So bored of food decisions

Walkywalkerson

Bored of deciding what to have, shopping for it, cooking it, cleaning up after - BORING!!!!!!!!!
I'm not bored of eating it though 🤣
It's just never ending decision making and cleaning- I'm over it.
Especially while counting calories
Does anyone else feel this way?

paints5555

Even people who are not trying to plan healthy meals feel this way. Years ago when I broke my arm and couldn't cook, it took my husband about 3 days before he got tired of planning, cooking. He looked at me and said "if I ever complain about what you make for dinner again, I want you to hit me."

COGypsy

I feel that 100%! I've just gotten to a place where "good enough is good enough". I keep a lot of super quick basics on hand and just mix and match at mealtime. Frozen veg and pre-cooked meat, pre-cooked rice and pasta, canned beans, salad kits, various sauces and seasoning--that kind of thing. I buy a veggie tray and some kind of fruit every week to round out meals and snacks. I can whip something together in 10 minutes or less and usually in just one bowl. It's not exciting, but it's a trade off I'm more than willing to make compared to the endless chore of feeding myself.

claireychn074

I batch cook and fill the freezer. That way I have ‘ready meals’ with fresh or frozen veg and fruit. I still get fed up sometimes though!

yirara

I kind of gamify cooking. Note: I only cook dinner. Breakfast is usually 1pt oats, 2pt skyr, handful of raisins and whatever fresh fruit I have. Other meals are mostly bread and fruit, and snacks.

So I have about 100 cookbooks. Every now and then I put one on the relegation list because it is not good after all. But overall I love all of them. I use eatyourbooks to search for recipes with the ingredients that I have at home, and usually something comes up. It's actually one of the few subscription services I do use.

Shopping: I try to get a too good to go fruit and veg bag ever so often. Or I order an organic veg box. In any case it's a surprise what I get. And then I need to find something to do with it of course. Aim is to use everything within 2 weeks or so. Another note: I do tend to cook for 2-3 days, sometimes 4 days and potentially vary the sides: pasta, rice, couscous, crusty bread...

And, just because it keeps things alive I try to eat 30 different plant-based things per week. A green and a red bellpepper count as 2 points. Small amounts, including cold-pressed oil, tea, spices and herbs and small amounts of nuts count as 0.25.

This all might be even more stressful for you. But for me it keeps things very interesting, and no week is like the other. This week I'm still having 2 portions of coastal Morrocan tajine with fish, I will likely make burgers tomorrow and a second day with .. potentially pickled veg and avocado next to beef, and a Greek or so salad on the side. Had a currywurst as I was away for a day. And I'm considering a fruity coconut curry for Sunday and into the next week.

riesettk

Absolutely. I am a diabetic and have high BP (even after a 40 lb weightloss) so I feel like if I don't pre-plan/pre-cook and monitor my macros closely, I tend to make less than ideal (lazy) choices. It's a never ending task, but I too love to eat

csplatt

I get that. It’s the same whether I’m cutting or not. New recipes help. So does cooking something I can eat for a few days in a row.

Lietchi

It's not related to calorie counting for me - I just sigh every time I need to make a shopping list and decide what I'll be preparing. Luckily it's a 50/50 split with my BF and we also tend to make enough for the same meal two days in a row, but I still get tired of it.

Often, I'll look at the available discounts in my supermarket and let myself be inspired by that.
In the supermarket they also have a number of 'meal boxes' with all the necessary vegetables and spices/sauce for a particular dish (only requiring to buy meat separately and sometimes rice/other 'carbs'), with a recipe - that's an easy way for us to get a bit of variation/inspiration too.

Food prep gets tiresome too sometimes, especially vegetables - I loooove vegetables and lots of them, but it's so labor intensive. So I sometimes give myself a break and buy pre-cut fresh vegetables or in some cases frozen.

Once every few weeks, usually after a long day at work, I'll 'go on strike' and refuse to cook and we'll have take-away or a pizza from the freezer

neanderthin

No, can't say I'm over it. Most people get bored eating the same things over and over making the same recipes over and over. Also with the vast variety of foods that are available in supermarkets and country markets people generally have a very short list of the foods they continue to choose, which can and does exacerbate more boredom. Maybe try different cuisines to spark some enthusiasm and joy in cooking and eating.

Adventurista

COGypsy wrote: »

I feel that 100%! I've just gotten to a place where "good enough is good enough". I keep a lot of super quick basics on hand and just mix and match at mealtime. Frozen veg and pre-cooked meat, pre-cooked rice and pasta, canned beans, salad kits, various sauces and seasoning--that kind of thing. I buy a veggie tray and some kind of fruit every week to round out meals and snacks. I can whip something together in 10 minutes or less and usually in just one bowl. It's not exciting, but it's a trade off I'm more than willing to make compared to the endless chore of feeding myself.

Bold is pretty much our process.
-- Shop and Batch cook/prep enough for several meals leftovers once or twice a week.
-- keep easy use, grab and go convenience foods and ingredients on hand.

And still get 'bored' of the time it takes, lol
-- it was a mental shift when i started prioritizing all this as an essential need and then carving enough time with the same priority as my job.

SafariGalNYC

I keep some variety which keeps it from being boring. It makes it a bit more fun when I take pretty photos of my meals and post them.. haha Like Im creating art. I also consider it a challenge to get all my minerals & nutrients via food.

I have some staples I eat on a bi weekly basis, fish, poultry, quiche. I fill it in with hunting down some exciting and colorful fruits and veggies.

perryc05

Take choice and decision out of the equation and go for gruel 3 times a day:

earlybirdlady

Generally I'm a weirdo who loves planning and prepping and cooking because I just love food
But times, like right now, where work is crazy and I'm just trying to keep it together - I totally feel you!
The last thing I want to do is think about meals, but then I'm bored of the same meals all the time.

When I'm exhausted of the planning I focus on protein and fiber and everything else is a wash. My rotating protein sources are batch cooked chicken, beef or turkey jerky, greek yogurt, protein powder. Then whatever fruit and veg I have. When work and kids need all of my attention that's all I have energy to focus on. I've started involving my husband and kids in at least the mental part of the meal planning because that's the part I hate the most.

The other day I forgot my work lunch and ended up with donuts and Diet Coke. Lunch of champions.

earlybirdlady

Also I recently discovered Tajin and I just put that stuff on everything. Makes me happy

springlering62

Just once, when I ask the weekly question “what would you like for dinners next week”, I’d sincerely appreciate something besides a grunt of disinterest and “I dunno. Whatever you want.”

What I want is guidance, input, thought, to be heard, and not relegated beneath catching some damn Pokémon because he managed to get a pokestop established right outside the front door.

Sigh. Such is married life after many decades. Could be worse. He could be a gourmand! Or have that Blue Zone Cookbook some of you guys terrify the rest of us with.

yirara

springlering62 wrote: »

Just once, when I ask the weekly question “what would you like for dinners next week”, I’d sincerely appreciate something besides a grunt of disinterest and “I dunno. Whatever you want.”

What I want is guidance, input, thought, to be heard, and not relegated beneath catching some damn Pokémon because he managed to get a pokestop established right outside the front door.

Sigh. Such is married life after many decades. Could be worse. He could be a gourmand! Or have that Blue Zone Cookbook some of you guys terrify the rest of us with.

Don't serve anything. Let them sort it out.

MargaretYakoda

Walkywalkerson wrote: »

Bored of deciding what to have, shopping for it, cooking it, cleaning up after - BORING!!!!!!!!!
I'm not bored of eating it though 🤣
It's just never ending decision making and cleaning- I'm over it.
Especially while counting calories
Does anyone else feel this way?

I’ve recently simplified the process by subscribing to one of those meals-by-mail services.
Not for every meal. Only two or three dinners a week.

No planning (other than ticking a box on the order menu) and no prep besides taking the meals out of the fridge and microwaving them.

10/10 highly recommend

__TMac__

My family of 5 is now all adults and we mostly fend for ourselves, so I’m free to prepare foods that suit only my own simple tastes. After 20 years of feeding individuals with varying preferences, I definitely have decision fatigue and it’s a relief to just be able to eat the simple and formulaic food I prefer.

Breakfast: Oats cooked in nonfat milk, fruit, and nonfat latte.

Lunch: Whole grain bread or crackers, some sort of protein topping (tuna, hummus, eggs, sardines, etc.), fruit, nonfat yogurt. Occasionally mixed nuts, if I’m unusually hungry.

Dinner: Premade salad kit plus protein (chicken, shrimp, beans), and a glass of wine.

Once or twice a week, we eat out, and if the mood strikes, we’ll come together to make a more exciting family dinner.

MargaretYakoda

__TMac__ wrote: »

My family of 5 is now all adults and we mostly fend for ourselves, so I’m free to prepare foods that suit only my own simple tastes. After 20 years of feeding individuals with varying preferences, I definitely have decision fatigue and it’s a relief to just be able to eat the simple and formulaic food I prefer.

Breakfast: Oats cooked in nonfat milk, fruit, and nonfat latte.

Lunch: Whole grain bread or crackers, some sort of protein topping (tuna, hummus, eggs, sardines, etc.), fruit, nonfat yogurt. Occasionally mixed nuts, if I’m unusually hungry.

Dinner: Premade salad kit plus protein (chicken, shrimp, beans), and a glass of wine.

Once or twice a week, we eat out, and if the mood strikes, we’ll come together to make a more exciting family dinner.

Love those premade salad kits!

cupcakesandproteinshakes

Yep. I feel you. It’s the reason why I have the same breakfast (yoghurt protein powder and fruit) and mostly eat same type of thing for lunch (soup) every day. 5 mins to prepare and 2 mins to wash up. Hubby and I share the evening meal cooking.

cupcakesandproteinshakes

Oh and I stopped counting calories cos that is extremely boring to me. Radical for many people here but so far it seems to be working for me.