Monday, June 28, 2010

The Battle That Continuously Wages And Is All The More Steady Now.

I'm engaged in a mini-battle right now. Not with my husband. Or with my mom. Or with any friends.

But with the clock on the wall and my stomach.

We all already know how much I like food. And we know how in the past some odd months, I've been posting recipes and talking about cooking. And writing about how excited I am about new dishes.

It's quite the wonderful hobby necessity to enjoy,  as it combines my love for something delicious with the art of being creative ! And its building a character trait: for once I started learning to plan ahead!

But right now. We are busy. And I'm tired. Handsome has a LOT going on at work. He is busy and is dealing with stress and his life is filled to the brim. And I. Well, I'm supposed to be studying and I am. And I'm working out.  And we have other obligations on certain nights of the week. And then we took that little mini-vacay. And things like laundry, and a dirty house, and fixing my hair happen. And by the end of the day, and actually at the beginning of the other, the food stuff just isn't happening.

I'd like to think I could keep it all together. Study. Work out. Wash hair. Dress cute. Start a load of laundry. Drop things off at the mailbox and run other errands. Study. Fix dinner. Study. Talk to Handsome. Go to bed. Get up. Repeat.

But that one part in the midst of Study and Study doesn't happen. (Okay, the dress cute and other stuff doesn't happen either but they are really secondary to nourishment). The "fix dinner" portion has started to become a very bit thorn in my side. Actually, not just "fix dinner", but more like all things food. Lunch, snack, and breakfast don't always happen . And I have a feeling its not going to get any better in the next five-ish weeks while my studying increases.

But food must happen in some form. Because 1. We can't eat out every meal. It's too expensive, it is even more time consuming than cooking, and honestly! it doesn't even taste that great! Once in a while is nice, but I need good food at home. I'd like it to be easily accessible, ready to go (sort of), and I want to be filled up

It's not that much to ask for right?

So this is my issue: what are some easy ways to get healthy-ish food ready quickly?

Even the "quick-fix" recipes I find take something like an hour when you add in clean-up and prep. Maybe I'm just a real slow cooker, but the point is that these quick and easy meals aren't working for me right now.

And I'm hungry. Cold cereal and a banana just won't do for each and every meal. While I have good ideas about easy snacks... (hummus and veggies, pb and apples, strawberries and chocolate pudding)  I'm just not sure how to consistently make meals that satisfy those other requirements with all of the busy-ness that is the summer of 2010.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

I'm here. And I'm still writing (hungry though I may be),


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3 comments:

d.a.r. said...

Meal planning really helped me. I could get everything I needed at the grocery store, and then as soon as I get home on Saturday or Sunday afternoon from the store, I could prep all of my meals. Dice up chicken and pop it in a freezer bag, slice veggies for the stir fry, put it in a freezer bag, mix up marinades and put them in tupperware containers, etc. Then, during the week, all I have to do is grab everything and throw it together. It is a hassle on the weekends, but completely worth it on a Wednesday night when I don't want to chop 84,000 things and mix things. I just want to throw it all in a pan and cook it!

Charbelle said...

1. Have staple items on hand, meaning jarred tomato sauce, noodles, box of rice.
One of the quickest meals I've found is spaghetti, doctor the jar of tomato sauce with your favorite seasoning (ie italian mrs dash, crushed red pepper, a can of mushrooms) and serve over noodles with a side of some type of veggie.
Frozen veggies that are microwaveable are your friend, super healthy, super quick and tasty!
I keep a box of Jumbalaya mix, you boil water, add the mix and cut up sausage to throw in, quick and super easy. I add a can of rotel and count as part of the cups of water to give it a little extra kick.
Hungry Girl has some great quick fix ideas that are yummy!!
Good luck!!

Callie said...

I have the same problem you do, so I'm interested to read everyone's comments! Hopefully I can get some tips myself.