Help with routines

cheryl0214 wrote: »

Thank you all for your responses and thoughts, I am going to take this 1 stage at a time.....first learn to cook and prep meals at home, then I will tackle another stage. I do agree not to make all these changes at once for fear of discouragement and failure. As was mentioned, any start is a good start.

That's a great start. Cooking doesn't have to be fancy weird ingredients or lots of time/cleaning. I like using frozen foods almost exclusively. Chicken nuggets on a baking sheet, fill the rest of the baking sheet with veggies, boom- dinner. I also love single-skillet meals. I'm a vegetarian, so I go for the fake meat, but my recipe is basically protein + large quantity of vegetables + sauce and/or noodles. I nearly never use more than 1 frying pan or 1 baking sheet to cook dinner.

Sounds like you are already making some great changes! I reckon half the trouble is in the planning, which you are now doing. If it's closing in on dinnertime and I have no idea what I'll cook, it all seems so much harder. So every weekend I'm trying to take a little bit of time to plan 5 meals so that I can also plan my grocery shop around that. (The other two days are leftovers or frozen meals, or simple things that everyone in my family can get themselves like an omelette.)

I'll also add that I find stir fries are a great quick meal. I often use chicken or beef (already sliced if I can't be bothered chopping) or prawns and throw them into my big electric frypan with frozen vegies and then add a bottled sauce. I cook some rice in the microwave in the meantime. Or, even quicker, just soak some noodles. Ta da...dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes and barely needing to engage my brain to do it, lol!

Also, if I'm making something that will freeze well (like a bolognese or casserole) I'll often make a double quantity and freeze the leftovers. It's great to just pull something from the freezer on nights when you are exhausted.

I hate cooking when I'm tired or short on time, but I love cooking when I've got all the ingredients, am feeling fresh and have plenty of time!

All the best with the changes you are making. Even if you only improve one meal a week to start, remember it's a positive step. You don't have to do this perfectly.

You can lose weight eating restaurant food or convenience foods. You just need to make choices that fit your calorie deficit goal.
Healthy meals contain nutrients. That means a casserole, spaghetti, eggs, oatmeal, canned soup, a sandwich, or yogurt can all be part of a healthy diet. Don't define healthy food so narrowly.
When you do cook make double. Put the extra in the freezer. I generally have some soup in my freezer. You might look up once a month cooking or freezer meals for ideas.
Eggs are quick cooking as is pasta.
Get a slow cooker.
A piece of fruit or a granola bar are easy portable foods.
Prep in advance- not just food but stuff like your outfit or your child's bag. Get stuff ready in the evening so you don't have as much to do in the morning. Prepare for the week on your day off.
Don't skip breaks you are entitled to and need. That isn't healthy.

Maybe look for a different job. This one sounds pretty brutal.

That looks delicious. Go you!

cheryl0214 wrote: »

I have actually tried the frozen prep meals at one time, but I would either forget to lay them out to cook or they would cook too long in crockpot because I had to work longer than planned and they would not be enjoyable. I am looking at all these wonder suggestions and comments thinking to myself, I can do this. I did it when I was married even though I was tired when I got home, I can do it now....push myself, encouraging myself, reward myself because I am better than what I have become, I am worth taking care of myself. I truly want to say thanks for all the comments, I think I came to the right place to find the encouragement I need. Thank you all

There's an easy (and fairly cheap) solution to the cooking too long problem - if your crock pot doesn't have a built-in timer that will shut it off/switch to warm, you can buy a timer for it.

Manual one like this or this.

Or "smart" ones with wifi, like this.

I'm a tech geek, so I have the one with wifi - means I can turn on/off the timer from anywhere, but the manual ones do the job too! Set your crock pot to whatever heat is appropriate, and the timer will do the rest

~Lyssa

That bowl looks great! That is very similar to what I do. Pre-cook ingredients for meals I like so dinner can literally be throwing something together. And yes, small steps. Every little change adds up and it is much easier to stick with things when don't slowly. Nice job!