How do you find time to cook and eat healthy? I find it hard

whatshesaid

Batch cooking all the way! Every Sunday I make a giant batch of something, and I freeze individual portions for my lunches *could be for suppers also* ... for example I spent like 2-3 hours this weekend making a huge batch of meat and veggie chili, I've made spaghetti sauce with spaghetti squash, soups, etc. I used to be like you - personally i was very lazy, hungry right after work and never felt like cooking and all that. It was easier to throw some chicken fingers and bag fries in the oven - but now i LOVE cooking and I experiment with spices, and i rarely touched pre-packaged food. Plus I eat later now when i take the time to cook so if i'm eating supper at like 6:30 I am less likely to snack at night!

I think it's all about pre-planning and cooking large quantities at once, if you're going to spend so much time on it you better have leftovers!

MB_Positif

I prep everything on Sunday afternoon that I am going to need to cook meals for the week, so any veggies that need chopping (except anything that would brown like avocado or potatoes) or meat that needs to be cut, I take care of then so when I get home from work at 6 I can just start throwing the food together. And I love my crockpot!

Sidesteal

I got a wife.






























i'm not a dck, seriously....
my wife does cook though. BOOM.

chocolateandvodka

you realize it is hard, and make it a priority.

or you just continue eating terribly, and reap the results.

as my friend Gary says - you choose your hard.

Qarol

as my friend Gary says - you choose your hard.

I like that Gary...he's smartness

lor007

I find that it takes no more time to cook and eat healthy than it does to cook and eat unhealthy.

melsinct

Anything that is a priority is gonna happen. If you have time to be on the computer, use that time to cook instead. Got time to watch tv? Cook instead. Get up a half hour earlier to pack lunches/dinners etc.

Exactly. We all like to talk about how busy we are, but most of us have time. We just choose to do other activities.

I cook things in large batches on the weekend when I have more time, which makes for leftover dinners and lunches during the week. Sometimes I will make large batches of soup and freeze into portions = super quick lunch. Slow cookers are a great idea for the time crunched. I keep myself to a rule that weeknight dinners must take 30 minutes or less to prepare. Sometimes I will do some prep work the night before (chopping vegetables or other time consuming tasks).

It doesn't matter who you are- single, married, no kids, multiple kids, work full time, in school full time, or both work and school- most of us are busy and lead busy lives. You have to make yourself and your health a priority and make the time to cook or exercise or whatever else you need to do to keep yourself healthy. I know for me, excuse making made me fat. You just have to do it.

LeeKetty1176

6 Ps

Proper Plans Prevent Piss Poor Performance

ilookthetype

I prep everything over the weekend. I'm gluten intolerant so I even make my veggie noodles on saturday and sunday then just slap them into tupperware at night for the next day's lunch.

FitnActiveMom

go to my blog www.fitnactivemom.blogspot.com....I talk about how to fit it all in with kids,husbands, work, etc. It's a work in progress, so much more to come!

loraflock

I completely understand how hard it can be to cook and eat healthy...I find it hard myself. A couple of things you can do, is take 1 hour a week and make out the weekly menu...this also helps you save at the grocery store; prepare meals ahead of time and freeze them so all you have to do is pull them from the freezer and put in the oven or in a pan on the range while your doing laundry, vaccuming, or whatever needs to be done....also remember that there are healthy choices to be made at fast food resturants....just remember if you order a salad watch what you put on it...some salad dressing can be a problem. Once you get the hang of it you'll be amazed at how easy this can make things..

borichfan

Thanks for all the wonderful tips, i will sure follow them.

borichfan

I found some nice cook ahead recipes on cooks.com.

albinogorilla

I cook a bucket of chili and 3 lbs of chicken on my day off, and that is my dinner all week.

leomentlines

My experience might not be the same as others since I'm a single student in an apartment (I work/go to school), but I live off of steam in the bag veggies/premade salad mixes.. I know others prefer to cut their own salads, but buying them in the bag helps me, especially since I get in ~11:30/12 at night from the gym after work.

If you like to cook, I agree with others - prepare the meals on whichever day you have a few hours to spare. Or just check out some of the recipes others have posted on this site - I just made some protein banana pancakes for breakfast this morning from the forums that took all of 10 minutes!

If I'm really beat - I keep some frozen dinners to eat on hand. They've helped me lose 55+ thus far - so I can't knock them!

Hope this helps!

calliope_music

prep on the weekends. make stuff and freeze it, or pop it in the fridge.

crock pot is my best friend, especially in the winter!

DdoubleU77

:noway: Sometimes life isn't that easy folks lol.

I manage a very busy bridal shop 7 days a week with 3 young children, 1 nephew and 1 neice that live with us. My husband is a demanding, hard working individual who happens to think that a hot dinner should be on the table for him when he gets home, but sometimes he is home before me and will not cook (even though he is so good at it). He HATES eating out but I can NOT be spread any more thin than I already am.

My husband will only eat certain food (without complaining...and believe me, complaining is the last thing I need)...my children are the same way (geez, I wonder where they get it) :-/

They will not eat anything that someone ELSE makes for them :huh: I was forced to hire a nanny because I was about to jump ship from the stress.

She...
does...
not...
cook!

:grumble:

SOOOOOOOOO...it's almost 11pm, we ate dinner at 10pm because 'as my husband says' no meal is a REAL meal if it takes less than 2 hours to cook. BELIEVE ME, the LAST thing I am thinking about is preparing a meal for tomorrow.

I have a contact through a catering company who plans, prepares and delivers meals for a week. I am really considering it :indifferent: