Cooking for the week routine??

[calveless wonder]

Ok...i'm terrible when it comes to organization so maybe you guys can help.

I pretty much said screw cooking (except maybe 1-2 nights a week) the past couple of months and found a place that does custom meals. All good stuff..and unlike the other crap delivery services (zone, etc) their menus and meanplans actually made for bodybuilders and fitness competitors.
however it's somewhat pricey every single week if i need to get teh cals i want...and it's a pain in the ass because i have to drive far to pick it up for the week.

So,What's your guys routine when cooking for the week?

I'm a terrible cook(actually, i'm ok if i try and follow recipes correctly) and i get bored very easily(ADHD doesnt help), i have so much random tupperware but i can never organize it correctly it seems. I can cook like a couple of pounds of meat, and it seems like it takes ages....between prepping, marinading, preheating the grill etc. and then cleaning all the crap i used...only to realize i have to cook again in 3 days. i just don't have the time for that

Half the time i realize i don't have everything i needed...although i been getting a little better with the grocery list.

any suggestions?

Chicken seems to be the easiet to cook for me....i can grill up a ton of chicken pretty quickly (as long as they're the same marinade)..but if i want to make like 5-6 different dishes for the week what's the best route????

I want to mix up a couple of different chicken dishes, some talipia, some salmon, some steak....and eggs i guess.

 

[Kabeetz]

Well you need to work on your grocery list. Once you have all your ingredients, you need to cook it. Lots of people try and do all their cooking on say Sunday night for the week ahead. If that's the case you'll need some kind of tupperware to store what you cook.

My diet is pretty boring, but I don't mind it that way. Chicken breast, lean ground turkey, extra lean ground turkey, lean ground chicken, extra lean ground beef, sometimes a lean cut of steak or angus beef, tilapia, whey protein, almonds, all natural peanut butter, olive oil, vinegar, baby spinach, frozen veggies, frozen fruits (for post workout shakes ), bananas, apples, brown rice, yams, oatmeal, all natural granola.

And then I season with: oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt (miniscule amounts), splenda, various ms. dash flavors.

I am pretty much as boring a cook as it gets but its fine by me. There are ways you can absolutely liven up your food if taste is a major issue for you.

The night before I go onto fitday.com and enter my foods into my list for the next day, and I start backwards...I know I will have my peanut butter before bed, I know I will have my post workout shake, I know I will have my pre-workout carb/protein... and then I know I will have one of the packs of meat, usually about a pound to a pound.5 so i throw that in there, and if it's too many cals I subtract a bit and freeze the remainder unless I will eat it tomorrow then I freeze something else, and then I figure out just how many carbs and fats I will need to hit my caloric goal for the day and hit my 45% protein/30%fat/25% carb macro goal and pack that many almonds/veggies and rice accordingly.

Ok...i'm terrible when it comes to organization so maybe you guys can help.

I pretty much said screw cooking (except maybe 1-2 nights a week) the past couple of months and found a place that does custom meals. All good stuff..and unlike the other crap delivery services (zone, etc) their menus and meanplans actually made for bodybuilders and fitness competitors.
however it's somewhat pricey every single week if i need to get teh cals i want...and it's a pain in the ass because i have to drive far to pick it up for the week.

So,What's your guys routine when cooking for the week?

I'm a terrible cook(actually, i'm ok if i try and follow recipes correctly) and i get bored very easily(ADHD doesnt help), i have so much random tupperware but i can never organize it correctly it seems. I can cook like a couple of pounds of meat, and it seems like it takes ages....between prepping, marinading, preheating the grill etc. and then cleaning all the crap i used...only to realize i have to cook again in 3 days. i just don't have the time for that

Half the time i realize i don't have everything i needed...although i been getting a little better with the grocery list.

any suggestions?

Chicken seems to be the easiet to cook for me....i can grill up a ton of chicken pretty quickly (as long as they're the same marinade)..but if i want to make like 5-6 different dishes for the week what's the best route????

I want to mix up a couple of different chicken dishes, some talipia, some salmon, some steak....and eggs i guess.

 

[partagus]

Use your grill for everything. Marinate chicken and then grill it up. When cooking steaks, grill on very high heat, approx. 2-3 minutes a side. I like my steak rare to medium. Remember, cook it a little less then normal because you will be reheating it.

As far as cooking fish, keep the grill fired up! Take some heaby duty tin foil, pour a little olive oil on it, add a layer of cabbage, add a layer of sweet potatos, add some broccoli, spinich, squash/zucchini, green beans, and put your fish on top. Sprinkle with your favorite low fat dressing (I use italian), add seasonings (Mrs. Dash) and seal up the foil. Cook on a 400-500 degree grill for about 15-20 minutes. Everything gets steamed to perfection. Sometimes, the cabbage gets a little burned, but it is still good. Make up a few of these (Fish, chicken, turkey whatever) and store them in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave and you're good to go. A complete healthy meal! Cook 7-10 of these using different combos of vegtables and meat, add in diffferent seasonings and dressings. This will help you have a little variety other than grilled chicken. I hope this helps. I used to own a restaurant so if you want any other recipe ideas, let me know.

 

[jenscats5]

Well I guess it's not so hard for me cuz I'm a pretty organized person + I'm on a comp. diet right now, so the variety really isn't there.....

I keep a lot of frozen veggies in the freezer as it only takes a couple of mins to dump it into a microwaveable bowl to thaw it out......I also (when I can eat it) cook about 1 cup dry brown rice on Sunday in my rice cooker.....I hard boil the weeks worth of eggs on Sunday & cook about 3-4 days of chicken, lean turkey burgers, Xtra lean ground beef or turkey & just spice it as I heat it up......or just eat it cold....

 

[calveless wonder]

thanks guys and gal...that helps

 

[jenscats5]

Oh and another thing - if you're going to pre-cook your meats & then reheat it for sure....undercook it just *ever so slightly* cuz then when you reheat it it won't be all dried out and yucky.....I do this all the time....

Just make sure you keep your undercooked & fully cooked meats separate & labeled.....

 

[Jimbo15]

Oh and another thing - if you're going to pre-cook your meats & then reheat it for sure....undercook it just *ever so slightly* cuz then when you reheat it it won't be all dried out and yucky.....I do this all the time....

Just make sure you keep your undercooked & fully cooked meats separate & labeled.....

Yup, dried out meat sucks. I usually buy a three pound bag of frozen chicken breasts, marinade some while i make chicken fajitas with the rest. then when i'm grilling the breasts i brown lean ground beef; then add in some onions, jalapenos, low sodium kidney beans, low sodium diced tomatoes, and chili seasoning for a nice lean chili. i do this every sunday and sometimes thursday, if i just double the recipe this stuff lasts all week. or i just fill meals with eggs and salads.