The Sunday Reset That Totally Saves Your Monday

September Sunday Scaries are a whole different breed.

Back to school plus the changing of the seasons plus the exhaustion of relearning routine after a long summer creates the perfect storm that leaves you (me) standing in the kitchen holding a single sock, a permission slip that was due Friday, and absolutely no plan for tomorrow's lunch.

This week we’re diving into all of the easy systems you can set in place and things you can do in 20 minutes to prep for Monday, so you don’t feel like you’re racing against the countdown clock Sunday night.

🌶️ We Have A Guest Chef In The Kitchen 🌶️

Before we get into the reset, I’m excited to introduce someone who’s recently joined the Pepper community. We've brought on Sam Block (@bamslock), a former America's Test Kitchen chef and on-screen talent, as a guest chef here at Pepper.

Sam's going to be popping up on the @pepper.cooks Instagram answering real cooking questions, and we wanted to bring some of that energy over to the newsletter too. If you've got a cooking question you've been sitting on, a technique you've never quite trusted yourself with, or a “is this actually true or is it just something my mom says” situation, reply to this email and we'll get it in front of her.

Go give @pepper.cooks a follow if you haven't. Sam's already posting there and just debunked all of your chocolate chip cookie texture questions!

What's the food opinion/myth/hot take you hold that always sparks aghast silence or passionate debate? Reply and tell us. We're collecting the best ones for a future issue!

The 20-Minute Three Task Reset

I’ve never really gotten behind the full-scale Sunday meal prep agenda because it makes the assumption that my Sunday Night Self has ever met my Wednesday Afternoon Persona. They could very well be two different people. Don’t even get me started on the rest of the family! Meals made too far ahead get sad and don’t take into consideration all of the surprises that every week seems to have in store.

This Sunday Reset focuses on the three things that set you up for success so that you can figure out what's for lunch and dinner in peace and have a kitchen that’s in a state to take action.

Task 1: Pack Tomorrow's Lunches Tonight (5 minutes)

Pull whatever's already in the fridge, assemble it now while you're standing there anyway, and put it directly in the fridge ready to grab. The entire value of this task is removing one decision from your 7 AM self, who does not have the bandwidth for decisions.

Task 2: Pick (Not Cook) Tomorrow's Dinner (5 minutes)

Look at what's actually in your fridge and freezer and just name it. You don't have to cook anything tonight. You just have to walk into Monday already knowing the answer instead of standing in front of the open fridge at 5:45pm overwhelmed and confused.

Task 3: Ten-Minute Kitchen Reset (10 minutes)

Empty the dishwasher. Wipe the counters. Take stock of what's about to go bad and either use it tomorrow or admit defeat and toss it now instead of finding it in October. A kitchen you can walk into without dread is doing half the work of dinner before you've even started cooking.