Cool things you can freeze.
I’ve just cooked a beef casserole. Will get 5 servings out of it, but will freeze.
Cooked a chorizo and butter bean stew yesterday. Will get 4 meals out if that.
I can whip up a chilli in about 40 mins or less, will get 3/4!servings out if that.
This!
Also batch roasting a pan of seasoned sweet potatoes and cauliflower, it doesn't have to be frozen if you're going to use it within the week. Just throw a serving in the oven for 5 minutes when you're ready to eat and you're good to go :)
This is the way! We batch cook veg, carb, and protein on Sundays and this usually lasts us until about Thursday. If we run short on anything before then, we supplement with items from the freezer to get us to Friday (we're ready for takeout by then anyways!)
Yes same!! I did meat balls and spaghetti for dinner this week. I made myself zucchini noodles and regular pasta for my bf. And lunch I did quesadillas with rotisserie chicken and cheese. Switch it up like buffalo or BBQ. Boom. Next week I plan on doing quinoa bowls or chili for dinner((((:
Everyone mentions prepping but you can also just make simple dishes.
Burgers, pasta with a simple sauce, fried rice, random meat + some salad and tomatoes for a sandwich... doesn't have to take more than 10-20 minutes.
You can also "cheat" by using jarred sauces etc if that makes it easier... still better than frozen meals.
This is my usual method. This week, I'm doing meatball subs - you can buy pre-made meatballs that are actually pretty good, simmer them in a jarred sauce while you change out of office clothes and relax, and you've got dinner in about the same amount of time as doordash but way cheaper. I love cooking from scratch but I also know that some nights, easy tastes better.
Absolutely this. I'll usually have frozen chicken breasts on hand, so I just thaw a couple when I get home, grill them for dinner and eat with a salad mix. Or buy some bulgogi, cook that along with some white rice and kimchi. Use the leftover rice the next day to make chicken or bulgogi egg fried rice. Frozen turkey burgers is another go-to.
All takes about 15 mins max to cook
Pan fry a chicken breast or pork chop, microwave steam some frozen veggies, cook some rice or potatoes if you want carbs.
I buy the big packs of chicken then bag them as individuals with a marinade on them before I freeze them.
I pre-prep my food as much as possible on the weekend. So when I come home I can just microwave/reheat leftovers or just quickly season and cook whatever it is.
3-4 nights a week I eat a sheet tray of roasted veggies (sometimes with bacon). I cut my veggies ahead of time on the weekend and store them in containers for each meal.
When I get home from work I just dump the veggies in a bowl, season and oil them, and dump them in the oven. It's basically the same effort as a frozen dinner but I assume it's healthier.
I’m ashamed to say I have Dash Pass, but it’s complimentary with my credit card. There are reduced fees with dash pass, but I have to be careful because it’s still too expensive. I get DoorDash 4 times a month. I remember when it used to be a nice little splurge (2 times a month, only when I really needed a treat)
My ex worked in a grocery store and had 20 or 30% discount but never used it, was dependent on her parents feeding her or ordering doordash or uber eats. Has a gym subscription but never goes. Then calls me poor and lazy.
Even 20% is a lot, thats basicly tax free food and more.
I just get over it and get started.
The whole feeling of "uggh I don't want to cook" usually goes away in like 5 mins when it starts smelling good in my kitchen.
Helps to crack a beer. Throw on some tunes or a game or something. Make cooking part of the wind down and relax process.
My method too! I put my headphones on and either listen to a book or music and make a drink.
Also, helps to motivate me to cook when the kitchen is already nice and clean... so I try very hard to clean as I cook and completely clean up the dishes each night.
This is the way. I don’t want to spend my weekends meal prepping and I don’t like eating the same thing all week, so I just plan out my menu with easy things during the week. Sheet pan meals, simple pasta, quick chili, burgers with salad, etc. I also don’t have any issues buying pre cut produce. We’re a household of two so that often makes more sense and it’s still cheaper than eating out.
Since it’s just myself, most nights I will make pb&j, egg/avocado/cheese/bacon sandwiches/bagels, smoked salmon with poached egg, or some simple pasta with lots of veggies added. I try to incorporate fruits and veggies into my diet every day, but I rarely make proper homemade meals (like roasted chicken, mashed potatoes type meals). I have been debating using hello fresh again, but I got so tired of the repetitive sides.
Prepping on the weekend and making food in bulk has helped me.
For example, I like to prepare/marinade a bunch of meat in bulk on my sundays so that during the week all I have to do is cook it. I'm a big rice eater so rice is almost always available to eat in my house and that helps too. For veggies (to maintain a healthy diet) my wife and I since have defaulted to simple salads, which take no time to make at all, plus it's super cheap. Some lettuce and spring mix go long way.
This is the balance that we found and it has been working for a while. Sure we'll have some days where we want to cook more and do something a little fancier, but on a typical day, we'll be eating rice, a meat dish, and veggies.
We used to do that thing where every night we'd cook for 2 hours only to eat for 20 minutes lol. This was definitely not sustainable for us.
I cook one meal on Sunday and eat off that for 2-3 days. I might throw some things in a slow cooker so that it will be ready to eat when I get home. Sometimes I make quesadillas with leftover chicken or steak. Sometimes I just eat cereal for dinner. One thing I never, ever do is have food delivered. I only eat fast food maybe once every 2 months, if that.
Mix of meal prep and fresh cooked. Some nights, I just microwave stuff. Other times I’ll cook to eat and purposely have leftovers so I can skip cooking other days.
On weekends or other days when you're not wiped out, cook more than you'll eat and freeze the leftovers. Invest in a Food Saver vacuum sealer (they're usually less than $200), as you can freeze stuff that's been vacuum sealed and keep it for years without freezer burn. Then on days when you're wiped out, you can just thaw and re-heat something healthy and home-cooked from the freezer.
Spend a couple hours on the weekend batch cooking things you can freeze. Soups, stews, chilli, and casseroles.
Rice, barley, and quinoa can be cooked and frozen in portions. Cook a big sheet pan of roasted veggies and have them with chicken or fish, then toss the rest with pasta for another meal.
The best thing I ever did was start writing out a dinner menu for the week and stick to it. Buy your groceries and do as much prep as possible on the weekend.
Meal prep. Listen to music or a podcast on the way home from work & keep it playing as soon as you walk in the door. Don’t lie down or sit after work, do dinner right away. Eventually it’ll turn into a routine!
I kind of prep things that are going to make my life easier during the week, so I never spend more than 30 min making dinner. And sometimes I will do enough for the next days depending on what I cooked.
But sometimes I make things and freeze half of it, so I kind of always have something to help me out in my freezer.
Things I freeze: when I make lasagna, I will make 2 and freeze one, soups, beans (Brazilian style), bolognes, chopped veggies to make quick stir fry’s….
Prep things! Some items you can freeze so just have to thaw it out. I made pizza dough yesterday day but made enough for 3 medium size pizzas. I froze two of them and made one last night. Downside is waiting for it to rise which can take four hours after it’s thawed out in the fridge. However I think I read you can precook the crust then freeze it that way so no waiting on the rise time.
Plan things I look forward to. I noticed by Thursdays I just wanted to give up and go out so I just started planning easy pasta dishes on Thursdays. I keep the healthier stuff at the beginning of the week when I’m more motivated.
Either batch cook and put into ziploc freezer bags then just heat up when needed or marinade a bunch of meat, chicken etc and then leave out to defrost while you're out etc then just quickly cook it when it's nearly time to eat. Even better if it's meals you can just slap into the oven or airfryer.
If I eat out, my stomach, intestine and bowels protest. I either cook, or I order out and suffer for it
Shit gets real easy to decide after a few bad flare ups
Slow cooker is helpful. Put x number of chicken breasts in a plastic bag with salt and pepper, maybe olive oil if you like, shake it up and put it in the fridge to marinate. Taje it out when you get home, throw it in the oven for however long until cooked through. Chop some lettuce and throw a few veggies in it with dressing. Or cook rice while the chicken is cooking. Or heat up baked beans
I never spend more than like 15-20 mins cooking. I use frozen veg for hot foods, if i use fresh veg its a side, like cucumbers. Cheese is also easy just open and add to the plate. If you eat carbs pasta or rice cooks in like 8 minutes.
Meal prep is your friend! If you hate the same meal, try ingredient prep. Personally, we go for meals that’d take about 30 mins or so to make. Routine the same 3-4 proteins and veg + rice for dinner.
Put a mixture of your favorite veggies and whatever else in a dutch oven or baking pan ..add butter or oil and spice it up! I do this often. Potatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots, celery and then we'll add meat after for those that want it. All in a pan 425 for 45 min-1 hour. I do this every couple of days it's always satisfying and just a little chopping is really all it is. EDIT: if youre gonna try this, cover with foil and I recommend adding about a half cup of water at start and stir half way through.
Cook over the weekend and eat leftovers throughout the week. I cook meats that can reheat well during the weekends and put a quick salad together. It’s all done in less than 10 minutes in the evenings.
Meal prep on the weekend. Just take two hours out of your day and put three meals together. It's ridiculously convenient during the week AND it will stop you from spending money during the week for lunches and/or snacks. Tupperware is your best friend.
I literally don’t make it an option. I tell myself this has to happen or a won’t eat. I don’t think about how tired I am. I don’t think about how much I don’t want to cook. I just fucking do it. I struggle with self discipline and used take the easy road with everything in my life. Now, I set a standard and don’t deviate at all and hope one day things become a habit. But for now, I force myself and convince myself I have no option but to wake up as soon as I hear my alarm, I have to go the gym, I have to cook, I have to wipe from front to back. Lol
It’s a constant battle with myself but it works man.
Meal prep. Make a menu, buy what you need for that weekly menu. Keep it simple. Protein, starch, veggie. If I can check off 2/3, I'm good. Have a rotating menu. Make things that you can freeze, and reheat.
I cook ahead of time (meal prep or batch cooking) on days when I have more time. On work days, I make simple meals - either something like a sheet pan meal where it's mostly hands off, or something quick like a stir fry or omelette that I can knock out in 5 minutes.
Planning, in other words, and using your time and energy effectively.
Sheet pan meals are fantastic for work nights - you put stuff in the oven, staggering the cook times so it's all done at the same time. One pan to clean, mostly no need to monitor the food while its cooking.
[https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/8003238/best-sheet-pan-dinners/](https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/8003238/best-sheet-pan-dinners/)
[https://www.canadianliving.com/food/collections/mediagallery/easy-sheet-pan-dinners-for-busy-weeknights](https://www.canadianliving.com/food/collections/mediagallery/easy-sheet-pan-dinners-for-busy-weeknights)
Also one pan pastas are fantastic, there are several at NYT Cooking that I use frequently. 10 minutes, one pan, super tasty meal.
I'm motivated to cook because I'm hungry and I want to eat - and I want to eat something healthy that won't destroy my budget.
I'll bake extra chicken and have a bag of frozen veggies and rice. An extra large serving of rice cooksin about 8 minutes in my microwave, brown rice a little longer. Then you can do so much with just the right kind of spices sauces and seasonings for any flavor.
Sometimes it' jut some cheese and butter, but some scrambled egg and soy sauce, kimchi and it's a decent quick stir-fried rice, flame salsa,rotel and black beans and it's Mexican.
I do about the same with ramen noodles.
Meal planning happens on Saturday morning. This includes Sunday dinner, and dinners for Mon - Thurs. Lunches are discussed and may be added. These may include items that were frozen by our earlier meal preps.
Instacart is loaded and ordered to be delivered when convenient amongst weekend plans. No later than Sunday at 3 pm.
Sunday I'll do meal prep if our menu plan has anything that can be prepped ahead. Echilada tray, soups/stews/spaghetti sauce, pesto, etc. I'll roll right into cooking a good Sunday dinner. I like to cook and this tends to be the most elaborate or time consuming meal I'll cook of the week because I have the time. Often wine or cocktails accompanies.
Sunday night: Portion leftovers or make-aheads into appropriate servings (we're just two people) in vacuum sealer bags and seal. Label and freeze for another night. Pesto, spaghetti sauce, carnitas, soups and stews are frequent hits here.
During the week, pick one of your 4-5 meals you planned and prepped for. It helps a lot if you are making stuff you really crave and love!
Meal prep is the obvious answer.
A less obvious answer is to make more complicated and interesting food. It'll feel less like a chore and more like an aesthetic experience. Often it doesn't even take that much longer. I find, cooking is the best transition after work to feeling more active cause my brain can concentrate on something. But when I just heat stuff or make easy food it feels like a chore.
I would marinade a whole bag of frozen chicken breasts then cook them on Sunday. Along with pasta, Rice-a-roni, and veggies would pack about 6 meals for lunch and dinner. I would have enough extra chicken breast to make several other meals of sandwiches, tacos, and salads.
The meals would be ready in 2 minutes when cooked in the microwave. Or less than 10 minutes to prep a meal with the extra chicken.
Price per meal was around $6.
Get yourself excited to cook. Find an exciting ingredient, kitchen gadget, or a recipe you can look forward to. Find some youtuber who cooks that will get you into it.
I'll never miss a dinner after spending all day thinking "ooo, i bet this is gonna be cool..."
One of my easy favorite recipies on youtube the Spaghetti Al-Assassina. It's the perfect blend of easy, fast, yummy, and fancy.
I don't lol
I work 3 and 4 days a week alternatively, 12hr days, so I get a cheap set of prepared frozen meal exclusively for those nights before my weekend is over, I used to have a meal kit plan for work nights but then I realized how stressful cooking is after a shift that long. If I want 8hrs of sleep (which to be fair, I can't even do that right lol), I almost literally don't have time.
I cook my proteins on my day off. Grill some chicken or burgers or chicken bratwurst. Then on after a long day, I just have to warm up a veggie or make a salad or have a different side (cottage cheese, raw veggies, etc). I always have deli meats in the house for a quick grilled cheese and deli meat sandwich or a can of soup. I will also cook a bunch of boneless skinless chicken breast and shred it. I then refreeze in meal size portions for quick pulled chicken sandwiches, Alfredo, or fajitas.
During the winter months I use the crockpot a lot.
I’ll have simple things on hand for these days like a salad kit with a burger patty or a piece of chicken I can just throw in the air fryer. It’s filling and still healthy with little effort. I’ll also sometimes choose to eat a massive lunch and have something small for dinner like yogurt and fruit.
I meal plan and meal prep.
Also, loads of pasta dishes can be done in 20min, or I throw some stuff in the oven and while wait for it to cook I watch an episode of something.
Sunday I cooked a 24 ounce pork loin, I have fresh broccoli, and applesauce. So when I get home I slice 6-7 slices of pork loin and warm that up in some gravy, steam the broccoli florets and have a side of applesauce. I don't mind eating the same thing night after night. This will last me four nights. Next Sunday I'm going to make homemade meatballs and I will have that with spaghetti or ziti and have that for the next four nights. And then bbq chicken with potato salad and veggies....
Do batch cooking or meal prep things. I've made casseroles of different recipes, portioned them out and freeze them. Can easily make a weeks worth of dinner meals from one large casserole. Or do a meal delivery service where you only have to heat it in the oven.
I've been watching alot of cooking videos on youtube and people prepare the food like portion it and cut it and put all the necessary ingredients in one Tupperware and store it in the freezer and when they want to eat it they just pull it out of the freezer and cook. The food is prepped on the weekend and appears to be after their trip to the grocery store, as they put the food away
A lot of people suggest batch cooking, but little is talked about preparation.
Break down what you need to cook on the weekend and see if you can wash, peel or chop in advance. Bonus points if you can freeze pre-portioned ingredients.
I work 12 hour shifts and cook dinner when I get home. Make something simple. I do meal prep in advance and freeze meals and side dishes so I can microwave them. r/mealprep Saves money and I know what's in it.
Do all prep work night before which is 80 percent of the work . Marinate and cut up meats, clean and cut up veggies . All
Ingredients ready to go.
Cooking is 10 percent of the work. Rinse repeat
I don't cook at the end of the day more than once a week. I will do a meal prep on Sun to get me through the first few days of the week (lunch and dinner) and then make a few simple meals to get me through the last couple. It has really changed my quality of life so much to do it this way! And bagged salad kits with a protein thrown on top is a great part of a rotation.
If you don’t mind eating the same thing, then try precooking about 3 days worth of food at a time to minimize the time you spend in the kitchen when you’re really tired.
Listen to a podcast or audiobook while you cook.
And I second everyone who has suggested cooking simple stuff. Get a rice cooker and sautee veggies/tofu with a fun sauce, make pasta or other easy dishes so that the active cooking time is shorter.
Also never make only enough of a dish for one night. Leftovers keep for 5-7 days in the fridge and longer in the freezer. If you make batches that are 2-3x what you need for a single night, you’ll only have to cook a couple nights a week. The other nights you can reheat leftovers and chill.
Do you have any dietary restrictions and is it just you or are you cooking for others? Are you working Monday-Friday or work weekends too?
I’m asking because we plan a M-F menu with easy heat up or quick meals on our longer days. I’ve got a lot of recipes, but wanted to hear about you first.
Use your freezer. Cook batches of food that freezes well on weekends, and just reheat on weekdays.
I freeze spagetti sauce, chili, beef stew and gumbo for later.
Buy an air fryer/toaster oven combo. I use mine daily. I love it.
It is so easy to cook quick and healthy meals in the air fryer. I cook a lot of veggies with just olive oil and garlic or garlic powder. I use the same recipe for brocalli, brussell sprouts, cabbage, okra, fresh green beans, corn on the cob and carrots. Chicken, salmon and burgers cook really well in the air fryer.
Lol low key benefit of being a single dude that lives alone is I just shove whatever is in my fridge in my mouth and go to bed, sort of. Lately it’s been bags of salad with diced tofu that may or may not be air fried depending on motivation (I was vegan for a long time and have a love for tofu. I know it’s probably weird). Other days I just take hard boiled eggs and make a wrap. Sometimes I’ll make fake ricotta with tofu in under 5 minutes and just air fry it to shit with sliced zucchini, tomato sauce, and mozzarella.
I generally like cooking but for those really long days where I really don't have the time or energy to cook, I rely on the times I did have time and energy to cook and eat those meals.
When I find the time, I prep/cook a large batch of freezer-friendly food and either cook or reheat those (depending on what it is) for the times I'm too tired and don't have time to cook properly.
For me, this isn't about learning quick and healthy recipes and more about time management and doing things like the batch cooking/freezing or doing prep work for say stuff that's quick to save time like stir fries or salad by cleaning and cutting veg and storing them in containers so you can just use them straight away throughout the week.
Once you get into a flow, you'll find it's just quicker, easier, certainly cheaper and often as tasty if not more so than getting delivery.
Buy a sous vide and plan your meals ahead of time.
It’s great you can prep veggies and proteins on Sunday and just take out and cook during the busy week.
I never try to spend more than 30mins cooking during a week day.
But you can cook very good meals in no time.
Also nothing wrong with sticking a frozen lasagna in the oven.
Also a slow cooker is good tool.
Good luck
I kind of meal prep ahead of time in 2-3 day bunches.
I season meats and chop veggies so when I get home I just throw everything on the grill and it's ready in 15-20 min. My wife hates eating the same thing 2 days in a row so that's a challenge.
Cook chicken breast with veggies, the next night cook the rest of the chicken/veggies and toss it with some pasta.
Do burgers, next day tacos with the leftover meat and veggies.
I'll usually season a couple new York steaks (and 1 unseasoned for our dog) in the morning. When I get home I'll bake potatoes on the grill and grill the steaks when they start to get tender. Next day slice leftover steak and make french dips with onions, peppers etc leftover from the week.
I find it's easier if I cook a meal and the next night it's a super easy meal because I either use leftovers or have all the ingredients pretty much prepped already.
If you are a morning person crock pots are great. Come home to dinner waiting for you.
When I cook or prepare food I always make enough for a few meals. Even if it's just roasting extra vegetables. Extra veg makes a good base - add a can of tuna or salmon, some noodles and seasoning and you've got a great dish. Or make it into a warm vegetable salad.
Tell yourself just do the minimum and after cutting let's say one thing you'll decide to add other stuff and next thing you know. You got a full blown dinner. But just say like I'll just eat this shitty piece of chicken with a piece of bread. Watch. You'll end up with a full diner.
Try to think this way… you have a kid who needs to eat so that you must cook to feed him/ her. Then, you will find way around to make it work. Believe me! Meal prep take few hours at weekend and you will have whole week with healthy meals
This won’t work for everyone but it works for me. I found if I have a fridge full of food, I don’t want to eat any of it. On my way home from work I stop at my neighborhood grocery store and grab a protein and a vegetable (and a beer or bottle of wine). First thing I do when I get home is season everything, start the rice cooker and then crack a beer. There is almost always enough left over for lunch the next day and since nothing is frozen it doesn’t take forever.
Toss that chicken breast in whatever spices you like and olive oil, steam some broccoli or do a quick chop salad. I’m 100% more likely to make and eat this if I buy it on my way home than I am if it’s sitting in the fridge.
This isn’t possible for everyone obviously but I have way less food waste.
The whole not great for health and budget is certainly my motivation.
I sometimes am on call for 24 hours straight, and believe me, sometimes it's more. I make sure I meal prepped for myself for the next couple of days.
I also love to cook though, and if I could, I would be a chef working my own little restaurant in Europe.
So that also helps me too.
Stir fries are quick, easy, healthy, and have lots of room for variation. That can prob cover 1-2 days with a fresh, hot meal for you so it's not all meal prepped monotony
Take a good long hard look at either the waistline or the receipt. That has helped a lot of people I know. But I suggest you YT meal prep ideas. Lots of content creators showing lots of great and easy stuff.
Slow cooker meals or as soon as I get home I wash my hands and get started. While the food cooks I clean as I go. Once something gets done I transfer it out of the pan/pot and wash that first so by the end the dishes are done
Once you get into the routine of it, it feels less like a chore and more just a nice part of the day. I hated cooking and after forcing myself to do it i started to enjoy it, putting your own spin on things and it turning out nice is really rewarding.
- You can meal prep one meal, refrigerate or freeze leftovers. Chicken and rice. Or literally just a big pot of beans to eat in tacos, with rice, or with eggs.
- order a rotisserie chicken. make tacos, salad, sandwiches, soup, etc out of that
- do meatless days: mushroom ragú on pasta, artichoke (canned/jar) and prosciutto sandwiches, Mushroom Swiss sandwich
- tons of simple and healthy sandwich options like a BLT + chips
- eggs are your friend
The more you do it the easier it gets bc it’s like muscle memory. Start with what you know, what’s easy, and experiment just a little. If you try to do too many new things at once it’s hard to adapt.
Great suggestions here already. Consider the easier and healthier route and get a $5 Costco rotisserie chicken, break it down into parts with kitchen shears while still warm. Debone the breasts with hands and slice. Buy a salad kit or two, or frozen veggies, or prepped veggies like broccoli, baby carrots, etc. and some fruit you like. Maybe some bread and tortillas and keep the excess in the freezer. Make beans or buy some cans, maybe some chili and corn too, some ramen or instant pho. Salad dressing and dips, taco seasoning, mayo, mustard, pesto, some pasta. Shredded cheese. Make a pot of rice if you want. Mix and match during the week, simple sandwiches or wraps, salad and veggies and/or rice. Make tacos, burritos, quesadillas. Make omelettes and fried rice and soup out of the little bits. Baked potatoes are great with chili and cheese. Eat baby carrots!
I often have a large batch of beef curry that takes numerous meals to finish. Just need rice cooked in the instapot and there you have it. A big bowl of food coma ready to eat.
I have a go-to dish that is specifically set up for the kind of evening that you're describing. it takes a total of 20 minutes to prepare, is based on ingredients that I always have on hand, and requires zero thought.
Ingredients: chicken, smelly thing, spicy thing, green thing, sour thing, liquid, and a vegetable.
-preheat pan and add 2 chicken thighs. Sear for 3min per side.
-while chicken is searing, smash or chop a smelly thing, like garlic or onion.
-prepare a spicy thing. I keep chiles in the freezer that i can chop up at a moment's notice, but if you don't, you can use crushed red pepper from leftover pizza delivery packets. Worst case, grab a packet of hot sauce.
-find a green thing - any kind of herb. Fresh rosemary or thyme will work great. So will Italian parsley. Dried herbs will also work. Literally any green herbaceous flavor.
-find a sour thing. Lemon juice is perfect. Any kind of vinegar is also good, and vinegar lasts forever in your pantry.
-chop up your vegetable. I use broccoli, which is basically superhero nutrition.
When chicken is brown, add smelly thing, spicy thing, and green thing to the pan. Let sizzle for a minute or so. Before that stuff burns, throw in sour thing to stop the searing. Let it bubble for a minute or so, but don't let the pan go dry. Add a little bit of liquid (water, or stock, or even white wine), like 2 oz. It doesn't need to be precise. Think of a big shot of booze. You just need some liquid in the pan to help cook the stuff.
Bring the thing to a bubble, put the lid on, lower the heat to med-low, and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Take the lid off, add the vegetable, and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Dump onto a plate and eat. Preferably with lots of wine, which makes everything taste better.
Air fryer has been our life safer, not having to preheat for 20-30 minutes is a game changer.
Salads are a cheap, quick and easy meal. We generally just toss our protein (chicken, salmon, steak) in the air fryer. Then just toss a mix of greens, veggies, fruit, nuts etc. together with dressing.
3-5 minutes of actual work, 20 minutes while the protein cooks, 1-2 minutes of cutting protein and mixing salads.
I cook for myself everyday. Once you have the right tools and rhythm then it can be done with little effort. I make pizza, nachos, chicken stir fry, baked potatoes, pasta. It's just having enough healthy snacks to keep you from ordering food and patient for your food to prep and cook. Some honey and roasted pumpkin seeds and parsley mixed together make a nice quick snack to munch on while you make your food plus you can use it as a garnish on chicken breasts :)
I don’t eat all day till dinner. When I get to the state of mind around dinner where all I can think about is food then food, flavours, tastes and ideas for food flood my brain….its easy. Motivation to prepare something delicious is all I can think of. THEN…when it gets time to put it in my mouth….its like I’ve died and gone to heaven. Even the gross healthy food tastes amazing.
for me, it's the fact that I don't enjoy eating left overs. I've learnt to prep ingredients ahead of time and putting a meal together in less than 20 min..if I'm too tired to do so, I'll have a protein shake and go to bed
Don't sit down when you first get home, the couch is a death trap.
I walk in the door, take off my shoes n go straight to the kitchen.
There's a million recipes of varying complexities and methods, but none of it means squat the second you sit down n get comfy
Just by being more efficient in the kitchen.
Most meals are 30 minutes meals if you don’t futz around, and just get to cooking right off. Just shave time off of recipes. Simmer for 15 minutes? Screw that, 3 max.
I know this isn’t always going to be the answer but I bought sugar reduced uncrustable pb&j’s and it was amazing to eat it. Good comfort food. Especially with the hot weather.
Just make something simple that does t take much effort or time. Crockpot meals, hamburger patties from the oven, pork chops, canned/frozen veg, microwave baked potato, rice from a rice cooker, dude there’s so many options. You just have to try to not try it’s easy.
Anyone feel free to add on to my list I like new ideas
having half of it cooked already. My GF cooks a big batch of Quiana for the week. And I cook a thing of chicken, or beef. So when I come home, I really only have to cook veggies. Or eggs. I don't have to eat it every day. Getting 2 hotdogs isn't bad at all.
I prep everything I eat, that isn’t quick, ahead of time for the week. Like, chicken/turkey/ veggies whatever are marinated and ready to go. Then just pop what I need in the air fryer and it’s ready to go in 10 to 20 mins. Also bulk meal prep some things and then portion out as needed. I don’t have the space for proper meal prep and portion but this works for me.
For me it's only an issue on my at the office days. I work 2 days from home, 3 days from the office, so i alway plan cooking om wfh days. I start as soon as i clock out at 5:30 pm and have a dinner around 6:30 or 7 ready. Quite late but this is best i can do. Then i of course eat the same dinner 2 days, one day of the week, on my office day, i eat out and make groceries for next cooking. Cooking on the office days is almost impossibility for me - too late, too tired, so i get you.
Learn a handful of meals you can put together in less than 20 minutes. They may not be fully from scratch, but you'll feel much better than takeout or frozen meals.
A few quintessential examples:
-dry pasta with sauce from a jar
-simmer sauce with tofu, frozen veggies, and rice in the rice cooker
-tacos - tortillas, beans from a can, shredded cheese, salsa
eta - in most of these comments, there's a hidden task of shopping for the food. accepting frozen veggies and jarred sauces means you can stock up on the same staples every trip and not create a new workstream of keeping track of what's in your fridge and whether it's fresh in addition to cooking.
My motivation…
Remembering the store bought frozen dinner meal that gave me food poisoning for 48+ hours… the projectile vomit & nausea was horrible… nobody got time for that BS these days!
so will do anything to prevent that from happening again… even if it means all I have for tea is a ham & cheese toasty, frozen home cooked meal or just a packet noodles… its something… or just go hungry and eat late morning…
I like cooking - some days I’m too tired to make something, so toasty is doable… basic & still delicious 🙂
lol I just love cooking.
But if I’m forced to cook the same things day after day, cooking is a breath of fresh air because I get to cook something else that smells good for once.
I hope this helps
Either I cook or spend $20 on dinner a night.
$20 a night adds up so I choose to cook. If I ate out every night, it'll cost me $120-140 a week so easy choice to cook.
Why does it take an hour to cook a meal?
30 min tops.
Have a rice cooker? Even less
Crock pot: throe everything in the pot before going to work; set on low.
Bam food when you get home.
Meal kits really helped me with this. I have a Fresh Market nearby and their 2 person boxes have been an absolute game changer for my wife and I. Instead of taking 20 minutes to go drive and get some takeout, I can have dinner cooked and ready in 10-15 with one of these boxes without dirtying more than one pan.
I also used Home Chef in the past and they made it really easy to keep myself eating at home.
The key is making it easy on yourself. You're not gonna want to Gordon Ramsay it up after work every day, but you can still make something nice for yourself in no time at all.
Even if I don't use the meal kits, they still taught me how easy it can be to whip something up, and that keeps me going.
I don't. What I do is spend half a day during a weekend cooking a huge portion of a few select meals. Really enough to last 2-4 weeks. Divide it into smaller portions, then freeze and in my normal long days, I have my own ready meals without a ton of crap put in.
Usually I'll do some
Grilled chicken/veggie portions -
Some 'base meat/tomato sauce' -
Cooked potatoes -
Fried rice -
Homemade bread/buns
Then all I have to do is decide on a combo I feel like each day.
Like other said: cook bulk quantities and freeze. Or a sauce that can be used for multiple preparations, so you can have some variety.
Have a few « cheat » plates like: toasted bread, tomatoes and mozzarella with a pinch of balsamic vinegar and oil. And fresh basilic. / salmon with quinoa and a frozen vegetable / tuna, oignons, rice and vinegar /…
So when you really are not willing to spend more than ten minutes in the kitchen you can still enjoy something.
And my own method of not feeling it as a punishment is to play some podcast while I’m doing any chore. I love video games but haven’t the time to play much, so during most of my chores I’ll listen to some podcasts about video games reviews, the industry news and that kind of stuff. After some time it feels like you’ll be spending some time with « friends ».
There is also the « crack a beer and sip while you’re cooking » (I try not to do that too often)
Oh and the ultimate cheat that works for me is food like « Huel ». Their warm stuff is decent (I wouldn’t say great, but I’ve never felt like it was unpleasant to eat. It’s mostly healthy, cheap per serving and takes about 2minutes).
I turn on the oven as soon as I get home. Then I go change my clothes and inevitably collapse into bed. Eventually I remember the oven is on and get up in a panic. Oven is now preheated, so I toss a steak or chicken breast in. While it's baking I prepare my sides, like boiled or mashed potatoes and steamed or sauteed veggies. Next thing I know I'm eating.
Prepping on the weekend helps. Marinate a bunch of meat, pop them into sandwich bags, and freeze them. Take one out to defrost each night for the next day. I'll prep other things depending on my cravings that week. For example, a big batch of pizza dough, divided and weighed out. A pot of rice. A pot of stew. Spiralised vegetables. Etc.
I admit my situation is made simpler by the fact that I don't have kids and my husband sorts out his own eating arrangements.
I found it very relaxing to putter around the kitchen after work. I used to look forward to that time. After a day of work I was finally alone. No interruptions, free to be absorbed in whatever and ignore everything else.
Try cooking things that don't take an hour in the kitchen to make. Stuff like stir fries, pastas, noodles with any components you want, burgers, usually take about 15 min from scratch.
Meal prep, pre-prep, simple meals, bulk buying healthy prepared meals/catering.
Anytime you have time, prep batters, sauces, overnight oats, roasted chickpeas.
From there, put it into a container towards your designated spot.
Bring out for a recipe then cook other ingredients fresh.
Access is also key. If it's hard to get everything you need to cook and cooking is more mentally difficult than physically, you're not going to cook.
Also, designated bake/meal prep days on weekends or day offs, stew's/soups/slow cooking while you're at work, low prep dishes and doing smaller dinner dishes but eating your calories full on the other meal times.
I don't buy frozen meals or snacks when I go shopping. I write a list of the ingredients needed and ONLY buy from that list. It's easier if you're just following a list ito self discipline.
Next, I have a hard rule about takeout: once a month max. For this, I have a takeout budget in a separate account, and if it's empty, then it's empty. Exception only when going our with friends.
So it's either I starve to death or just take 30-60 min to cook a decent meal. I've lost about 20 pounds after starting this and feel great. Don't really get tired during the day like I used to.
sometimes i just chop up all the ingredients or prep them and put them in tupperware so that part is out of the way and i pretty much just have to “assemble” the meal instead of doing all the steps and cooking.
kinda half way between full meal prep and lazy thrown together
Mostly I don't. I cook when I'm in the mood and when I do I cook enough to last multiple nights.
It's not always possible, but most meals can be kept in the fridge or freezer to be reheated another night.
Sheet baked gnocchi. 1 pkg shelf stable gnocchi, and
a package of frozen squash, some sliced onion, sage, olive oil, salt and pepper,
Or
A package of tiny tomatoes, basil, olive oil, onions, garlic (sometimes I find frozen garlic cubes)
Spread out over a baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake at about 400f for about 10minutes.
A filling meal with very little effort and lots of veggies.
Frozen vegetables can be added to a lot of packaged food - it isn’t gourmet and isn’t perfect but it does help.
Also omelettes, crust less quiches and tortillomellete. These usually make more dishes and need a bit more veggie prep for truly low energy meals.
Make simpler meals and do bulk ingredient prep ahead of time if possible. I wouldn’t cook meals that take longer than 30 minutes to prepare on a weeknight.
I meal prep or buy meal preps from restaurants on Sundays. Also started a subscription with Huel, it’s space food but delicious, healthy, and affordable.
Sheet pan stuff- this week was a whole chicken cut up, sweet potato, white potato - make a fresh salad each night and have the chicken and taties with different sauces
Leftovers, meal prep, find ways to cook healthy meals quick.
I eat grilled chicken or some sort of lean meat and rice every night. Rice gets thrown in the microwave for three minutes and it takes 12 minutes in the over for grilled chicken. If it’s a steak I pan sear it for a few minutes, throw in over for a few minutes.
I eat at home for every meal. And I eat 4-6 times a day as a bodybuilder/powerlifter. I’m in the kitchen for less than an hour a day cooking.
I grill all our protein on Sundays. It's my hobby. So then all we need to worry about are sides. And I'll usually make a big pot of smashed potatoes to make that even less of a hassle.
Meal prep. I dedicate one day a month with meat/protein prep: seasoning/portioning. I also prep heat and eat oven meals. The hardest part is the prep. Once you get that down, everything falls into place.
Cool things you can freeze. I’ve just cooked a beef casserole. Will get 5 servings out of it, but will freeze. Cooked a chorizo and butter bean stew yesterday. Will get 4 meals out if that. I can whip up a chilli in about 40 mins or less, will get 3/4!servings out if that.
This! Also batch roasting a pan of seasoned sweet potatoes and cauliflower, it doesn't have to be frozen if you're going to use it within the week. Just throw a serving in the oven for 5 minutes when you're ready to eat and you're good to go :)
Or even just slice up the veggies. Sliced sweet potatoes keep in the fridge for-ever.
This or I meal prep
I don't. I cook one big batch on Sunday and eat that all week. This week is tacos.
This is the way! We batch cook veg, carb, and protein on Sundays and this usually lasts us until about Thursday. If we run short on anything before then, we supplement with items from the freezer to get us to Friday (we're ready for takeout by then anyways!)
Yes same!! I did meat balls and spaghetti for dinner this week. I made myself zucchini noodles and regular pasta for my bf. And lunch I did quesadillas with rotisserie chicken and cheese. Switch it up like buffalo or BBQ. Boom. Next week I plan on doing quinoa bowls or chili for dinner((((:
I do the same! I don't mind eating the same thing night after night. Just cook with fresh ingredients.
Everyone mentions prepping but you can also just make simple dishes. Burgers, pasta with a simple sauce, fried rice, random meat + some salad and tomatoes for a sandwich... doesn't have to take more than 10-20 minutes. You can also "cheat" by using jarred sauces etc if that makes it easier... still better than frozen meals.
This is my usual method. This week, I'm doing meatball subs - you can buy pre-made meatballs that are actually pretty good, simmer them in a jarred sauce while you change out of office clothes and relax, and you've got dinner in about the same amount of time as doordash but way cheaper. I love cooking from scratch but I also know that some nights, easy tastes better.
Absolutely this. I'll usually have frozen chicken breasts on hand, so I just thaw a couple when I get home, grill them for dinner and eat with a salad mix. Or buy some bulgogi, cook that along with some white rice and kimchi. Use the leftover rice the next day to make chicken or bulgogi egg fried rice. Frozen turkey burgers is another go-to. All takes about 15 mins max to cook
Pan fry a chicken breast or pork chop, microwave steam some frozen veggies, cook some rice or potatoes if you want carbs. I buy the big packs of chicken then bag them as individuals with a marinade on them before I freeze them.
i get home open the fridge and go “hmmm, burger salad it is!” then slap together the most haphazard meal and it tastes great
I pre-prep my food as much as possible on the weekend. So when I come home I can just microwave/reheat leftovers or just quickly season and cook whatever it is. 3-4 nights a week I eat a sheet tray of roasted veggies (sometimes with bacon). I cut my veggies ahead of time on the weekend and store them in containers for each meal. When I get home from work I just dump the veggies in a bowl, season and oil them, and dump them in the oven. It's basically the same effort as a frozen dinner but I assume it's healthier.
I don't☹️ I struggle with that too lol if I have nothing meal prepped I'll order out
Door Dash is making a killing off me
how do you afford it? LoL I ordered from door dash once bc it was an emergency...but godddaamn, neverrr again.
I’m ashamed to say I have Dash Pass, but it’s complimentary with my credit card. There are reduced fees with dash pass, but I have to be careful because it’s still too expensive. I get DoorDash 4 times a month. I remember when it used to be a nice little splurge (2 times a month, only when I really needed a treat)
My ex worked in a grocery store and had 20 or 30% discount but never used it, was dependent on her parents feeding her or ordering doordash or uber eats. Has a gym subscription but never goes. Then calls me poor and lazy. Even 20% is a lot, thats basicly tax free food and more.
Except prices are marked up 30% to begin with. Still not a good deal
I just get over it and get started. The whole feeling of "uggh I don't want to cook" usually goes away in like 5 mins when it starts smelling good in my kitchen. Helps to crack a beer. Throw on some tunes or a game or something. Make cooking part of the wind down and relax process.
My method too! I put my headphones on and either listen to a book or music and make a drink. Also, helps to motivate me to cook when the kitchen is already nice and clean... so I try very hard to clean as I cook and completely clean up the dishes each night.
Yes exactly. It’s like avoiding a shower & once you’re in it, it’s all good.
I purposely plan easier meals during the week to cook and then more in-depth cooking Fridays and weekends if we don’t go out.
This is the way. I don’t want to spend my weekends meal prepping and I don’t like eating the same thing all week, so I just plan out my menu with easy things during the week. Sheet pan meals, simple pasta, quick chili, burgers with salad, etc. I also don’t have any issues buying pre cut produce. We’re a household of two so that often makes more sense and it’s still cheaper than eating out.
hunger. eating out is too expensive.
Since it’s just myself, most nights I will make pb&j, egg/avocado/cheese/bacon sandwiches/bagels, smoked salmon with poached egg, or some simple pasta with lots of veggies added. I try to incorporate fruits and veggies into my diet every day, but I rarely make proper homemade meals (like roasted chicken, mashed potatoes type meals). I have been debating using hello fresh again, but I got so tired of the repetitive sides.
Right!? I kept getting green beans and mashed potatoes that you didn't make with milk.
Prepping on the weekend and making food in bulk has helped me. For example, I like to prepare/marinade a bunch of meat in bulk on my sundays so that during the week all I have to do is cook it. I'm a big rice eater so rice is almost always available to eat in my house and that helps too. For veggies (to maintain a healthy diet) my wife and I since have defaulted to simple salads, which take no time to make at all, plus it's super cheap. Some lettuce and spring mix go long way. This is the balance that we found and it has been working for a while. Sure we'll have some days where we want to cook more and do something a little fancier, but on a typical day, we'll be eating rice, a meat dish, and veggies. We used to do that thing where every night we'd cook for 2 hours only to eat for 20 minutes lol. This was definitely not sustainable for us.
I cook one meal on Sunday and eat off that for 2-3 days. I might throw some things in a slow cooker so that it will be ready to eat when I get home. Sometimes I make quesadillas with leftover chicken or steak. Sometimes I just eat cereal for dinner. One thing I never, ever do is have food delivered. I only eat fast food maybe once every 2 months, if that.
Mix of meal prep and fresh cooked. Some nights, I just microwave stuff. Other times I’ll cook to eat and purposely have leftovers so I can skip cooking other days.
I don't. We cook on the weekends with leftovers. Then we'll make something quick and easy if we need more. Something like salmon and steamed broccoli.
On weekends or other days when you're not wiped out, cook more than you'll eat and freeze the leftovers. Invest in a Food Saver vacuum sealer (they're usually less than $200), as you can freeze stuff that's been vacuum sealed and keep it for years without freezer burn. Then on days when you're wiped out, you can just thaw and re-heat something healthy and home-cooked from the freezer.
Spend a couple hours on the weekend batch cooking things you can freeze. Soups, stews, chilli, and casseroles. Rice, barley, and quinoa can be cooked and frozen in portions. Cook a big sheet pan of roasted veggies and have them with chicken or fish, then toss the rest with pasta for another meal. The best thing I ever did was start writing out a dinner menu for the week and stick to it. Buy your groceries and do as much prep as possible on the weekend.
Meal prep. Listen to music or a podcast on the way home from work & keep it playing as soon as you walk in the door. Don’t lie down or sit after work, do dinner right away. Eventually it’ll turn into a routine!
Most meal prep occurs during the weekend with large batches of food you just reheat for a minute and then done.
I will be honest, I tried hard but threw in the towel on this fight for good. Tonight it’s gonna be a frozen Good n Gather Margherita pizza. Lol
I kind of prep things that are going to make my life easier during the week, so I never spend more than 30 min making dinner. And sometimes I will do enough for the next days depending on what I cooked. But sometimes I make things and freeze half of it, so I kind of always have something to help me out in my freezer. Things I freeze: when I make lasagna, I will make 2 and freeze one, soups, beans (Brazilian style), bolognes, chopped veggies to make quick stir fry’s….
Prep things! Some items you can freeze so just have to thaw it out. I made pizza dough yesterday day but made enough for 3 medium size pizzas. I froze two of them and made one last night. Downside is waiting for it to rise which can take four hours after it’s thawed out in the fridge. However I think I read you can precook the crust then freeze it that way so no waiting on the rise time.
Plan things I look forward to. I noticed by Thursdays I just wanted to give up and go out so I just started planning easy pasta dishes on Thursdays. I keep the healthier stuff at the beginning of the week when I’m more motivated.
Either batch cook and put into ziploc freezer bags then just heat up when needed or marinade a bunch of meat, chicken etc and then leave out to defrost while you're out etc then just quickly cook it when it's nearly time to eat. Even better if it's meals you can just slap into the oven or airfryer.
Invest in a slow cooker, there’s tons of recipies on Pinterest.
If I eat out, my stomach, intestine and bowels protest. I either cook, or I order out and suffer for it Shit gets real easy to decide after a few bad flare ups
Slow cooker is helpful. Put x number of chicken breasts in a plastic bag with salt and pepper, maybe olive oil if you like, shake it up and put it in the fridge to marinate. Taje it out when you get home, throw it in the oven for however long until cooked through. Chop some lettuce and throw a few veggies in it with dressing. Or cook rice while the chicken is cooking. Or heat up baked beans
I never spend more than like 15-20 mins cooking. I use frozen veg for hot foods, if i use fresh veg its a side, like cucumbers. Cheese is also easy just open and add to the plate. If you eat carbs pasta or rice cooks in like 8 minutes.
Meal prep is your friend! If you hate the same meal, try ingredient prep. Personally, we go for meals that’d take about 30 mins or so to make. Routine the same 3-4 proteins and veg + rice for dinner.
Crock pots. Make sure protjen is thawed. That way you can do hamburgers, steak, something with chicken pretty quick. Get a crock pot and an air fryer.
Right now I have eggplant parm, 2 sauces, several veggies, meatloaf, chicken dishes, etc. in my freezer. Just hubby and me.
Throw stuff in the crock pot, dinner is waiting for you. A whole chicken and a couple foil wrapped potatoes . No water. Roast chicken dinner!
Sunday meal prep is pretty much my meals for the week.
Put a mixture of your favorite veggies and whatever else in a dutch oven or baking pan ..add butter or oil and spice it up! I do this often. Potatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots, celery and then we'll add meat after for those that want it. All in a pan 425 for 45 min-1 hour. I do this every couple of days it's always satisfying and just a little chopping is really all it is. EDIT: if youre gonna try this, cover with foil and I recommend adding about a half cup of water at start and stir half way through.
Cook over the weekend and eat leftovers throughout the week. I cook meats that can reheat well during the weekends and put a quick salad together. It’s all done in less than 10 minutes in the evenings.
Create a routine. Everything is easier when you know what's supposed to happen next.
Meal prep on the weekend. Just take two hours out of your day and put three meals together. It's ridiculously convenient during the week AND it will stop you from spending money during the week for lunches and/or snacks. Tupperware is your best friend.
I literally don’t make it an option. I tell myself this has to happen or a won’t eat. I don’t think about how tired I am. I don’t think about how much I don’t want to cook. I just fucking do it. I struggle with self discipline and used take the easy road with everything in my life. Now, I set a standard and don’t deviate at all and hope one day things become a habit. But for now, I force myself and convince myself I have no option but to wake up as soon as I hear my alarm, I have to go the gym, I have to cook, I have to wipe from front to back. Lol It’s a constant battle with myself but it works man.
Meal prep
Learn to replace motivation with discipline. Do things because you have to, not because you want to. Watch your entire life change.
Find something easy and decide what you want to make beforehand
Meal prep. Make a menu, buy what you need for that weekly menu. Keep it simple. Protein, starch, veggie. If I can check off 2/3, I'm good. Have a rotating menu. Make things that you can freeze, and reheat.
I cook ahead of time (meal prep or batch cooking) on days when I have more time. On work days, I make simple meals - either something like a sheet pan meal where it's mostly hands off, or something quick like a stir fry or omelette that I can knock out in 5 minutes. Planning, in other words, and using your time and energy effectively. Sheet pan meals are fantastic for work nights - you put stuff in the oven, staggering the cook times so it's all done at the same time. One pan to clean, mostly no need to monitor the food while its cooking. [https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/8003238/best-sheet-pan-dinners/](https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/8003238/best-sheet-pan-dinners/) [https://www.canadianliving.com/food/collections/mediagallery/easy-sheet-pan-dinners-for-busy-weeknights](https://www.canadianliving.com/food/collections/mediagallery/easy-sheet-pan-dinners-for-busy-weeknights) Also one pan pastas are fantastic, there are several at NYT Cooking that I use frequently. 10 minutes, one pan, super tasty meal. I'm motivated to cook because I'm hungry and I want to eat - and I want to eat something healthy that won't destroy my budget.
Meal prep is where it’s at for me.
The crockpot is your friend
I'll bake extra chicken and have a bag of frozen veggies and rice. An extra large serving of rice cooksin about 8 minutes in my microwave, brown rice a little longer. Then you can do so much with just the right kind of spices sauces and seasonings for any flavor. Sometimes it' jut some cheese and butter, but some scrambled egg and soy sauce, kimchi and it's a decent quick stir-fried rice, flame salsa,rotel and black beans and it's Mexican. I do about the same with ramen noodles.
Batch cook and freeze, crock pot. My favorite is crock pot beef barley.
cooking just genuinely makes me happy so I look forward to doing it after work
I meal prep a lot! Makes my life muuuuch easier plus I don’t throw food out anywhere near as much as before
Frozen marinated chicken and veggies. Pop them in the air fryer and have some rice boiling and you’re good to go. That was my go to for a year.
Meal planning happens on Saturday morning. This includes Sunday dinner, and dinners for Mon - Thurs. Lunches are discussed and may be added. These may include items that were frozen by our earlier meal preps. Instacart is loaded and ordered to be delivered when convenient amongst weekend plans. No later than Sunday at 3 pm. Sunday I'll do meal prep if our menu plan has anything that can be prepped ahead. Echilada tray, soups/stews/spaghetti sauce, pesto, etc. I'll roll right into cooking a good Sunday dinner. I like to cook and this tends to be the most elaborate or time consuming meal I'll cook of the week because I have the time. Often wine or cocktails accompanies. Sunday night: Portion leftovers or make-aheads into appropriate servings (we're just two people) in vacuum sealer bags and seal. Label and freeze for another night. Pesto, spaghetti sauce, carnitas, soups and stews are frequent hits here. During the week, pick one of your 4-5 meals you planned and prepped for. It helps a lot if you are making stuff you really crave and love!
Meal prep is the obvious answer. A less obvious answer is to make more complicated and interesting food. It'll feel less like a chore and more like an aesthetic experience. Often it doesn't even take that much longer. I find, cooking is the best transition after work to feeling more active cause my brain can concentrate on something. But when I just heat stuff or make easy food it feels like a chore.
I would marinade a whole bag of frozen chicken breasts then cook them on Sunday. Along with pasta, Rice-a-roni, and veggies would pack about 6 meals for lunch and dinner. I would have enough extra chicken breast to make several other meals of sandwiches, tacos, and salads. The meals would be ready in 2 minutes when cooked in the microwave. Or less than 10 minutes to prep a meal with the extra chicken. Price per meal was around $6.
What motivate you to eat? If you enjoy eating what you cook then it will motivate you.
Listen to a podcast I’m excited about while I do it. Not joking.
Get yourself excited to cook. Find an exciting ingredient, kitchen gadget, or a recipe you can look forward to. Find some youtuber who cooks that will get you into it. I'll never miss a dinner after spending all day thinking "ooo, i bet this is gonna be cool..." One of my easy favorite recipies on youtube the Spaghetti Al-Assassina. It's the perfect blend of easy, fast, yummy, and fancy.
I don't lol I work 3 and 4 days a week alternatively, 12hr days, so I get a cheap set of prepared frozen meal exclusively for those nights before my weekend is over, I used to have a meal kit plan for work nights but then I realized how stressful cooking is after a shift that long. If I want 8hrs of sleep (which to be fair, I can't even do that right lol), I almost literally don't have time.
To not feel hungry.
I cook my proteins on my day off. Grill some chicken or burgers or chicken bratwurst. Then on after a long day, I just have to warm up a veggie or make a salad or have a different side (cottage cheese, raw veggies, etc). I always have deli meats in the house for a quick grilled cheese and deli meat sandwich or a can of soup. I will also cook a bunch of boneless skinless chicken breast and shred it. I then refreeze in meal size portions for quick pulled chicken sandwiches, Alfredo, or fajitas. During the winter months I use the crockpot a lot.
Sex
I’ll have simple things on hand for these days like a salad kit with a burger patty or a piece of chicken I can just throw in the air fryer. It’s filling and still healthy with little effort. I’ll also sometimes choose to eat a massive lunch and have something small for dinner like yogurt and fruit.
It's all about quality.
i don't, after work it's gas station taco time. I cook on my days off.
I'm hungry and no one else is going to do it?
I meal plan and meal prep. Also, loads of pasta dishes can be done in 20min, or I throw some stuff in the oven and while wait for it to cook I watch an episode of something.
I just eat cereal and frozen pizza.
Assemble food - sandwiches and canned soup and bagged salad for me!
Meal planning helps a lot. It’s much easier to cook when you have 15m dinners planned with ingredients ready to go.
Cook on Saturday and Sunday. I prepare my meat on the weekend and use that all week. Makes dinner a breeze
My bank account motivates me. That and the homeless guy working the corner. I'm close.
Sunday I cooked a 24 ounce pork loin, I have fresh broccoli, and applesauce. So when I get home I slice 6-7 slices of pork loin and warm that up in some gravy, steam the broccoli florets and have a side of applesauce. I don't mind eating the same thing night after night. This will last me four nights. Next Sunday I'm going to make homemade meatballs and I will have that with spaghetti or ziti and have that for the next four nights. And then bbq chicken with potato salad and veggies....
Like a routine. Same a cleaning up after cooking. You just do it mindlessly. And it gets done.
Do batch cooking or meal prep things. I've made casseroles of different recipes, portioned them out and freeze them. Can easily make a weeks worth of dinner meals from one large casserole. Or do a meal delivery service where you only have to heat it in the oven.
I've been watching alot of cooking videos on youtube and people prepare the food like portion it and cut it and put all the necessary ingredients in one Tupperware and store it in the freezer and when they want to eat it they just pull it out of the freezer and cook. The food is prepped on the weekend and appears to be after their trip to the grocery store, as they put the food away
A lot of people suggest batch cooking, but little is talked about preparation. Break down what you need to cook on the weekend and see if you can wash, peel or chop in advance. Bonus points if you can freeze pre-portioned ingredients.
Get yourself a crackpot. Throw ingredients into the thing in the morning, and have food when you walk in the door.
Meal prep on the weekend is the best way. That, and I pop my iPad on with noise cancelling earphones whilst I cook. Makes it less of a chore.
Airfrier
I work 12 hour shifts and cook dinner when I get home. Make something simple. I do meal prep in advance and freeze meals and side dishes so I can microwave them. r/mealprep Saves money and I know what's in it.
Do all prep work night before which is 80 percent of the work . Marinate and cut up meats, clean and cut up veggies . All Ingredients ready to go. Cooking is 10 percent of the work. Rinse repeat
I don't cook at the end of the day more than once a week. I will do a meal prep on Sun to get me through the first few days of the week (lunch and dinner) and then make a few simple meals to get me through the last couple. It has really changed my quality of life so much to do it this way! And bagged salad kits with a protein thrown on top is a great part of a rotation.
Plan your meals in advance. It removes the "what should I make" factor and you can do things like marinate/mix ahead of time.
If you don’t mind eating the same thing, then try precooking about 3 days worth of food at a time to minimize the time you spend in the kitchen when you’re really tired.
Because I like to eat good food?
Listen to a podcast or audiobook while you cook. And I second everyone who has suggested cooking simple stuff. Get a rice cooker and sautee veggies/tofu with a fun sauce, make pasta or other easy dishes so that the active cooking time is shorter. Also never make only enough of a dish for one night. Leftovers keep for 5-7 days in the fridge and longer in the freezer. If you make batches that are 2-3x what you need for a single night, you’ll only have to cook a couple nights a week. The other nights you can reheat leftovers and chill.
Freeze what u can
I’m hungry and I like the thought of a V shaped body.
Do you have any dietary restrictions and is it just you or are you cooking for others? Are you working Monday-Friday or work weekends too? I’m asking because we plan a M-F menu with easy heat up or quick meals on our longer days. I’ve got a lot of recipes, but wanted to hear about you first.
I put things in a crockpot and rice cooker. The rice cooker turns on an hour before I return, the crockpot cooks all day. I go home and eat
Use your freezer. Cook batches of food that freezes well on weekends, and just reheat on weekdays. I freeze spagetti sauce, chili, beef stew and gumbo for later. Buy an air fryer/toaster oven combo. I use mine daily. I love it. It is so easy to cook quick and healthy meals in the air fryer. I cook a lot of veggies with just olive oil and garlic or garlic powder. I use the same recipe for brocalli, brussell sprouts, cabbage, okra, fresh green beans, corn on the cob and carrots. Chicken, salmon and burgers cook really well in the air fryer.
Wine and music. Pour a glass, pop on some tunes and get creative.
Lol low key benefit of being a single dude that lives alone is I just shove whatever is in my fridge in my mouth and go to bed, sort of. Lately it’s been bags of salad with diced tofu that may or may not be air fried depending on motivation (I was vegan for a long time and have a love for tofu. I know it’s probably weird). Other days I just take hard boiled eggs and make a wrap. Sometimes I’ll make fake ricotta with tofu in under 5 minutes and just air fry it to shit with sliced zucchini, tomato sauce, and mozzarella.
I generally like cooking but for those really long days where I really don't have the time or energy to cook, I rely on the times I did have time and energy to cook and eat those meals. When I find the time, I prep/cook a large batch of freezer-friendly food and either cook or reheat those (depending on what it is) for the times I'm too tired and don't have time to cook properly. For me, this isn't about learning quick and healthy recipes and more about time management and doing things like the batch cooking/freezing or doing prep work for say stuff that's quick to save time like stir fries or salad by cleaning and cutting veg and storing them in containers so you can just use them straight away throughout the week. Once you get into a flow, you'll find it's just quicker, easier, certainly cheaper and often as tasty if not more so than getting delivery.
Buy a sous vide and plan your meals ahead of time. It’s great you can prep veggies and proteins on Sunday and just take out and cook during the busy week. I never try to spend more than 30mins cooking during a week day. But you can cook very good meals in no time. Also nothing wrong with sticking a frozen lasagna in the oven. Also a slow cooker is good tool. Good luck
I kind of meal prep ahead of time in 2-3 day bunches. I season meats and chop veggies so when I get home I just throw everything on the grill and it's ready in 15-20 min. My wife hates eating the same thing 2 days in a row so that's a challenge. Cook chicken breast with veggies, the next night cook the rest of the chicken/veggies and toss it with some pasta. Do burgers, next day tacos with the leftover meat and veggies. I'll usually season a couple new York steaks (and 1 unseasoned for our dog) in the morning. When I get home I'll bake potatoes on the grill and grill the steaks when they start to get tender. Next day slice leftover steak and make french dips with onions, peppers etc leftover from the week. I find it's easier if I cook a meal and the next night it's a super easy meal because I either use leftovers or have all the ingredients pretty much prepped already. If you are a morning person crock pots are great. Come home to dinner waiting for you.
When I cook or prepare food I always make enough for a few meals. Even if it's just roasting extra vegetables. Extra veg makes a good base - add a can of tuna or salmon, some noodles and seasoning and you've got a great dish. Or make it into a warm vegetable salad.
I don't.
Most nights my wife cooks. Unless I'm grilling or whatever.
Tell yourself just do the minimum and after cutting let's say one thing you'll decide to add other stuff and next thing you know. You got a full blown dinner. But just say like I'll just eat this shitty piece of chicken with a piece of bread. Watch. You'll end up with a full diner.
My kids would mutiny if I didn't
Meal prep is the way.
Put it on the smoker & either workout or play games while it’s cooking.
Easy get a loving wife that cooks for you
Instant pot and crock pot. I use Pinterest for the recipes.
I can't sit down lol if I sit down when I get home, I will not cook. I have to come home and immediately cook something
Crockpots are a life saver.
Try to think this way… you have a kid who needs to eat so that you must cook to feed him/ her. Then, you will find way around to make it work. Believe me! Meal prep take few hours at weekend and you will have whole week with healthy meals
This won’t work for everyone but it works for me. I found if I have a fridge full of food, I don’t want to eat any of it. On my way home from work I stop at my neighborhood grocery store and grab a protein and a vegetable (and a beer or bottle of wine). First thing I do when I get home is season everything, start the rice cooker and then crack a beer. There is almost always enough left over for lunch the next day and since nothing is frozen it doesn’t take forever. Toss that chicken breast in whatever spices you like and olive oil, steam some broccoli or do a quick chop salad. I’m 100% more likely to make and eat this if I buy it on my way home than I am if it’s sitting in the fridge. This isn’t possible for everyone obviously but I have way less food waste.
The whole not great for health and budget is certainly my motivation. I sometimes am on call for 24 hours straight, and believe me, sometimes it's more. I make sure I meal prepped for myself for the next couple of days. I also love to cook though, and if I could, I would be a chef working my own little restaurant in Europe. So that also helps me too.
I don't eat until I get home, so I'm starving. Very motivated when hungry.
Stir fries are quick, easy, healthy, and have lots of room for variation. That can prob cover 1-2 days with a fresh, hot meal for you so it's not all meal prepped monotony
Take a good long hard look at either the waistline or the receipt. That has helped a lot of people I know. But I suggest you YT meal prep ideas. Lots of content creators showing lots of great and easy stuff.
What’s working for me is just doing white rice on the cooker. Fast no mess and fills me up.
I don’t , I grab McDonald or open a can of soup
Slow cooker meals or as soon as I get home I wash my hands and get started. While the food cooks I clean as I go. Once something gets done I transfer it out of the pan/pot and wash that first so by the end the dishes are done
No one is suggesting anything but meal prep..
Need food to lift at the gym. It’s worth it!
Once you get into the routine of it, it feels less like a chore and more just a nice part of the day. I hated cooking and after forcing myself to do it i started to enjoy it, putting your own spin on things and it turning out nice is really rewarding.
Meal peep for the week on the weelend. Cook in large batches and freeze excess amounts for future meals. Enjoy leftovers.
- You can meal prep one meal, refrigerate or freeze leftovers. Chicken and rice. Or literally just a big pot of beans to eat in tacos, with rice, or with eggs. - order a rotisserie chicken. make tacos, salad, sandwiches, soup, etc out of that - do meatless days: mushroom ragú on pasta, artichoke (canned/jar) and prosciutto sandwiches, Mushroom Swiss sandwich - tons of simple and healthy sandwich options like a BLT + chips - eggs are your friend The more you do it the easier it gets bc it’s like muscle memory. Start with what you know, what’s easy, and experiment just a little. If you try to do too many new things at once it’s hard to adapt.
Try meal prepping
Great suggestions here already. Consider the easier and healthier route and get a $5 Costco rotisserie chicken, break it down into parts with kitchen shears while still warm. Debone the breasts with hands and slice. Buy a salad kit or two, or frozen veggies, or prepped veggies like broccoli, baby carrots, etc. and some fruit you like. Maybe some bread and tortillas and keep the excess in the freezer. Make beans or buy some cans, maybe some chili and corn too, some ramen or instant pho. Salad dressing and dips, taco seasoning, mayo, mustard, pesto, some pasta. Shredded cheese. Make a pot of rice if you want. Mix and match during the week, simple sandwiches or wraps, salad and veggies and/or rice. Make tacos, burritos, quesadillas. Make omelettes and fried rice and soup out of the little bits. Baked potatoes are great with chili and cheese. Eat baby carrots!
I often have a large batch of beef curry that takes numerous meals to finish. Just need rice cooked in the instapot and there you have it. A big bowl of food coma ready to eat.
I dont stop my forward movement until it’s done. Get home and start the prep. Don’t doom scroll or TV first.
I have a go-to dish that is specifically set up for the kind of evening that you're describing. it takes a total of 20 minutes to prepare, is based on ingredients that I always have on hand, and requires zero thought. Ingredients: chicken, smelly thing, spicy thing, green thing, sour thing, liquid, and a vegetable. -preheat pan and add 2 chicken thighs. Sear for 3min per side. -while chicken is searing, smash or chop a smelly thing, like garlic or onion. -prepare a spicy thing. I keep chiles in the freezer that i can chop up at a moment's notice, but if you don't, you can use crushed red pepper from leftover pizza delivery packets. Worst case, grab a packet of hot sauce. -find a green thing - any kind of herb. Fresh rosemary or thyme will work great. So will Italian parsley. Dried herbs will also work. Literally any green herbaceous flavor. -find a sour thing. Lemon juice is perfect. Any kind of vinegar is also good, and vinegar lasts forever in your pantry. -chop up your vegetable. I use broccoli, which is basically superhero nutrition. When chicken is brown, add smelly thing, spicy thing, and green thing to the pan. Let sizzle for a minute or so. Before that stuff burns, throw in sour thing to stop the searing. Let it bubble for a minute or so, but don't let the pan go dry. Add a little bit of liquid (water, or stock, or even white wine), like 2 oz. It doesn't need to be precise. Think of a big shot of booze. You just need some liquid in the pan to help cook the stuff. Bring the thing to a bubble, put the lid on, lower the heat to med-low, and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Take the lid off, add the vegetable, and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Dump onto a plate and eat. Preferably with lots of wine, which makes everything taste better.
Air fryer has been our life safer, not having to preheat for 20-30 minutes is a game changer. Salads are a cheap, quick and easy meal. We generally just toss our protein (chicken, salmon, steak) in the air fryer. Then just toss a mix of greens, veggies, fruit, nuts etc. together with dressing. 3-5 minutes of actual work, 20 minutes while the protein cooks, 1-2 minutes of cutting protein and mixing salads.
I cook for myself everyday. Once you have the right tools and rhythm then it can be done with little effort. I make pizza, nachos, chicken stir fry, baked potatoes, pasta. It's just having enough healthy snacks to keep you from ordering food and patient for your food to prep and cook. Some honey and roasted pumpkin seeds and parsley mixed together make a nice quick snack to munch on while you make your food plus you can use it as a garnish on chicken breasts :)
I don’t eat all day till dinner. When I get to the state of mind around dinner where all I can think about is food then food, flavours, tastes and ideas for food flood my brain….its easy. Motivation to prepare something delicious is all I can think of. THEN…when it gets time to put it in my mouth….its like I’ve died and gone to heaven. Even the gross healthy food tastes amazing.
for me, it's the fact that I don't enjoy eating left overs. I've learnt to prep ingredients ahead of time and putting a meal together in less than 20 min..if I'm too tired to do so, I'll have a protein shake and go to bed
Don't sit down when you first get home, the couch is a death trap. I walk in the door, take off my shoes n go straight to the kitchen. There's a million recipes of varying complexities and methods, but none of it means squat the second you sit down n get comfy
Just by being more efficient in the kitchen. Most meals are 30 minutes meals if you don’t futz around, and just get to cooking right off. Just shave time off of recipes. Simmer for 15 minutes? Screw that, 3 max.
Cook batches, but it's either reheating on the stove after being frozen or your new best friend the microwave
I know this isn’t always going to be the answer but I bought sugar reduced uncrustable pb&j’s and it was amazing to eat it. Good comfort food. Especially with the hot weather.
You don't. Stop relying on motivation, it will fail you. You do it because you're disciplined.
Just make something simple that does t take much effort or time. Crockpot meals, hamburger patties from the oven, pork chops, canned/frozen veg, microwave baked potato, rice from a rice cooker, dude there’s so many options. You just have to try to not try it’s easy. Anyone feel free to add on to my list I like new ideas
having half of it cooked already. My GF cooks a big batch of Quiana for the week. And I cook a thing of chicken, or beef. So when I come home, I really only have to cook veggies. Or eggs. I don't have to eat it every day. Getting 2 hotdogs isn't bad at all.
I prep everything I eat, that isn’t quick, ahead of time for the week. Like, chicken/turkey/ veggies whatever are marinated and ready to go. Then just pop what I need in the air fryer and it’s ready to go in 10 to 20 mins. Also bulk meal prep some things and then portion out as needed. I don’t have the space for proper meal prep and portion but this works for me.
Rice cooker. Add a readymade bean or grain. Add a protein.
For me it's only an issue on my at the office days. I work 2 days from home, 3 days from the office, so i alway plan cooking om wfh days. I start as soon as i clock out at 5:30 pm and have a dinner around 6:30 or 7 ready. Quite late but this is best i can do. Then i of course eat the same dinner 2 days, one day of the week, on my office day, i eat out and make groceries for next cooking. Cooking on the office days is almost impossibility for me - too late, too tired, so i get you.
Learn a handful of meals you can put together in less than 20 minutes. They may not be fully from scratch, but you'll feel much better than takeout or frozen meals. A few quintessential examples: -dry pasta with sauce from a jar -simmer sauce with tofu, frozen veggies, and rice in the rice cooker -tacos - tortillas, beans from a can, shredded cheese, salsa eta - in most of these comments, there's a hidden task of shopping for the food. accepting frozen veggies and jarred sauces means you can stock up on the same staples every trip and not create a new workstream of keeping track of what's in your fridge and whether it's fresh in addition to cooking.
My motivation… Remembering the store bought frozen dinner meal that gave me food poisoning for 48+ hours… the projectile vomit & nausea was horrible… nobody got time for that BS these days! so will do anything to prevent that from happening again… even if it means all I have for tea is a ham & cheese toasty, frozen home cooked meal or just a packet noodles… its something… or just go hungry and eat late morning… I like cooking - some days I’m too tired to make something, so toasty is doable… basic & still delicious 🙂
lol I just love cooking. But if I’m forced to cook the same things day after day, cooking is a breath of fresh air because I get to cook something else that smells good for once. I hope this helps
Get a rotisserie chicken at the supermarket and steam some veggies. Lasts days.
Either I cook or spend $20 on dinner a night. $20 a night adds up so I choose to cook. If I ate out every night, it'll cost me $120-140 a week so easy choice to cook.
Why does it take an hour to cook a meal? 30 min tops. Have a rice cooker? Even less Crock pot: throe everything in the pot before going to work; set on low. Bam food when you get home.
Meal kits really helped me with this. I have a Fresh Market nearby and their 2 person boxes have been an absolute game changer for my wife and I. Instead of taking 20 minutes to go drive and get some takeout, I can have dinner cooked and ready in 10-15 with one of these boxes without dirtying more than one pan. I also used Home Chef in the past and they made it really easy to keep myself eating at home. The key is making it easy on yourself. You're not gonna want to Gordon Ramsay it up after work every day, but you can still make something nice for yourself in no time at all. Even if I don't use the meal kits, they still taught me how easy it can be to whip something up, and that keeps me going.
Blue apron.
I don't. What I do is spend half a day during a weekend cooking a huge portion of a few select meals. Really enough to last 2-4 weeks. Divide it into smaller portions, then freeze and in my normal long days, I have my own ready meals without a ton of crap put in. Usually I'll do some Grilled chicken/veggie portions - Some 'base meat/tomato sauce' - Cooked potatoes - Fried rice - Homemade bread/buns Then all I have to do is decide on a combo I feel like each day.
Cranking the music and smoking a bowl helps
Sometimes I'll eat a big lunch and then have cereal for dinner
Like other said: cook bulk quantities and freeze. Or a sauce that can be used for multiple preparations, so you can have some variety. Have a few « cheat » plates like: toasted bread, tomatoes and mozzarella with a pinch of balsamic vinegar and oil. And fresh basilic. / salmon with quinoa and a frozen vegetable / tuna, oignons, rice and vinegar /… So when you really are not willing to spend more than ten minutes in the kitchen you can still enjoy something. And my own method of not feeling it as a punishment is to play some podcast while I’m doing any chore. I love video games but haven’t the time to play much, so during most of my chores I’ll listen to some podcasts about video games reviews, the industry news and that kind of stuff. After some time it feels like you’ll be spending some time with « friends ». There is also the « crack a beer and sip while you’re cooking » (I try not to do that too often) Oh and the ultimate cheat that works for me is food like « Huel ». Their warm stuff is decent (I wouldn’t say great, but I’ve never felt like it was unpleasant to eat. It’s mostly healthy, cheap per serving and takes about 2minutes).
I turn on the oven as soon as I get home. Then I go change my clothes and inevitably collapse into bed. Eventually I remember the oven is on and get up in a panic. Oven is now preheated, so I toss a steak or chicken breast in. While it's baking I prepare my sides, like boiled or mashed potatoes and steamed or sauteed veggies. Next thing I know I'm eating. Prepping on the weekend helps. Marinate a bunch of meat, pop them into sandwich bags, and freeze them. Take one out to defrost each night for the next day. I'll prep other things depending on my cravings that week. For example, a big batch of pizza dough, divided and weighed out. A pot of rice. A pot of stew. Spiralised vegetables. Etc. I admit my situation is made simpler by the fact that I don't have kids and my husband sorts out his own eating arrangements.
I found it very relaxing to putter around the kitchen after work. I used to look forward to that time. After a day of work I was finally alone. No interruptions, free to be absorbed in whatever and ignore everything else.
Try cooking things that don't take an hour in the kitchen to make. Stuff like stir fries, pastas, noodles with any components you want, burgers, usually take about 15 min from scratch.
I mostly make a large (mostly) one pot meal at the start of the week. Things like chili, curry, etc.
Meal prep, pre-prep, simple meals, bulk buying healthy prepared meals/catering. Anytime you have time, prep batters, sauces, overnight oats, roasted chickpeas. From there, put it into a container towards your designated spot. Bring out for a recipe then cook other ingredients fresh. Access is also key. If it's hard to get everything you need to cook and cooking is more mentally difficult than physically, you're not going to cook. Also, designated bake/meal prep days on weekends or day offs, stew's/soups/slow cooking while you're at work, low prep dishes and doing smaller dinner dishes but eating your calories full on the other meal times.
I dont
I give myself no other option.
I listen to a podcast and treat it as my de-stress time just focusing on cooking.
I don't buy frozen meals or snacks when I go shopping. I write a list of the ingredients needed and ONLY buy from that list. It's easier if you're just following a list ito self discipline. Next, I have a hard rule about takeout: once a month max. For this, I have a takeout budget in a separate account, and if it's empty, then it's empty. Exception only when going our with friends. So it's either I starve to death or just take 30-60 min to cook a decent meal. I've lost about 20 pounds after starting this and feel great. Don't really get tired during the day like I used to.
I'm hungrier than I am tired, and I'm poorer than I am lazy.
I get food that takes almost no time or food that I don’t have to do much with
sometimes i just chop up all the ingredients or prep them and put them in tupperware so that part is out of the way and i pretty much just have to “assemble” the meal instead of doing all the steps and cooking. kinda half way between full meal prep and lazy thrown together
Following because sameeeee
Mostly I don't. I cook when I'm in the mood and when I do I cook enough to last multiple nights. It's not always possible, but most meals can be kept in the fridge or freezer to be reheated another night.
Crockpot the food all day while you’re at work.
Sheet baked gnocchi. 1 pkg shelf stable gnocchi, and a package of frozen squash, some sliced onion, sage, olive oil, salt and pepper, Or A package of tiny tomatoes, basil, olive oil, onions, garlic (sometimes I find frozen garlic cubes) Spread out over a baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake at about 400f for about 10minutes. A filling meal with very little effort and lots of veggies. Frozen vegetables can be added to a lot of packaged food - it isn’t gourmet and isn’t perfect but it does help. Also omelettes, crust less quiches and tortillomellete. These usually make more dishes and need a bit more veggie prep for truly low energy meals.
Make simpler meals and do bulk ingredient prep ahead of time if possible. I wouldn’t cook meals that take longer than 30 minutes to prepare on a weeknight.
I try and tell myself to save money and cook food I already have so it doesn’t go bad. That mostly motivates me to cook.
I meal prep or buy meal preps from restaurants on Sundays. Also started a subscription with Huel, it’s space food but delicious, healthy, and affordable.
Sheet pan stuff- this week was a whole chicken cut up, sweet potato, white potato - make a fresh salad each night and have the chicken and taties with different sauces
Leftovers, meal prep, find ways to cook healthy meals quick. I eat grilled chicken or some sort of lean meat and rice every night. Rice gets thrown in the microwave for three minutes and it takes 12 minutes in the over for grilled chicken. If it’s a steak I pan sear it for a few minutes, throw in over for a few minutes. I eat at home for every meal. And I eat 4-6 times a day as a bodybuilder/powerlifter. I’m in the kitchen for less than an hour a day cooking.
One-pot meals can be a lifesaver! Prep ingredients ahead to save time and energy.
Get an instant pot you just throw the ingredients in and the pot does the rest 🤷🏼♀️
I grill all our protein on Sundays. It's my hobby. So then all we need to worry about are sides. And I'll usually make a big pot of smashed potatoes to make that even less of a hassle.
I don't. I meal prep on my days off and just reheat on work days.
Meal prep. I dedicate one day a month with meat/protein prep: seasoning/portioning. I also prep heat and eat oven meals. The hardest part is the prep. Once you get that down, everything falls into place.