Novice cook, please help!

[Crainium]

I am a novice cook on day 11 of my Whole 30, and I'm definitely feeling like a lot of my time is absorbed by cooking and cleaning up after. I received some helpful tips in my Whole 30 daily email yesterday, but I feel I'm still struggling to keep up. Does this get easier? Any tips and tricks you've learned?

Another thing is, like you all I eat a LOT of veggies at every meal, and since I'm used to only cooking for me, I don't know how to to say, roast TWO trays of veggies instead of one in my oven. I feel like it would help if I could be preparing tomorrow's lunch while I'm preparing tonight's dinner, but I don't know how. This particularly applies to veggies since I already cook my protein in advance. Help!

[pjena]

Hi - Cooking, planning, etc, gets way easier as you get into a routine. As a working mom, my best time savers (aka sanity savers) is to plan a week in advance and do as much prep in advance as I can. I prep as much of a dinner recipe as possible the night before so I have less to do to get dinner on the table. I'll do all of the chopping for several days of meals on the weekends to make my weekdays easier. I often double the meat I'm making to use later in the week or freeze for a super quick meal another time. I often roast two trays of veg at the same time - I just rotate the pans as I flip the veg. Or, I'll put get two trays ready, cook one for dinner and as soon as it's out, put the other in to have the leftovers for another meal. We eat a ton of raw veggies, too, so I prep them in bulk on the weekends. Lots of chopping! Luckily, I actually find chopping relaxing. I gets easier!

[Katy LeGrand]

I'm glad I saw this post, I'm on day 5 and I feel like I constantly dread prepping for meals mostly because veggies have to be chopped. It's a great idea to buy your veggies for the week and just get the chopping done all at once..even though it would probably take me an hour because my fine motor skills are lacking I'm definitely going to follow this thread because I could use some time savers.

[Beets]

The first few days I spent frantically reading blogs and trying to meal plan. The next few days I felt like I spent the whole day cooking and cleaning my kitchen. (I use the word "clean" loosely.)

It does get easier. You get more used to composing meal from what's in your fridge v thinking you have to make something new for each meal.

I haven't yet mastered the weekend cook-up but I do bake a bunch of sweet pots, make stock, roast some veggies and make a loose meal plan that I keep taped to my fridge, and cook something Sunday that'll provide leftovers . I'm getting a wipe board so I can keep track of what's in the fridge so I don't waste food. My fridge has never been so organized ever.

Last week organic bell peppers were on sale so I bought a bunch and when slicing them for one meal, I pulled out a few more and kept slicing. They keep well in the freezer and now I ha e something prepped.

It's definitely a learning process but it's forcing me to have the streamlined (relatively) kitchen I always wanted to have.

[pjena]

In addition to planning, prepping, etc, make sure to brainstorm (and even make a list of) some options for nights when the plans change and you can't do what you planned. Eggs and toast (or with the W30, eggs and sweet potatoes) are a quick and easy dinner. There are some threads around the forum (check the kids forum) with a lot of quick ideas.

Chopping will get faster/easier, too.

When my son was diagnosed with food allergies a few years ago and we suddenly had to make everything from scratch, it was overwhelming. But, it became habit and it's not bad at all. I love planning, prepping, shopping, cooking, etc. I consider it a hobby and a way to relax. On Sunday, I love nothing more than to have the kids set up with playdates so I can put in my IPOD and cook away the afternoon. Bliss. You'll get there, too!

[Krista Billows Rodriguez]

keep your meals simple, the temptation to create elaborate cooking show caliber meals is high, but the meals do not have to be like that-unless you want to and have the time to do it.

I slice a cucumber, a few carrots and a bell pepper to have on hand all the time, they're quick grabs for my lunch and my children's. I steam sauté greens on the weekend-when I remember and have time. I roast veggies too. I love the weekend cook up, it has definitely saved me time. But on the weeks when I don't get to it I can still manage to keep my family well fed. One thing to remember, it can be a big time saver and just as nutritious to rely on frozen veggies. I've found frozen cauliflower, broccoli and diced sweet potato to be a huge time saver.

[MrsStick]

If you need to roast two trays of veggies, I just do them one after the other. Especially if you're using tray one for a side with dinner - the second tray can roast while you eat.

I like raw veg with dip for lunch, but the amount of time it takes me to prep them has almost shrank in half lately. Wash/chop 2 stalks of celery, 1 carrot, and some of a cucumber, add a handful of sugar snap peas, done. Or you can do a hot plate style creation. Ground beef, add frozen veg (they'll thaw by tomorrow's lunch!), some spices/sauces (organic tomato sauce/paste, Greek or Italian seasoning, done), and you've got a yummy lunch. The combinations in ISWF in the back really do work well.

[Beets]

On Sunday, I love nothing more than to have the kids set up with playdates so I can put in my IPOD and cook away the afternoon. Bliss. You'll get there, too!

Sounds like bliss to me too!