Cooking: A royal pain in the ass!

[gibs0n]

Hey folks

I'm only on day 3 of my new fitness program and I'm loving the workouts etc. but the cooking is such a pain in the ass!
I have to constantly think about what I'm gong to prepare the night before, how to fit cooking in around my busy schedual and then theres the time it takes to prepare and cook it all!

Is there a way I can cut down my kitchen time? Below is my meal plan just for today, it took ages to prepare and cook last night and I was late for work thismorning finishing cooking it.

Can I use frozen mixed vegies, food substitutes or MRP's to get the macros I need with the same metabolic properties? or just something to make life easier? Having to plan 6 meals every day is hard to keep up!

Any suggestions? Thanks


Thursday 22nd Jan, 2004

Meal 1 - Breakfast, 7:30am
Food Item Quantity Calories
egg whites (Scrambled) 6 102
Egg Yolk (Scrambled) 1 75
Oatmeal 1/2 cup 129
Orange Juice 1 cup 110

Subtotals 416k

Meal 2 - Breakfast2, 10.30am
Food Item Quantity Calories
Orange Juice 1 cup 96
Chicken Breast, 4oz 1 196
Rice, Wild cooked 1/2 cup 83

Subtotals 375k

Meal 3 - PreLunch, 1.00pm

Food Item Quantity Calories
Tuna 75g 81.6
Baked Potatoe 1 220
Cauliflower 1 cup 30

Subtotals 331.6

Meal 4 - Lunch, 3:30pm

Food Item Quantity Calories
Whole wheat bread 2 Slices 160
Lettuce 1/2 Cup 20
Tomatoe 1/4 cup 6
Cucumber 1/4 cup 4
Onion 1/4 cup 13.5
Chicken Breast, 4oz 196

Subtotals 399.5k

Meal 5 - Dinner, 6:30pm

Food Item Quantity Calories
Sirloin Steak 5oz 300
Rice, Wild cooked 1/4 cup 41.5
Broccoli, boiled 3/4 cup 33

Subtotals 374.5k

Meal 6 - Post Workout, 8:30pm

Food Item Quantity Calories
Protein Shake 2 1/2 sc 113
Low fat Milk 200ml 108
Flax Seed Capsule 9
Egg, whole 1 75

Subtotals 305

Grand Totals: 2201.6k, P: 233.65g C: 212.55g F: 42.35g

 

[Avo]

spend one day a week cooking the food that you're going to eat for that week. And then seperate each meal by using tupperware. It will take a couple of hours but its worth it. And the next time you gotta eat, you won't have to spend so much time preparing it.

 

[audiophyle]

you could also substitute some of those chicken breasts with canned chicken. I used to spend hours in the kitchen every day too and I hate preparing meals in advance so I just cut down on the variety and chose foods that are quicker to prepare. carbs=oats fats=olive oil or peanut butter protein=whey,canned chicken,canned tuna. Much simpler that way but some people can't live without the variety, i personally have no problem with it.

 

[gibs0n]

Thanks for the tips,
yeah I don't mind the lack of variety either, hell for the last 3 years I've lived on a pie & susage roll, 2 pieces of fried chicken, french fries, and a wendy's hamburger nearly every day! After giving that up, I just wanna get the clean food cooked and down the trap as fast as possible!

Though I am quite keen on substituting one meal a day with meal replacement shake (apart from my daily protein shake)

What are the best (as far as quality macros etc.) inexpensive and nicest tasting ones out there?

Thanks

 

[audiophyle]

the met-rx ones are supposed to be really good although i've never tried them (too pricey). The cheapest way is to just make your own on www.proteinfactory.com

 

[SoreArms]

spend one day a week cooking the food that you're going to eat for that week. And then seperate each meal by using tupperware. It will take a couple of hours but its worth it. And the next time you gotta eat, you won't have to spend so much time preparing it.

Yup, I do the same thing. When I cook chicken breasts, I cook like 5 of them to last me a few meals. If I cook steak, I cook several servings worth. You don't want to cook to much in advance, but a few days worth is cool and I also cook a few things at once so that I have variety.

How about eating raw veggies so you don't spend time cooking? Pour some balsamic vinegar and some olive oil and they taste great. Brocolli and spinach are my fave.

I also prepare things like oatmeal with two scoop of protein, flax and ANPB and pack that up for a meal at work. A chicken breast and 1 1/2 cup of broc or spinach, easy to pack and I keep things like almonds, olive oil, balsamic, and EFA's at work so that I don't have to pack so much crap every day. Play around with stuff, you'll figure something put.

 

[Judo Tom]

bake a lot of chicken at once and save it in the fridge..

buy lunch meat and make sandwiches on whole wheat bread

use frozen veggies that are already cut up

canned chicken is great for fajitas, stir fry, quesadillas

get a foreman grill

 

[Toozee]

spend one day a week cooking the food that you're going to eat for that week. And then seperate each meal by using tupperware. It will take a couple of hours but its worth it. And the next time you gotta eat, you won't have to spend so much time preparing it.

A-men. This is what Sunday is for at my house. Plus, since I have the whole day, I can make better stuff, and not just the same old thing.
-2z-

 

[chewyxrage]

get a foreman grill

 

[PinkPanther]

I would say definitly get a foreman. I usually use my Sundays also to get all my food ready for the week. I peel/cut all my veggies and put them in zip loc bags so that they are already sorted by serving size. Then, I cook up enough meat (usually chicken) to last me through like Wednesday. Then I am only really cooking like twice a week. I pack everything in my lunch bag the night before so that in the morning, I just have to grab it and head to work...It took me a while to get a routine that worked for me, but you'll get it...