Time Management

[dbev2014]

My husband and I completed Whole 30 about 45 days ago.  We (me really) have been eating Paleo since then.  My husband only committed to the 30 days and has added much more unhealthy food back in.  Especially if we go out to dinner.  This week he had a breaking point and now I don't know what to do.  He says he is tired of our lives revolving around food and doesn't want to spend every evening in the kitchen.  We don't have kids and he wants to "enjoy the freedom that brings".   I honestly can't do this by myself - I tried when he was out of town and it's a lot to take on without his help.  I can't go back to ordering pizza when we are too tired to cook.  I know it gets easier but I am not a natural cook.  I need recipes which always seems to take longer to cook b/c you have to read and you don't know what you are doing.  I don't want it to be boring - anyone can shove healthy food in their mouth just to be healthy but I want to enjoy what I eat.  I have tried cooking a lot of food for the week and prepping on a Sunday but then I am tied to the house most of Sunday.  I really really want to stay on Paleo for life frankly.  I need to it be faster (not easier).  I just hope I can keep trudging along until then.  Thank you for letting me vent/rant.

[Tom Denham]

I actually enjoy cooking and always have, but it really does get easier with practice. You can slow cook roasts and then use the meat to prepare really tasty, healthy meals in about 15 minutes. I was not doing that in the early months, but I do it all the time now. And you can use ground meat to make those same meals in about 15 minutes without having to slow cook a roast 8 hours. You might want to browse through my recipes because many of mine are simple. And many of the simple recipes can be prepared in 100 different ways by varying the meat, veggies, or spices. 

[praxisproject]

It's worth actually measuring how long each of your current meals are taking to prepare, you may be shocked when you work it out.

 

You sound like you are spending a lot of time in "food jail", which is no fun for you and no fun for the people who want to spend time with you either. You should be able to prepare food without his help if you need to, you need to find some easier meals It doesn't mean they have to be boring or taste bad.

 

A big learning for me was not cooking "weekend meals" on weeknights. On weeknights I sometimes get home late, so I want food that's pretty quick, so I can get a good night's sleep.

 

I was making it much harder than it needed to be (spending lots of time in food jail) and when I changed it, it made a huge lifestyle difference If you haven't got Well Fed & Well Fed 2, I highly recommend them, not just for the recipes, but the time savings tips (although FYI I can't chop up anywhere near as fast as she can lol).

[Khhdesign]

I actually do a lot of cooking on Saturday or Sunday most weeks, it's just become part of my routine. I like to cook, but on week nights dinner needs to come together quickly, and I'm not the fastest especially I with chopping! I roast several different vegetables, cut up veggies for stir-fries, and loosely plan meals for the week. I use th crockpot often during the week (toss everything in and it's ready when you get home

I started doing this gradually over the last few years, both for health and food allergy reasons. It gets faster and easier the longer I do it. And it's important to me, I spend time cooking rather than watching tv or some other activities. The advice about not making "weekend meals" on week nights is very good...I never thought of it that way, but there are definitely more time-consuming dishes I only make on Sunday. During the week it's a lot of assembling the things I already have ready to go.

[praxisproject]

I was making about 7 "weekend" meals at least a week, mostly dinners. I didn't realise how hard it was, until I made it simpler