I’m driving myself nuts eating like a little piggy every weekend even though I eat really healthy during the week. I even like my healthy food so it isn’t like I’m depriving myself. But I meal prep for M-F and don’t have it in me to cook on weekends so I eat tons of junk. So, does anyone else do this? Did anyone else get over this? Do you have some other food woes you want to get off your chest? Or some other random thing you would like to discuss?
So actually I meal prep on Sunday morning and eat the same thing M-F which I’m ok with but 5 days is my limit and I don’t think the food would still be good by the next Saturday and Sunday anyway. But maybe you’re on to something and even though I think I’m ok with the same dinner every day, maybe I need to make like 4 days worth of food then do a quick and easy 3 day meal prep on Thursday to switch it up. Maybe it’s at least partially a psychological thing that I wasn’t even aware was happening.
Just curious, do you dislike cooking? Or are you really short on time every day? Because if you don’t hate cooking, and you love eating, then there’s no reason not to just cook fresh and something different daily. If time is an issue, then there are plenty of quick recipes with simple ingredients that you can use to whip up a dish in no time at all - Jamie Oliver has a few books and shows on this (15 Minute Meals / 5 Ingredients – Quick & Easy Food etc), if you need some inspiration.
Once you get into the habit of cooking fresh daily, then you won’t really differentiate between weekends and weekdays. Instead, you may even see weekends as a chance to cook those elaborate and fancy dishes you don’t have the time for during the weekends, or experiment with a new cuisine or even a cooking technique that you haven’t employed before.
Having the right gear also helps save a lot of time, such as a pressure cooker or an instant pot, an air fryer etc. Try and get your kitchen equipped with all the essentials, optimize the way you organize and access your ingredients, spices etc. Watch a few cooking shows like MasterChef to get ideas on how to streamline your kitchen and workbench, how to multi-task etc to get things done in the shortest possible time.
No, I actually like cooking but I have a problem with having enough energy. I also wake up by 5 am every day and I’m just tired after work. I meal prep so I have something good available and don’t have to think and act when I’m tired. I also have an issue with overeating more and eating more junk food when I’m tired so it helps with that.
I guess I also don’t want to have to plan and deal with making 5 to 7 separate meals every week, planning all that, buying that many groceries. I only cook for myself so that seems really like an excessive amount of shopping and cooking and things to buy when I can do it once and be done.
Edit: you know what I absolutely loathe though is cleaning and doing dishes and that’s high on the list of reasons not to cook every day. The cooking is nice but nothing that goes along with it is.