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The Quick and the Alive


Anita

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About 40 days post-whole 30 and I still feel like all I'm doing is cooking and doing dishes. (Note to self: call landlord about repairing dishwasher.)  During the Whole30 I was so busy and cooking so much that while I read the daily emails, I didn't always have the luxury of exploring all the links and putting everything into practice. That being said, I'm revisiting the email about time-saving. I also wanted to inquire here to see if you experienced people could give me advice, links to recipes, simple meals that are easy, fast and healthy.

 

I have been trying to make extra of foods and freeze some meals so that I have options for workday lunches when my week gets out of hand. 

 

Any advice you can provide will be greatly appreciated!

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A lot of folks do a big weekly cook-up of meats and veggies, and then reheat during the week.  I tend to do this about twice a week these days, since my schedule lets me do that.  But when school is in session and I'm on the go M-F, my Sundays tend to be all about cooking.  Then throughout the week I eat various combinations of what I cooked.

 

I'm not sure there's any way out of cooking from scratch, and I know that for many of us that's an entirely new way to approach our kitchens and our days.  (My grandmothers would both roll their eyes at that!)  But cooking and then storing the cooked food can save time later.

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I am on day 53 of my Whole whatever and I work a TON, so I've tried a couple of things to help me fit in the shopping, cooking and washing dishes (job one - make that phone call to get the dishwasher fixed!)  This is probably way more info than you want and it's not links to simple meals per se, but here's what I do to save time.

 

On Thursday, I pick the recipes I plan to make for the following week (from ISWF, Well Fed and Nom Nom Paleo mostly). Add what I need to grocery list app on my iPhone. I found the ISWF recipes (meal assembly, really) are the simplest and are packed with flavor.

 

On Friday night, I make myself leave work by 6, pick up our CSA bag, drop it at the house and head immediately to Whole Foods (I do not let myself sit down, pet the cats, turn on baseball or peruse the mail!)  At Whole Foods, I know just what I need and get it all, with the meat last, and get the heck out of there ASAP. 

 

Once home, everything in the fridge. Unload the dishwasher. Then I relax!

 

On Saturday, as soon as I get up, I cook my proteins (for me, mostly ground beef, turkey or lamb). They get put in storage containers and into the fridge.  Fill my (already clean) kitchen sink with water. Wash and prep the veggies from our CSA or ones I picked up at a farmers market or at Whole Foods). Sometimes I leave sturdier or dirtier ones in there (kale, chard, carrots, beets) while I run errands. When I get home, I finish chopping and storing the veggies, and maybe I even steam off a bunch of vegetables (each vegetable on its own, I very lightly steam 4-6 different kinds of vegetables) and store in containers in the fridge. Clean kitchen and enjoy the rest of the day. I usually go in to work at this point, but when I get home, it's super easy to throw together dinner - I have already cooked proteins and veggies. I encourage you to google Tamar Adler and watch her How to Stride Ahead Part 2 video. It's short and while not Paleo, her vegetable shopping and meal assembly from prepped ingredients taught me a lot.

 

Sunday is my cook day. I get out my recipes and one at a time, mostly using the same pan which I wipe out or wash between recipes. I also peel, cube and roast (wrapping sheet pans with heavy duty foil first means no washing) a few sweet potatoes, and maybe onions, or asparagus, carrots, etc. I have big glass containers (some Snapware and some quart canning jars with a wide mouthed canning funnel) that I transfer the cooked food to. It goes into the fridge or freezer. If it's going to be a super busy work week, I pre-portion all my food for the week so I don't have to mess with that before work.

 

Sorry this is so long but I hope some of it will be useful for you. But that dishwasher has to be fixed or you'll lose your mind!

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I spend one evening cooking up our breakfast for the week. For me, I boil 10 eggs and cook up 18 slices of bacon. This is my breakfast for the week. It takes a bit of time b/c I also make breakfast for my husband and he's not whole30 so he gets additional food things - like hashbrowns, but baking bacon is relatively effortless and is a huge help. 

 

When I make dinner each night, I make enough extra to provide lunch for the next day. It works for us and saves quite a bit of time and keeps us on track. 

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Thanks for all your suggestions! I know we have to cook from scratch, and I'm willing to do it. I just find I'm not finding enough time for daily exercise, which makes me sad! I'm going to try your suggestions and see what works best for me!

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Nom Nom Paleo did the Whole 30 twice and blogged all her meals...with color photos!

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/16824406467/the-whole30-recap-every-single-day

She also works as a Nurse and has 2 kids! Most of the  meals are so simple you might kick yourself for working so hard all along!

 

I have found that seeing what others on the whole 30 are eating makes it so much easier to decide WHAT to eat. Sometimes we overthink things amd make it so much more complicated than it needs to be!

 

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I don't do a weekly cook-up, but when I am cooking, I try to cook more than a meal's worth.

 

So when I'm making a stew (I'm feeding 4 adults) I'll stew 2-4kg meat which is enough to do at least 2-3 meals for all of us (and possibly some single serves for lunches)

 

When roasting, I try to buy a large joint so I have meat left for lunches/breakfasts. 

 

If I'm roasting veggies, I try to fill the oven or put in an extra tray to cook while we eat dinner. 

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I find myself cooking constantly as well, but like member "LDMD" I forge ahead and roast/steam batches of veggies and stick them in my fridge for use throughout the week (also know Tamar Adler and that is great video to watch and book to read). I try to wake up earlier than I need in the morning and roast veggies because you don't really need to think about it, you can step away.  I also cook off proteins and keep them in the fridge and then when it's meal time I simply heat up a pan and combine different veggies and a protein to create some kind of stir fry.  Yes, it may not be terribly exciting, but it's food and I don't really have to think too much about it too much.   Sometimes I throw in some pesto I made or a vinaigrette to just make things different and always add mashed avocado- it's quite delicious. So, at any time you can open my fridge and find batches of roasted broccoli/cauliflower/brussel sprouts/sweet potatoes, steamed cauliflower rice, bags of greens ready and washed and chopped red cabbage. 

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Yep. I've realized maybe my food can be so extravagant and complicated. Maybe just simple ingredients combined to make nutritious meals. Not that I can't splurge the time to cook intensive things, but I need to dial that back so I can handle other things in my life.  I truly appreciate everyone's suggestions!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yep. I've realized maybe my food can be so extravagant and complicated. Maybe just simple ingredients combined to make nutritious meals. Not that I can't splurge the time to cook intensive things, but I need to dial that back so I can handle other things in my life. I truly appreciate everyone's suggestions!

My problem is I don't just like a few ingredients put together on a plate to create a meal.....I like the more extravagant dishes! I also don't like reheating pre cooked veggies...I do pre cut a lot of veggies though which saves on time.

Oh dear - I have no suggestions other than cook in bulk. I've got more than 2 weeks worth of dinners in the freezer, portioned out in containers.

Lunches are generally salads with pre cooked meat, and some dinners will be salads plus freshly cooked meat - ill make extra salad on these occasions to have for lunch.

Pre cooked chicken keeps well in the freezer - we bake whole trays of chicken pieces coated in spices and herbs for flavour.

Luckily neither my husband or I mind eating the same thing for days in a row, so that makes preparing some meals easier.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I cook in bulk as well but I don't spend a lot of time doing it.  I will throw what we think we will eat in venison for a week in the crockpot and throw a whole chicken or two in another crockpot to make broth (and chicken meat).  I throw some steaks and fish in the fridge to defrost and prep my veggies.

 

Then I make quick meals with what I have ready.  I will take the crock pot meat and add seasoning to make our meal asian or mexican, I season the chicken another way to throw on salads and can add veggies and make soup 100 different ways once the broth is ready.  I probably spend a total hour of actual work on prepping during the week and then rarely spend more than 15 minutes cooking.  

 

I really do enjoy cooking so by doing this I'm not burnt out when I want to make something extravagant.  I think the big thing for me is when I quit trying to follow recipes. I read them for fun and inspiration but when it comes to cooking I just pull out what I have and turn it into a meal.  

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thank you.  I've totally been off-roading too much.  Your suggestions are all wonderful.  I think it's a matter of me experimenting and finding what works for me, and also realizing that I can't cook complicated every day.  I truly appreciate all the input!!

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I used to be a weekly cook-up person, but I'm moving to a point where I don't cook *everything* ahead. This week, for instance. We're having eggs with sauteed greens (vary the greens and egg method) every morning with a starch. When I got out the kale for today's breakfast, I washed it all and chopped it all, then put it into the fridge like that. Now tomorrow if I have kale in the eggs again, I just have to wilt it and add the eggs. 

 

Not sure if that helps...but...maybe!

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  • 5 months later...

For me, I don't cook in bulk, but I will cook enough for leftovers for next day.  During the week, I do the same meal rotations, so I have the recipes down pat.  I have chosen relatively easy and quick meals for the week.  The weekend I will prepare something more extravagant as you say.  

 

I like the extravagant meals too.  I did find meals I considered "extravagant" when I first started paleo (but nto whole 30) not to be, once I realized there were certain steps I could eliminate and when I had the recipe memorized I didn't need to keep looking it up.  When I first started, I had a hard time multitasking, such as cooking a meat, sauteeing veggies and creating the fancy sauce.  Over time I just naturally became efficient and those meals are now in my weekly rotation for easy and go to.  Sometimes, it just takes practice, eliminating unnecessary steps in a recipe, and memorization that speeds up the process.

 

I do agree with chopping some veggies early in the week to save time, but that's about the only thing I will do--sometimes--in advance.

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