Hello All! I’m a full-time working mom of two little kids. DH is responsible for dishes and I’m for cooking. I cook every other day but for my own satisfaction, I’d like to see if I can cook everyday so we can eat fresh. What time do you all cook? AM or PM? Also, is cutting vegetables the previous day a bad idea? I would like to know so I can see if I can make any improvements to my current schedule. Thank you!!
Glad you posted this. I had similar post but it got drowned somewhere!! I used to cook for the week (for Mon-Thu, on Sunday), with elaborate (themed) meal planning - we do a chinese week, all american, Indian etc. as I like to cook. Eating out is minimum. DH encourages this because I am a control freak when it comes to cooking and all he has to do is cut veggies or meat and do the dishes. It has worked perfectly, and I do not have to cook until Friday evening. DD and DH eats only dinner from home, that is also another reason this has worked. Pros - food is already in the fridge when I get home - We get a lot of family time, because of no cooking/cleaning/less dishes on weekdays - eat dinner around 5 everyday when we are the most hungriest Cons - If cooking Indian, i have to make at least 5 curries so that we don't get bored , but I have found that of all cuisines Indian is the easiest for me. - Sandwiches, pasta kind of things can get very bored quickly, so a back up is always needed. One more reason I did this was, I used to be very active on Instagram posting my food pictures. But lately, I want fresh and different food everyday. So I cook in the evening now, because i have a very early morning everyday. It is stressful and tiring to cook after work. and clean up is hard too. it messes up our routine and I have less free time in the evening. I am looking for a better streamlined way to do this. My goal for the next few weeks is to make one pot dinner, using instapot and easy meals. Still have to come up with a plan. This, I think prepping the veggies would help cooking everyday faster. I might try this. I use instapot a lot, so I think doing one pot dinners might be a good way to make fresh food everyday. For that also, planning ahead is the key.
Firstly, thank you for responding! I’m glad you did because I will surely be waiting/wanting to know what changes you will be making in the next few weeks to come and see if I can incorporate those. I have an Instant Pot too but haven’t been utilizing to the fullest. Also, I agree that evening cooking disturbs the routine and there will be very less or zero quality family time. I once tried cooking on Sunday for the whole week but somehow I was not happy. Looking for more and more ideas
Full time working mom with 1 toddler. I cook every day in the evening. My menu is more or less the same every night. Takes exactly 1 hour to cook. Soup (Vietnamese/ American) 2 kinds of veggies (Indian/American) 1 kind of meat (Indian/American) There is plain rice/ chapathi all the time. I make kootu/ saaru once a week or when required. I tried to cook once a week on Sundays and store it up( my husband and I both didn't like how food tastes) I hate to cook every evening. Especially after work. I prep during the weekend now. Cut all my vegies and freeze it or refrigerate it. Most of the veggies that I cook is more like saute with ginger/ garlic with salt and pepper. So it's kind of easy. No elaborate cooking at my house if it is not the weekend or parties. Pack up the next day lunch from dinner leftover, the night before ( so there is not leftover). Breakfast is eggs/ oatmeal with milk/ fruit for my kid Have bagels at work and fruits. My husband makes his own breakfast depending on his schedule.
Thank you! And wow, the menu itself sounds elaborate although you might be cooking in a rather simple manner. Kudos to you! Prepping over the weekend and freezing sounds like a good idea.
As I chop all the veggies over the weekend. I just have to chop onions, garlic/ ginger and greens. I leave the meat to be thawed overnight in the fridge. So not much prepping to do, when I get home.I just get to cooking and I use all the 4 stoves at once. The first few weeks were a struggle- but as the repetition sets in. Its easy.
Love your plan bp! Seems like a balanced meal. Do you make fresh chapatis everyday or store them in fridge?
I make the chapathi's and store them. When i need them, i just microwave it. Usually, it's just my kid and I eating rice/ chapathi. We don't make more than 4 per week.
I cut and keep vegetables during weekend. I make basic curry paste and freeze it.So anytime we can defrost and make paneer dish or Chana dish etc.I have veg chopper,magic bullet ,instant pot ,long electric griddle(can make 2 dosas/chapathis at a time ) to fasten the cooking time.Dosa batter made on Sunday.I make breakfast wraps using tortillas or left over chapathis for breakfast. Dinner is made fresh and lunch is always left over from. Previous day
Ideally this is what I would like to do - Do proper menu planning for the whole week and shop over the weekend. Chop veggies the previous evening and refrigerate. Wake up a little early and do the cooking for lunch and leftovers for dinner. Sounds too good but a little difficult to implement for sure with my current busy routine. However, I will give it a try this weekend and see how that works. Will update the post with progress
