How do you work 9-5 and meal plan?
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lemurcat12 wrote: »Treehugger_88 wrote: »I do it the whole week's cooking/prep every Sunday. Takes most of the day but I enjoy it and recommend it. I'm not a meat-eater so all my food is fine in the fridge for 6 days. Don't know anything about keeping cooked meat in the fridge for that long though...?
Meals that are awesome for food prep:
-bolognaise/pasta
-curries
-stir fries
-vegetable fried rice
-chili
-soups
-stews
-bean loaf
-shepherd's pie
@Treehugger_88 do you mean you buy frozen veggies for stir frying? Fresh ones would take hours to wash, peel and cut.
No, they don't. Getting in the habit so you realize how fast and easy this stuff can be will be helpful.
I do understand, as I went from not cooking much to cooking almost all meals after I had lived on my own for a few years, and at first I thought it would take forever (since when I cooked it was usually a production) to realizing how easy and fast it can be. Now I generally can whip up a good meal (including fresh vegetables) in 30 minutes (more or less).
I make an omelet with vegetables most mornings and that takes like 15 min.
I eat fresh vegetables daily. Seconding that they don't take hours to prep.
OP, do you have a good knife and cutting board? My sister also felt like it took too long to eat fresh vegetables. When I visited her, I noticed that she only had a tiny cutting board and was trying to use a dull paring knife for everything, so I suggested that she buy better tools (she asked for advice). Once she upgraded to a bigger board and a decent chef's knife, she realized how much her old tools were setting her back. Next time I visited her, I noticed she had fresh fruits and vegetables with every single meal.5 -
My mom used to cook dinner in our home. Now that i am on my own and working 9-5 at a desk job with a long train commute, i have no time and am so tired by the end of the day. How am i supposed to plan and prep my dinners so they are healthy? No one taught me how to do this. I need help. What's your best advice for staying on top of this necessary aspect of life?
To respond in more detail -- being tired and unmotivated tends to be the problem, until you get in the habit.
Ways to make it easier for yourself include having a plan, learning some things you can make super fast on a particularly long or hard day (extra points if they are things that you find really enjoyable -- omelets fit this bill for me, among other things), and not having to stop to shop for anything (learning to work with what's in your pantry/refrigerator and to plan ahead a bit).
What I do is have on hand the proteins I intend to use (and if they are not fast cooking I know how I will use them and prepare them in advance -- slow cookers are great, but I don't really use mine this time of year). I also have the various vegetables I want to use that week and will likely think about how I plan to use the ingredients I have on the weekend (I do this less now because I am an experienced cook and enjoy winging it, but it's REALLY helpful at first).
Not being tied to recipes can be freeing.
Understanding how healthy meal is put together in a basic way makes it easier. If you are not a vegetarian, a simple way of thinking about dinner is a protein, vegetables, and some kind of starchy side. If the starchy side is pasta, make everything into a pasta sauce: for example, while the pasta is cooking put some olive oil in a pan and sautee your meat and vegetables (the order and whether you do them together will depend on what they are). A stir fry is similar, except you will be preparing rice, not pasta. With potatoes I usually pop them in the oven to roast first and then cook my meat and my sides (vegetables) -- with a plain chicken breast I might do some kind of sauce. If I don't mind waiting (it's NOT work intensive, I can do the laundry in the meantime), I might also roast a chicken breast and a bunch of root veg.
Some things, like longer cooking meats, I'll make ahead, and I often make more than I need to have leftovers on hand for lunches or another dinner.
If crunched for time or calories I might put together a big salad (lots of different vegetable, sometimes cooked and raw together) and then use leftover meat and even fruit on it. (Currently obsessed with steak and peach salads.) I do a spicy cucumber and tomato based salad with leftover meat too -- love cold options in the summer.
Just some ideas -- the main thing is to think about what you like. If you have a long commute, that's a good time to think about it.
I know this can be done fast, as I get home between 8 and 9 most days (sometimes later).1 -
I will agree with a number of people here that the slow cooker is your best friend. I understand being exhausted when you get home, and there's nothing better than walking in the door to the smell of something that's been simmering all day. There are a ton of "dump" meals, where you just put everything in the slow cooker. You can also meal prep them on Sunday in a big Tupperware or freezer bag and just dump everything in before you go to work.0
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I don't cook/prep anything during the week and I still eat fresh and tasty food for all my meals. It involves some work on Sundays but it's worth it. Here are some of the things that I do:
- Vegetables: Jarred salads are the best and easiest way to get fresh vegetables every day without actually making a salad every day. You wash, cut and assemble your salads and put them into jars on Sunday and whenever you want a salad you simply dump it onto a plate. Google it, there are several useful guides on how to properly jar them.
- Meats: I mostly make meat dishes that are kind of brothy, like curries, stews, goulashes, etc. I make batches of 2-3 different kinds on Sunday and use this crockpot food warmer to warm them while I work in the morning: https://amazon.ca/gp/product/B00942VHOS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I simply put one of the meat dishes in the warmer in the morning, take it with me to work, plug it in and by lunch time it's warmed up and tastes like I just cooked it. Waaaaay better than a microwave.
- Smoothies: I double or quadruple smoothie recepies, put all solid ingredients in a large food processor and blend. I then pour the mixture into plastics cups (the kind you get for parties) and freeze them. Every day I move one cup from the freezer to the fridge and in the morning I simply pour the thawed mixture into a Bullet cup, add a liquid and blend for like 5 s. Instant smoothie.
- Other stuff: Boiling a bunch of eggs on Sunday makes it easy to grab a quick meal or protein-high snack. You can do the same with sweet potatoes. I also have a bag of frozen cooked shrimp and I'll sometimes move a bit to the fridge for next day. Buying a bunch of different nuts in bulk can provide some easy snacks, just don't overdo it because they are high in calories.
On a typical work day I'll make a smoothie in the morning and eat some eggs/shrimp/nuts/fruit. Then I'll put a meat dish in the food warmer and put it in my lunch bag along with a jarred salad. When I arrive at work I plug in the food warmer. For lunch I'll dump the salad onto a plate and eat it with the warmed up meat dish. For dinner I'll either have another salad and/or meat dish or, if I'm not very hungry, I'll grab some eggs, sweet potatoes, a few nuts, etc. 0 cooking/prepping involved.1 -
I don't meal plan. I figure out whats for dinner based on what's in the pantry and whether or not small human has Girl Scouts or something similar in the evening. Meal planning requires too much attention for my ADHD to deal with.1
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You have received a lot of great advice already. I think it's also great to have some go-to meals on hand that you like, are healthy, and you can do any time when you don't have things prepped or planned.
Some things can even be partially frozen or prepared foods. I mean yeah, ideally we would all eat from scratch every meal. But for example I used to get a frozen burrito from the supermarket and then dress it up with lots of shredded lettuce, avocado and/or salsa. Easy mac or omelet, but add Sriracha, chopped green onions and mushrooms to it. Plain tortilla chips with a little bit of cheese and a TON of quickly sautéed veggies to make veggie nachos...or even canned chicken if you like that. I don't know about other people but I find those things much more satisfying while very comparable in calories to a Lean Cuisine or similar.
Breakfast foods are great too, for quick meals, since a lot of them take very little time to prepare. PB&J added to plain oatmeal is awesome. Basically just think of your favorite things that you like to eat and try to make healthy, tasty versions of them that are quick and easy...and then you can gradually build your skills of food prep and cooking over time, maybe try a new-to-you recipe every Sunday or something?!
Good luck!0 -
I feel your pain...working mum 8am - 5pm with 3 hungry impatient children wanting dinner as soon as we arrive home! I'm a batch cooking fan...it's the only way we survive on healthy-ish food! This weekend I bought 10lbs of beef chunks and 10lbs of minced steak and I've made portions of bolognese, chilli and shepherds pie with the mince and made beef pies, beef stroganoff and honey beef with the steak pieces. All portioned into tinfoil boxes and put in the freezer. After work I can have dinner ready in 20 minutes, lift something from freezer, defrost over gentle heat in big pan while I cook rice/pasta/prepare potatoes or salad. It works for us (very well!). I'll buy chicken breasts later this week and make some meals with them. This food store will see me through for about 6 weeks! Good luck finding what works for you!2
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With travel to/from work, I am out approx. 12hrs a day. Hubby is home to cook, but sucks at calorie counting. I find it easier to buy a bunch of yummy frozen meals that are calorie specific on their boxes, so I can work out what I have for the day and find a meal to match. Everything from steamed pasta/chicken, butter chicken, roast dinners etc. On the weekends I will actually cook - eg Pork Chops with a Mexican style salad tonight (avocado, corn, capsicums, tomato, snow peas), or something like a roast with veges, or steak and veg.0
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Most of what I do has been said above. Mashed potatoes from scratch and prepping veggies don't take much time once you are used to wielding a veggie peeler and knife (the first few times you do it, yes it may take longer). Put the potatoes to boil first and by the time you have the rest of the meal prepped, they're ready to go. Meal plan on weekends and prep what you can ahead of time. If you aren't good at menu planning, something like emeals may help...it costs $5 a month or so but they have low cal, low carb, paleo, etc plans that you can use to help with the planning and grocery list aspect.1
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Meal prep has been a game changer for me. It doesn't have to be hard or time consuming. I did all mine yesterday and made:
Breakfast - protein pancakes. I just add one tbsp of syrup and raspberries
Lunch - turkey meatballs and Basil pesto shirataki noodles
Dinner - spice crusted chicken thighs with zoodles
Doing this is hands down the reason for my success so far because I'm busy af and don't have time to make healthy meals every day.0 -
paultireland wrote: »Do meal prep on Sundays... freeze everything so you can just drop it in a crock pot. Then when you come home, you have a hot healthy meal and you'll have leftovers for lunch the next day.
http://tiphero.com/29-freezable-crock-pot-recipes
You can get all different sizes of crock pots too, and adjust the recipe for different amounts of servings. Or make extra and freeze it for days you are too tired to cook.
I love my instant pot too.
I have some health issues and still manage to feed myself. I keep easy stuff on hand for bad days- besides the frozen stuff, I keep rice and pasta around, and canned sauce, and canned fish.0 -
Treehugger_88 wrote: »I do it the whole week's cooking/prep every Sunday. Takes most of the day but I enjoy it and recommend it. I'm not a meat-eater so all my food is fine in the fridge for 6 days. Don't know anything about keeping cooked meat in the fridge for that long though...?
Meals that are awesome for food prep:
-bolognaise/pasta
-curries
-stir fries
-vegetable fried rice
-chili
-soups
-stews
-bean loaf
-shepherd's pie
I make all of my meals on Sunday to last me a minimum of 4 days. It has become so routine that I don't really think about it. It used to take me all day but since I noticed that it did I started making dishes that wouldn't require constant watching, so now I make a lot of meals that are cooked in the oven or crockpot. Sundays (like today) I even get a chance to actually be social, I spent time with a gf.0 -
I have spent a lot of money on restaurant lunches since starting my 9-5, super hard to stop because there are so many good restaurants in the area. But it was killing my bank account and hard to properly log, so I'm just starting to get the hang of meal prep now. So far so good!
I've done batches of chicken veggie soup, salads that keep for a few days, and today I'm going to try this chicken shawarma sweet potato fries bowl with rice https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/meal-prep-chicken-shawarma-sweet-potato-fry-bowls/
If the dish doesn't last all week there's always sandwiches, or once you've made a few things and frozen a few portions you can go back and cycle through a range of options that way!
My office also has a tradition of going for coffee together in the morning which gets expensive both financially and calorically, so I've made my own small muffins and cold brew coffee to keep at work and just join them for the walk with the temptation to buy a treat assuaged.
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I work 7-2 and then 3:30-5:30. I'm essentially out of my house from 5AM to 7PM M-S. If you're using MFP, USE MFP. Plan your food and meal prep it. I'll skip ahead to Monday and enter all my meals and food for the day and use that as a meal plan for the day and for the week. On Sunday, I make and store the food in ready to go meals. I also keep it super simple and bro style because it's easy and micro nutrient dense. Here's an example:
Breakfast: Breakfast Burrito or just Eggs in Tupperware (eggs/egg whites, bell pepper/mushrooms, cheese)
Lunch: Grilled or crock pot chicken, roasted green beans, rice/sweet potato, and sometimes a greek yogurt
Snack: Banana/baby carrots + PB
Dinner: Turkey burger/steak and broccoli
Dessert: Oats (oats, riced cauliflower, egg whites, PB, cinnamon, Sweetener, Vanilla, extract, blueberries)
Personally, This fits my calories and macros. I also, like all my meals and foods so I look forward to each meal. Takes me about 2 hours on Sunday to prep ALL these meals for 5-6 days at a time. I generally keep the same meal plan until I get tired of it, then I usually change the seasoning, and then I'll opt for a different plan entirely.
Also, all this stuff is easy to make and hard to screw up. If you're really struggling in the kitchen, just buy pre-prepared stuff like the frozen grilled chicken, and the frozen burgers, and the pre-steamed rice, etc.1 -
I prep a lot on Sundays, like portioning my cottage cheese and fruit and veggies. I also eat a bit of prepackaged food like yogurt or a frozen lunch. I keep a food scale in my desk at work to weigh any bits I was too lazy to worry about at home.
It takes discipline, but can be done--you just have to decide to do it and you will.1 -
My day looks like this basically:
get up, wash, dress. Grab x slices of bread, put cheese or cooked ham on then, cut, put in bag. Grab fruit and/or veggies of choice, put in bag. Drive to work.
Drive home
Food prepping and cooking takes 30 minutes max. I mean, how long does it take to peel and cut an onion, or a bell pepper? How long to cook pasta or rice? Tinned diced tomatoes without any additives like sugar are great for pasta sauces or curries.
Eat
Yesterday I had a simple curry with rice:
Put measured amount of rice into boiling water, wash green beans and cut into pieces (takes seconds), add, add handful of frozen peas. Cook until rice is ready and drain.
Fry finely chopped onion in pan, add tin of tomatoes or water and tomato paste, chopped garlic, add white fish in bite sized chunks, add chili flakes and choice of spices and salt, turn down heat, add a spoon of natural skyr, greek yoghurt, double cream or whatever you prefer. ready. I guess this all took about 15 minutes, and I cooked enough to eat from it again tonight.
I usually rinse the rice pan so it's easier to wash when I get round to it and I recently discovered ceramic pans (got mine from Lidl for very little money). They are supereasy to wash. I guess I only do the dishes 1-2x per week. usually when I run out of pots and pans, or when I get annoyed.1 -
I work 8-5 and go to the gym on my way home. My mother always said if you can read, you can cook.
Everyone else has said pretty much what I do....on Saturdays I go to the farmers market and buy salad stuff and a veg for each day. On Sundays I prepare a huge salad and/or a pot of soup. That's my lunches for the week with some protein on the side. Dinners are usually quick (eggs are my best friend). Lots of chicken breasts and salmon. Nothing fancy. Wraps a lot of the time. I usually get my lunch together while my dinner is cooking.
It's basically a matter of getting into a routine. Not fun. Not exciting. Just adult stuff.1 -
Try doing sheet pan recipes...take a cookie sheet, season 4 pieces of meat (can season them all differently) then cut up several different veggies and throw it in the oven. That way it isn't so repetitive and you're done for the week at one time! Veggies on one sheet and meat on the other. You can add rice/quinoa the day of.2
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I work 8-5 and have an hour commute each way along with two young kids. I can typically have meal prepped and cooked in about 20-30 minutes. Usually just throw some marinated or seasoned meat, poultry, or fish on the grill...do some vegetables one way or another...sometimes a starch or grain. No fancy recipes or anything during the week...just the basics.2
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I work 8-5 and have an hour commute each way along with two young kids. I can typically have meal prepped and cooked in about 20-30 minutes. Usually just throw some marinated or seasoned meat, poultry, or fish on the grill...do some vegetables one way or another...sometimes a starch or grain. No fancy recipes or anything during the week...just the basics.
Same here during the work week. Meat, starch, veg. Frozen, cooked rice has been a godsend, but is a little more expensive that buying bulk rice. I chop up the veggies during the weekend and just pan steam them when needed (3-4 minutes), and cook up potatoes for the week. I also second the slow cooker. When I use that, combined with my pre-cooked starches and steamed veg, I can have dinner ready in under 15 minutes.
On the weekends, I make more complicated recipes, but simplicity is the key for weekdays.0
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