I have been reading y'all blogs...and I noticed a lot of people discussing meal planning. Educate me please.
Do you sit down and decide on your meals each day or do you decide on your meals for the week and then do your grocery shopping?
Here is the problem I run into. I'm TIRED!! When I get home from work I play with the little ones, feed the little ones, bathe the little ones, play again, then put them to bed. When I put them in bed I have to read 2 stories in 2 different bedrooms. By the time I get back downstairs it's a chore just to eat...it would be impossible to cook and it's close to 9 pm.
I know it's an excuse...which I hate to make...but it is what it is.
Please tell me how you do it? Do you cook all the meals on the weekend? What?!?
I printed off Ronnie's and LBG's bandster rules. I want to eat the 3 meals a day. I don't think I eat complete meals.
Ugh...I'm frustrated. I want to do better with my diet...so I'm calling out for help, recipes, whatever you can offer me.
On a side note: In junior high school I had a teacher who made us recite the following every time we came to here class:
Excuses are tools of incompetence
Which build monuments out of nothing
And those who specialize in them
Seldom become good at anything else.
I don't want to make anymore excuses. Change is hard, but it is something that needs to happen. I want to change...I want to be a better me.
9 comments:
I'm a huge fan of the crockpot. I put frozen chicken, peppers, onions, canned diced tomatoes (with juice), 1 c salsa, cumin, pepper and garlic in there and just let it cook on low for 6-8 hours. Then I shred the chicken and put in back in the pot, stir, and you've got chicken taco's, burritos, or put that chicken over a salad. You can also add chicken broth and make it soup. Very versatile.
I also cook a huge meal on Sunday for the week. Or bake 5 chicken breasts so that they are ready for the tops of salads. I also make a huge tub of salad on the weekends too, that way it's just sitting in my fridge calling my name.
I have started making all my dinners on Sunday. For instance, last week, I made paella for BFF's birthday. I put the (delicious!) leftovers into individual containers and heated up one each night.
Yesterday, when I grilled a turkey burger for dinner, I actually grilled a few bugers & several veggie kabobs to have as leftovers.
I didn't used to like leftovers. Flat out wouldn't eat them. But some things have changed:
1. I started focusing on cooking healthy things that heat up well.
2. I make more than one thing (like yesterday I also cooked some sausage) so if I don't like one thing leftover, there is another option. If it doesn't work well leftover, I strike it from future menus.
3. I told myself that "I don't like leftovers" is not acceptable. I HAVE to make changes or I won't lose any more weight...or (gasp!) gain back some that I have lost. So, I started the Cook on Sunday, Eat All Week plan. So far, so good.
Good luck, girlie! It is always kind of a pain to get it done on the weekend, but I'm so glad when I can heat up something healthy rather than nuke a frozen dinner (or eat something bad.) You can do it!!
I'm with the ladies above. I dedicate one day to making my meals for the week. I also tend towards simple breakfasts and lunch. Breakfast is usually a fruit & protein shake and lunch is typically a salad (with protein of choice). I also like to have hard boiled eggs on hand when I need a quick protein boost.
I look forward to everyone's comments ... on another note, I don't know how ANY MOM does it. I can barely take care of myself and my fur-child. So, do cut yourself some slack Dawnya ... you're a Mom !
When you find out, let me know. I desperately need to do this! I'm SO sick of chicken, chicken, chicken. Tonight? Eating 1/4 of a cantaloupe for dinner. Surely that's not good for me?
We tried something new this month -- freezer cooking. I used the site onceamonthmom.com, and we made 2 each of 7 dishes one saturday afternoon and threw them all in the freezer, so I have 14 dinners ready to go! It did take us the better part of 4 hours one Saturday, but it's been worth it. We also plan our dinners out every Sunday night, so we have at least an idea of what we need to thaw, etc.
I bought one of those freezer bag machine - the kind that suck the air out of the bags. They're great for making things ahead of time.. Today I froze some fresh green beans, and I still have about 10 bags of home made soups in the freezer.
I don't cook every weekend for the week, but when I do cook I like to make lots extra so that I can freeze the leftovers for dinners. Saves great time because all you have to do is boil the bags and viola! Dinner is served!
You are in a tough position. I plan out all my meals for the week so I don't even think about what I'm going to eat and I know exactly what I need at the grocery store. Of course it's way easier for me, because I only have to worry about myself.
The trick is figuring out what's easy for you. I rarely cook meals that take more than 30 minutes to prepare. Also, I make my hubby help...if not actually cook, he has to help me with recipes, decide what we want, help me do the shopping, etc.
Every Saturday morning over breakfast, we make our grocery list...that means deciding what we're eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner until the following Saturday and then buying whatevr we need to make that happen. We eat out more on the weekends because we're usually out and about doing stuff. I hope this helps!
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