Eating Late

bobbi29

I have trouble planning dinners. I work from 7am and usually don't get home tell 7pm. By that time my husband and I are too tired to cook dinner so we end up just picking up some fast food. I have been looking over my logs and the dinner hour is really hurting my diet efforts. Its just me and my husbands so it only for two people.
What do other people do when they have crazy hours and not much time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

MorgueBabe

Even if you're picking up fastfood there's no reason you can't eat within your calories and make a healthy choice. That being said - you can toss some things in a crockpot when you leave for work and come home to dinner. Does your boyfriend work the same hours as you? If not and he is home earlier, he can start dinner.

bobbi29

Yes, my husband does work the same hours and already tried crockpot meals gets boring and not much of a meat eater. Do you have any recipes that you use?

MorgueBabe

Yes, my husband does work the same hours and already tried crockpot meals gets boring and not much of a meat eater. Do you have any recipes that you use?

I don't eat meat - so I use a book called The Vegan Slow Cooker

But yeah, every fast food place or take out place has a healthy option.

Rebekah718

I hear you with my daughter in so many after school activities dinner can be tough. What i did to help was go to the library and check out some make ahead meals. These are great you can cook on the weekends and freeze them for throughout the week.

Bubba_Furley

I would cut out the fast food completely. You need to break the habit of always stopping on the way home. Menu plan on the weekend and do most if not all of your cooking. Then just heat up your food during the week. Some weeks I grill 10 chicken breasts on Sunday and eat them all week different ways. Like chicken salad, burritos, with Vegs,and etc. since you dont eat much meat just do the same thing but with vegetables/beans/grains.

missg47

I have a crazy, busy schedule too with work and the kids' sports. Whenever possible, I try to make several dinners on Sunday and stick them in the fridge or freezer for later in the week. My crockpot has also become my best friend. Organization is key. Planning meals for the week and trying to stick to the plan also helps a lot. Good luck!

DMZ_1

Cook healthy meals on off days from work. Save leftovers for your work days when you get home late and are burned out. Re-heat. Eat.

lejenn

I try to have food already in the fridge that's prepped and ready to go (like salads or leftovers from a previous meal) in the event that I just don't feel like cooking at any particular time

FattyFeast

Maybe I'm just a really bad chef or something but all my favourite meals can be cooked in less than 30 mins. I have one favourite meal that takes less than 5 mins.

Just change what you're cooking to something speedy speedy. Quick carbs? Cous cous. Quick meat? Ham, something cold. Quick veg? Steam something or have it raw.

If I'm starving I usually have an avocado, some slices of parma ham, some cherry tomatoes chopped up and with some vinegar/olive oil and some cous cous. This meal is delicious (to me xD) and can be done in... 3 minutes? Depending on how fast you chop. Most microwave meals actually take longer

Or just have a healthy snack to delay your hunger a bit whilst you get something together? An apple or something.

Personally my normal mealtime is between 8 and 9pm anyway xP

CipherZero

Anything you can do to prep a meal beforehand will help worlds with this. I do marinated chicken at least once a week - all the prep is in the morning, and when I get home I pop the chicken in the oven for 45 minutes, pour frozen veggies into a steamer and just wait.

Delicious, very nutritious, and low-calories when you do it right.

seltzermint555

Planning planning planning.

It's not the most fun activity in the world but it's totally worth it.

Also, multi-night meals. Big pot of beans or a casserole that actually makes leftover you WANT to eat.

Ingredient meals...like have everything on hand to make some tasty wraps or nachos/tacos in just a few minutes.

jfauci

I also try to plan on the weekends so all we have to do is heat stuff up. We will sometimes stop at Subway, which has some great healthy options.

Mrscanmore

I agree! Planning ahead is the most important thing. I plan my meals on the weekend and then get all the groceries for the week. This also stops me from so much impulse buying (I can only do it once a week!). I'm not a huge crockpot fan, but I do like making soups in it. My favourites are tortilla soup, lasagne soup and tortellini soup. I also like marinating meat in a baggie, and then popping it in the freezer. I try to make enough for 2 meals, one I can have that week and then the other in the freezer so I can just take it out and BBQ it another week.

Here are links to the soup recipes. Please note that none of them are low calorie, broth types soups. They are all hearty supper soups.

http://www.afarmgirlsdabbles.com/2011/03/24/lasagna-soup/

http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/171098794/creamy-tomato-tortellini-soup/

For the tortilla soup, put in a thinly sliced onion, a can of diced tomatoes, 2 or 3 cloves garlic, chopped, half a rotisserie chicken (shredded), 1/2 t cumin, a carton of chicken broth. Garnish with cheddar cheese, avocado slices, tortilla chips.

happysherri

Plan ahead. Pick a day you have some time and cook for the whole week. I do this for breakfasts and lunches for my week.

susanrechter

Cook ahead and refridgerate.
Have salad fiixins in the fridge ready to go along with some protein (chicken, eggs, cheese, beans) to add to the salad.
I also make taco fillings and have it ready for flavorful additions.
Protein shakes with blueberries, cranberries, fruits, fiber and anything you want to add.
Barbequed chicken from the grill ready in the fridge, just zap it.
Barbeque corn on the cob, eat it like that or cut it off the cob, add vinegar and oil with some tomatoes, red bell pepper, red onions and a spoonful of dijon....viola! a corn salad. It takes 10 minutes, tops.
You can change your eating habits and the ingredients go a long way.

bobbi29

Thanks for all your replys and for the good Ideas. Unfortunately I do plan the meal ,crockpot and freeze dinners but sitting in a car for an hour with a hungry husband the take out wins I just need to stick to my guns and if he wants to take out he can have it. I will just eat what was planned. I just have to remember this is my journey and not his ( he can eat and eat and never gain a thing but for me I look at it and gain 10lbs.)

GreenIceFloes

You could look for healthier fast food options. I work and commute a total of 14 hours a day so kinda know what it's like. When I'm too tired to cook I usually go for a Subway salad with no sauces and stuff, and add homemade hummus or fat-free dressings to it. Maybe you could try something like that.

GingerLolita

I also get home around 7 pm and I just cook and eat late. Sometimes I'll go to a yoga class at 7:30, so I won't eat until 9 pm. It doesn't really bother me.

Also, maybe you shouldn't freeze your pre-made dinners. If you have them sitting in the fridge about to go bad and be wasted, you'll need to eat them and not stop for take-out! Personally, I don't want to waste the money going out if I have food to make at home.

mamma_nee

maybe make up big pot of soups for the colder weather so cook only on weekends ? and salads with protein for the warmer weather, they are easy enough?

LenaNc

I feel you... having someone acting like they are dying is really frustrating....he can fend for himself.....he's a big boy...tell him to stop and get himself something on the way home.....that way maybe he'll have it eaten before you get there.....lol. Otherwise he's going to have to deal with whatever is in the fridge. I would also suggest buying the steam veggies that you can throw in the microwave and have some chicken or something available to eat with it...I know you said you don't eat much meat, so I'm not sure what your meals are normally like. A store bought rotisserie chicken and the frozen veggies can do you for a while.... hubby can eat his on the way home or something...

bobbi29

I feel you... having someone acting like they are dying is really frustrating....he can fend for himself.....he's a big boy...tell him to stop and get himself something on the way home.....that way maybe he'll have it eaten before you get there.....lol. Otherwise he's going to have to deal with whatever is in the fridge. I would also suggest buying the steam veggies that you can throw in the microwave and have some chicken or something available to eat with it...I know you said you don't eat much meat, so I'm not sure what your meals are normally like. A store bought rotisserie chicken and the frozen veggies can do you for a while.... hubby can eat his on the way home or something...

Thank thank you, you so understand we carpool together so Its gets frustrating when you are trying to do the right think and your mate just wants to go out. I do eat meat not much beef.

ArtemisRuns

Cook healthy meals on off days from work. Save leftovers for your work days when you get home late and are burned out. Re-heat. Eat.

This. We have a food saver so any time we cook, we make an extra meal of everything and vacuum pack it, and freeze. It comes out of the freezer in the morning and into the fridge before work. Then when you get home all you have to do is microwave - you can generally leave it in the plastic you packed it in to reheat in the microwave.

ArtemisRuns

I also get home around 7 pm and I just cook and eat late. Sometimes I'll go to a yoga class at 7:30, so I won't eat until 9 pm. It doesn't really bother me.

Also, maybe you shouldn't freeze your pre-made dinners. If you have them sitting in the fridge about to go bad and be wasted, you'll need to eat them and not stop for take-out! Personally, I don't want to waste the money going out if I have food to make at home.

Why shouldn't you freeze the pre-made dinners?

Sunitagt

Pre-planning is key! I used to do this all the time. Now I'm working even longer hours just as late if not later than before, but I am sticking my to calorie goal just fine. We have healthy snacks that I plan out for the day in my lunch bag, and I arrange my time to eat lunch and dinner at work so I'm not starving on my way.

We also used to eat after getting home from late night shifts by making simple things. Bagel thins with cream cheese and scrambled eggs are pretty easy to make. Quick, and require almost no effort. It's all in the planning, and making sure you have food you want to eat available when you want to eat it.

acpgee

Some of my meals freeze well, such as braised chicken (coq au vin, curry, tagine, cacciatore), bolognese sauce and stews. When I cook these (mostly on the weekend) I do huge batches and then freeze in small portions for weekday meals.

empowered2bfit

So what sites/recipes does everyone use for plan ahead meals?

Sunitagt

So what sites/recipes does everyone use for plan ahead meals?

This one and keyingredient.com for recipe planning. But I just bring up the date in question, add food to it and make sure I hit my targets (protein and fiber are my two main ones) If I am going to cook something, I use the recipe builder on here to figure out the nutritional information, and log it that way. But usually I can just copy the same thing from day to day for a week or so.

acpgee

So what sites/recipes does everyone use for plan ahead meals?

Braised chicken recipes freeze well. Here are a few ideas. Some of the recipes call for jointing a whole chicken, but I would save time by just buying a packet of thighs or drumsticks.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chickentagine_74834
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/coqauvin_10455
http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/italian/chicken-cacciatora.html
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/26528/mum-s-chinese-chicken-curry.aspx
http://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/easy-thai-red-chicken-curry.html

I also freeze sauces such pesto and chimchurri or salsa verde. They really dress up some pan fried or microwaved frozen fish.

http://www.food.com/recipe/pesto-marcella-hazan-448339
http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/salsa-verde-1149
http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/saladssidedishes/r/chimichurri.htm

Another two very quick midweek suppers are microwaved smoked mackerel and tinned sardines fried in the oil from the tin. Add a squeeze of lemon to both and serve with bread or other starch and a tomato salad.

aquarianpixi

I also get home around 7 pm and I just cook and eat late. Sometimes I'll go to a yoga class at 7:30, so I won't eat until 9 pm. It doesn't really bother me.

Also, maybe you shouldn't freeze your pre-made dinners. If you have them sitting in the fridge about to go bad and be wasted, you'll need to eat them and not stop for take-out! Personally, I don't want to waste the money going out if I have food to make at home.

Why shouldn't you freeze the pre-made dinners?

to motivate you to make it home to eat it. if you freeze it it is easy to just leave it there for another day. lol