cook more meals at home

Was quick, yummy and cheap! My three criteria for a good dinner at home for one! I’m making progress on the cooking for myself stakes.

Asian noodles- was pretty good. Made 5 meals worth!

We have cooked four times this week! Much yummier than take away.

I’ve been doing pretty well. I was on a roll for awhile there. Then I started dating an awesome new guy and we went out to dinner a lot. Now I’m finding it hard to get back into the kitchen. I made spaghetti for us in favor of going out the other night. Maybe I can keep that up. hmmm…don’t want him thinking I’m too domestic, though. He would be sorely disappointed. I’m keeping this as a goal until it’s solid habit. Wish me luck!

I just got done grocery shopping and I am pumped. I have some really excellent healthy meals planned for this week. I love cooking, but my boyfriend’s schedule is so different from mine that eating out just became an easier option for us. It’s getting really expensive and unnecessary. We want to be healthy and that isn’t really helping us. So hopefully this week with begin a new pattern of eating in and eating healthy.

My goal of being vegan coincides with my desire to cook more at home. I’ve been cooking a real dinner (something not frozen/super quick) at least twice a week. I’m trying to use more whole foods and less processed foods. Last night I made a green veggie curry and brown rice, today I’m baking a pie and making some shreaded BBQ seitan for sandwiches with homemade BBQ sauce.

(BTW, I went to culinary school. I really should do something with that degree.)

Well, I can proudly say that I have accomplished this goal! We rarely go out to eat and have been making all our meals at home. It’s gotten to the point where there isn’t even any desire to go out because we prefer our own meals and cooking over anything we can buy at a restaurant! I’ve tried so many recipes and have had great inspiration from cooking shows on the Food Network – Rachel Ray’s 30-minute-meals are awesome. The key to our success is to plan, plan, plan. We sit down and make a list of days of the week, and then menus for those days, usually 4-5 days in advance. We make a shopping list from that list. End up going shopping about twice a week. It actually is a time saver as well as a money saver and much, much healthier. We really appreciate sitting down to a meal togther as a family. Last night I tried a Morrocan spicy chicken dish – it wasn’t the best but it was good. The night before, my husband made a shrimp curry with basmati rice, a delicious salad with home-made dressing AND a dipping sauce for toasted pita bread. It was fabulous. On the days we don’t want to make a big fuss, we may just broil some chicken, open a can of green beans and make some rice. It’s really no work, but beats fast food any day. So, it’s worth doing!

i love to cook. i really used to like cooking for others. i haven’t really had the opportunity to do so lately. my house is a wreck right now. i really think that if can start cooking more for myself, i’ll be healthier and in better shape.

I’ve been making a lot of slow cooker meals. The key really is to PLAN! Some days I just am lazy! I work an evening shift so the slow cooker is great. I bought a magazine full of slow cooker recipes and so far have tried 5 – only problem is the recipe today kind of flopped. I need to make HEAlTHY recipes – today I made a beef roast with barbeque sauce and a few other ingrediants. Not exactly healthy, but still better than McDonalds! I made a lemon chicken recipe that the family loved to go with brown rice a couple of days ago. It’s a start. My next step is to look for some healthy slow cooker recipes on line.

My biggest barrier to cooking at home on a consistent basis has been taking the time to thoughtfully plan out meals and shopping. For the last two weeks I’ve done a good job of making sure that I take time on the weekends to ensure that there is enough healthy food in my house throughout the week. It’s so nice to come home at the end of a long day and have healthy food that is already prepared or can be quickly prepared. Tonight I endured the long lines of the panicking shoppers who were stocking up on enough milk, eggs & tp to last a month even though they’re only calling for 4-8 inches of snow. I picked up the ingredients for my favorite turkey chili. I’m looking forward to letting that simmer all day tomorrow while the snow comes down. :-)