By cooking meal types that are fast, like stir fries.
this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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Food and Cooking
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For me, cooking at home is less about finding the time and more about decision fatigue. I still fail at this a lot, but on the days I’m successful it’s because I planned ahead of time what I’d be cooking for dinner. That way when dinner comes around it doesn’t require thought, just a bit of chopping.
I'm terrible. If I'm cooking for myself? I won't make anything that takes longer to prepare or clean up than it takes to eat. LOL.
Breakfast, generally, is a small can of whole kernel corn mixed in with a can of chowder.
Lunch is a couple of sandwiches.
Dinner maybe a couple of burgers. Sometimes a big salad.
Now, cooking for OTHER people... that's a different deal. :) But, yeah, it takes planning, sometimes a week in advance.
Sustainable cooking is a function of the amount of time you're willing to commit to cooking and the tools you have at your disposal. A slow cooker, for example, can involve almost zero prep and very little time actively spent cooking (you toss it all in the pot and hit go). A much more involved meal which requires regular attention, on the other hand, might take less total time to cook, but more active time cooking.
I think the best way to provide advice is to get a grasp on a few important factors:
- Price sensitivity/budget
- How much time do you tolerate between starting cooking and eating the food (active cooking + all other time, such as time spent in the oven or slow cooker)?
- How much time do you tolerate where you are in the kitchen actively cooking or preparing ingredients?
- Do you have any food restrictions or preferences?
- How varied do you want your cooking to be? Are you okay with eating the same thing every day or want more variety?
I'm far too lazy to meal prep on my weekends. But I will choose 3-4 dinners for the week and write it down like a menu and get the ingredients I need for them. If I know it's going to be a crazy week, I will cut the vegetables immediately after grocery shopping that way I can just dump them in the pan or bowl or whatever when I'm cooking. Then I have options to choose from several different foods over the week.
I always make enough to have leftovers so I don't have to plan for lunches too.
Best of luck
A mix of limited menu during the week, and food prepping are the biggest things.
If I know the upcoming week will be busy, I’ll batch cook on Sunday and just reheat the rest of the week.
Otherwise, learning simple recipes I can whip up quick. Practice makes perfect after all, and the more I cook, the faster I get.
Honestly, this might be a hot take but when it comes to food in the modern western world, people are really privileged lol. Why is the expectation that you eat something different every day for every meal?