What do DINKs eat?
May 21, 2013 6:23 PM Subscribe
My husband and I may soon have two incomes. Hoorah! But how do we balance that with making food for our meals?
With some luck, our household may soon become dual income (FT). There are so many reasons why this could be great if it happens. The only problem with this is food prep. How do you prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner and still manage to both get to work on time, have enough nourishment to get through the day, and not have to cook and clean up for 1.5 hours when you get home?
Right now we only eat out about once or twice a week. We plan our weeknight meals in advance and have leftovers for lunch. We don't do dinner repeats over the course of the week, but we're not opposed to them. These steps help keep our grocery bill low.
Here's what I'm looking for:
-A list of your best (at least moderately healthy) go to breakfasts, lunches and dinners
-What you do in advance for meals, if anything
-What techniques you use to get enough nourishment throughout the workday
-Tips for avoiding boredom sprouting from repetition
With some luck, our household may soon become dual income (FT). There are so many reasons why this could be great if it happens. The only problem with this is food prep. How do you prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner and still manage to both get to work on time, have enough nourishment to get through the day, and not have to cook and clean up for 1.5 hours when you get home?
Right now we only eat out about once or twice a week. We plan our weeknight meals in advance and have leftovers for lunch. We don't do dinner repeats over the course of the week, but we're not opposed to them. These steps help keep our grocery bill low.
Here's what I'm looking for:
-A list of your best (at least moderately healthy) go to breakfasts, lunches and dinners
-What you do in advance for meals, if anything
-What techniques you use to get enough nourishment throughout the workday
-Tips for avoiding boredom sprouting from repetition
Best answer: I wrote a bunch of stuff here but on preview I erased it and just decided to pass along this link to Mark Bittman's article 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less.
It's not just a list of recipes; it's a way of thinking about cooking.
posted by gyusan at 6:42 PM on May 21, 2013 [15 favorites]
It's not just a list of recipes; it's a way of thinking about cooking.
posted by gyusan at 6:42 PM on May 21, 2013 [15 favorites]
Best answer: My husband and I have gotten very comfortable with repetitive meals!
For breakfast he has instant oatmeal every day with a handful of fresh blueberries or strawberries. Bowl gets rinsed and put in dish washer. I take a Greek yogurt with fruit in it and have that with granola mixed in. I have a big tub of granola i leave at my desk. I also make batches of these quiche muffins and freeze them. I can take one to work and warm it in the microwave for 1 minute and that way I can have a warm breakfast on occasion.
For lunch, I am no help since both my husband and I get salads at lunch. My company is promoting healthy living so we can get a huge salad with our choice of fixing for 4 bucks. That's worth it to me to not have to think about what to pack.
For dinner, we have a few recipes we have prepared enough times to pull together quickly (30 mins or leas) These tend to be chicken marsala or piccata or fish in a pan with some lemon. For veggies we will slice up a zucchini and sauté it in a nonstick pan and make some Uncle Bens ready rice (90 seconds in microwave! In the bag it comes in! No clean up!). We also do asparagus and broccoli often since they cook quickly with no hassle in a small pan with some olive oil. We have also done a lot of grilling lately because that's one less pan to clean! I love grilling nights because clean up is quick.
Sometimes I will take a day during the weekend and make some meals for the freezer. This wild rice and turkey bake is one of my favorites. It's super easy to put together - dump all ingredients in a freezer pan and put tin foil over it. Instead of turkey I use Tyson's pre cooked sliced chicken. Then I don't even have to cook the meat before hand since it cooks while it warms in the oven. This makes this easy after work because I can toss it in the oven and relax or play with our baby while it cooks. I usually put it in a smaller sided pan that means we eat it all for dinner and my clean up is simply tossing the freezer pan and putting our dishes in the dishwasher. But you could also make a larger batch and take left overs to work if you have access to a microwave.
I also make it a point to have granola bars and almonds stocked at my desk for a quick snack. We get groceries weekly and I will usually bring a piece of fresh fruit to work. It's easy to toss an apple in my bag on the way out the door with my yogurt.
posted by polkadot at 6:44 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
For breakfast he has instant oatmeal every day with a handful of fresh blueberries or strawberries. Bowl gets rinsed and put in dish washer. I take a Greek yogurt with fruit in it and have that with granola mixed in. I have a big tub of granola i leave at my desk. I also make batches of these quiche muffins and freeze them. I can take one to work and warm it in the microwave for 1 minute and that way I can have a warm breakfast on occasion.
For lunch, I am no help since both my husband and I get salads at lunch. My company is promoting healthy living so we can get a huge salad with our choice of fixing for 4 bucks. That's worth it to me to not have to think about what to pack.
For dinner, we have a few recipes we have prepared enough times to pull together quickly (30 mins or leas) These tend to be chicken marsala or piccata or fish in a pan with some lemon. For veggies we will slice up a zucchini and sauté it in a nonstick pan and make some Uncle Bens ready rice (90 seconds in microwave! In the bag it comes in! No clean up!). We also do asparagus and broccoli often since they cook quickly with no hassle in a small pan with some olive oil. We have also done a lot of grilling lately because that's one less pan to clean! I love grilling nights because clean up is quick.
Sometimes I will take a day during the weekend and make some meals for the freezer. This wild rice and turkey bake is one of my favorites. It's super easy to put together - dump all ingredients in a freezer pan and put tin foil over it. Instead of turkey I use Tyson's pre cooked sliced chicken. Then I don't even have to cook the meat before hand since it cooks while it warms in the oven. This makes this easy after work because I can toss it in the oven and relax or play with our baby while it cooks. I usually put it in a smaller sided pan that means we eat it all for dinner and my clean up is simply tossing the freezer pan and putting our dishes in the dishwasher. But you could also make a larger batch and take left overs to work if you have access to a microwave.
I also make it a point to have granola bars and almonds stocked at my desk for a quick snack. We get groceries weekly and I will usually bring a piece of fresh fruit to work. It's easy to toss an apple in my bag on the way out the door with my yogurt.
posted by polkadot at 6:44 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
-What techniques you use to get enough nourishment throughout the workday
Nuts.
-Tips for avoiding boredom sprouting from repetition
So there's lots of clever things you can do with mix-and-matching ingredients or recipes or seasonings, but honestly one of the big things is just finding breakfast and lunch foods that you don't get tired of. It is so much easier if, instead of having 21 meals a week to think about, you have 7 that require thought and 14 that you can make and shop for on autopilot.
In my experience that means picking stuff that isn't actually particularly interesting to begin with. If I find some new snazzy exotic recipe I have to be careful not to make it too often, even if it's really good, because it's also really easy to burn out on something like that. But a cheese-and-tomato sandwich? Well, it's never gonna surprise anyone, but it also never gets old. I could have that for lunch three or four times a week for the rest of my life and be happy.
posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. at 6:44 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Nuts.
-Tips for avoiding boredom sprouting from repetition
So there's lots of clever things you can do with mix-and-matching ingredients or recipes or seasonings, but honestly one of the big things is just finding breakfast and lunch foods that you don't get tired of. It is so much easier if, instead of having 21 meals a week to think about, you have 7 that require thought and 14 that you can make and shop for on autopilot.
In my experience that means picking stuff that isn't actually particularly interesting to begin with. If I find some new snazzy exotic recipe I have to be careful not to make it too often, even if it's really good, because it's also really easy to burn out on something like that. But a cheese-and-tomato sandwich? Well, it's never gonna surprise anyone, but it also never gets old. I could have that for lunch three or four times a week for the rest of my life and be happy.
posted by Now there are two. There are two _______. at 6:44 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Breakfast:
* Quinoa is very nutritious, and can be made ahead/reheats well. In my house we do quinoa poached egg, or quinoa and sauteed apples with maple syrup (apples can be made ahead)
* Smoothies - we have been making oatmeal smoothies
* Refrigerator Oatmeal
* Cold Brew coffee is easy to make ahead
Lunches generally consist of left overs, "adult Lunchables" (cheese, crackers, deli meat, cut vegetables), salads, or frozen Trader Joe's meals.
Dinner:
* Fried Rice keeps for a few days
* Soups keep for a few days
* If you eat meat, some types can be made ahead and combined with rice and vegetables
* Crock pots are your friend
For snacks, if you can snag an invite to Graze Box it has been a blessing for me and bibliogrrl
Otherwise, think like a child. Small packages of granola, or nuts and berries, or veggies help with mid-day cravings.
posted by baniak at 6:44 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
* Quinoa is very nutritious, and can be made ahead/reheats well. In my house we do quinoa poached egg, or quinoa and sauteed apples with maple syrup (apples can be made ahead)
* Smoothies - we have been making oatmeal smoothies
* Refrigerator Oatmeal
* Cold Brew coffee is easy to make ahead
Lunches generally consist of left overs, "adult Lunchables" (cheese, crackers, deli meat, cut vegetables), salads, or frozen Trader Joe's meals.
Dinner:
* Fried Rice keeps for a few days
* Soups keep for a few days
* If you eat meat, some types can be made ahead and combined with rice and vegetables
* Crock pots are your friend
For snacks, if you can snag an invite to Graze Box it has been a blessing for me and bibliogrrl
Otherwise, think like a child. Small packages of granola, or nuts and berries, or veggies help with mid-day cravings.
posted by baniak at 6:44 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
This question has some strange assumptions. Do you cook a complicated meal three times a day? Is your partner completely dependent on you for food? Changing either of those things will make this so much less stressful.
For breakfast, I eat cold or hot instant cereal, a piece of fruit, some milk, or yogurt, quick smoothie if I'm feeling fancy.
Lunch is leftovers or mostly eat at the cafeteria at work. It's cheap, tasty, and fun bc it is social.
Dinner is a big batch of crockpot stew, salads, lots of veg and easy finger food like olives and Brie and crackers and sausage. I have lots of hobbies, never eat out except on weekends, and I barely spend more than 10 mins fixing supper.
It was the same when I lived for years with bfs that worked full time. Just make sure your partner knows that he/she should feed their self at lunch and that you will either need to share responsibility, or step up the simplicity now that you have such a major change to your schedule. Congrats!
posted by cakebatter at 6:44 PM on May 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
For breakfast, I eat cold or hot instant cereal, a piece of fruit, some milk, or yogurt, quick smoothie if I'm feeling fancy.
Lunch is leftovers or mostly eat at the cafeteria at work. It's cheap, tasty, and fun bc it is social.
Dinner is a big batch of crockpot stew, salads, lots of veg and easy finger food like olives and Brie and crackers and sausage. I have lots of hobbies, never eat out except on weekends, and I barely spend more than 10 mins fixing supper.
It was the same when I lived for years with bfs that worked full time. Just make sure your partner knows that he/she should feed their self at lunch and that you will either need to share responsibility, or step up the simplicity now that you have such a major change to your schedule. Congrats!
posted by cakebatter at 6:44 PM on May 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
I do a lot of pre-cooking of proteins - I go to Costco twice a monthish for chicken, pork roasts, bratwurst, frozen meatballs, plus a ton of boiled peeled eggs, maybe a couple of sauces (pasta type), and a judicious amount of fresh produce (you learn what works - we eat a crapload of broccoli, so I can buy 3lbs of florets, or 2lbs of brussels sprouts or green beans. Salad, not so much, it goes bad). I also buy a giant brick of delicious crystal-y Coastal Cheddar and a two-pack of goat cheese. If you like this sort of thing, Costco usually has 4-packs of Indian food, usually palak paneer and dal, which split between two people with protein and a dash of rice makes a very fine lunch.
If I'm turning on the oven, I'm baking enough meat for at least 3 days of dinner and lunch.
We accept a certain amount of repetition, because it's not going to kill us and while we may repeat the same basic thing 2-4 times a week I'll then skip weeks before we have that thing again. Because we don't eat a lot of carbs, our meals tend to be 1 Protein with flavor added somehow, and 1-2 green veg. We eat eggs every work morning - either boiled out of hand, chopped for egg salad, or I make a 4-egg omlette with a sprinkle of goat cheese for the two of us to split.
With chicken, meatballs, and pork roast ready to go in the fridge, I can pack lunches with a rotating cast of veg, plus a small serving of rice.
I freeze servings of meat if it's starting to get boring or isn't going to get eaten. Then I can throw some frozen BBQ pork or garlic chicken in a box with some veg and rice for lunch.
One night a week or so, I get a hankering for something we don't have. That's tonight, and I stopped for tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus, and feta to make big Greek salads with a side of meatballs and hummus.
I used to be really fixated on snacks, but I finally came to the realization that I don't need them. I eat breakfast, lunch, sometimes a cheese snack when I get home if dinner's going to be on the later side (usually on the nights I bulk cook). I've got a couple of yogurts in the work fridge if I'm dying. I did used to keep almonds in my desk drawer, and then I started having dire gastric effects from eating them, which is when I gave up snacks. I do keep a bag of M&Ms in my laptop bag for emergencies, but that works for me because I don't actually like M&Ms all that much. They work in a pinch.
I honestly think one of the best things I did for my procedures was to buy glass food containers with silicone-gasket plastic lids (these, but if you can buy individual pieces in the sizes you actually need, I advise it - some of these pieces are too small, though the ones that are too large I use to hold ready-made protein in the fridge to be decanted. In an emergency, I can crack two eggs into one and toss it into my bag, microwaving them at work (perfectly tasty, once you get the timing down). You can nuke the hell out of them, they're really tough, wash them forever (I do put the lids through the dishwasher, but only every 3-4 times, otherwise I give them a hand scrub when they're not very dirty), they don't stain from tomato sauces, and you're less likely to abandon them and then not have containers for lunch. They're heavy, you want a sturdy bag to carry them in, and I prefer bags with shoulder straps.
I am not too fancy for jar sauce. We don't eat pasta but I'll buy tomato and curry sauces jarred for assembly. Chicken and anything green (cabbage, green beans, broccoli, spinach, and/or cauliflower, and/or garbanzo beans) goes well with either flavor. And while I like to have fresh vegetables on hand, there's also always frozen staples for when I just need to make food happen.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:49 PM on May 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
If I'm turning on the oven, I'm baking enough meat for at least 3 days of dinner and lunch.
We accept a certain amount of repetition, because it's not going to kill us and while we may repeat the same basic thing 2-4 times a week I'll then skip weeks before we have that thing again. Because we don't eat a lot of carbs, our meals tend to be 1 Protein with flavor added somehow, and 1-2 green veg. We eat eggs every work morning - either boiled out of hand, chopped for egg salad, or I make a 4-egg omlette with a sprinkle of goat cheese for the two of us to split.
With chicken, meatballs, and pork roast ready to go in the fridge, I can pack lunches with a rotating cast of veg, plus a small serving of rice.
I freeze servings of meat if it's starting to get boring or isn't going to get eaten. Then I can throw some frozen BBQ pork or garlic chicken in a box with some veg and rice for lunch.
One night a week or so, I get a hankering for something we don't have. That's tonight, and I stopped for tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus, and feta to make big Greek salads with a side of meatballs and hummus.
I used to be really fixated on snacks, but I finally came to the realization that I don't need them. I eat breakfast, lunch, sometimes a cheese snack when I get home if dinner's going to be on the later side (usually on the nights I bulk cook). I've got a couple of yogurts in the work fridge if I'm dying. I did used to keep almonds in my desk drawer, and then I started having dire gastric effects from eating them, which is when I gave up snacks. I do keep a bag of M&Ms in my laptop bag for emergencies, but that works for me because I don't actually like M&Ms all that much. They work in a pinch.
I honestly think one of the best things I did for my procedures was to buy glass food containers with silicone-gasket plastic lids (these, but if you can buy individual pieces in the sizes you actually need, I advise it - some of these pieces are too small, though the ones that are too large I use to hold ready-made protein in the fridge to be decanted. In an emergency, I can crack two eggs into one and toss it into my bag, microwaving them at work (perfectly tasty, once you get the timing down). You can nuke the hell out of them, they're really tough, wash them forever (I do put the lids through the dishwasher, but only every 3-4 times, otherwise I give them a hand scrub when they're not very dirty), they don't stain from tomato sauces, and you're less likely to abandon them and then not have containers for lunch. They're heavy, you want a sturdy bag to carry them in, and I prefer bags with shoulder straps.
I am not too fancy for jar sauce. We don't eat pasta but I'll buy tomato and curry sauces jarred for assembly. Chicken and anything green (cabbage, green beans, broccoli, spinach, and/or cauliflower, and/or garbanzo beans) goes well with either flavor. And while I like to have fresh vegetables on hand, there's also always frozen staples for when I just need to make food happen.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:49 PM on May 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
I'm a SINK. I find when I do planning, shopping and cooking, it saves time, money and calories in the long run, but it takes a lot of keeping at it. Tupperware is my very dear friend.
I make single omelet patties on Sunday or Monday for the week, sometimes I cook up some turkey or veggie sausage, and then I can just grab and plop on an english muffin with some cheese for an easy breakfast sandwich. I also eat veggie burgers/black bean burgers a lot for breakfast and lunch.
I don't like yogurt a whole lot, but the fridge at work is packed with Chobanis. Ditto protein/cereal bars. Lots of people like them.
I have snack packs of almonds and raisins at my desk.
I fix and chop up a big salad on Sunday to have throughout the week.
Cheese sticks, apples, baby carrots, hummus.
For dinners (or lunches) I've found if I can cook up a thing of spaghetti, then I can have chicken, sauce, eggplant, veggies, or whatever to top it as I please. I keep individual containers in the fridge or freezer. I buy nukable brown rice. (Homemade dry is probably better but I can't go back after the convenience of the "ready rice.")
I'm new to crock pot cooking, but everything I've tried has been successful. Again, cook up a bunch of stuff on the weekend and have it for the week. There's a blog called a year of slow cooking that gives good ideas.
I guess what I'm saying is it takes some initial planning, but for me if I can have a number of "mix and match" components -- protein, sauce, starch, veggies. I can put them together in different ways throughout the week.
Sorry this was a little rambley. Hope it is helpful.
posted by loveyallaround at 6:50 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
I make single omelet patties on Sunday or Monday for the week, sometimes I cook up some turkey or veggie sausage, and then I can just grab and plop on an english muffin with some cheese for an easy breakfast sandwich. I also eat veggie burgers/black bean burgers a lot for breakfast and lunch.
I don't like yogurt a whole lot, but the fridge at work is packed with Chobanis. Ditto protein/cereal bars. Lots of people like them.
I have snack packs of almonds and raisins at my desk.
I fix and chop up a big salad on Sunday to have throughout the week.
Cheese sticks, apples, baby carrots, hummus.
For dinners (or lunches) I've found if I can cook up a thing of spaghetti, then I can have chicken, sauce, eggplant, veggies, or whatever to top it as I please. I keep individual containers in the fridge or freezer. I buy nukable brown rice. (Homemade dry is probably better but I can't go back after the convenience of the "ready rice.")
I'm new to crock pot cooking, but everything I've tried has been successful. Again, cook up a bunch of stuff on the weekend and have it for the week. There's a blog called a year of slow cooking that gives good ideas.
I guess what I'm saying is it takes some initial planning, but for me if I can have a number of "mix and match" components -- protein, sauce, starch, veggies. I can put them together in different ways throughout the week.
Sorry this was a little rambley. Hope it is helpful.
posted by loveyallaround at 6:50 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You seem to have the basics down. My boyfriend and I handle things a little differently -- we'll eat the same thing 2 or 3 nights in a row, so we're only cooking once or maybe twice during the week. Things that take longer to cook get done on the weekends.
- I make heavy use of the freezer, which means both planning things that freeze well and making extra to freeze. But it's great on nights when there's no time to cook or the plan didn't work out, or we ended up without enough leftovers for lunch
- For me, I find that simplifying meals by reducing the number of different ingredients to prep makes a big difference. I never really understood why people thought stirfry was such a quick meal until I started cutting down the number of different vegetables to one or two. For example, instead of peppers, celery, carrots, and bok choy, I'll just buy lots of bok choy and we'll have that. Or just peppers. Note that I'm not talking about eating less vegetables total, just concentrating on one at a time.
- For work snacking, I keep around trail mix that I make to my own preferences from the bulk food store (and then eat the best parts first). The boyfriend keeps crackers and peanut butter and individual yogurts in the work fridge (well, not the crackers...) We both take fruit and cut up vegetables (eg carrots, cucumbers, peppers, celery, green beans...2 or 3 different ones, prepped and portioned into tupperware 2 or 3 days at a time. Or just buy baby carrots and mini cucumbers)
- A less food-related comment is that you pretty much have to divide the cooking and cleaning up between two people for this to work. Either one person always cooks and the other always cleans, or they split cooking duties, but after a long day at work and cooking a meal, the cook has to take a break, otherwise it just doesn't work
posted by quaking fajita at 6:53 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
- I make heavy use of the freezer, which means both planning things that freeze well and making extra to freeze. But it's great on nights when there's no time to cook or the plan didn't work out, or we ended up without enough leftovers for lunch
- For me, I find that simplifying meals by reducing the number of different ingredients to prep makes a big difference. I never really understood why people thought stirfry was such a quick meal until I started cutting down the number of different vegetables to one or two. For example, instead of peppers, celery, carrots, and bok choy, I'll just buy lots of bok choy and we'll have that. Or just peppers. Note that I'm not talking about eating less vegetables total, just concentrating on one at a time.
- For work snacking, I keep around trail mix that I make to my own preferences from the bulk food store (and then eat the best parts first). The boyfriend keeps crackers and peanut butter and individual yogurts in the work fridge (well, not the crackers...) We both take fruit and cut up vegetables (eg carrots, cucumbers, peppers, celery, green beans...2 or 3 different ones, prepped and portioned into tupperware 2 or 3 days at a time. Or just buy baby carrots and mini cucumbers)
- A less food-related comment is that you pretty much have to divide the cooking and cleaning up between two people for this to work. Either one person always cooks and the other always cleans, or they split cooking duties, but after a long day at work and cooking a meal, the cook has to take a break, otherwise it just doesn't work
posted by quaking fajita at 6:53 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
I am a single person who must feed myself full time on only one income.
You just... cook stuff?
I guess there's less pressure because it's just me, and I can have a grilled cheese sandwich or scrambled eggs for dinner and it's no big deal but
I dunno, just... eat food that you purchase and prepare?
My favorite quick meals:
- pasta, but dressed up. For instance right now I have some fancy four-cheese ravioli in the freezer. That, plus a quick sauce that can be whipped up while the pasta cooks, et voila.
- big ol' salad. Lettuce, a few other vegetables (or maybe not, if I'm feeling lazy or didn't coordinate enough to have both fresh lettuce and other salad veggies in the house at the same time), a sprinkle of cheese, maybe some protein if there's a picked over rotisserie chicken to hand, and a quick vinaigrette you can whip up with a fork and a mug. Feel free to just buy pre-bagged salad greens.
- breakfast for dinner. omelet. vegetable side or perhaps a side salad. done. Or sometimes I make french toast and give myself a break from the whole "nutritious meal" concept.
- fun ethnic novelties which tend to fall into the "stuff to serve over rice" category: Japanese curry. Thai curry. Trader Joe's Boil In Bag Indian. Beef With Broccoli. Stir Fry.
- "Mediterranean" night where I mostly eat stuffed grape leaves, olives, pita, feta, and hummus, often with a salad or raw vegetables for dipping into hummus.
- Look, let's be real. I order pizza about once a week (which I can stretch into two meals, being a singleton). Also there are plenty of nights where I eat something ridiculous and gross that I would never admit eating at all -- let alone as a meal -- in polite company. kraft dinner
I tend to eat out on days I have to go into the office for work, but honestly sandwiches and leftovers have always done it for me. I'm intrigued by all these mason jar salad ideas I keep seeing on pinterest.
(OK realtalk, 90% of my weeknight recipes involve something dull plus a homemade sauce.)
I like eating the same things all the time, so YMMV.
posted by Sara C. at 6:54 PM on May 21, 2013 [7 favorites]
You just... cook stuff?
I guess there's less pressure because it's just me, and I can have a grilled cheese sandwich or scrambled eggs for dinner and it's no big deal but
I dunno, just... eat food that you purchase and prepare?
My favorite quick meals:
- pasta, but dressed up. For instance right now I have some fancy four-cheese ravioli in the freezer. That, plus a quick sauce that can be whipped up while the pasta cooks, et voila.
- big ol' salad. Lettuce, a few other vegetables (or maybe not, if I'm feeling lazy or didn't coordinate enough to have both fresh lettuce and other salad veggies in the house at the same time), a sprinkle of cheese, maybe some protein if there's a picked over rotisserie chicken to hand, and a quick vinaigrette you can whip up with a fork and a mug. Feel free to just buy pre-bagged salad greens.
- breakfast for dinner. omelet. vegetable side or perhaps a side salad. done. Or sometimes I make french toast and give myself a break from the whole "nutritious meal" concept.
- fun ethnic novelties which tend to fall into the "stuff to serve over rice" category: Japanese curry. Thai curry. Trader Joe's Boil In Bag Indian. Beef With Broccoli. Stir Fry.
- "Mediterranean" night where I mostly eat stuffed grape leaves, olives, pita, feta, and hummus, often with a salad or raw vegetables for dipping into hummus.
- Look, let's be real. I order pizza about once a week (which I can stretch into two meals, being a singleton). Also there are plenty of nights where I eat something ridiculous and gross that I would never admit eating at all -- let alone as a meal -- in polite company. kraft dinner
I tend to eat out on days I have to go into the office for work, but honestly sandwiches and leftovers have always done it for me. I'm intrigued by all these mason jar salad ideas I keep seeing on pinterest.
(OK realtalk, 90% of my weeknight recipes involve something dull plus a homemade sauce.)
I like eating the same things all the time, so YMMV.
posted by Sara C. at 6:54 PM on May 21, 2013 [7 favorites]
We are double income two kids and both work outside of the house. For me a well stocked cupboard and freezer is key. I use an app called mealboard to help with planning. Some meals are prepped ahead (lasagne, shepherd's pie), others are quick to make (fajitas, pasta, hamburgers, soups, fish, stirfrys). Dinner during the week takes less than an hour from prep to plate.
Lunch is leftovers from dinner, enough for the whole family. I have wide neck thermoses for the kids, the grown ups have microwaves at work. Snacks at work/school are fruit, yogurt, cheese, crackers, dried fruit, muffins and nuts (nuts for the grown ups only). Breakfast is fruit, cereal, granola, oatmeal or toast.
Weekends things are more elaborate. This works well for us largely because I enjoy cooking. Even then I have the occasional breakdown and declare we are having a snacky dinner, or cook pancakes for dinner.
posted by Cuke at 6:59 PM on May 21, 2013
Lunch is leftovers from dinner, enough for the whole family. I have wide neck thermoses for the kids, the grown ups have microwaves at work. Snacks at work/school are fruit, yogurt, cheese, crackers, dried fruit, muffins and nuts (nuts for the grown ups only). Breakfast is fruit, cereal, granola, oatmeal or toast.
Weekends things are more elaborate. This works well for us largely because I enjoy cooking. Even then I have the occasional breakdown and declare we are having a snacky dinner, or cook pancakes for dinner.
posted by Cuke at 6:59 PM on May 21, 2013
Oh, and nthing shortcut rice. Which I used to mock, having grown up Cajun where we take our rice seriously. But omg Trader Joes sells frozen brown rice that you just heat up and it's ready. I know I'm probably going to foodie hell now but I just admitted I like kraft mac & cheese so I don't care.
posted by Sara C. at 7:01 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Sara C. at 7:01 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Oh, I should have also said I fix veggies on the weekend (usually Sunday). I steam a cauliflower and maybe green beans or brussel sprouts. Then I can just have them with whatever meal. You can also just buy frozen (which are honestly just about as good IMO) and nuke them.
I also saute a big mess of onions, mushrooms and spinach and just keep it to throw on eggs, rice, pasta, meat. I can pretty much eat that combo every day.
For me, the trick is to have enough variety but to eat it before it goes bad. This is much easier with two people, IME.
posted by loveyallaround at 7:01 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
I also saute a big mess of onions, mushrooms and spinach and just keep it to throw on eggs, rice, pasta, meat. I can pretty much eat that combo every day.
For me, the trick is to have enough variety but to eat it before it goes bad. This is much easier with two people, IME.
posted by loveyallaround at 7:01 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Breakfast for dinner.
Actual morning breakfast: toast and eggs I have boiled ahead with fruit for mid morning.
Lunch: veggies and hummus; sandwich and chips/carrot sticks, etc.
Dinner: That is what stumps me most often. Summer is easier with all of the fresh fruit and veg. You can do an entree salad; pasta primavera. Also, frozen ahead meals like lasagna with a salad.
posted by michellenoel at 7:01 PM on May 21, 2013
Actual morning breakfast: toast and eggs I have boiled ahead with fruit for mid morning.
Lunch: veggies and hummus; sandwich and chips/carrot sticks, etc.
Dinner: That is what stumps me most often. Summer is easier with all of the fresh fruit and veg. You can do an entree salad; pasta primavera. Also, frozen ahead meals like lasagna with a salad.
posted by michellenoel at 7:01 PM on May 21, 2013
Best answer: We do cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and swap out cooking every other night. 9 nights out of 10, dinner is a meat (grilled or sautéed), a green veg (steamed or sautéed) and a starchy veg (typically a sweet potato nuked or couscous.)
Add the appropriate sauces and spices and this rarely gets old. We clean as we cook dinner, so afterwards all that remains is to put the eating dishes in the dishwasher and watch tv. Grocery shopping happens on Sunday and we mostly do that together.
I've been a DINK, or a SINK with a jobless partner for most of my adult life and it really isn't that hard to feed two people and work full time as long as you treat it as a team job. When it starts to suck is when it's all one person's responsibility. Then it epically sucks.
posted by teleri025 at 7:05 PM on May 21, 2013
Add the appropriate sauces and spices and this rarely gets old. We clean as we cook dinner, so afterwards all that remains is to put the eating dishes in the dishwasher and watch tv. Grocery shopping happens on Sunday and we mostly do that together.
I've been a DINK, or a SINK with a jobless partner for most of my adult life and it really isn't that hard to feed two people and work full time as long as you treat it as a team job. When it starts to suck is when it's all one person's responsibility. Then it epically sucks.
posted by teleri025 at 7:05 PM on May 21, 2013
I present what I call the bachelor option:
Breakfast -- cold cereal, with milk
Lunch -- sandwiches and/or soup, prepared at work
Snacks -- sliced cheese or fruit
Dinner -- same as the above, or broiled (marinated) chicken with (instant) beans, lasagna (cooked in bulk on a weekend), microwaved frozen vegetables, or going out for a burrito or Thai food.
I'll be reading others' ideas with interest.
posted by sninctown at 7:09 PM on May 21, 2013
Breakfast -- cold cereal, with milk
Lunch -- sandwiches and/or soup, prepared at work
Snacks -- sliced cheese or fruit
Dinner -- same as the above, or broiled (marinated) chicken with (instant) beans, lasagna (cooked in bulk on a weekend), microwaved frozen vegetables, or going out for a burrito or Thai food.
I'll be reading others' ideas with interest.
posted by sninctown at 7:09 PM on May 21, 2013
Best answer: Fried Rice keeps for a few days
Even better, make fried rice with your leftover rice.
My "recipe is":
Add oil to pan. You want an oil that can take high heat, not olive oil.
When the oil is good and hot, add any raw vegetables you'll need to sautee. I usually do garlic and diced onion. If you want to use other vegetables that need some sauteeing time on the heat, add those, too. (Green beans? Peppers? Brocoli? Carrot? Sky's the limit here.) Also this would probably be the time to add meat, if you want to cook raw meat in the pan as opposed to just adding cold leftover chicken scraps.
When your onions are transparent, add a cup of leftover (already cooked) rice per person. Get everything good and mixed up. Now you add any vegetable that doesn't need a lot of sautee time but just needs to steam -- maybe spinach or peas, or thawed frozen vegetables. You're also going to start adding liquid. You want a lot of soy sauce of course. Maybe some mirin? Hoisin sauce? A dab of fish sauce? A little white wine? If I have leftover chutneys from Indian takeout*, I will add them even though it's not really Chinese. Once your steaming vegetables are starting to look done, crack an egg per person into the pan. Stir it around so that the egg breaks up and cooks on contact with the hot rice and veg. Once the egg sets, now is the time to add cold proteins that don't need cooking, like leftover chicken, pre-cooked flank steak, or tofu.
When that last layer of ingredients is hot, you have unlocked achievement: Fried Rice.
*This recipe is BITCHIN as a way to use up leftover basmati rice that came with your Indian takeout order.
posted by Sara C. at 7:13 PM on May 21, 2013 [12 favorites]
Even better, make fried rice with your leftover rice.
My "recipe is":
Add oil to pan. You want an oil that can take high heat, not olive oil.
When the oil is good and hot, add any raw vegetables you'll need to sautee. I usually do garlic and diced onion. If you want to use other vegetables that need some sauteeing time on the heat, add those, too. (Green beans? Peppers? Brocoli? Carrot? Sky's the limit here.) Also this would probably be the time to add meat, if you want to cook raw meat in the pan as opposed to just adding cold leftover chicken scraps.
When your onions are transparent, add a cup of leftover (already cooked) rice per person. Get everything good and mixed up. Now you add any vegetable that doesn't need a lot of sautee time but just needs to steam -- maybe spinach or peas, or thawed frozen vegetables. You're also going to start adding liquid. You want a lot of soy sauce of course. Maybe some mirin? Hoisin sauce? A dab of fish sauce? A little white wine? If I have leftover chutneys from Indian takeout*, I will add them even though it's not really Chinese. Once your steaming vegetables are starting to look done, crack an egg per person into the pan. Stir it around so that the egg breaks up and cooks on contact with the hot rice and veg. Once the egg sets, now is the time to add cold proteins that don't need cooking, like leftover chicken, pre-cooked flank steak, or tofu.
When that last layer of ingredients is hot, you have unlocked achievement: Fried Rice.
*This recipe is BITCHIN as a way to use up leftover basmati rice that came with your Indian takeout order.
posted by Sara C. at 7:13 PM on May 21, 2013 [12 favorites]
We use a food prep service to get dinner on the table on weeknights. Right now we're using Dream Dinners. We go there once a month and assemble a bunch of meals. It takes an hour and we've got a bunch of meals ready in the freezer. Since the menu there changes each month it doesn't get boring.
It's not perfect and it's tastier when I cook from scratch, but it gets the job done. We know what dishes we like at Dream Dinners and we know how to modify the recipes when we assemble (less salt, more spices).
Also I cook, Mr. 26.2 does the dishes.
posted by 26.2 at 7:18 PM on May 21, 2013
It's not perfect and it's tastier when I cook from scratch, but it gets the job done. We know what dishes we like at Dream Dinners and we know how to modify the recipes when we assemble (less salt, more spices).
Also I cook, Mr. 26.2 does the dishes.
posted by 26.2 at 7:18 PM on May 21, 2013
Really, it sounds like we (with two full time wage earners and one child) do all the things you do, and it takes less than 1.5 hours per day, but not significantly so. Just expect to rely more on the faster and one-pot meals in your repetoire during the week and save the slow ones for weekends (and make a double batch for Monday dinner.) Slow-cooking dishes may be able to be made in the crockpot in the morning. A bit of prep can be slid around to the weekends. Rather than making a different salad every night, you can have all the components ready to go and assembled quickly. But it's about the same thing as what you already do, it sounds like.
Breakfast is rarely cooked unless it's oatmeal. We hard boil batches of 5 or 6 eggs at a time and chop into salad or sandwiches or grab on the way out the door.
The full-time working partner should already have a good sense of what to eat at work.
posted by tchemgrrl at 7:21 PM on May 21, 2013
Breakfast is rarely cooked unless it's oatmeal. We hard boil batches of 5 or 6 eggs at a time and chop into salad or sandwiches or grab on the way out the door.
The full-time working partner should already have a good sense of what to eat at work.
posted by tchemgrrl at 7:21 PM on May 21, 2013
We're DINKs. We're both on low-carb diets -- me for my heart/prediabetic condition, her because she swears she gains three pounds if she looks at a slice of bread. We have a very varied diet that is heavy in fresh vegetables.
What we do during the week is pre-cook and pre-cut a basic meat and vegetables for the week. By pre-cutting vegetables, we can just reach into tupperware containers and grab a handful of red pepper and onion for an omelette or something. On Sunday, I'll grill or bake a six or more serving item of chicken, pork, or sausage. (3 lbs of sausage links, a pork shoulder, a large whole chicken... sometimes a combination thereof.) We'll eat off of that until mid week ... in eggs in the morning, in salads at lunch, in stir fry or big salads for dinner, or reheating the meat as leftovers. Mid-week, either I'll find some time to cook something new, or we'll put together something simple on the stove. It's surprisingly cheap to buy large cuts of meat like St. Louis Pork Ribs, a several pound pork roast, or another cut of meat.
One of the things that we see a lot of friends doing is eating out a lot. We eat out maybe once a month. We spend about $100 (with alcohol) when we eat out. Since it's only once a month, we get to go somewhere we enjoy. It is sometimes spontaneous. If we find out it's too frequent, though, we talk about it, and it stops.
This partially works because I enjoy cooking, as some other people have said. My fiancée does too, but I carry most of the weight because I'm home first and I *hate* doing dishes. Enjoying cooking makes it easy to do something elaborate on the weekends, and by the time we have things cleaned up, we have most of the week taken care of. We cook a lot of things on the grill because it's freaking hot most of the year in Texas and the last thing you want to do is pay twice for air conditioning because you have the oven running. In the winter, I used to make a lot of stews, but my fiancée and I sometimes disagree on how to spice them or how much liquid there should be. That means that we've been eating more grilled meats as time goes on.
Where most people get hung up (and fat and unhealthy) is that they allow themselves to have snacky meals. For us, a snacky cheating meal means that we eat meat cold out of the fridge, have some cheese, have some wine, and relax. So we've learned a few key points:
posted by SpecialK at 7:26 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
What we do during the week is pre-cook and pre-cut a basic meat and vegetables for the week. By pre-cutting vegetables, we can just reach into tupperware containers and grab a handful of red pepper and onion for an omelette or something. On Sunday, I'll grill or bake a six or more serving item of chicken, pork, or sausage. (3 lbs of sausage links, a pork shoulder, a large whole chicken... sometimes a combination thereof.) We'll eat off of that until mid week ... in eggs in the morning, in salads at lunch, in stir fry or big salads for dinner, or reheating the meat as leftovers. Mid-week, either I'll find some time to cook something new, or we'll put together something simple on the stove. It's surprisingly cheap to buy large cuts of meat like St. Louis Pork Ribs, a several pound pork roast, or another cut of meat.
One of the things that we see a lot of friends doing is eating out a lot. We eat out maybe once a month. We spend about $100 (with alcohol) when we eat out. Since it's only once a month, we get to go somewhere we enjoy. It is sometimes spontaneous. If we find out it's too frequent, though, we talk about it, and it stops.
This partially works because I enjoy cooking, as some other people have said. My fiancée does too, but I carry most of the weight because I'm home first and I *hate* doing dishes. Enjoying cooking makes it easy to do something elaborate on the weekends, and by the time we have things cleaned up, we have most of the week taken care of. We cook a lot of things on the grill because it's freaking hot most of the year in Texas and the last thing you want to do is pay twice for air conditioning because you have the oven running. In the winter, I used to make a lot of stews, but my fiancée and I sometimes disagree on how to spice them or how much liquid there should be. That means that we've been eating more grilled meats as time goes on.
Where most people get hung up (and fat and unhealthy) is that they allow themselves to have snacky meals. For us, a snacky cheating meal means that we eat meat cold out of the fridge, have some cheese, have some wine, and relax. So we've learned a few key points:
- Make it difficult to have unhealthy meals. Pancakes with chocolate chips? Don't keep pancake mix in the house, if you really have a hankering, mix the dough up from flour.
- Make it easy to have healthy meals. Frozen steam in bag unsauced vegetables? Score.
- Summary of the above two points: Don't buy unhealthy convenience-sized food.
- When you do have time, make big batches of healthy food that can be re-used in a variety of ways. Bonus: This is a really cost-efficient way to live.
- Figure out how to turn base ingredients that you bought pre-chopped or chopped yourselves ahead of time into a variety of meals using different sauces, dresses, and ingredients so that you don't feel constrained.
posted by SpecialK at 7:26 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
A slow cooker lets you cook dinner before you go to work.
posted by empath at 7:34 PM on May 21, 2013
posted by empath at 7:34 PM on May 21, 2013
DINK.
Neither of us eat breakfast. We're on our own for lunch, and usually buy cheap things at take out places near our work. One of us shops every night (we take turns) for things to cook, and we eat dinner around 9pm, after we've worked out
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:39 PM on May 21, 2013
Neither of us eat breakfast. We're on our own for lunch, and usually buy cheap things at take out places near our work. One of us shops every night (we take turns) for things to cook, and we eat dinner around 9pm, after we've worked out
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:39 PM on May 21, 2013
SINK with an extreme commute here. I think what you want to do for weekday meals is have a small number of template recipes that you can do more or less on autopilot and can add some variety to without a lot of stress. Like these curry instructions.
My standbys are roughly as follows. Muesli for breakfast: oats, plus seeds, nuts, dried fruit and/or dark chocolate, whatever else you want to put in it, and some kind of milk or soy milk, soaked for at least 10 minutes or overnight. Lunch is a sub sandwich - I often end up with hummus, feta, parsley and cucumbers, or provolone, tomatoes and herbs, but of course the point is you can put whatever in them - or else leftovers from dinner. Dinner is usually a stir fry or curry type of thing as above, with rice or pasta as a side.
I also eat out a lot, honestly (though I'm trying to cut back with some success).
posted by en forme de poire at 8:15 PM on May 21, 2013
My standbys are roughly as follows. Muesli for breakfast: oats, plus seeds, nuts, dried fruit and/or dark chocolate, whatever else you want to put in it, and some kind of milk or soy milk, soaked for at least 10 minutes or overnight. Lunch is a sub sandwich - I often end up with hummus, feta, parsley and cucumbers, or provolone, tomatoes and herbs, but of course the point is you can put whatever in them - or else leftovers from dinner. Dinner is usually a stir fry or curry type of thing as above, with rice or pasta as a side.
I also eat out a lot, honestly (though I'm trying to cut back with some success).
posted by en forme de poire at 8:15 PM on May 21, 2013
Best answer: Assuming you like fresh food, you can almost avoid cooking in the summer and early fall by buying a lot of local produce. I make one or two trips to farmers markets each week and we have a lot of salads, plates of sliced tomatoes and lightly cooked vegetables. Grill some meat, fish or tofu, have bread or pasta and you're good to go. You can also avoid boredom by getting in a lot of nice cheese, olives and things to use as appetizers, to be followed by a light grilled thing. Have your wine, beer or water in a nice glass.
People talk about the crock pot as a labor saving device but it only works for me if I have a big stash of frozen cooked mirepoix, onions, ready made stocks, etc. If I have all those things, and time to brown meat in the morning while drinking coffee, it may just about come in under 1.5 hours with cleanup.
posted by BibiRose at 8:16 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
People talk about the crock pot as a labor saving device but it only works for me if I have a big stash of frozen cooked mirepoix, onions, ready made stocks, etc. If I have all those things, and time to brown meat in the morning while drinking coffee, it may just about come in under 1.5 hours with cleanup.
posted by BibiRose at 8:16 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
DINKS 4 LYF
Buy one of the ready-made rotisserie chickens from the grocery store and live off of it for days: chicken quesadillas, chicken soup, chicken salad sandwiches, chicken stir-fry...
We do a big grocery run to a normal chain store every 2 weeks for breakfast and lunch fixins, as well as meat and any canned/dry ingredients needed based on 6-8 dinners I already know I want to make. My favorite supermarket tip: shop the perimeter and stay away from almost everything in the middle. That cuts a lot of junk out of your life.
I buy most of our produce, spices, bulk stuff, and booze from the organic market a block away, so we run there every couple of days. I cook 3-4 nights a week, usually 1 part meat, 2 parts veg, 1 part starch per plate and maybe a salad. So my staple dishes are variations on the formula, like: baked chicken, steamed broccoli, and brown rice; sauteed fish, roasted cauliflower, quinoa; grilled/broiled steak, sauteed chard, mashed potatoes; stir-fried shrimp and vegetables on couscous, etc. I am still learning to cook, so I have not mastered the art of long-term leftovers. I usually make enough for the 2 of us to have dinner with seconds, and lunch the next day.
Otherwise, we fend for ourselves (soup, sandwiches, smorgasbord, grazing) and eat out like twice a week. We like to party.
For weekday breakfast, I eat things like boiled eggs, string or cottage cheese, some juice or fruit, maybe a smoothie. He eats yogurt, or peanut butter and pita, and all kinds of crazy bars. We fix it ourselves.
Weekday lunch for me is usually a small sandwich with deli meat and cheese and something crunchy/salty. He eats rice from a batch we make once a week along with canned fish and hot sauce. We fix it ourselves.
We snack on hummus, fruit, cheese, crackers, veggie slices, the occasional baked thing, popcorn, various bars, chips and salsa, etc.
On weekends, all bets are off and there is usually bacon.
posted by juliplease at 8:37 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Buy one of the ready-made rotisserie chickens from the grocery store and live off of it for days: chicken quesadillas, chicken soup, chicken salad sandwiches, chicken stir-fry...
We do a big grocery run to a normal chain store every 2 weeks for breakfast and lunch fixins, as well as meat and any canned/dry ingredients needed based on 6-8 dinners I already know I want to make. My favorite supermarket tip: shop the perimeter and stay away from almost everything in the middle. That cuts a lot of junk out of your life.
I buy most of our produce, spices, bulk stuff, and booze from the organic market a block away, so we run there every couple of days. I cook 3-4 nights a week, usually 1 part meat, 2 parts veg, 1 part starch per plate and maybe a salad. So my staple dishes are variations on the formula, like: baked chicken, steamed broccoli, and brown rice; sauteed fish, roasted cauliflower, quinoa; grilled/broiled steak, sauteed chard, mashed potatoes; stir-fried shrimp and vegetables on couscous, etc. I am still learning to cook, so I have not mastered the art of long-term leftovers. I usually make enough for the 2 of us to have dinner with seconds, and lunch the next day.
Otherwise, we fend for ourselves (soup, sandwiches, smorgasbord, grazing) and eat out like twice a week. We like to party.
For weekday breakfast, I eat things like boiled eggs, string or cottage cheese, some juice or fruit, maybe a smoothie. He eats yogurt, or peanut butter and pita, and all kinds of crazy bars. We fix it ourselves.
Weekday lunch for me is usually a small sandwich with deli meat and cheese and something crunchy/salty. He eats rice from a batch we make once a week along with canned fish and hot sauce. We fix it ourselves.
We snack on hummus, fruit, cheese, crackers, veggie slices, the occasional baked thing, popcorn, various bars, chips and salsa, etc.
On weekends, all bets are off and there is usually bacon.
posted by juliplease at 8:37 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Don't overlook the nearby gourmet grocery stores, if you have such things.
I'm a SINK, but I occasionally buy things like a very good quality whole quiche (smoked salmon, asparagus and brie is my favourite), and use it for a few meals. The trick is to 'stretch' it, and make it cheaper and healthier, by cutting very small wedges and adding a ton of salad or vegetables as a side. For example, I'll get 4-5 meals out of one small quiche by serving a small wedge with a huge green salad that includes avocados and pine nuts.
I go to the fresh food markets once a week and buy a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables, and then add proteins as I go: a piece of fresh grilled salmon, a very small but tender steak, some cubed tofu stir-fried in ginger and garlic.
This works better for me than the whole 'crack an egg on a bowl of brown rice and put sriracha on top' thing, because I get very bored with plain food. I also don't like eating a lot of processed food. YYMV.
posted by Salamander at 9:12 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
I'm a SINK, but I occasionally buy things like a very good quality whole quiche (smoked salmon, asparagus and brie is my favourite), and use it for a few meals. The trick is to 'stretch' it, and make it cheaper and healthier, by cutting very small wedges and adding a ton of salad or vegetables as a side. For example, I'll get 4-5 meals out of one small quiche by serving a small wedge with a huge green salad that includes avocados and pine nuts.
I go to the fresh food markets once a week and buy a ton of fresh fruit and vegetables, and then add proteins as I go: a piece of fresh grilled salmon, a very small but tender steak, some cubed tofu stir-fried in ginger and garlic.
This works better for me than the whole 'crack an egg on a bowl of brown rice and put sriracha on top' thing, because I get very bored with plain food. I also don't like eating a lot of processed food. YYMV.
posted by Salamander at 9:12 PM on May 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
We're both on our own for breakfast and lunch (he gets both for free at work, grumble grumble). Lunch for me is leftovers or eating out; I admit, I eat lunch out a lot.
Breakfast isn't really always the same thing. Occasionally I go all out and make an omelet. Sometimes I have a loaf of bread around and make toast (with butter and jam, or with cheese, or with peanut butter). Sometimes I'll soft-boil an egg. Sometimes I have yogurt and granola, and eat that together with fruit. It's kind of just whatever's in the fridge, really. I get bored pretty easily so it's usually on a per-week cycle, more or less. I keep some granola bars in my desk in case I don't have time for a proper breakfast before I go in to work.
I generally try to keep fruit, nuts, and roasted vegetables on hand at all times, just because those are staples that I enjoy and generally don't get bored of. Though I guess it's hard to get bored of 'fruit' when one week it's peaches, one week it's cherries and apricots, one week it's bananas and grapes, etc.
We also keep a supply of pasta, pasta sauce, rice-a-roni, frozen pizza and frozen vegetables. That way I can always throw together a starch and a stir-fry for dinner.
posted by Lady Li at 9:30 PM on May 21, 2013
Breakfast isn't really always the same thing. Occasionally I go all out and make an omelet. Sometimes I have a loaf of bread around and make toast (with butter and jam, or with cheese, or with peanut butter). Sometimes I'll soft-boil an egg. Sometimes I have yogurt and granola, and eat that together with fruit. It's kind of just whatever's in the fridge, really. I get bored pretty easily so it's usually on a per-week cycle, more or less. I keep some granola bars in my desk in case I don't have time for a proper breakfast before I go in to work.
I generally try to keep fruit, nuts, and roasted vegetables on hand at all times, just because those are staples that I enjoy and generally don't get bored of. Though I guess it's hard to get bored of 'fruit' when one week it's peaches, one week it's cherries and apricots, one week it's bananas and grapes, etc.
We also keep a supply of pasta, pasta sauce, rice-a-roni, frozen pizza and frozen vegetables. That way I can always throw together a starch and a stir-fry for dinner.
posted by Lady Li at 9:30 PM on May 21, 2013
I cook mostly at the weekend: Look up Once a Month Cooking (OAMC). I use these ideas to fill the freezer with a range of meals for lunch (take to work frozen, defrost and reheat at work), and to a lesser extent for dinner too. I usually cook two or three meals in bulk at the weekend, and freeze in single serve portions (good quality freezer bags usually work well). The first few weeks you'll need to cook four or five meals if you want to avoid getting bored of the same old.
This means saving money & time, and eating healthier, as I can focus on making use what's good value this week, only have to think up two or three appetizing meals which use the fresh & in-season produce... less tempted to buy the expensive and gourmet options just for the heck of it.
For breakfast: a bag of cereal at work, occasionally home made muffins from the freezer (e.g. fruit muffins, low-fat cheese & bacon corn muffins), and perhaps a banana.
For lunch: frozen soups, stews, bakes, curries to reheat at work, or pre-made, frozen fillings for sandwiches / wraps - throw them together the night before, or keep a stash of bread and salad in the office on Monday. If you have a freezer at work, consider putting some frozen veg in there to complement reheated meals. If all else fails, a microwaved jacket potato plus tin of flavoured tuna from the supermarket
For snacks: fruit! freeze small portions of cake / choc brownie / fruit muffins: reheat with a cup of tea!
For dinner: home-made frozen meals, often the stuff best defrosted in its own time (get it out the day before you want to eat it!) or reheated in oven rather than microwave, e.g. pizza, pies, prepared meats for roasting, lasagne / layered veggie bakes. Also from the freezer: pasta sauces of every variety.
At the weekend, also consider doing a good sized roast: slice up extra meat for the freezer.
Bon appetit!
posted by skippy_gal at 10:32 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
This means saving money & time, and eating healthier, as I can focus on making use what's good value this week, only have to think up two or three appetizing meals which use the fresh & in-season produce... less tempted to buy the expensive and gourmet options just for the heck of it.
For breakfast: a bag of cereal at work, occasionally home made muffins from the freezer (e.g. fruit muffins, low-fat cheese & bacon corn muffins), and perhaps a banana.
For lunch: frozen soups, stews, bakes, curries to reheat at work, or pre-made, frozen fillings for sandwiches / wraps - throw them together the night before, or keep a stash of bread and salad in the office on Monday. If you have a freezer at work, consider putting some frozen veg in there to complement reheated meals. If all else fails, a microwaved jacket potato plus tin of flavoured tuna from the supermarket
For snacks: fruit! freeze small portions of cake / choc brownie / fruit muffins: reheat with a cup of tea!
For dinner: home-made frozen meals, often the stuff best defrosted in its own time (get it out the day before you want to eat it!) or reheated in oven rather than microwave, e.g. pizza, pies, prepared meats for roasting, lasagne / layered veggie bakes. Also from the freezer: pasta sauces of every variety.
At the weekend, also consider doing a good sized roast: slice up extra meat for the freezer.
Bon appetit!
posted by skippy_gal at 10:32 PM on May 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
My SO throws a bagel under the broiler with some cheese while he makes his coffee in the morning. He's really good about eating last night's dinner leftovers for lunch.
I do NOT want food first thing in the morning when I wake up. However, breakfast (egg/cheese/meat) sandwiches are readily available from street carts enroute to work, and are a pretty substantial meal plus a high bang for my buck, so I budgeted to spend the $3 every morning for someone else to make me breakfast. For lunch, I often just snack through with dried fruit, nuts, crackers, almond butter, etc. -- nonperishable stuff I can keep in my desk.
Dinner we take turns making at home. The basic template is a carb (pasta, rice, quinoa, tortillas, barley, pizza dough), plus whatever veg is fresh and needs using and/or antipasti-type ingredients, plus some small amount of meat.
posted by desuetude at 11:04 PM on May 21, 2013
I do NOT want food first thing in the morning when I wake up. However, breakfast (egg/cheese/meat) sandwiches are readily available from street carts enroute to work, and are a pretty substantial meal plus a high bang for my buck, so I budgeted to spend the $3 every morning for someone else to make me breakfast. For lunch, I often just snack through with dried fruit, nuts, crackers, almond butter, etc. -- nonperishable stuff I can keep in my desk.
Dinner we take turns making at home. The basic template is a carb (pasta, rice, quinoa, tortillas, barley, pizza dough), plus whatever veg is fresh and needs using and/or antipasti-type ingredients, plus some small amount of meat.
posted by desuetude at 11:04 PM on May 21, 2013
Best answer: Yeah I think it's all about cooking in bulk. I make massive batches of chili and freeze it in individual tupperware containers that are perfect for taking to work. I do the same thing with homemade chicken stock -- which becomes a useful ingredient for cooking in and of itself -- but then I also, when I reach Critical Stock Mass, take some of it and make chicken and leek soup, or chicken noodle soup, or other freezable soups for the same reason.
But bulk works for anything. Made a big pasta dish for dinner? Leftovers for lunch! Made an extra steak? Steak salad tomorrow night! Fried chicken? Make extra for lunch!
And don't underestimate the extreme usefulness of "wine and cheese" nights. Don't have time to make dinner, don't have much in the house, but don't want to eat out? Awesome. On your way home from work pick up a bottle of wine, a baguette, and some cheese, olives, pate and/or cured meats, apples, raw veggies you like, and other nibbles. Present artfully on plate in 5 minutes, and ta-da! I did this a lot as a SINK and plenty now as a DINK as well. Always a good choice.
posted by olinerd at 2:16 AM on May 22, 2013
But bulk works for anything. Made a big pasta dish for dinner? Leftovers for lunch! Made an extra steak? Steak salad tomorrow night! Fried chicken? Make extra for lunch!
And don't underestimate the extreme usefulness of "wine and cheese" nights. Don't have time to make dinner, don't have much in the house, but don't want to eat out? Awesome. On your way home from work pick up a bottle of wine, a baguette, and some cheese, olives, pate and/or cured meats, apples, raw veggies you like, and other nibbles. Present artfully on plate in 5 minutes, and ta-da! I did this a lot as a SINK and plenty now as a DINK as well. Always a good choice.
posted by olinerd at 2:16 AM on May 22, 2013
Best answer: A few people mentioned above, but get yourself a slow cooker. We've had one for maybe two months and it's revolutionized our DINK culinary lives. You get a giant pot of food with usually minimum time investment that you start in the morning and come home to and, as a bonus, it smells amazing in your home when you're getting home from work. We're currently working our way through the America's Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution book which not only has innumerable great recipies (par for the course for ATC) but also many of them are denoted as "Easy Prep", which essentially as long as you chopped an onion or two the night before and have a microwave will get your meal cooking in < 15 minutes before you leave in the morning.
It has, again, Changed. Our. Lives.
For a long time we relied on Trader Joe's frozen meals, and 1. we eventually got sick of all of them, and 2. they weren't that great. Lots of sodium, etc, and the flavor was just okay. Slow cooker solved that.
For breakfast we usually eat smoothies prepared in a big batch on the weekend and other healthy pre-prepped stuff. Lunches are leftovers, salads (save time by pre-chopping veggies all at once), and sandwiches. The other thing, also mentioned above, is it's okay to just have small meals sometimes. A turkey sandwich for dinner, grazing on some cured meats, cheeses, olives, and bread, etc., are easy and fast; it just takes a bit of a mental shift to get away from the "I need an elaborate dinner in the evening."
Good luck, and congratulations on the second income.
posted by The Michael The at 4:42 AM on May 22, 2013
It has, again, Changed. Our. Lives.
For a long time we relied on Trader Joe's frozen meals, and 1. we eventually got sick of all of them, and 2. they weren't that great. Lots of sodium, etc, and the flavor was just okay. Slow cooker solved that.
For breakfast we usually eat smoothies prepared in a big batch on the weekend and other healthy pre-prepped stuff. Lunches are leftovers, salads (save time by pre-chopping veggies all at once), and sandwiches. The other thing, also mentioned above, is it's okay to just have small meals sometimes. A turkey sandwich for dinner, grazing on some cured meats, cheeses, olives, and bread, etc., are easy and fast; it just takes a bit of a mental shift to get away from the "I need an elaborate dinner in the evening."
Good luck, and congratulations on the second income.
posted by The Michael The at 4:42 AM on May 22, 2013
-What techniques you use to get enough nourishment throughout the workday
um... I eat lunch. Seriously you do not need to snack constantly throughout the day.
I find this question a bit flabergasting. I don't understand how it can be that difficult. do you normally cook a 3 course meal every night or something?
Cereal, Toast, Porridge are pretty standard breakfast fare.
There are thousands of recipes books for "midweek meals" and relatively easy quick things to cook. Maybe you will need to cut down on the TV watching but thats about it.
posted by mary8nne at 6:14 AM on May 22, 2013
um... I eat lunch. Seriously you do not need to snack constantly throughout the day.
I find this question a bit flabergasting. I don't understand how it can be that difficult. do you normally cook a 3 course meal every night or something?
Cereal, Toast, Porridge are pretty standard breakfast fare.
There are thousands of recipes books for "midweek meals" and relatively easy quick things to cook. Maybe you will need to cut down on the TV watching but thats about it.
posted by mary8nne at 6:14 AM on May 22, 2013
Best answer: DINK here!
I do all the cooking. We're pretty straight-forward grilled meat, starch, veg and salad for dinner.
I make Husbunny French Bread pizzas for lunch. I do this on Sunday, wrap them up and throw them in the freezer. He grabs a pizza, a bag of frozen green beans, fruit and yogurt and he's out the door for lunch. He happily eats this every damn day. Yay!
I also do his breakfast on Sunday. I was doing breakfast burritos in whole wheat wraps. I got a deal on flax waffles at the store, so this week he's eating waffles and sausage for breakfast.
I can throw dinner together in about 30 minutes (a convection oven helps a LOT.) Roasting is easy because you just wrap a baking sheet in foil, season your meat and throw in oven. No hassle. You can do the rest of it while the meat cooks. If you can do your veggies in there, so much the better. Here are some meals we enjoy.
Pork Chops, Baked Apple, Braised purple cabbage, Roasted-cubed sweet potato, salad.
Roasted chicken breasts (on the bone with skin), brown rice pilaf (make ahead), Asparagus and salad.
Hanger Steak (in a grill pan or on the grill), baked potato (Mostly cooked in microwave, finished with a crunchy skin in the oven), veggie, salad.
Salmon, rice, veggie, salad.
Pad Thai
Spaghetti with meat sauce over whole grain pasta. (I usually do a burger because I have gluten intolerance and I do low carb.)
I make a very easy marinara sauce, but it turns out that Your Dekalb Farmers Market makes a great one, so sometimes I'll just get that. Sourcing helpers like this will make your life easier and often they're the same price as the ingredients you'd need to make it from scratch. Soups, baked pasta dishes, quiches are all good options for heat n eat.
Thursday night is our hot dog night. I get Chicken Brats from the Farmer's Market, some frozen sweet potato fries, a salad and we're in business.
Friday is eat out night.
If I'm super late at work, I'll stop by the excellent Chinese place for roast duck for dinner. A rotisserie chicken from the supermarket will work as well. Have that in your back pocket for when you forget to defrost something, or if your day was total shit.
It's kind of a cop out that cooking is time consuming. Sure it is, if you're making Beef Wellington, but you can make healthy, nutritious meals from scratch every day. Sure, they're simple, but that's what gourmet sauces in jars are for, to perk up your simple faire.
It does take planning and smart shopping, but you were doing that anyway.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:20 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
I do all the cooking. We're pretty straight-forward grilled meat, starch, veg and salad for dinner.
I make Husbunny French Bread pizzas for lunch. I do this on Sunday, wrap them up and throw them in the freezer. He grabs a pizza, a bag of frozen green beans, fruit and yogurt and he's out the door for lunch. He happily eats this every damn day. Yay!
I also do his breakfast on Sunday. I was doing breakfast burritos in whole wheat wraps. I got a deal on flax waffles at the store, so this week he's eating waffles and sausage for breakfast.
I can throw dinner together in about 30 minutes (a convection oven helps a LOT.) Roasting is easy because you just wrap a baking sheet in foil, season your meat and throw in oven. No hassle. You can do the rest of it while the meat cooks. If you can do your veggies in there, so much the better. Here are some meals we enjoy.
Pork Chops, Baked Apple, Braised purple cabbage, Roasted-cubed sweet potato, salad.
Roasted chicken breasts (on the bone with skin), brown rice pilaf (make ahead), Asparagus and salad.
Hanger Steak (in a grill pan or on the grill), baked potato (Mostly cooked in microwave, finished with a crunchy skin in the oven), veggie, salad.
Salmon, rice, veggie, salad.
Pad Thai
Spaghetti with meat sauce over whole grain pasta. (I usually do a burger because I have gluten intolerance and I do low carb.)
I make a very easy marinara sauce, but it turns out that Your Dekalb Farmers Market makes a great one, so sometimes I'll just get that. Sourcing helpers like this will make your life easier and often they're the same price as the ingredients you'd need to make it from scratch. Soups, baked pasta dishes, quiches are all good options for heat n eat.
Thursday night is our hot dog night. I get Chicken Brats from the Farmer's Market, some frozen sweet potato fries, a salad and we're in business.
Friday is eat out night.
If I'm super late at work, I'll stop by the excellent Chinese place for roast duck for dinner. A rotisserie chicken from the supermarket will work as well. Have that in your back pocket for when you forget to defrost something, or if your day was total shit.
It's kind of a cop out that cooking is time consuming. Sure it is, if you're making Beef Wellington, but you can make healthy, nutritious meals from scratch every day. Sure, they're simple, but that's what gourmet sauces in jars are for, to perk up your simple faire.
It does take planning and smart shopping, but you were doing that anyway.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:20 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Maybe you will need to cut down on the TV watching but thats about it.
This is snarky, unnecessary and unhelpful, particularly since TV wasn't even mentioned in the question.
I'm a SINK, but I prefer to cook my meals mainly from scratch so I sympathize with your situation. I tend to cook a lot of Chinese food, so it may not be directly applicable to your situation, but what I have found well to work for me is that you may find helpful:
- I have a rice cooker. More broadly, I know a lot of people don't like single-use gadgets such as rice cookers, egg poachers, etc, but if there is something that you eat every day -- I eat rice for basically 10 meals a week -- and it would save you a lot of time, I say go for it.
- I've developed a lot of techniques for preparing leafy and green vegetables that are quick and less than 10 minutes: simple stir-fries, steaming and blanching.
This takes care of two-thirds of my meal (starch and vegetable). For the other third, which is a protein, I like to cook that in bulk and stash parts in the freezer. So I have chicken, beef and pork recipes that I can cook in large quantities which will last me 2-3 meals.
I find that this combination of rotating things in and out means that you only have to do heavy-duty cooking every couple of days, when you need to whip up a new protein, but it keeps variety in there as I swap out the vegetable every day.
posted by andrewesque at 7:02 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
This is snarky, unnecessary and unhelpful, particularly since TV wasn't even mentioned in the question.
I'm a SINK, but I prefer to cook my meals mainly from scratch so I sympathize with your situation. I tend to cook a lot of Chinese food, so it may not be directly applicable to your situation, but what I have found well to work for me is that you may find helpful:
- I have a rice cooker. More broadly, I know a lot of people don't like single-use gadgets such as rice cookers, egg poachers, etc, but if there is something that you eat every day -- I eat rice for basically 10 meals a week -- and it would save you a lot of time, I say go for it.
- I've developed a lot of techniques for preparing leafy and green vegetables that are quick and less than 10 minutes: simple stir-fries, steaming and blanching.
This takes care of two-thirds of my meal (starch and vegetable). For the other third, which is a protein, I like to cook that in bulk and stash parts in the freezer. So I have chicken, beef and pork recipes that I can cook in large quantities which will last me 2-3 meals.
I find that this combination of rotating things in and out means that you only have to do heavy-duty cooking every couple of days, when you need to whip up a new protein, but it keeps variety in there as I swap out the vegetable every day.
posted by andrewesque at 7:02 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
OINKS
A perfect time for a lifestyle change.90% of the time eating is a necessity , it certainly shouldn't be a chore or a life focus.
The key to my approach is to only eat the things I love to eat, to only do so when I am hungry and to only eat until the hunger stops. So I only buy food that I like. If I am hungry at breakfast I eat a little, a boiled egg, a rasher of bacon, a slice of smoked salmon. At lunch I may not be hungry but if I am I visit a deli during my lunchtime walk and buy aything that takes my fancy. I keep a bowl of apples at work in case I get hungry during the day. The evening meal I always eat. I rely on frozen or fresh meat fish and vegetables. I plan each meal the night before to allow meat or fish to defrost. I cook all sorts of recipes but avoid those that require me to be active in the kitchen for more than15 to 20 minutes. I often cook two meals and leave one to mature for the next day. A quality kitchen timer and a dishwasher help a lot.
This approach doesn't stop me hitting the takaways or the ready meal aisle if I am in the mood
posted by BenPens at 7:11 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
A perfect time for a lifestyle change.90% of the time eating is a necessity , it certainly shouldn't be a chore or a life focus.
The key to my approach is to only eat the things I love to eat, to only do so when I am hungry and to only eat until the hunger stops. So I only buy food that I like. If I am hungry at breakfast I eat a little, a boiled egg, a rasher of bacon, a slice of smoked salmon. At lunch I may not be hungry but if I am I visit a deli during my lunchtime walk and buy aything that takes my fancy. I keep a bowl of apples at work in case I get hungry during the day. The evening meal I always eat. I rely on frozen or fresh meat fish and vegetables. I plan each meal the night before to allow meat or fish to defrost. I cook all sorts of recipes but avoid those that require me to be active in the kitchen for more than15 to 20 minutes. I often cook two meals and leave one to mature for the next day. A quality kitchen timer and a dishwasher help a lot.
This approach doesn't stop me hitting the takaways or the ready meal aisle if I am in the mood
posted by BenPens at 7:11 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Three tricks we used (in addition to keeping breakfast simple = cereal):
1) cook a lot on weekends -- large batches of something you're willing to eat a few times during the week (or can be simply modified into a different meal, paired with different sides, etc.)
2) develop some "convenience food" options for more tired or rushed days -- e.g., we kept frozen tortellini + pesto cubes (just spread a batch in an ice cube tray and then pop them out into a container in the freezer); spaghetti and purchased sauce (+ your meat and veggies) is quick and tasty too, and it's easy to keep some cheese and salami on hand for the occasional change of pace (or lunch option) as well as lots of fruit and veggies
3) order take-out occasionally (varying with energy, cash, and tastiness of available options). surely this is something an extra income can allow (along with those work-deli lunches), if you live in a community of any size; in a big city, the options are really amazing, and it's cheaper than eating out by a lot.
Some of this has changed since I went paleo a year ago -- I have to do more baking and other prep in the evenings to keep up my supply of quick meal stuff, but even so, I have a nut-and-fruit-based "cereal" to eat with almond milk in the morning, I keep kelp noodles (and frozen hamburger) in the house to keep the "spaghetti" convenience option alive, etc. (Basically, I knew I couldn't sustain any lifestyle that doesn't admit of the need for conveniences and our current habits and patterns, so I worked hard to make it fit and am constantly looking for new recipes and ideas.) Have started working a bit with a crockpot, so that my later-evening free time can be leveraged into early-evening meals ready to go, and that's something to consider too, if you're whipped when you get home and want a hot meal.
But honestly, everything I did before I had kids seems so leisurely and unplanned. Perhaps once you've adapted to the new schedules and especially income rates, it won't seem so difficult to manage in any number of ways. Enjoy!
posted by acm at 7:32 AM on May 22, 2013
1) cook a lot on weekends -- large batches of something you're willing to eat a few times during the week (or can be simply modified into a different meal, paired with different sides, etc.)
2) develop some "convenience food" options for more tired or rushed days -- e.g., we kept frozen tortellini + pesto cubes (just spread a batch in an ice cube tray and then pop them out into a container in the freezer); spaghetti and purchased sauce (+ your meat and veggies) is quick and tasty too, and it's easy to keep some cheese and salami on hand for the occasional change of pace (or lunch option) as well as lots of fruit and veggies
3) order take-out occasionally (varying with energy, cash, and tastiness of available options). surely this is something an extra income can allow (along with those work-deli lunches), if you live in a community of any size; in a big city, the options are really amazing, and it's cheaper than eating out by a lot.
Some of this has changed since I went paleo a year ago -- I have to do more baking and other prep in the evenings to keep up my supply of quick meal stuff, but even so, I have a nut-and-fruit-based "cereal" to eat with almond milk in the morning, I keep kelp noodles (and frozen hamburger) in the house to keep the "spaghetti" convenience option alive, etc. (Basically, I knew I couldn't sustain any lifestyle that doesn't admit of the need for conveniences and our current habits and patterns, so I worked hard to make it fit and am constantly looking for new recipes and ideas.) Have started working a bit with a crockpot, so that my later-evening free time can be leveraged into early-evening meals ready to go, and that's something to consider too, if you're whipped when you get home and want a hot meal.
But honestly, everything I did before I had kids seems so leisurely and unplanned. Perhaps once you've adapted to the new schedules and especially income rates, it won't seem so difficult to manage in any number of ways. Enjoy!
posted by acm at 7:32 AM on May 22, 2013
Use your freezer. You can make up something like pasta sauce, chili, soup, etc. and then freeze it in ziplock bags (flat on a cookie sheet) so you'll have reasonable portions. You can fit a lot in your freezer this way, and then break them out for quick lunches / dinners.
Burritos / enchiladas also freeze well and you can take them out one at a time (if you package them appropriately) and warm them up in the microwave or oven on demand. If you do enchiladas, keep the sauce separate and freeze it in ice-cube trays or something, don't put it on the enchiladas before freezing (trust me here).
Even stuff like bread dough freezes well, and you can pull it out in the morning to let it defrost and then bake it in the evenings and have fresh rolls/bread or the crusts for pizzas without a lot of work.
The general idea is that you do your heavy cooking on the weekends, when you can take your time of it, do a good job, and then handle the cleanup. On weeknights you can just pull portioned stuff out of the freezer and warm it up / bake it off. If you do it right it won't taste like "leftovers" -- IMO the "leftover" taste comes from junk that's kept in the refrigerator, not frozen quickly -- and you won't spend too much more time than it'd take to reheat frozen food. The results will be more homemade and probably healthier.
OTOH, one of the things that you may want to think about is whether certain time vs money compromises that you may be used to making out of necessity, necessarily make sense given your new higher income. If you don't honestly enjoy cooking something (like, say, bread), then it might be worth just stopping at a bakery and buying it rather than feeling like you have to make it or go without. Same with soup or pasta sauce or pizza or other things that are fairly time-intensive to cook but can also be purchased commercially. Spend your time on the things you enjoy cooking and enjoy eating the homemade versions of.
posted by Kadin2048 at 7:39 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Burritos / enchiladas also freeze well and you can take them out one at a time (if you package them appropriately) and warm them up in the microwave or oven on demand. If you do enchiladas, keep the sauce separate and freeze it in ice-cube trays or something, don't put it on the enchiladas before freezing (trust me here).
Even stuff like bread dough freezes well, and you can pull it out in the morning to let it defrost and then bake it in the evenings and have fresh rolls/bread or the crusts for pizzas without a lot of work.
The general idea is that you do your heavy cooking on the weekends, when you can take your time of it, do a good job, and then handle the cleanup. On weeknights you can just pull portioned stuff out of the freezer and warm it up / bake it off. If you do it right it won't taste like "leftovers" -- IMO the "leftover" taste comes from junk that's kept in the refrigerator, not frozen quickly -- and you won't spend too much more time than it'd take to reheat frozen food. The results will be more homemade and probably healthier.
OTOH, one of the things that you may want to think about is whether certain time vs money compromises that you may be used to making out of necessity, necessarily make sense given your new higher income. If you don't honestly enjoy cooking something (like, say, bread), then it might be worth just stopping at a bakery and buying it rather than feeling like you have to make it or go without. Same with soup or pasta sauce or pizza or other things that are fairly time-intensive to cook but can also be purchased commercially. Spend your time on the things you enjoy cooking and enjoy eating the homemade versions of.
posted by Kadin2048 at 7:39 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I have no idea why The Stone Soup hasn't taken the Internet by storm but it should.
We plan meals for a week, shop accordingly, and eat leftovers for lunch. Most recipes feed four, so this is quite easy. I'm used to cooking 90% of what I eat as I'm paleo-ish. I RSS my favourite food blogs, and I'll casually browse through them when I'm in dink around online mode, and save promising recipes to Evernote. Then when we plan meals I just look through the Evernote for whatever looks good.
Have enough containers for leftovers and listen to podcasts while you do the dishes. We're lucky enough to have a dishwasher, so I tend to just do a load in the morning to clean the dinner and breakfast dishes (I need eggs in the morning or I fade too fast).
posted by nerdfish at 7:46 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
We plan meals for a week, shop accordingly, and eat leftovers for lunch. Most recipes feed four, so this is quite easy. I'm used to cooking 90% of what I eat as I'm paleo-ish. I RSS my favourite food blogs, and I'll casually browse through them when I'm in dink around online mode, and save promising recipes to Evernote. Then when we plan meals I just look through the Evernote for whatever looks good.
Have enough containers for leftovers and listen to podcasts while you do the dishes. We're lucky enough to have a dishwasher, so I tend to just do a load in the morning to clean the dinner and breakfast dishes (I need eggs in the morning or I fade too fast).
posted by nerdfish at 7:46 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Spend your time on the things you enjoy cooking and enjoy eating the homemade versions of.
I definitely agree with this. There is a braised chicken dish I enjoy making, which is really easy, but requires the use of boiled and peeled cooked chestnuts. After doing that twice and nearly scalding my fingers trying to peel hot chestnuts, I'm happy to pay what I'm sure is a relatively huge (but small in absolute terms) markup for pre-cooked, pre-peeled chestnuts in a bag.
posted by andrewesque at 7:49 AM on May 22, 2013
I definitely agree with this. There is a braised chicken dish I enjoy making, which is really easy, but requires the use of boiled and peeled cooked chestnuts. After doing that twice and nearly scalding my fingers trying to peel hot chestnuts, I'm happy to pay what I'm sure is a relatively huge (but small in absolute terms) markup for pre-cooked, pre-peeled chestnuts in a bag.
posted by andrewesque at 7:49 AM on May 22, 2013
Best answer: Dual income, one kid family here.
Breakfast is fend for ourselves: cereal, yogurt & granola, bagels, muffins from the freezer. The only added difficulty for us is getting the kiddo set up with his "crazy waffle" and milk in front of a cartoon so we can get ready for work.
Lunch: I make lunches for myself and my husband the night before. For him it's always a sandwich, takes about a minute to slap together. I've been really into salads for lunch, so I chop veggies on Sundays and put them into a baggie so I can shake some into my salad bowel each night. Every couple of weeks I cook a batch of those pre-portioned pre-seasoned chicken breasts, cut them up, portion them into baggies, and freeze. So when I assemble my salad I'm grabbing things that are pre-prepped and it just takes a few minutes.
Dinner: Meal planning and once a week shopping is key. I write down each night's meal, figure out what I need to buy for those, check the fridge/pantry for things that need to be restocked. I keep a list of tried & true meals stuck to the fridge so I can go to that if I don't feel like thumbing through the cook books. I like to plan one meal that's going to generate leftovers that can go in the freezer (lasagna, chili, soups, casseroles), I'll do that on Sunday night since it's usually the most time consuming. Monday and Tuesday nights are usually dinners that require about 30 minutes to make (I know Rachel Ray gets a lot of flak for her personality, but I swear by a ton of her recipes, she actually uses lots of fresh veggies in many of her meals). Wednesday and Thursday nights are usually meals I can pull from the freezer and throw an easy veggie side with. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is a good end of the week too-tired-to-cook option.
I cook, husband does the dishes/general clean up while I wrangle the toddler into bed.
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 8:01 AM on May 22, 2013
Breakfast is fend for ourselves: cereal, yogurt & granola, bagels, muffins from the freezer. The only added difficulty for us is getting the kiddo set up with his "crazy waffle" and milk in front of a cartoon so we can get ready for work.
Lunch: I make lunches for myself and my husband the night before. For him it's always a sandwich, takes about a minute to slap together. I've been really into salads for lunch, so I chop veggies on Sundays and put them into a baggie so I can shake some into my salad bowel each night. Every couple of weeks I cook a batch of those pre-portioned pre-seasoned chicken breasts, cut them up, portion them into baggies, and freeze. So when I assemble my salad I'm grabbing things that are pre-prepped and it just takes a few minutes.
Dinner: Meal planning and once a week shopping is key. I write down each night's meal, figure out what I need to buy for those, check the fridge/pantry for things that need to be restocked. I keep a list of tried & true meals stuck to the fridge so I can go to that if I don't feel like thumbing through the cook books. I like to plan one meal that's going to generate leftovers that can go in the freezer (lasagna, chili, soups, casseroles), I'll do that on Sunday night since it's usually the most time consuming. Monday and Tuesday nights are usually dinners that require about 30 minutes to make (I know Rachel Ray gets a lot of flak for her personality, but I swear by a ton of her recipes, she actually uses lots of fresh veggies in many of her meals). Wednesday and Thursday nights are usually meals I can pull from the freezer and throw an easy veggie side with. Grilled cheese and tomato soup is a good end of the week too-tired-to-cook option.
I cook, husband does the dishes/general clean up while I wrangle the toddler into bed.
posted by banjo_and_the_pork at 8:01 AM on May 22, 2013
In my last live-in relationship, my partner and I both took turns (one night I cook, she does dishes; next night she cooked, I do dishes); and it was great both for allowing us to alternate duties, and also cross pollinate some ideas about what to make. Normally, as others indicated, we'd do our heavy shopping on the weekend and make something big that could be purposed for lunch leftovers, but then supplement with simple home cooked dinners through the week.
We had a repertoire of tried-and-true staples that we could default to when feeling unimaginative, and we also gave each other permission to notify the other if we were either going to be working late or too stressed to cook; and that would usually result in ordering pizza or Chinese, but we always kept that to a once-a-week exception.
posted by bl1nk at 8:04 AM on May 22, 2013
We had a repertoire of tried-and-true staples that we could default to when feeling unimaginative, and we also gave each other permission to notify the other if we were either going to be working late or too stressed to cook; and that would usually result in ordering pizza or Chinese, but we always kept that to a once-a-week exception.
posted by bl1nk at 8:04 AM on May 22, 2013
Here is how we do it:
1)On the weekend, depending on what I already have, I make one nice dish.
2)I put the food in smallish containers (enough for three servings), label them and freeze them.
3) Every morning, I decide what we'll have for dinner, and I take one of these containers out to defrost.
4) For breakfast we have capuccino or a protein shake
5)For lunch I have (as mentioned in another comment above above) overnight oatmeal (also prepared in batches and frozen) or a sandwich. My husband has a left over serving from the night before.
6)For dinner, we have two servings of whatever I took out of the fridge. One serving is left for my husband's lunch the next day. the only thing we make right there is a quick salad.
After using 5 containers during the week (we don't eat out), I think of something else to cook to make up for them, and I make it during the weekend. We like variety so I try to come up with something different. At any given time, we have at least 6 different dishes in our freezer, plus the overnight oatmeal (3 different flavors at least)
On the weekends we cook together, and we tend to eat out or have freshly cooked stuff like grilled steak or seafood for example (we love shellfish).
If you follow this method, once you build up a nice repertoire of yummy dishes, you will get to enjoy a tasty variety, and you will only have to make one recipe every week. The trick is in rotating them so you don't get bored. And to have many containers. We use these because they are the perfect size for 3 servings. I find we eat healthier and tastier food like this, and reheated stews tend to save the the tenderness of the meat you get in a crock pot. Another advantage of this method is that you get to eat elaborate stuff after a long day at work. And when you know you have to make only one recipe in the whole week, you can make awesome stuff like dumplings, pork buns, curries, etc. My usuals are a crock pot stew (goulash, beef bourguignon, stroganoff); a pasta dish (homemade mac and cheese, pasta with pesto, etc.) or a bean or lentil stew with meat or pork.
Forgot to add: I am the official cook at home. My husband may help with salads or setting the table, but he is in charge cleaning. He really dislikes cooking and I don't love cleaning, so it works out fine.
posted by Tarumba at 8:20 AM on May 22, 2013
1)On the weekend, depending on what I already have, I make one nice dish.
2)I put the food in smallish containers (enough for three servings), label them and freeze them.
3) Every morning, I decide what we'll have for dinner, and I take one of these containers out to defrost.
4) For breakfast we have capuccino or a protein shake
5)For lunch I have (as mentioned in another comment above above) overnight oatmeal (also prepared in batches and frozen) or a sandwich. My husband has a left over serving from the night before.
6)For dinner, we have two servings of whatever I took out of the fridge. One serving is left for my husband's lunch the next day. the only thing we make right there is a quick salad.
After using 5 containers during the week (we don't eat out), I think of something else to cook to make up for them, and I make it during the weekend. We like variety so I try to come up with something different. At any given time, we have at least 6 different dishes in our freezer, plus the overnight oatmeal (3 different flavors at least)
On the weekends we cook together, and we tend to eat out or have freshly cooked stuff like grilled steak or seafood for example (we love shellfish).
If you follow this method, once you build up a nice repertoire of yummy dishes, you will get to enjoy a tasty variety, and you will only have to make one recipe every week. The trick is in rotating them so you don't get bored. And to have many containers. We use these because they are the perfect size for 3 servings. I find we eat healthier and tastier food like this, and reheated stews tend to save the the tenderness of the meat you get in a crock pot. Another advantage of this method is that you get to eat elaborate stuff after a long day at work. And when you know you have to make only one recipe in the whole week, you can make awesome stuff like dumplings, pork buns, curries, etc. My usuals are a crock pot stew (goulash, beef bourguignon, stroganoff); a pasta dish (homemade mac and cheese, pasta with pesto, etc.) or a bean or lentil stew with meat or pork.
Forgot to add: I am the official cook at home. My husband may help with salads or setting the table, but he is in charge cleaning. He really dislikes cooking and I don't love cleaning, so it works out fine.
posted by Tarumba at 8:20 AM on May 22, 2013
Best answer: Breakfast for us is usually one of the following three options: hot cereal (oatmeal or something from Bob's Red Mill) with fruit, egg sandwich (fry egg, put on toasted English muffin with a slice of cheese), yogurt + granola + fruit. If we're feeling fancy, we'll whip up an omelette or French toast. All of these options take us less than 10 minutes to cook, plus less than 5 minutes to clean up.
Lunch is almost always leftovers from dinner, often with a salad (toss greens and a quick sprinkle of cheese/nuts/dried fruit into tupperware, take olive oil & lemon in separate small container) or fruit on the side.
Dinner is varied. Super quick options include:
posted by rebekah at 8:41 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Lunch is almost always leftovers from dinner, often with a salad (toss greens and a quick sprinkle of cheese/nuts/dried fruit into tupperware, take olive oil & lemon in separate small container) or fruit on the side.
Dinner is varied. Super quick options include:
- quesadillas + salad
- a mix of stuff from the grocery store's olive bar (olives, peppers, pickles, roasted garlic cloves) + bread + cheese + fruit
- pasta + sauce (this includes premade fancy ravioli boiled and tossed in a hot skillet with butter/greens/nuts, spaghetti and jarred tomato sauce, and Asian noodles with peanut sauce), often with a quick pan-roasted vegetable (chop, toss in cast iron skillet for a few minutes)
- Burritos: heat up a can of beans, sauté ground meat (we use TVP) with a bit of salsa and cumin/paprika/garlic/chipotle, serve with cheese, lettuce, avocado, salsa, and tortillas. If you skip the meat/TVP, this goes back to being a super quick option.
- Stir fry: cubed tofu in a hot skillet to brown, add chopped veggies, add soy sauce/ginger/garlic/Sriracha, serve with rice or noodles.
- Curry: chopped veggies in a skillet, add curry powder/salt/garlic/ginger, add protein (for us, often a drained can of chickpeas) and a can of coconut milk. Serve with rice or naan.
- Firing up the grill: veggie dogs (or your protein of choice), onions/zucchini/mushrooms/peppers in a grill basket.
- Pizza: we mix up a basic pizza dough in the morning and stick it in the fridge (10-15 minutes), then roll half of it out, top, and bake when we get home. The other half the dough goes in the freezer for another day.
- Quiche: stir together eggs + veggies + cheese, pour into premade pie shell. Most of the time here is for baking, and leftovers are good for both breakfasts and lunches.
posted by rebekah at 8:41 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for all the ideas! It's nice to see some super speedy dinner recipes in there. I have a few in my regular repertoire, but I definitely needed more. Also it's good to see how people handle lunch and snacks at work so they are not starving on the way home. Thanks so much and I'd love to see more if the green has more replies!
posted by donut_princess at 8:56 AM on May 22, 2013
posted by donut_princess at 8:56 AM on May 22, 2013
Breakfast--whichever of us gets up and gets in the shower first makes it for us both while the other is showering and getting ready. Sometimes just quick oatmeal, cereal, waffles, or toast, sometimes a quick fried egg or omelet with toast. If we're running late, I throw a couple of granola bars in my bag to eat at work. Miminum washing-up to do, as we use disposable bowls for cereal and can just rinse the rest off and stash it in the dishwasher. (Mr Telophase works at home.)
Lunch = usually leftovers from previous days, tucked into bento boxes (since they're washable and reusable). When we go out to eat for dinner we usually order enough food to supply 1 or 2 more meals for us.
Dinner = we eat out more often than you, but if we get our act together we'll usually spend one day of the weekend cooking an elaborate meal with lots of leftovers that will supply dinner and lunch for a few days in the week to come. Note that we mix-and-match the components of this meal with other components from restaurant leftovers or with frozen vegetables and side dishes so that we don't get bored of eating the same thing meal after meal.
Other quick meals to prep:
Pasta with red meat sauce: while boiling water for pasta saute a pound of ground beef, throw in a jar or two of pasta sauce and heat through. Pour over cooked pasta. If we've got a loaf of bread picked up from the store, eat it with that.
Bean and cheese chalupas: spread no-fat refried beans from a can onto tostada shells. If feeling fancy, sprinkle with cumin and freshly squeezed lime juice. Top with shredded cheese of choice: colby jack for me, cotija for my husband. Pop into 350-ish oven until cheese is melted to your preferred consistency. Top with salsa of choice, sour cream if you want, and shredded lettuce with diced tomatoes and/or avocado if you feel like adding fresh vegetables.
Sausage and potato ragout: Get 1.5 pounds of sausage. If you have raw Italian sausage, first cut it into 24 pieces and simmer it covered in 1/2 cup water for 8 minutes, then take off the lid and cook until the water's gone. If you have smoked sausage, just cut it up and sautee it until you've got some nice browning going on. Put in 1 Tb flour, cook til browned. Pour in 2 cups water or chicken broth. Toss in 2 pounds of potatoes, cut into small chunks, and 1 pound of onion, cut into small chunks, 3-5 garlic cloves sliced thin, 1 tsp thyme. Add a diced jalapeno if you want it spicier. Bring to boil, then simmer it covered until potatoes are cooked, then take the lid off, turn the heat up, and cook it until it reaches a level of soupiness you like (it will thicken as it stands). Will make 4-6 servings depending how big your appetites are and if you eat anything else with it. Reheats marvelously: add a bit of water if you want it soupier.
There's also just reheating smoked sausage (I usually cut it up and sautee to get rid of a modicum of fat and to brown it for the flavor) and eating with potatoes of some ilk: mashed, boiled, baked. Add a salad or a side of some frozen vegetable reheated if you want more nutrition.
posted by telophase at 10:39 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Lunch = usually leftovers from previous days, tucked into bento boxes (since they're washable and reusable). When we go out to eat for dinner we usually order enough food to supply 1 or 2 more meals for us.
Dinner = we eat out more often than you, but if we get our act together we'll usually spend one day of the weekend cooking an elaborate meal with lots of leftovers that will supply dinner and lunch for a few days in the week to come. Note that we mix-and-match the components of this meal with other components from restaurant leftovers or with frozen vegetables and side dishes so that we don't get bored of eating the same thing meal after meal.
Other quick meals to prep:
Pasta with red meat sauce: while boiling water for pasta saute a pound of ground beef, throw in a jar or two of pasta sauce and heat through. Pour over cooked pasta. If we've got a loaf of bread picked up from the store, eat it with that.
Bean and cheese chalupas: spread no-fat refried beans from a can onto tostada shells. If feeling fancy, sprinkle with cumin and freshly squeezed lime juice. Top with shredded cheese of choice: colby jack for me, cotija for my husband. Pop into 350-ish oven until cheese is melted to your preferred consistency. Top with salsa of choice, sour cream if you want, and shredded lettuce with diced tomatoes and/or avocado if you feel like adding fresh vegetables.
Sausage and potato ragout: Get 1.5 pounds of sausage. If you have raw Italian sausage, first cut it into 24 pieces and simmer it covered in 1/2 cup water for 8 minutes, then take off the lid and cook until the water's gone. If you have smoked sausage, just cut it up and sautee it until you've got some nice browning going on. Put in 1 Tb flour, cook til browned. Pour in 2 cups water or chicken broth. Toss in 2 pounds of potatoes, cut into small chunks, and 1 pound of onion, cut into small chunks, 3-5 garlic cloves sliced thin, 1 tsp thyme. Add a diced jalapeno if you want it spicier. Bring to boil, then simmer it covered until potatoes are cooked, then take the lid off, turn the heat up, and cook it until it reaches a level of soupiness you like (it will thicken as it stands). Will make 4-6 servings depending how big your appetites are and if you eat anything else with it. Reheats marvelously: add a bit of water if you want it soupier.
There's also just reheating smoked sausage (I usually cut it up and sautee to get rid of a modicum of fat and to brown it for the flavor) and eating with potatoes of some ilk: mashed, boiled, baked. Add a salad or a side of some frozen vegetable reheated if you want more nutrition.
posted by telophase at 10:39 AM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
We've started doing Breakfast and Lunch at the office. It gets us out the door faster, so we can skip more traffic and get home sooner. We used to do fresh sandwiches every morning for lunch, and sit down and eat breakfast. It was nice, but I like spending less time in a car if possible.
Most weekends I'll buy 3 big tubs of plain low-fat greek yogurt. I line up 10 individual serving Tupperware containers on the counter. They each get 1 cup of yogurt, plus a half cup of frozen berries on top. This is your whole week's breakfast ready to go. They take up less room in the fridge than you'd think. Smaller containers keep a 1/4 cup granola. I change up berries and different flavors of granola. I haven't gotten tired of this yet. This is also much cheaper than individual cups of yogurt.
Dinners, I try to cook 4 portions and have leftovers for lunches. While you're serving dinner, set out two lunch containers and serve portions into them right away. I leave them to cool while we eat, then they go in the fridge, right next to breakfast. In the morning there is no cleaning or prep aside from coffee. Just grab and go. Get a nice insulated container.
I try to keep dinners under 30 minutes on weeknights, and cook more interesting/complicated things on the weekends. This is pretty standard.
Also, I might make a double batch of soup, or something early in the week, and let that serve as lunches for the next few days. This keeps you on track if you need to skip cooking dinner one night, so that you're not forced to buy lunch the next day.
If you find a few good frozen lunches they can often be cheaper and healthier than buying from the deli/fast food by your office. Its not ideal, but they can be a backup.
posted by fontophilic at 10:56 AM on May 22, 2013
Most weekends I'll buy 3 big tubs of plain low-fat greek yogurt. I line up 10 individual serving Tupperware containers on the counter. They each get 1 cup of yogurt, plus a half cup of frozen berries on top. This is your whole week's breakfast ready to go. They take up less room in the fridge than you'd think. Smaller containers keep a 1/4 cup granola. I change up berries and different flavors of granola. I haven't gotten tired of this yet. This is also much cheaper than individual cups of yogurt.
Dinners, I try to cook 4 portions and have leftovers for lunches. While you're serving dinner, set out two lunch containers and serve portions into them right away. I leave them to cool while we eat, then they go in the fridge, right next to breakfast. In the morning there is no cleaning or prep aside from coffee. Just grab and go. Get a nice insulated container.
I try to keep dinners under 30 minutes on weeknights, and cook more interesting/complicated things on the weekends. This is pretty standard.
Also, I might make a double batch of soup, or something early in the week, and let that serve as lunches for the next few days. This keeps you on track if you need to skip cooking dinner one night, so that you're not forced to buy lunch the next day.
If you find a few good frozen lunches they can often be cheaper and healthier than buying from the deli/fast food by your office. Its not ideal, but they can be a backup.
posted by fontophilic at 10:56 AM on May 22, 2013
Breakfast - no need to buy microwave oats as you can make regular oatmeal in the microwave in three minutes. Add the water by eye - no need to measure as its still nice a little thicker or less thick than usual. Add a handful of blueberries and walnuts before nuking for extra deliciousness.
While that's cooking make a sandwich for lunch and pack with some fruit. Or make a big salad, preferably with some leftover penne pasta thrown in for bulk.
For dinner, there are a lot of quick things you can make. For example, boil pasta and drain. Add some soft goats cheese or feta, chopped cherry tomatoes, black olives, pine nuts, and torn basil leaves. Heat through. Delicious. Or pasta with a jarred pesto sauce, chicken breasts grilled in a George Forman on top. Baked salmon with steamed mixed veg. Veggie or regular burger with oven chips. Mac n cheese is easy to make from scratch. Add veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower and/or peas so you don't feel guilty.
You can also batch cook and freeze stuff. It's very easy to make like 10 black bean burritos with rice, cheese, guacamole, etc. or a big batch of lasagna. You can make pizza dough, let it rise, and punch down. Freeze. To use it defrost, roll out, add tomato sauce (also made in a batch and frozen) and mozzarella plus whatever else you want. Bake on a preheated pizza stone.
posted by hazyjane at 11:00 AM on May 22, 2013
While that's cooking make a sandwich for lunch and pack with some fruit. Or make a big salad, preferably with some leftover penne pasta thrown in for bulk.
For dinner, there are a lot of quick things you can make. For example, boil pasta and drain. Add some soft goats cheese or feta, chopped cherry tomatoes, black olives, pine nuts, and torn basil leaves. Heat through. Delicious. Or pasta with a jarred pesto sauce, chicken breasts grilled in a George Forman on top. Baked salmon with steamed mixed veg. Veggie or regular burger with oven chips. Mac n cheese is easy to make from scratch. Add veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower and/or peas so you don't feel guilty.
You can also batch cook and freeze stuff. It's very easy to make like 10 black bean burritos with rice, cheese, guacamole, etc. or a big batch of lasagna. You can make pizza dough, let it rise, and punch down. Freeze. To use it defrost, roll out, add tomato sauce (also made in a batch and frozen) and mozzarella plus whatever else you want. Bake on a preheated pizza stone.
posted by hazyjane at 11:00 AM on May 22, 2013
Aim simple for breakfast (eggs? oatmeal? cereal?), and spend $5 each on lunch at work, or take in leftovers for lunch. You're buying your time back.
posted by talldean at 1:05 PM on May 22, 2013
posted by talldean at 1:05 PM on May 22, 2013
For breakfast, buy a mini thermos and put oats plus fruit or muesli in it. Boil water in the morning, put in thermos, take to work. By the time you get to work, your breakfast is ready. The thermos will keep it warm. Healthy, nutritious and fast.
Otherwise, I *really* like Mark Bittman's Minimalist blog and books. Tons of recipes with very few ingredients, quick prep and tasty. These are much better than the usual "10 Minute Recipe" books.
posted by cnc at 1:20 PM on May 22, 2013
Otherwise, I *really* like Mark Bittman's Minimalist blog and books. Tons of recipes with very few ingredients, quick prep and tasty. These are much better than the usual "10 Minute Recipe" books.
posted by cnc at 1:20 PM on May 22, 2013
I like to eat interesting food, so if left to my own devices I would be doing the 1.5 hours cook and cleanup you mentioned. I moderate this by:
* All the decisions about food get made on Saturday morning with a menu for the entire week and a shopping list. This means we are never staring blankly into the fridge and we never have to go shopping during the week. I usually leave one night blank for leftovers, plans or just not feeling that hungry. The dinners may change days but they all get made.
* Doing the time-consuming meals at the weekend, and make sure the other portions go either in the freezer or in the fridge for dinner in a couple of days
* Making at least one 'heat up' meal at the weekend for freezing or eating during the week. This tends to be something easy even if it's time consuming. It's usually soup or stew of some kind.
* Everything else can be cooked in under 45 mins, and often under 30 mins.
* Every week we have 2-4 dinners that are just heat and eat.
* If one of us has cooked, the other cleans up, otherwise resentment builds
Recipes:
* Soup! I have The New Covent Garden Soup Book which you may not have in the US, but I'm sure you could find similar. It contains a lot of 'boil and forget it' soups. Add an immersion blender and dinner requires very little thought, and you have at least four portions. I especially like spinach soup, butternut squash soup, tomato and salmon, fennel, celeriac, tomato and tarragon - all very quick and easy
* Curries and dals - we like this red lentil dal, and palak fish - an easy curry where you cook and blend spinach, add a spice mix (bought from a local Indian shop) and add frozen fish.
* Roast vegetables - not technically quick, but you do get to go off and do other things for 45 mins while it cooks. I like to roast courgette, cherry tomatoes, sweet potato, bell peppers, red onion, aubergine and halloumi cheese and then eat in wholemeal pita bread. Make enough and it's lunch for the next two days.
* Pizza! We make a version of this dough, except I don't normally let it rise (I don't know why they ask for it, since a nearly identical version in one of his recipe books doesn't have a rise time). Then we use slightly reduced passata for the sauce, and a scant covering of mozarella and some roast peppers and parma ham for toppings. But here's the thing - make the dough once and you have eight portions, and it freezes really well in individual balls (oil the cling film). The sauce freezes well, and so does mozzarella. Get it all out in the morning and all you have to do is roll and assemble, and you have a 20 minute meal.
Strategies and equipment:
* Sharp knives, microplane graters, large chopping boards, rice cooker, pressure cooker
* Lunch is pretty much the same every day for me, and I often make 3-4 days at a time while making dinner. If I don't do it while making dinner I often don't do it at all, so I have to do it while I'm doing food.
* Making two meals at once - stew can cook while I'm cooking stir fry, and I'm not in the kitchen for significantly longer. Soup can heat while I'm making lunch for the next day. Onions can cook down for curry while I'm whipping up a cake.
* Breakfast is usually plain yogurt with frozen fruit - frozen fruit doesn't go off, it's cheaper, you can buy in bulk and have several varieties at once and it turns the yogurt into frozen yogurt - yay!
* Having very simple meals - I went through a phase of having two bananas for breakfast. It's plenty of calories unless you're exercising and super cheap and easy.
Hope some of that gives you some ideas.
posted by kadia_a at 10:57 PM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
* All the decisions about food get made on Saturday morning with a menu for the entire week and a shopping list. This means we are never staring blankly into the fridge and we never have to go shopping during the week. I usually leave one night blank for leftovers, plans or just not feeling that hungry. The dinners may change days but they all get made.
* Doing the time-consuming meals at the weekend, and make sure the other portions go either in the freezer or in the fridge for dinner in a couple of days
* Making at least one 'heat up' meal at the weekend for freezing or eating during the week. This tends to be something easy even if it's time consuming. It's usually soup or stew of some kind.
* Everything else can be cooked in under 45 mins, and often under 30 mins.
* Every week we have 2-4 dinners that are just heat and eat.
* If one of us has cooked, the other cleans up, otherwise resentment builds
Recipes:
* Soup! I have The New Covent Garden Soup Book which you may not have in the US, but I'm sure you could find similar. It contains a lot of 'boil and forget it' soups. Add an immersion blender and dinner requires very little thought, and you have at least four portions. I especially like spinach soup, butternut squash soup, tomato and salmon, fennel, celeriac, tomato and tarragon - all very quick and easy
* Curries and dals - we like this red lentil dal, and palak fish - an easy curry where you cook and blend spinach, add a spice mix (bought from a local Indian shop) and add frozen fish.
* Roast vegetables - not technically quick, but you do get to go off and do other things for 45 mins while it cooks. I like to roast courgette, cherry tomatoes, sweet potato, bell peppers, red onion, aubergine and halloumi cheese and then eat in wholemeal pita bread. Make enough and it's lunch for the next two days.
* Pizza! We make a version of this dough, except I don't normally let it rise (I don't know why they ask for it, since a nearly identical version in one of his recipe books doesn't have a rise time). Then we use slightly reduced passata for the sauce, and a scant covering of mozarella and some roast peppers and parma ham for toppings. But here's the thing - make the dough once and you have eight portions, and it freezes really well in individual balls (oil the cling film). The sauce freezes well, and so does mozzarella. Get it all out in the morning and all you have to do is roll and assemble, and you have a 20 minute meal.
Strategies and equipment:
* Sharp knives, microplane graters, large chopping boards, rice cooker, pressure cooker
* Lunch is pretty much the same every day for me, and I often make 3-4 days at a time while making dinner. If I don't do it while making dinner I often don't do it at all, so I have to do it while I'm doing food.
* Making two meals at once - stew can cook while I'm cooking stir fry, and I'm not in the kitchen for significantly longer. Soup can heat while I'm making lunch for the next day. Onions can cook down for curry while I'm whipping up a cake.
* Breakfast is usually plain yogurt with frozen fruit - frozen fruit doesn't go off, it's cheaper, you can buy in bulk and have several varieties at once and it turns the yogurt into frozen yogurt - yay!
* Having very simple meals - I went through a phase of having two bananas for breakfast. It's plenty of calories unless you're exercising and super cheap and easy.
Hope some of that gives you some ideas.
posted by kadia_a at 10:57 PM on May 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
I plan meals for the week in advance, and my husband eats leftovers for his lunch. I typically grab something at work for lunch (there's often food leftover from training programs or whatever). This does mean I eat out quite a bit for lunch. I have tried bringing lunch, but it doesn't really work for me right now.
We both eat Cliff bars for early breakfast and I sometimes have flax seed-enriched oatmeal for later breakfast (I keep it stashed in my desk) if I'm hungry before lunch. The brand is Better Oats, and it is much better than the typical Quaker stuff. Boiled eggs (if you like them) also make a very quick breakfast (pre-boiled, of course) with a banana or something on the side. Greek yogurt + fruit is also good.
For dinner we do stir fries, salads and pastas because they are fast and easy. Frozen veg helps make it more healthy without a lot of fuss.
I like Trader Joes for workday snacks. They have almonds in individual portion bags which keeps me from eating too many. They also have very good and cheap dark chocolate bars, which I like to treat myself with sometimes. I also like the dried seaweed sheets in the chips section. Tasty and sort of crunchy/salty but very low calories. Seem to scratch the "I want chips" itch.
posted by jeoc at 6:36 PM on May 21, 2013