Why do l get so stressed cooking dinner?

[Mark Parrott]

I'm terrible. I find cooking so stressful! Got in from work at 6pm, kitchen was an absolute mess so tidied up, emptied dishwasher, filled dishwasher, time now 7.10pm, started work on the cottage pie, forgot the carrots, fighting with the celeriac, finally get it in the oven at 8pm. I am a nervous wreck!😱 I need a holiday.

 

[Amigo]

I'm terrible. I find cooking so stressful! Got in from work at 6pm, kitchen was an absolute mess so tidied up, emptied dishwasher, filled dishwasher, time now 7.10pm, started work on the cottage pie, forgot the carrots, fighting with the celeriac, finally get it in the oven at 8pm. I am a nervous wreck!😱 I need a holiday.

That's the problem with being diabetic Mark...you can't just grab a pie in your mitt and scoff it! 😉
Diabetes seems to require better planning and more preparation. So few 'eat on the hoof' foods are low carb I find.

 

[Mark Parrott]

That's the problem. Used to rely on the chip butty or beans on toast but everything's changed now. I suppose an omlette would be quicker but quite fed up with them at the moment.

 

[Martin Canty]

Keto Orange Chicken, tonight, with either Cauliflower rice or broccoli....

Should have taken the chicken out to thaw hours ago..... hope it thaws in time!!!!

 

[AndBreathe]

@Mark Parrott - I don't know how large your freezer is, or how full, but have you considered doing something like a monthly or fortnightly cook-in? I'm not suggesting you freeze all your evening meals, but if you had a decent stock, it could mean you can have a couple of evenings a week (or whatever) where you're just on reheating?

 

[Mark Parrott]

We often freeze leftovers. Problem is we either forget their there or forget to take them out to defrost. And we also forget to label them so no idea what some of the frozen food even is.

 

[deleted profile 999]

I tend to freeze stews and soups in those zip lock bags, you can get the bags you write on in all the supermarkets and lakeland, do single portions in each bag, label and date, then lay them flat so the contents spreads over the whole bag in a thin layer. If you freeze them this way, then defrosting takes hardly any time at all (obviously doesn't work for things like pies) . You can even chuck the bag in a large pan of water and defrost and heat through in a one go (and it saves on washing up).

Another tip, is to have one week a month (or however long you need), to just work your way through your frozen stock, stick a reminder in your calendar. As with all things, once it becomes a habit, you don't really need to think about doing it again, and taking the food out the freezer before bed, or before work is just part of your routine.

 

[Mark Parrott]

Thanks, Tony. I'll get some bags.🙂

 

[KookyCat]

I never used to get stressed about cooking, but I do now, as Amigo said its because you can't just think sod it I'll have cheese on toast and a snaffle some crackers later if I'm hungry anymore. The extra planning is quite irritating sometimes. I cook at the weekends now and freeze "ready meals" but that's largely because insulin after 6pm for me is a disaster and I got sick of eating salad! Friday night used to be fun night now it's cooking night, this week I will be making pizza bases, aubergine Parmesan, and roasted garlic quiche with an almond crust....oh so rock and roll, don't know how I cope with the excitement 🙂

 

[grovesy]

I often don't fancy what I get out of freezer in the morning by the evening.

 

[AndBreathe]

Mark - Do you plan your meals, or decide when you come to cook?

We plan for about a week in advance; not on the basis of Monday + X, Tuesday =Y, but more that this wekk we'll be having X, Y and so forth, then that's what we have shopped and planned for. We also agree in the morning what dinner will be that night, so that whomever is around/preparing/cooking/defrosting can be confident we have everything we need.

I hear what you say about leftovers, but we rarely do the leftovers thing, we start with (there are 2 of us) cooking for 4 or 6, with an absolute plan to freeze one or two meals. That way, you know at prep time you will be freezing, and I find it much easier to be prepared for the freezing part then - as I can either prep the bags/tubs, or whatever.

Of course, there are times when we get to dinner time and either decide to do a quick omelette, or just bite the bullet that X is for dinner and get on with it. I even plan like that when my OH is away and I'm on my own. At those times, I just indulge my low-carb nuttery a bit more than usual. 🙂

 

[Sally71]

Does nobody use a microwave to defrost things? That way you don't have to remember to get your food out of the freezer several hours in advance! We often have various portions of stew/chilli type meals in the freezer, if I have a "blow it I can't be bothered to cook" moment I can just get one out, loosen the lid, bung it in the microwave for 10 mins on defrost followed by 5 mins on cook and it's ready to eat with virtually no effort required by me
And hardly any carbs either as I don't freeze any rice or potatoes with it and just eat it as is!

 

[Barbie1]

I was about to say Defrost? isn't that what microwaves were invented for?

 

[Mark Parrott]

Wife doesn't like the idea of defrosting in the microwave as the don't defrost evenly. Some bits get warm whilst other bits stay frozen. We do sometimes plan a weeks meals but then run out of ideas for the following week. Don't like to repeat food too often.

 

[GregP]

I'm very lucky to work in an office that has an amazing canteen with loads of healthy and low carb options, so tend to eat my main meal at lunchtime. Dinner for me is usually just a small snack meal.

 

[Northerner]

Wife doesn't like the idea of defrosting in the microwave as the don't defrost evenly. Some bits get warm whilst other bits stay frozen. We do sometimes plan a weeks meals but then run out of ideas for the following week. Don't like to repeat food too often.

I've been doing it for years. I blast it (from frozen) for 3.5 minutes, give it a stir, then blast it for another 3.5 minutes - piping hot all the way through 🙂

 

[robert@fm]

Wife doesn't like the idea of defrosting in the microwave as the don't defrost evenly. Some bits get warm whilst other bits stay frozen.

It sounds like your microwave's turntable or mode-mixer (or both) is knackered; time to get a new one? (The mode-mixer is a gizmo which constantly changes the path of the microwaves, so there are no standing waves and hence you don't get some bits burnt while others are still cold.) Like Alan, I have used defrost on my microwave several times, and never had any problems. On the other hand, a nearby service station used to sell snacks (pies, meat slices etc.) and had a microwave to cook them, but its mode-mixer (it had no turntable) was shot so the cooking was horribly uneven.

 

[AndBreathe]

Wife doesn't like the idea of defrosting in the microwave as the don't defrost evenly. Some bits get warm whilst other bits stay frozen. We do sometimes plan a weeks meals but then run out of ideas for the following week. Don't like to repeat food too often.

OK, I can see how that could be.

How about you and MrsP invest half an hour brainstorming all the dinners you like to eat since you've been modifying your diet, and make a list. You can add to that list as your discover new gems of deliciousness. I bet you will be astonished by the length of the list.

I'm also an avid reader, and I have subscribed to a number of websites for reduced carb eating (ditchthecarbs, Ibreatheimhungry, sugarfreemom, to name just a few). Most do either regular or periodic newsletter/mailings, which usually link to something yumm-tastic. Ages ago, I started saving those recipes, in .pdf format, to a folder on my laptop and have yet to make them all. Indeed, just this morning, I happened upon an errant recipe I had to file away, so had another browse in there. I'f I'm feeling a bit uninspired, especially if MrB is away, I can usually find something in there I either haven't had in an age, or have yet to make. It works for us.

 

[deleted profile 999]

On AndBreathe's note, I use a recipe manager called Paprika, it does a good job of saving recipes from sites (just copy the url in, or browse directly from Paprika itself, and hit save). You can categorise recipes, search by name, blog (it keeps the orig link to the recipe, which is handy for random browsing linked to recipes you like), ingredient. It has a meal planner in there, will create shopping lists, allows you to scale the recipes up or down in quantity, has sections for nutritional info.

It does cost a bit, but it really is good, and can sync your personal database between all the platforms you run it on (I have mac and iOS)

 

[AndBreathe]

On AndBreathe's note, I use a recipe manager called Paprika, it does a good job of saving recipes from sites (just copy the url in, or browse directly from Paprika itself, and hit save). You can categorise recipes, search by name, blog (it keeps the orig link to the recipe, which is handy for random browsing linked to recipes you like), ingredient. It has a meal planner in there, will create shopping lists, allows you to scale the recipes up or down in quantity, has sections for nutritional info.

It does cost a bit, but it really is good, and can sync your personal database between all the platforms you run it on (I have mac and iOS)

Just to comment, MFP can do all of those things, with the exception, I think, of shopping list creation, but with the addition of a forum, I have never looked it. MFP is free, although there is a "Premium" option I have never felt the need to investigate.