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Tips for preparing meals when fatigued?

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Posted 9/3/2011 9:36 PM (GMT 0)
I've gotten into a bad habit of ordering out because I don't feel up to cooking. But the unhealthy take out food isn't going to help me feel better. I wondered what other people are doing. I'm trying to teach my husband to cook, but he still needs me to be in the kitchen , he's not independent yet.

How do you make sure to be eating healthy, well rounded meals when you feel too achy and tired to cook ?

Julie
Posted 9/3/2011 11:21 PM (GMT 0)
When you're feeling good cook a larger batch of one to two items you're already cooking. Freeze the leftovers in small serving containers. It will stock up for those bad days. Just pull out the leftovers to make a meal.
Posted 9/4/2011 2:02 AM (GMT 0)

couchtater said...
When you're feeling good cook a larger batch of one to two items you're already cooking. Freeze the leftovers in small serving containers. It will stock up for those bad days. Just pull out the leftovers to make a meal.

 

Exactly what I do!  My DH also does a lot of cooking which is a big help!

Posted 9/6/2011 2:09 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, good question! Luckily I only have to cook for myself usually I cook dinner for myself as soon as I get home from work and then pass out afterwards. I like to have quick easy foods on hand to make like tuna ot micro meals for days I'm not up to it but then again I am just feeding one. My main issue is lunch. I really want to bring lunch to work but at night I'm too exhausted to put something together for the next day and I'm too exhausted to whip something up in the morning , I guess I could just pack a sandwich but that's such a bore plus I never cook enough for left over but I think I'm gonna start.

I think left overs are great make extra of one thing and that's dinner for 2 night! Rachel Ray also has tons of great recipes that take minimal time to prepare and cook.

Post Edited (LAWCHICK) : 9/5/2011 8:52:27 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/6/2011 2:43 PM (GMT 0)

Hi!

I think Rachel Ray's magazine is great, too and it has a 7 day shopping list and menu guide in it, but.....when, too often I don't have the energy to do anything, I find myself grabbing for the nearest carb source. Chips, cookies, popcorn, ....which, especially now that the weather is changing...is a bad thing. (Isn't a bag of Dorito's a serving for one?) A few things I found that helps.. I go to a butcher shop, in fact a new one just opened up in town, and buy 40 lbs. of meat for the freezer. I need to budget ahead, but truly, the price per pound is far lower than the grocery store. I get 1# packages, of burgers, ground, stew beef, and flank steak. Roasts, chicken breasts or tenders,  or steaks, sliced thin, in 2-3 # packages. The packages are labeled and I ask them to date them for me, too. Just enough for two people, no leftovers because I rarely remember what's in the back of the fridge. I love to use instant potato flakes, (avoid the generic), broth, and frozen veggies, and in 10 minutes you can have a meal ready. I like to order from the Schwann's truck which gives good nutritious choices, sized right for two or 4 servings. They have seasonal fruit, which is great for a dessert. If you only thaw a portion, you only have a portion to eat yeah And, the crockpot is my friend. I love my crockpot cookbook, and stews and soups are really easy to make in them. I have more energy in the morning, and if I put meat and veg in the crock at 8am on low, it's perfect for dinner at 4 or 5pm. On a good day, I will even get out my bread machine. There are recipes for lots of nutritious kinds, and I use whole wheat white flour, yes, it is albino wheat flour without the heavy texture of traditional whole wheat and if you add flax seeds, oatmeal, lentils, wheat germ, cheese, with alittle practice, anyone can make wonderful breads. And, if you mess it up, the bread will be wonderful toasted or grilled.

I use my cast iron griddle alot for panini's, and my cast iron skillets for one dish meals. You can use them stove top for prep, and then stick them right in the oven. I find I can't buy bagged salad or deli meats. Too often I find them slimy or unrecognizable in the fridge. The freezer works best for me. I keep ziploc quart freezer bags on hand. And I try hard to always write a date and contents on the label. Happy Cooking.

Posted 9/7/2011 12:53 AM (GMT 0)
I also make larger batches to freeze on the days that I am feeling well enough to cook.  I have found that crockpots too are very useful.  With a family of five we can't order out as often even if I am not feeling well.  I try to have easy things on hand for when I have to feed the kiddos and my husband is out of town for work. My main go to foods are spaghetti, meats (chicken breast, hamburgers, pork chops) for grilling, lots of frozen or canned veggies.  We always have fresh fruit on hand too.  So, for example, my husband was home but had a bad head ache so he couldn't cook.  I was feeling really run down myself so we had grilled chicken that I had marinated, frozen green beans that I cooked in the microwave, baked potatoes that I microwaved and fresh fruit.  It took me 15 minutes to prepare.  It is not exciting but it fed everyone :-)
Posted 9/11/2011 4:21 PM (GMT 0)
For me the hardest part is going to the grocery store, coming home, putting everything away, and then cooking. If I grocery shop on a good day, by the next day I may be too tired to cook.

Fortunately, I have a great hubby that will shop for me. My favorite meal is to make a huge pot of soup and put every vegetable imaginable in it. I start by sauteing lots and lots of onions and garlic in olive oil.

Then saute in stew meat. Add canned tomatoes, canned broth, and milk (brain fog....I meant to say water), lots and lots of spices, worstershire sauce, etc, then cook till tender, (an hour or two on very low) (make sure everything is chopped into small pieces.

After that, add veggies and cook till tender. In addition to potatoes, corn, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, peas, etc., I add quinoa, spinach, cabbage, portobello mushrooms, ground flax, lentils, etc.

It's not as hard as it sounds. When I'm feeling particularly fatigued, I buy frozen organic already chopped veggies.

the secret is lots and lots of savory broth.

I freeze it in small containers and end up with a freezer full of healthy, tasty meals.

It helps that I love making it. And now that I'm feeling better, I want to feel WELL so I do anything I can to help make that happen.

An easier option is to buy healthy soups at the store. :) If you have a family, my heart goes out to you. I don't know how people with lupus deal with a growing family.
Posted 9/12/2011 3:32 PM (GMT 0)
I am all about the make-ahead meals too... One of my favorite quick meals is a pot of pasta, then add some frozen cooked shrimp (put it in the strainer while the pasta's cooking, run cold water over it, then strain the hot pasta over it - it'll thaw) and maybe some frozen broccoli or green beans in the mix too.

I'm like LawChick - I'll eat out for lunch if I don't bring something good - so if I can I make something good on Sunday and pack it up for the week. Yesterday I made a pot of risotto (the 'instant' kind - Lundberg) and some pork chops and that will be my week's lunches. I'm single so I can get away with even cereal for dinner.

Good luck!
Posted 9/12/2011 6:36 PM (GMT 0)
Suetoo mentioned Rachel Ray's magazine... In the September issue of Everyday with Rachel Ray, Rachel had recipes for cooking 20 meals in "one day". It's one big day of preparing pulled pork, pulled chicken, tomato sauce, roasted veggies, and a rice pilaf, and then she uses those basics for the meals. However, many of them you do have to take the time to boil noodles or combine with some other ingredients and bake for 15-20, and I'm allergic to some of the food items she uses, but it's good to take the same idea and apply it. I'm thinking of starting with just the chicken recipes, and cutting down the amount of rice, sauce, and veggies I need for just the those recipes (not the pork). I won't have 20 days worth of meals, but it also cuts down on the effort on the one day of prep as well.

I've been thinking of putting my schooling to use for the greater good and possibly expanding this idea into a larger compilation of recipes that would give you about a weeks worth of meals from cooking one day... It's just a matter of finding the time between classes, work, and sleep. I'll be sure to let you all know if I start to actually make it happen!

As a dietetics student, the shopping (yes, I actually love grocery shopping!) and cooking is the fun part for me... it's the cleaning that gets in my way most of the time. :)
Posted 9/16/2011 12:13 PM (GMT 0)
It really depends how I feel. On my good days, I will cook big ammounts and freeze what I dont eat in pre portioned balanced meals (think home made tv dinner) . On other days, soup. I keep lots of fruit and veggies on hand, so I can always munch those. Sandwhiches. If i'm up for a tiny bit of cooking, but not alot i become creative

ie: romen noodles add frozen veggies, 2 scrabbled eggs stirred in like egg flower soup, whatever little bit of meat i have, canned tomatoes added after drained, seasoned

ie: mac n cheese add meat , canned tomatoes, seasoning ( a quicky goollash)

ie: those instant mashed potatoe packets... mix one up, greaase a pie tin, put a mound of potatoes in it, make a well stick an egg in the well bake at 350 til the egg looks like a fried egg , season and eat

ie: soy yogurts, yoplait drinks (yogurt drinks), ensure, pre cut veggies, fruits, cottage cheese with fruit

ie: microwaved baked potatoe with the works

ie: the good ole hotdogs in the microwave, add chili

also... the good ole crockpot, man oh man i love my crock pot....

ie: a can of broth, raw veggies, meat, rice, seasonings
in the morning or the night before i will toss whatever i have in it, make sure there is enoguh liquid to last awhile, and let it cook itself
u can do stews, soup, goollash, anything

also.. save any of your left overs, even the little bits and freeze them. you can get creative later. prep is about 10 minutes bake is up to 3 hours. keep on hand premade pie shells, instant mashed potatoe packets, cooking spray.

for the pie shell:
all the left overs that go good together
3 eggs (sometimes more, u gotta judge by look, think quiche), beaten well
dump all, and seasons in shell bake at 350 til egg is all cooked

for the potoatoes:

bread pan or cake pan

all the left overs that go good together, something to keep it to stick (tomatoe sauce, paste, egges, whatever)
cheese
mashed potatoes

stick the leftovers and whatever you got to stick it together with in a greesed pan, stick the mashed potatoes on top, put cheese on that, bake til heated

i think that is a form of sheperds pie
Posted 9/16/2011 12:15 PM (GMT 0)
heres another two things..

premade biscuits (all u gotta do is bake them)


u can do biscuits and gravy

or make the biscuits and add pizza sauce, cheese, meet, veggies (whatever you want) cook til heated/cheese melted in oven... your instant pizza :P
Posted 9/29/2011 6:37 PM (GMT 0)
I do a lot of crockpot cooking and did when my kids were growig up , you can cook a lot of boxed things like augratin potatoes in crockpot and frozen chicken breasts .
here is an easy chili recipe for you [.not in crockpot]
chili
1 lb , ground beef ,browned and drained
add 1 jar of salsa mild ,med or hot ,[whatever you prefer]
then add 2 cans drained and rinsed kidney beans
heat thru and simmer for 20 minutes.
easy and quick , serve with rolls or bread.
cathy from ma
Posted 9/30/2011 2:58 PM (GMT 0)
I like to stock up on frozen and frozen Garlic Knots. Also there are lots of great brands that offer frozen pasta meals with shrimp veggies ect. I use birds eye pasta with veggies as I am just feeding myself. I heat that up in the microwave and put some garlic sticks in the oven and have a good meal in minutes.
Posted 9/30/2011 4:00 PM (GMT 0)

hi! all,

I love these suggestions almost as much as I love to eat carbs. yeah What's a Garlic Knot? and toasted English muffins make into wonderful pizzas. Bad habits are hard to break, and I worry that with winter fast approaching, I will fall into my rut of fast food, junk food, and more faster, junkier food.

thanks for sharing,

suetoo

Posted 9/30/2011 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
Suetoo a garlic knot is just dough made into a knot with garlic and olive oil ect its really good. I also like garlic sticks which is like a knot but just in stick form.
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