How do you work 9-5 and meal plan?

If you have one, make your crock pot your best friend. Throw everything in, turn it on, walk away, hours later you have a delicious meal as healthy as you make it.

Get a Foreman Grill (or similar). Preheat the grill and grill the meat (usually takes no longer than 10 minutes, although thick cuts of meat may take longer) while cooking some veggies. Rice or potato (if you want a starch) in the microwave while grilling. ~15 minutes later? Dinner. If you make enough, you'll have some leftovers for the next day's lunch.

^^^ Plan on your commute.

Knowing what country you're in may help us recommend favourite brands or shops etc.

And seek out quick things. Here are some of my UK-based favourites...
- thin cut turkey breast steaks with Maggi flavour papers - pan fry with no oil in about 2 minutes
- chicken thighs in the oven in a Maggi seasoning bag - easy but not super fast
- omelettes with all sorts of fun things thrown in
- simmer up a tin of chopped tomatoes, a handful of olives and maybe some onion, pop in a fillet or two of fish for 5 mins, done
- make easy chilli by frying some onion, browning some lean beef mince, adding a can of chopped tomatoes and a can of kidney beans in spicy sauce (Tesco do them) and some chilli flakes, and simmering for as long as you can be bothered to wait
- steak - the thinner it is, the quicker it is to cook! Can be a matter of seconds for the really thin stuff.
- frozen pre-prepped veg - sliced peppers and mushrooms, diced onions, spinach etc
- salad instead of veg - peppers, tomatoes, spring onions etc
- super quick carbs like couscous rather than slow ones
- get a supermarket to deliver your shopping once you've drawn up a sensible, quick and healthy list so your fridge and cupboards are full of the right sorts of things when you get home

I've tried batch cooking and I can't hack it, so I do feel your pain with nightly cooking.
The best I can do is things like that chilli recipe that feeds two people, and saving the other half for the next day.

Thirding using your commute to plan.
Rachel Ray and tons of other have 15-30 minute recipes. You'll find that until your prep skills improve, it will often take longer than advertised, but not by much. I like the New York Times cooking website - tons of "staple food" recipes (starting simple with mashed potatoes, green beans, roast chicken) and loads of crazy Weekend Projects. They have a "weeknight" filter, and those recipes are simpler and faster to put together. Pair with rice or salad to fill your plate.

You might also try Blue Apron or HelloFresh or similar. If nothing else, see if you can't look up some of their recipes online - they tend to be relatively quick because the target user of those services is just trying to get dinner on the table on any given weeknight. When I was really learning to cook (ie, transitioning from grilled cheese and frozen food), Blue Apron is what got me started. It was a relief to be paying someone else to do the mental work of:
1) setting a menu
2) shopping
3) coming up with a recipe
for three nights a week. That it turn made it suck less to plan 4 other dinners + weekend lunches each week -
I'd bought myself a partial break. Bonus if it's just you: you'll have a serving left over for lunch or dinner the next day.
Not all the meals are low calorie, but they're almost all better than fast food, both in calories and relative wholeness of ingredients. I learned how to prep veg more quickly, fun flavor combinations, and new ways to do old things - like, I've made lots of tasty green beans with BA and HF because they don't want to have their customers eat "green beans, plain, boiled" week in and week out. Both services allow for customizing the coming menu so you can avoid, say, mushrooms, or seek out dishes that look easier or are lower-cal.

Alatariel75 wrote: »

joowelz wrote: »

Alatariel75 wrote: »

I just do it. I work 8-6 and go home and cook a meal. It doesn't need to be fancy, many nights are just grilled/simmered meat and sides/vegetables. If I'm organised I'll chuck something in the slow cooker in the morning, but as much as I'd like to I'm not a fan of batch cooking and reheating dinners so I cook nightly.

It doesn't need to be complicated, one of my favs is to stuff laughing cow cheese inside a pocket on a chicken breast, brown it on both sides and pour salsa over, cover and simmer til cooked. While it simmers, I steam some veggies, make some mashed potato or cook some oven fries and done.

I pick quick and easy meals but yeah... I just do it.

It might get a bit boring, but we get fed.

@Alatariel75 do you mean ready-made mashed potatoes? I remember my mom used to make it from scratch and it definitely wasnt quick and east.

Nope, from scratch... If we're having mash they're the first thing I put on. It takes me 2 mins to peel them, chuck water on them and put them on the stove. While they're cooking, I chuck the rest of the veg on to steam and get the meat cooking, 10-15 minutes later the potatoes are done, I drain, throw in some sour cream, milk and some laughing cow cheese and whisk them. throw them on a plate with the meat and the veg and that's dinner in under 30 minutes. For me, that's quick and easy.

That's roughly what I would do, but I mostly just roast them, both because I am lazy and because I like them best that way.

Take out potato, quick scrub and dry, chop chop chop (all this while the oven is heating up -- I normally turn it on the second I walk in the house), and then put in pan, toss with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper, and put in oven. Use cooking time for other things (maybe meal related, maybe unrelated tasks).

Works for sweet potatoes too, and carrots and other root veg.

joowelz wrote: »

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).

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.