Recipes

[Nadine]

I don't know what has happened to me. I raised a large family, worked full time after they grew up and never had an issue with getting groceries for the week and cooking every night.

Now it's me, my hubby and Grandson who lives with us and I never know what to cook.

Every Monday I stress over it trying to figure out meals for the week.

We are pretty much eating thre Paleo way, not totally but most of the time. I've joined a couple of the online meal websites where they give you a menu for the week but the recipes are pretty strange using ingredients hat I.m not familiar with.

I'm really frustrated and don't know why I'm having such a problem with this.

Has anyone else gone through this ? I must have 50 recipes books, you would think that I could figure this out.

[ChynnaBlue]

If you live with two other people, I would ask them for their input.

Pull out 10 recipes you might want to make that week and ask them to pick 5. That way you don't have to decide, but by picking the original 10, you also won't get stuck with them picking something you don't want to make.

[curliejay]

I have the same problem! It is me and my husband and I am in a terrible rut with food! I never know what to make! I try different recipes, but I feel like I make the same things every week!

[Peaches McPhee]

I suggest you take time to figure it out once a week, the day before you go shopping.  Look for paleo recipes on line or in a cook book, figure out which ones appeal to you, shop accordingly, and fire up the stove.

I think you are letting it get more complicated than it is, and now it is overwhelming you.  Draw on your past experiences doing this for the family, and good luck!

[nyc1]

Pick several favorites and make enough for leftovers so that you have for 2 days instead of just the one.  If you cook something on the weekend, make enough to carry over and eat mid week. Try breakfast for dinner...   sometimes we do omletes. 

[Silver Fox1]

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@Nadine wrote:

I don't know what has happened to me. I raised a large family, worked full time after they grew up and never had an issue with getting groceries for the week and cooking every night.

Now it's me, my hubby and Grandson who lives with us and I never know what to cook.

Every Monday I stress over it trying to figure out meals for the week.

We are pretty much eating thre Paleo way, not totally but most of the time. I've joined a couple of the online meal websites where they give you a menu for the week but the recipes are pretty strange using ingredients hat I.m not familiar with.

I'm really frustrated and don't know why I'm having such a problem with this.

Has anyone else gone through this ? I must have 50 recipes books, you would think that I could figure this out.

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Well I don't know but I was doing the Paleo thing, it lasted 2 weeks !  I found it just plain boring so maybe thats it.   For me though after 45 years of cooking meals I'm just plain sick of it !!!!

[chrystaltree]

I don't even understand the question and I'm not being facetious.  I just don't get it.  You don't want to cook meals now, it's not enjoyable and you are at the point at which many women no longer have to cook.  So don't.   You know no one in your home will starve to death if you don't play June Cleaver and cook a 1950's homestyle dinner.  You live with two others, assuming your grandson is a teen or older, your hubby and your grandson should be responsible for cooking one dinner a week.  If you do the shopping, it should be their responsibility to give you their shopping list for that meal.  Anyone can prepare a meal today without opening up a cookbook, supermarkets are full of pre-cooked or frozen or deli foods that require little or no cooking.  I don't cook often now that it's just hubby and me.  We eat out a lot and we order from local restaurants.  No, I'm not talking about fast food.  Almost all nice restaurants either deliver or you can phone ahead and pick up meals.  This works because portions are large and there are always enough leftovers for lunch.  When I make a meatloaf, I always make two and freeze one for another meal.  Ditto for roast chicken.  I load the freezer with frozen veggies, not the kind with sauce and stuff.  Just the fresh frozen veggies.  So much easier than all that slicing and dicing and I don't waste anything. 

[Nadine]

oh crystaltree if you only knew my hubby. He can't even boil an egg, you might say it's time for him to learn, he works 50-60 hours aweek so this is totally up to me,

Silver Fox, I am just sick of cooking thats for sure but I think it started with Paleo, just got to the point that nothing looked good.

I really didn't have a question I was just wondering if others had gotten to where I am and what they did about it.

Anyway, thanks so much for the replies and I appreciate the suggestions.

[Havarti]

I don’t eat Paleo but wind up eating in a similar way now.   I used to cook….I planned, used recipes, mixed ingredients, created “dishes”.  We now lead a simpler life and I just “fix food”.  I use stand alone fresh foods – meat, vegetables, fruits, salads (OK, I might add tomatoes, onions, avocadoes and/or hard-boiled eggs, etc.  to a salad so technically that is mixing ingredients).  I buy for the week what looks good at the store and/or is on sale.  I mix and match those items to make the meal, without much planning or forethought.  For example, we might have steak with caramelized onions, fresh asparagus, and potatoes one night, then roast chicken (if I am at Costco I will even pick up the $4.99 cooked chicken), mashed potatoes or roast sweet potatoes and some peas & carrots another night.  Pork chops with wild rice and apples sautéed with cinnamon sprinkled on top is a good meal, a main course salad makes another delicious meal.  So is seafood with cold citrus slices and fresh green beans.  You can scramble things up to create good variety without real planning or recipes. 

After I retired, I simplified my wardrobe to be comprised more of individual comfortable items than can be mixed & matched with many other pieces to stretch both the extent of my wardrobe as well as my money, while making life easier for me in the long run.  I also simplified my cooking in the same way…by just buying quality stand alone proteins, vegetables and fruits that mix and match with each other to make many meals easily and take advantage of what looks good in the store and/or is on sale for a good value.  Wish I’d done this years ago!

[dsw503]

I also prepare Paleo meals and just cook for the two of us. I've found that following a Paleo meal plan just means more decsions about food. You can't pull a pizza out of the freezer and serve it. Maybe you are getting overly stressed about all the decisions that come with selecting meals? 

I pick out one cookbook to use for recipes for the week's meals and all my main meals come out of that. It reduces the decisions. I also write in the book about recipes I do or don't like, so it makes selecting which ones to use easier. 

I use the recipes that I"ve selected to prepare the grocery list and try to limit my shopping to once per week. 

Planning ahead has really reduced the stress of figuring out meals for me.

Good luck! I hope you can find a tip or 2 on the board to help you out!