Eating Healthy but cooking less?

It's all about preference. I cook because I enjoy it, it offers excellent quality control, it's creative, saves money and keeps eating interesting. I also think it tastes better - 9 times out of 10.

No-cook meals like salads and sandwiches are good, too. But it isn't "simply that eating healthier requires less cooking." That's too broad a stroke. It's just preference.

how much you cook is a matter of preference and time. I can put together healthy meals using simple or complicated techniques. I sit down each sunday and look at my weekly schedule and pick foods that I like to eat that fit into my schedule. What it sounds like to me is you spend less time cooking so that you can do other things (perhaps ride that bike).

Now, the term healthy is likely to get you a bunch of different responses. I believe in a balanced diet that meets my nutrient and energy needs. I can prepare that food in many different ways.

I tend to cook more when I'm trying to eat healthy/healthier. It's when I get lazy and decide not to cook and just grab whatever is convenient that I tend to gain weight. I cook simple food that doesn't require a million ingredients or a million complicated steps to make it taste good.

I cook the same things as always. I just eat less of them.

No, that didn't happen for me. I cook pretty much everyday. Usually if I don't cook dinner it's because I've got the kitchen tied up for canning so I'm still cooking. But, I get great enjoyment from cooking. Even on the rare occasion when my husband cooks, I do most of the prep work for him.

I cook on weekends only and freeze portions. Use the recipe builder, make your recipe, then when you eat one you can log it. Easy!

I only really spend time cooking my lunches but it's more than the big fat nothing I used to cook.

The most I cooking I do past my slow cooker lunches are microwave eggs and overnight oats. I'm really lazy

I have always enjoyed cooking, and love trying new recipes. I was over the moon happy when I discovered several apps like Yummly that give the calorie/nutrition counts, pull recipes from all over the internet, have an easy search function and a simple one button sync with MFP recipe builder There are several websites that you can auto sync recipes into MFP also. Now it is easy peasy for me to try new stuff. Yay!! I do find myself grilling more and doing lighter things in the summer with lightened up versions of comfort foods in the colder months and lots of crock pot dishes I can weigh out and freeze as I clean up after dinner for busy days and to have an endless supply of various, already weighed, grab and go ready meals. It also makes my daily prelogging a breeze and we waste less food.

I started cooking more when I started eating healthier, but it was more for my parents than for myself. I knew that if I didn't cook, my mom (who hates cooking,) would just fix hamburgers and spaghetti every night. She still will, if I cook something that doesn't taste good and appeal to both her and dad. So, I try to get creative on how to cook veggies. Last night, instead of spaghetti and meat sauce, I made a vegetarian dish that combined gluten-free penne pasta with a doctored-up jar of tomato basil sauce that I had added some garlic, kale, and butternut squash to. It was generally well-received. Tonight, I made a soup with the leftover squash and uncooked kale, and made some homemade whole-wheat dinner rolls to go with it. I'm the kind of person that's satisfied with a bowl of steamed broccoli and a baked sweet potato with a scrambled egg on it, but my parents are from the "3 square meals a day" generation, so I try to cater to them a little in an attempt to keep all of us a little healthier.

It's up to you! If you are eating at a deficit, you'll lose weight no matter how that food is prepared or what it's made up of. Personally, I work full time and work out 4 evenings a week for an hour. There are times when I genuinely don't want to start weighing and cooking and timing etc etc - so I'll keep it simple and throw a jacket potato in the oven and boil some vegetables. Yes, I'm probably lazy in this sense. But this is literally the only area of my life I am lazy in so i can let it go! Heh!

I cook the same as always.