Too busy to cook

I know it sounds like an excuse but I really don't have time to cook meals or even eat them most of the time.

The only evenings I have free in the week are Monday's and Fridays.  Friday is take out night and that's not going to change .  Tuesday, wednesday and Thursday I go dancing so I don't want to eat a dinner before I go and end up only having beans on toast.  By the time I get home it's too late to eat anything else. 

According to this site I don't eat enough cals.  Do you think it would be ok to have snack type dinners on those 3 days (don't count Friday) if I eat proper dinners on Monday, Saturday and Sunday?

What would your snack type dinners consist of?  It is important to get solid nutritious meals...

My suggestion would be that maybe you could make a nice big casserole on Monday that you can reheat the next couple of days and mix up with different veggies/sides. 

Also, maybe you can pre-prepare your foods for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and freeze/refrigerate them (depending on the meal) and re-heat them on your "non cook" days.

I usually have 2 slices of toast and a tin of baked beans.  Its not the healthiest of options is it?

I like your suggestions.  Thanks.  I'll just have to put a bit more thought into what I'm going to eat.

I'm not sure how much time you have between when you get home and leave but if you have at least an hour or so you could always stick something (pre-prepared would be quicker) in the oven while you are getting ready.  Then by the time you are done getting ready, your dinner will be done. 

Here are some great links to check out:

Top 10 Easy Recipes

To Hot To Cook Recipes

More It's Too Hot To Cook Recipes

Fastest and Easiest Recipes

Easy Recipes

 

 

Thanks for those links.  I also forgot to mention that I can't actually cook .  My husband refuses to eat anything that I've even touched let alone cooked.  The best bits of the stuff I've cooked are the bits you can't taste.  If you can taste it you're in trouble .  Kinda limits me somewhat.

Here are a few questions that might help with the answers:

What's your budget (in other words, does cost matter... can you buy a lot of pre-prepared items like pre-cut fruit, veggies, meat, etc. at the grocery store)? 

Are there any allergies or other food constraints or issues?

Does your husband have to eat the same things you eat (what does he eat)?

What are your main goals (eating more calories, eating more protein, adding vareity, etc.)?

I don't cook much at all -- even if I have time.  So, I'm with you on the cooking thing. I am able to find some quick foods that are nutritional or at least somewhat nutritional (even some fast food options).

Let us know more, if you can....and good luck.

P.S.  What do you mean it is too late to eat after dancing (do you mean it is too late to eat a full meal... it is too close to bedtime)? 

I think you could snack/graze all day on nutritious food and eat anytime you want. 

Here are some easy snacks:

Cereal and milk
Almonds
Fruit
Celery, carrots
Peanut butter sandwich, crackers
Pudding
Fast food salads (watch the dressing and any fried chicken put on it, if you are watching calories)
Baked chips in small bags
Prepackaged servings of tuna or chicken (don't have to be refrigerated until opened)
Prepackaged spinach or lettuce (throw in some of the chicken)
Toaster waffles (whole grain)
Eggs cooked in the microwave or hard boiled
Bagels
Fast food chili (think Wendy's)
Apple dippers from McDonald's
Protein bars (Luna bars, Slimfast bars, etc etc)
Yogurt

We might be related - Im "Too Lazy To Cook".  

I get a lot of help from TV dinners, precooked chicken breast (oscar mayer for wraps and salads), prebagged salads plus cooking many servings at once and bagging them for example baking several filets of fish or boiling a pound of shrimp or a dozen eggs.  If the stove goes on, its not normally a one meal serving being made.

Im pretty cheap but walmart makes prepared foods reasonable in cost.

Original Post by gemillow:

I also forgot to mention that I can't actually cook . 

Of course you can cook. It is just a matter of getting to know your stove and oven and following directions.

Cooking ahead for later meals could really help you out on your busy nights. When I'm really busy I make do with Progresso Soups (anything with 100 or fewer calories per serving) and the prepared frozen diet dinners available.

 My goal though is to find more and more meals I can make quickly that are also healthy and family friendly as well.

Original Post by nctracy:

Here are a few questions that might help with the answers:

What's your budget (in other words, does cost matter... can you buy a lot of pre-prepared items like pre-cut fruit, veggies, meat, etc. at the grocery store)? 

Are there any allergies or other food constraints or issues?

Does your husband have to eat the same things you eat (what does he eat)?

What are your main goals (eating more calories, eating more protein, adding vareity, etc.)?

I don't cook much at all -- even if I have time.  So, I'm with you on the cooking thing. I am able to find some quick foods that are nutritional or at least somewhat nutritional (even some fast food options).

Let us know more, if you can....and good luck.

Hi, thanks for all your replies. 

We are on a limited budget and I have high blood pressure so have tended to steer away from TV dinners because of the salt content.

My husband never eats the same as me.  He never eats anything healthy.  His dinners are like a heart attack on a plate  yet he's perfectly healthy.  Makes you mad doesn't it?

I would like to eat better on those days as I don't think bread likes me too much.

I get home (I think) too late to eat a proper meal.  Tuesday I get home at 9pm, Weds at 8.45 and Thurs at 10.30.  Sometimes I have a kebab on a Wednesday which is grilled chicken and salad in a pitta bread but I always feel bloated and sluggish the next day.

 

 

When I go dancing, I generally eat a snack before and a snack afterwards on my way home.  Granola/protein/fiber bars do the trick most of the time.