[mtbguy123]

Hey all,

Here is my situation:
Between my day job, my adulting duties, and training for whatever endurance race I have coming up, it leaves VERY little time for cooking. I get done with a lot of my rides later in the evening(think 8-9PM) and the last thing I want to do is cook. I try cooking in such a way that I have leftovers for a few days but that gets old, depending what I cook. What is everyone else doing that is in a similar situation? I have an Instant Pot pressure cooker that I like to use but the cleanup on that can be a chore. I have also thought about potentially food prepping my dinners so all I have to do is nuke them. What is everyone else doing? Any specific recipes that you like?

 

[kubikeman]

I've been in a similar, busy lifestyle for many years. First thing I do is plan my recipes for the week. I know how many meals I'll need and even if I don't prep everything, it's nice to know there are ingredients waiting for me when I get home. Second thing I do is favor "one pot" or "one sheet pan" or "one skillet" types of recipes. I find them quicker and or easier to cook when I only have to worry about one cooking method. This last bit of advice might sound snarky but, just accept that you need to make time to cook. If you're health conscious and care about what you're consuming - which it sounds like you are if you're training - then make time to cook. It's something we all have to do every day. It's also way cheaper than eating out.

Some good resources for recipes I use are:

https://www.budgetbytes.com/

https://minimalistbaker.com/

https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/

The first link is geared towards cooking on a budget, but there are lots of easy, and un-fussy recipes. The second link is all veg/vegan, but she focuses on 10 ingredients or less, 30 min cooking or less, and one bowl. The last link is a wonderful resource to learn cooking techniques and Chef John is just legend.

*EDIT

Another thing I just thought of is building off an ingredient "theme" if you will. For example, start with stuffed peppers with chicken and rice for dinner Mon/Tues. Grab an extra pepper, and save some chicken. Now if you buy tortillas, you can make some chicken quesadillas on Wed and save leftovers for lunch on Thursday. Now that you have extra tortillas, you bought steak and veggies for sheet pan fajitas, right? Planning meals like this generally helps me to waste less, and it keeps it fresh, even though you might be using similar ingredients.

 

[mtbguy123]

Thanks for the tip. I will check out those websites!

I've been in a similar, busy lifestyle for many years. First thing I do is plan my recipes for the week. I know how many meals I'll need and even if I don't prep everything, it's nice to know there are ingredients waiting for me when I get home. Second thing I do is favor "one pot" or "one sheet pan" or "one skillet" types of recipes. I find them quicker and or easier to cook when I only have to worry about one cooking method. This last bit of advice might sound snarky but, just accept that you need to make time to cook. If you're health conscious and care about what you're consuming - which it sounds like you are if you're training - then make time to cook. It's something we all have to do every day. It's also way cheaper than eating out.

Some good resources for recipes I use are:

https://www.budgetbytes.com/

https://minimalistbaker.com/

https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/

The first link is geared towards cooking on a budget, but there are lots of easy, and un-fussy recipes. The second link is all veg/vegan, but she focuses on 10 ingredients or less, 30 min cooking or less, and one bowl. The last link is a wonderful resource to learn cooking techniques and Chef John is just legend.

*EDIT

Another thing I just thought of is building off an ingredient "theme" if you will. For example, start with stuffed peppers with chicken and rice for dinner Mon/Tues. Grab an extra pepper, and save some chicken. Now if you buy tortillas, you can make some chicken quesadillas on Wed and save leftovers for lunch on Thursday. Now that you have extra tortillas, you bought steak and veggies for sheet pan fajitas, right? Planning meals like this generally helps me to waste less, and it keeps it fresh, even though you might be using similar ingredients.