Originally Posted By Rebekah o.k. So Giddy's about 18 months now and I'm still trying to balance life as work-at-home /stay-at-home. I'm very happy with the amount of time I'm able to spend with him. But I'm having a more difficult time appropriately balancing LP work vs. household needs. So the house is no where near as clean as I'd like and meals are not as varied as I'd like and I know I'm putting more hours in LP than I really should but I'm struggling to create realistic workable boundaries. So in an effort to set better goals in this area I'm looking to all of you long time parents...meal makers. If I want to put together something beyond mac/cheese or frozen chicken fillets....what's a realistic goal? how long does a well prepared meal typically take? I know some are more involved than others but if you had to figure out how much time on average does your meal take to prep, cook and plate? Thanks for all your input. R.
Originally Posted By mele There are a lot of cookbooks lately that focus on quick meal prep. Our favorite one is this one: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Light-Fresh-Food-Fast/dp/0848732642/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281113091&sr=8-7" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-...1&sr=8-7</a> We used it a ton last year and we lost a lot of weight in the process. I have to say, each recipe contains a lot more than 5 ingredients as they don't count staples at all and I don't think I ever was able to get the prep time down to 15 minutes...but overall, a great book! (Usually, I cook for about 30 mins.)
Originally Posted By Labuda I need to find a good quick-meal cookbook. Most of what I make takes a good couple of hours to prepare and cook.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 While I'm not a mom, I am a very busy person and getting home to cook a healthy dinner when I am solo can be a very challenging thing. Here's a few things off the top of my head; I think 30min to 45min is about right. Sometimes 1 hour. However, there are so many tools that can help either make that amount of time more hands off or shorter; 1. A good crock pot and/or dutch oven. You chop a bunch of stuff up in the morning and let it cook all day. 2. While sometimes grating to watch or listen too I highly recommend trying any of Rachel Ray's 30 minute recipe books. 3. George Foreman grill cooks meats faster, less messy (clean up) and it's healthier. 4. Learning to use your oven for roasting vegetables and meats. This way you can walk away from a meal that is cooking vs. standing over the stove. So things like roast, chicken, pork chops and fish can be laid in a pan with your veggies all cut up and cook on their own. Find one day a week to spend a couple hours doing prep work like - chopping, shredding, cutting vegetables, packaging meats to match meals, etc. This will save you time daily. Plan atleast 5 to 7 meals ahead of time. Know exactly what you are going to cook and stick to it. I use no canned vegetables all of mine are fresh, we eat no out of the box meals. Everything is from scratch or close too it.
Originally Posted By LuLu Wow, Lisann really covered it! I would add, as a single, I cook enough for multiple meals and eat off that for a few days. You could probably easily cook enough for 2 meals at once, and have the rest for lunch or dinner a couple days down the road. You just have to prepare your meals from scratch (imho) if you want to eat healthy. My easiest meal would be salad greens from a bag, with chopped avocado (and maybe other veggies), olive oil and a half can of salmon. Most things involve a lot more prep - even my breakfast!
Originally Posted By mele The only canned veggies we eat are canned tomatoes, olives and sometimes mushrooms (because Dave loves them from the can). Oh, and hearts of palm and artichoke hearts. I just don't dig canned veggies...especially peas. Gag.
Originally Posted By Rebekah >>Plan atleast 5 to 7 meals ahead of time. Know exactly what you are going to cook and stick to it. This will be the biggest challenge but it will happen. I have recently purchased some "Freezer Meal" recipes but in most cases since I'm aiming for only a week at a time I can just keep the components in the fridge. Now I just need to keep the discipline until it becomes habit. It's been a double hit for me as before Gideon since we worked at home we often would go out for dinner. After being home all day we wanted OUT OF THE HOUSE. So its a really new scenario. R.
Originally Posted By LuLu Roasting a chicken in the oven is a cinch too. Labuda, I can't even imagine spending an hour or more preparing a meal! Simple is best. I have been told tho, that I eat to live, while the speaker said she lives to eat But simple is healthy, and waaay easier!
Originally Posted By mele It costs more, but a lot of grocery stores have fresh, chopped veggies and fruits (and meat). It can really help when you're crunched for time.
Originally Posted By LuLu Here are 2 more easy entrees, if you shop Trader Joe's: the frozen marinated ahi and chimchurri salmon. You can find 1 lb packages with 2 pieces that can be separated while still frozen (carefully . That gives me 2 meals. The "marinade" is mostly olive oil, so you just put it in a small pan and cook to your desired doneness - doesn't take long at all. Rebekah, I don't know how you do it with Doobie being veg tho! At least my daughter ate fish. Now she's totally switched to omnivore tho (and is feeling much better for it). I know some people do well as veggies, but not us.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 I forgot about stewed, diced tomatos in a can and yes olvies and artichokes too. LOL I mean more like carrots, green beans, zucchini, squash, potato, etc.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 We make multi meals out of one too. We cook rice once during the week and then we redo it several ways, i.e. mexican rice or fried rice along with the original steamed rice. Just keep in a big bowl in the refrig. If you chop up your vegetables and keep them in water, they'll stay fresher longer and make for quicker meals when you need them. Example instead of buying 3 carrots, buy the chopped in the bag so you can throw in a soup, roast them or stir fry them all faster. We cook a big pot of minestrone soup and then freeze in smaller containers. I'm sure we all do the same basics to make it quicker. LOL
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb Frozen vegetables are my friend. What I will often do is start a pot of rice and throw some frozen veggies in a sauté pan with hot garlic/olive oil. I let them go to town with the occasional stir on the vegetables while I'm working on the protein. By the time I've finished with the meat, chicken, etc., my sides are ready to serve.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Me too. I want McDonalds! LMAO! Just kidding. I ate a small salad today because I'm going to the Braves/Giants game tonight and I had to cutback to justify the hotdog and beer I'm craving! Healthy living...<sigh>
Originally Posted By magic0214 My mom makes alot of quick, easy, and delicious meals. One of my favorites and probably the quickest is Smothered Chicken, she just takes some Chicken breasts, grills them on the stove, the put some cheese on top. I enjoy bacon on mine while she likes mushrooms, usually this meal takes about 10 minutes.
Originally Posted By Rebekah Great suggestions everyone. Lulu, only Doobie is veggie. Its funny when I'm in the cooking mode and doing well at preparing meals regularly. I have a great rotation for him and his dish can be prepared at meal time easily. Sometimes I use a smaller portion of his meal as my "veggie". I was doing really well that year we both were focused on food and health, going to gym regularly, etc. Then I got pregnant and we had Gideon. So now I've put back on ALL that weight, he's put back on some and I'm eager to get back into that pattern..just having to learn how to do it with the additional time constraint. Its a fun learning process but I'm getting there.
Originally Posted By Rebekah AutopiaDeb, Thanks I've never heard of that before -- sounds terrific. Rebekah.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I love to watch Jacques Pépin's show Mor Fast Food My Way on PBS. He creates entire three course meals in 30 minutes, including prep time. Granted, I think the average home cook will be a bit slower, but I've tried some of the recipes, and they are delicious.
Originally Posted By LPFan22 Sandra Lee usually has some good ideas... <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/sandras-money-saving-meals/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.foodnetwork.com/san...dex.html</a> We occasionally catch her show on Food Network and love her "take two" suggestions. I love the idea of turning leftover ingredients into a new meal. Hubby will make a big batch of taco meat (varies between ground beef, ground turkey or vegetarian) and put that in a container. He'll chop lettuce, olives, tomatoes, etc. and grate the cheese ahead of time. It sits in baggies or containers in the fridge and we pick at it for a work week. One night we'll use tortillas or taco shells, another night tortilla chips for nachos and another night we'll make a big salad. Hubby's favorite growing up was when his mom would put together a huge pot of beans (different kinds) and make homemade rolls. He would come home from after-school swim practice exhausted and that meal always made him feel so loved. The leftover beans could then be stretched out for other meals... baked potato topping, add to other soups or make some chili out of it.
