generikart Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 In order to shop for the best quality, prepare, cook, store, (and do dishes!) for (mostly) every meal takes an insane amount of time. It's basically a part-time job. No wonder why the average American doesn't do this. If everyone who can work, works in the household it is really hard to find time. BUT it is possible with obsessive meticulous planning. I'm hoping it will become second nature for me so I can speed up process. How many hours a week do you spend doing all of this? I'm averaging more or less 18 hours for everything right now. It also doesn't help I don't have a dishwasher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators LadyM Posted May 25, 2014 Moderators Share Posted May 25, 2014 I agree that the dishes are a real pain when you don't have a dishwasher. I feel like sometimes I dirty every dish, pot, and pan in the kitchen doing meal prep. I don't love doing dishes but I do enjoy the food prep because I love cooking and being creative in the kitchen. I don't look at it as something extra I have to do as part of this program; I view it as fundamental to life. And I always prepare nearly all of my food at home whether on a W30 or not. But to get to the issue, I probably spend about 10 hours a week on food prep, max. A few hours every weekend doing a big cookup, then reheating, cleanup, and minor food prep during the week for each meal (throwing together a salad, etc.). I think it does get easier and the time shrinks once you've found a system that works for you. Does it take time, energy, and money to transform your body and your life for the better? You bet. And it's worth every penny and second, and you can choose to enjoy the process, if you ask me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whole30 Certified Coach littleg Posted May 25, 2014 Whole30 Certified Coach Share Posted May 25, 2014 When I first started it seemed that between reading this website, surfing the web for recipes, shopping, cooking, cleaning it was probably close to 20 hours for the first 2-3 weeks. However, I'm now post W60 but sticking with things in general. I now spend maybe 5-10 hrs a week on things. Here are some things that save me time: I'm totally fine being a habitual eater. I eat the same thing for BF most days. For 4-5 weeks I made a breakfast casserole. Each day I had 1 slice with the same side dish (thin green beans with coconut milk). 1 day a week I'd do an "oh-crap, I have no breakfast!" meal. Usually leftovers, HB eggs, something like that. As food has transitioned to more of a "fuel" then a "comfort" I find I need less elaborate meals. So I've transitioned to only 2-3 "nice" meals a week - things like Thai meatballs which I ate a lot in the beginning but take a lot of time. My veggies are easy - sliced Asian eggplant under the broiler, frozen broccoli sauteed in a pan, cauliflower rice from frozen, fresh asparagus sauteed in a pan. Because we eat the same things all the time there is no recipe searching and we've got the methods down. And always cook more than you plan to eat. The other day my "oh crap" breakfast was 6-7 small bowls of various leftovers (some literally just a few bites) that were in the fridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlennR Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I'm at maybe 15 hours a week (also don't have a dishwasher). I think I could make it shorter if I wanted to, but I like making it harder on myself by continually trying and adapting new recipes. For example, I'm gearing up for Whole30 with mostly Filipino dishes this coming June. This is actually fun for me. And doing my first Whole30 sort of opened my eyes to the very basic satisfaction of feeding myself well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJB Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 I live alone, and I have a dishwasher...although I rarely seem to use it for the stuff I cook/prepare with. I've been eating this way for a year and a half, and I don't spend much time researching new recipes anymore. I've got my favorites that I rotate through, and every week I always do at least one simple meat (like beef brisket in the crockpot, or chicken breasts on the Foreman grill). I estimate I'm spending about 6-7 hours per week on food prep, cooking, and cleanup. I break it up between 2 days. I don't consider the time it takes to shop, because I would have done that anyway. I do hit one extra place each week for grass-fed beef, but it's very close and doesn't take more than 20 min. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peg541 Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Me too. I spent most of today cooking. This is ok with me. I'm a weight watcher and cook for me anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsjessica Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Some weeks I'll spend more time than others, but I agree, it can get consuming! I also do a weekend cook-up to get bigger, timely items out of the way (roasting chickens, browning meat, large pans of roast veg). I have a one pot cookbook with very W30 adaptable recipes and for the most part, I find I can actually make most of them in one cooking vessel + a mixing bowl and utensils. I feel lucky that I really enjoy leftovers, because cooking once and a week of reheated mains is pretty handy. The cookbook, Well Fed, was invaluable to me for prep/variety tips the first time around and I still use it often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generikart Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Some weeks I'll spend more time than others, but I agree, it can get consuming! I also do a weekend cook-up to get bigger, timely items out of the way (roasting chickens, browning meat, large pans of roast veg). I have a one pot cookbook with very W30 adaptable recipes and for the most part, I find I can actually make most of them in one cooking vessel + a mixing bowl and utensils. I feel lucky that I really enjoy leftovers, because cooking once and a week of reheated mains is pretty handy. The cookbook, Well Fed, was invaluable to me for prep/variety tips the first time around and I still use it often. I agree Well Fed really helped me with the weekly cook up! It made an overwhelming task seem a lot more manageable. Thanks for all the tips everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaine Ross Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 You can make it as simple or as complicated as you like. If I want something fancy, I will cook up a great meal from Well-Fed but honestly I'm not going to make time in my day every day for fancy meals. You'll have your shopping list "down" in no time and won't spend too much time on that in the coming weeks. Never underestimate the power of a simple steak, salad, and avocado. Takes no time. A jar of salsa with a pound of ground turkey mixed together. There are complicated recipes and there are super simple recipes. Don't make it harder on yourself than necessary. And precooking staples on Sunday always helps. You have this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetieBsMom Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I agree with the weekly cook-up. Even if I didn't stay Paleo/Whole30, learning to do this is gold. I'm currently doing a W30, meaning I'll do my cook-up today: Well Fed chili, bacon & egg cups, cut up veggies for the week, cook a pork loin, etc. That way at dinner it's a quick reheat or quick drop in the pan. It's not easy but you get in to a rhythm. Some weeks are easier than others. Now my husband is not doing W30/Paleo, we usually don't have dinner together because he works third shift. But when he's home, I cook his dinner and reheat/cook my own. Not ideal but it is what it is. But having my dinner 80-90% there on any given night....GOLD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristina Wright Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 I don't have a dishwasher either. I cut down on my prep time by cleaning the entire kitchen before I start, including emptying the sink and then putting away all the clean dishes so that the drying rack is totally empty. Once a week I make a dozen HB eggs, a soup to freeze, and a massive salad (this one with my own tweaks: http://www.sarahramsden.com/nutrient-rich-salad-for-the-time-poor/). I make extra of everything. I keep lots of canned fish on hand for when I don't have leftover meat prepped. I am trying to transition to storing lots of prepped meals in the freezer ready to go, like crockpot ready roasts and such. I roast two chickens at a time instead of one, two chuck roasts at a time, you get the idea. This works for about two weeks at a time before I have to prep for graduate school exams and then it falls apart again. But at least it comes together once in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britishgal Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 I don't plan meals, I cook what I want to from what looks the best in the shop/butchers/fishmongers and I shop every other day or so...doesn't take any more time than it did before whole30. it's the one bit I just don't understand about the plan is this obsession with meal planning! I'm a single mother, I support us by working for myself and I write books and a blog so I don't have all the time in the world by any means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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