time. Minute 0–5: preheat oven to 200 °C, start the grain on the stovetop. Minute 5–10: season and arrange the protein and vegetables on the sheet pan. Minute 10: slide the pan into the oven. Minute 10–30: the oven does its work while you clean up the prep mess and get containers ready. Minute 30: pull the pan, let it rest 5 minutes. Minute 35–45: portion everything. Minute 45–55: label, lid, stack, and refrigerate.

Write this timeline on a sticky note and put it on the fridge. The first time you do this, you will want to reference it every few minutes. By the third Sunday, the sequence will be automatic and you will wonder why you ever bought lunch.