How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I have a HS senior, two HS juniors (2 boys & 1 girl) and DH. Here is my morning schedule looks like

Breakfast at 6;30am: take an hour
- make fresh cashews milk for five people (15 mins),
- make egg white with spinach and whole wheat toast for four people (15 minutes),
- make smoothie from fresh avocado, strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple and banana for five people (15 minutes to prepare and blend)
- make fresh oats milk for five people (10 minutes)
- clean up (10 minutes)

Lunch: Take about 65 minutes - DH WFH and kids are home school
- Homemade chicken soup - 30 minutes
- Salad - 5 minutes
- Freshly made Chicken Lasagna - 30 minutes
- (make smoothie from fresh avocado, strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple and banana for five (15 minutes to prepare and blend),
- Freshly made Almond milk for three (10 minutes),

Snack: 15 minutes
- (make smoothie from fresh avocado, strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple and banana for five (15 minutes to prepare and blend),

-Dinner: one hour
- steamed vegetable (10 minutes),
- Lobster or seafood on Pasta (40 minutes),
- fresh smoothie (15 minutes)

Rinse and repeat.

I've been doing this for the past three months and it is exhausting. Fortunately, I am already retired but still feel overwhelmed at times.

Wow, this is a lot of work! Seems unnecessary. These kids are almost adults, so they should probably start helping you out. They can certainly make their own smoothies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why on earth aren't you making your milk in bulk? And why on earth aren't your husband and children helping to cook and clean up?!

Because meals in bulk means soup, casseroles, etc. if you want fresh vegetables they have to be freshly cooked. Reheating refrigerated steamed cauliflower??? Nightmare food.

Sure kids and DH can trade off cleaning (I’m DH actually and generally clean) but there is only one sink and one dishwasher…

And when you use multiple cutting boards for meat and veggies, bowls for mixing, pans for searing and pots for steaming — it’s a lot to clean up even for a simple meal with fresh meat, vegetables, and a starch. Forget making a sauce or garnish!

+1
I agree. We do a lot of cooking and use fresh ingredients. If I want my kids and family to eat healthy, well balanced and varied meals - it means a lot more work. My kids do not like ultra processed food. We don't even buy shredded cheese for example. So there are pans, bowls, pots, gadgets and tools, cutting boards, blenders and grinders...just a whole lot of whole lot.

I have a friend, who basically uses every thing frozen, boxed, canned or from a jar. After she finishes cooking, there is a whole pile of cans in the sink. I usually have a huge bucket of veggi peels, fruit peels, egg shells, shrimp shells, trimmed fat from meats etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why on earth aren't you making your milk in bulk? And why on earth aren't your husband and children helping to cook and clean up?!

Because meals in bulk means soup, casseroles, etc. if you want fresh vegetables they have to be freshly cooked. Reheating refrigerated steamed cauliflower??? Nightmare food.

Sure kids and DH can trade off cleaning (I’m DH actually and generally clean) but there is only one sink and one dishwasher…

And when you use multiple cutting boards for meat and veggies, bowls for mixing, pans for searing and pots for steaming — it’s a lot to clean up even for a simple meal with fresh meat, vegetables, and a starch. Forget making a sauce or garnish!

I just asked about MILK. You can make enough MILK for two days and store it in the refrigerator. You can chop up fruit for three or so days, all at once.

Yeah some poster has posted twice with the word MILK rather than MEAL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why on earth aren't you making your milk in bulk? And why on earth aren't your husband and children helping to cook and clean up?!

Because meals in bulk means soup, casseroles, etc. if you want fresh vegetables they have to be freshly cooked. Reheating refrigerated steamed cauliflower??? Nightmare food.

Sure kids and DH can trade off cleaning (I’m DH actually and generally clean) but there is only one sink and one dishwasher…

And when you use multiple cutting boards for meat and veggies, bowls for mixing, pans for searing and pots for steaming — it’s a lot to clean up even for a simple meal with fresh meat, vegetables, and a starch. Forget making a sauce or garnish!

But she is making soup and casserole (lasagna) for lunch. She could have made enough for a week and fridge/freeze some.

Breakfast is 15 min. Includes fried eggs, yogurt and avocado toast.
We pack lunches but its easy (tuna salad with veggies/crackers or a bagel or hummus with vegetables)
Dinner takes me 30-45 min. I made stuffed peppers today. Same amount of effort for 6 or 10 peppers (turkey, rice, tomato and mirepoix sauce) and a green salad for dinner.
We do a lot of roasted fish or chicken thighs with salad and bread or rice. I marinade chicken in the am.
We don't make any specialty milk or smoothies at my house.

Stuffed peppers. Don’t you need to cook rice first? Did you buy ground turkey or something — don’t you brown it?

45 min is almost an hour, so you are hardly whipping things out.

Green salad — do you just tear open a bag and toss in tomatos?

[Anonymous]

20 minutes to make breakfast and pack lunches. 60ish minutes on dinner. 1-2 hours on the weekends meal planning and grocery shopping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I have a HS senior, two HS juniors (2 boys & 1 girl) and DH. Here is my morning schedule looks like

Breakfast at 6;30am: take an hour
- make fresh cashews milk for five people (15 mins),
- make egg white with spinach and whole wheat toast for four people (15 minutes),
- make smoothie from fresh avocado, strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple and banana for five people (15 minutes to prepare and blend)
- make fresh oats milk for five people (10 minutes)
- clean up (10 minutes)

Lunch: Take about 65 minutes - DH WFH and kids are home school
- Homemade chicken soup - 30 minutes
- Salad - 5 minutes
- Freshly made Chicken Lasagna - 30 minutes
- (make smoothie from fresh avocado, strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple and banana for five (15 minutes to prepare and blend),
- Freshly made Almond milk for three (10 minutes),

Snack: 15 minutes
- (make smoothie from fresh avocado, strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple and banana for five (15 minutes to prepare and blend),

-Dinner: one hour
- steamed vegetable (10 minutes),
- Lobster or seafood on Pasta (40 minutes),
- fresh smoothie (15 minutes)

Rinse and repeat.

I've been doing this for the past three months and it is exhausting. Fortunately, I am already retired but still feel overwhelmed at times.

WTF. Why are you making so many different things per meal? Why would you do salmon cakes, tofu, and steak for dinner? Why so many smoothies? Why do you make 2 special drinks per meal? Chicken soup and “Chicken lasagna” whatever that is. It makes no sense.

We have some in our family that are vegetarian, regular, or pescatarian. So you can’t make one meal that everyone will eat. It’s common for kids to have strong preference differ from parents. Not everyone has pasta and spaghetti sauce every night.

It’s hilarious that you go from “special individual meals for all” to “you must just eat canned food or pasta from a jar.”

I make one delicious, healthy, balanced meal each night. If someone wants something different they can make it themselves. Your kids are in high school! My 13 yo can cook most of the foods you listed, it isn’t hard.

Your family is drinking way too many calories, BTW. Not healthy, even if the ingredients are healthy.

You are inventing a problem and enjoying being a martyr. I love to cook elaborate meals, but I confine it to weekends when I don’t work.

And “salmon patties” are gross, low class food. Disgusting.

[Anonymous]

I stopped reading at “fresh cashew milk” 😂

Have fun with that OP.

[Anonymous]

Family of four, but cooking for one more shouldn’t take longer unless you are making something fussy that has to be cooked one serving at a time or highly customized. DS has issues with dairy so I sometimes make him a separate dish if the rest of us are craving something cheesy.

I think lunch and dinner take 30 min or so unless it’s a special meal. We are very good at repurposing leftovers even if we don’t meal prep as often as we do.

Weekend breakfast is anywhere from 15 min to an hour depending on what I feel like making.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why on earth aren't you making your milk in bulk? And why on earth aren't your husband and children helping to cook and clean up?!

Because meals in bulk means soup, casseroles, etc. if you want fresh vegetables they have to be freshly cooked. Reheating refrigerated steamed cauliflower??? Nightmare food.

Sure kids and DH can trade off cleaning (I’m DH actually and generally clean) but there is only one sink and one dishwasher…

And when you use multiple cutting boards for meat and veggies, bowls for mixing, pans for searing and pots for steaming — it’s a lot to clean up even for a simple meal with fresh meat, vegetables, and a starch. Forget making a sauce or garnish!

+1
I agree. We do a lot of cooking and use fresh ingredients. If I want my kids and family to eat healthy, well balanced and varied meals - it means a lot more work. My kids do not like ultra processed food. We don't even buy shredded cheese for example. So there are pans, bowls, pots, gadgets and tools, cutting boards, blenders and grinders...just a whole lot of whole lot.

I have a friend, who basically uses every thing frozen, boxed, canned or from a jar. After she finishes cooking, there is a whole pile of cans in the sink. I usually have a huge bucket of veggi peels, fruit peels, egg shells, shrimp shells, trimmed fat from meats etc.

So is mine, which is why I have chickens who turn my delicious scraps into healthy eggs. But weeknights I can still produce a meal in under an hour. I don’t cook lunches and breakfast is quick most days. Weekends I do more for breakfast and my kids still make their own lunch. They are 13 and 9. Why aren’t these teens cooking some?

Be smart about pans too. Dutch ovens rule, I have a few. Sear, sauté, roast, then make the sauce in the same pan while the meat rests. Cook smarter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I have a HS senior, two HS juniors (2 boys & 1 girl) and DH. Here is my morning schedule looks like

Breakfast at 6;30am: take an hour
- make fresh cashews milk for five people (15 mins),
- make egg white with spinach and whole wheat toast for four people (15 minutes),
- make smoothie from fresh avocado, strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple and banana for five people (15 minutes to prepare and blend)
- make fresh oats milk for five people (10 minutes)
- clean up (10 minutes)

Lunch: Take about 65 minutes - DH WFH and kids are home school
- Homemade chicken soup - 30 minutes
- Salad - 5 minutes
- Freshly made Chicken Lasagna - 30 minutes
- (make smoothie from fresh avocado, strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple and banana for five (15 minutes to prepare and blend),
- Freshly made Almond milk for three (10 minutes),

Snack: 15 minutes
- (make smoothie from fresh avocado, strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple and banana for five (15 minutes to prepare and blend),

-Dinner: one hour
- steamed vegetable (10 minutes),
- Lobster or seafood on Pasta (40 minutes),
- fresh smoothie (15 minutes)

Rinse and repeat.

I've been doing this for the past three months and it is exhausting. Fortunately, I am already retired but still feel overwhelmed at times.

WTF. Why are you making so many different things per meal? Why would you do salmon cakes, tofu, and steak for dinner? Why so many smoothies? Why do you make 2 special drinks per meal? Chicken soup and “Chicken lasagna” whatever that is. It makes no sense.

We have some in our family that are vegetarian, regular, or pescatarian. So you can’t make one meal that everyone will eat. It’s common for kids to have strong preference differ from parents. Not everyone has pasta and spaghetti sauce every night.

It’s hilarious that you go from “special individual meals for all” to “you must just eat canned food or pasta from a jar.”

I make one delicious, healthy, balanced meal each night. If someone wants something different they can make it themselves. Your kids are in high school! My 13 yo can cook most of the foods you listed, it isn’t hard.

Your family is drinking way too many calories, BTW. Not healthy, even if the ingredients are healthy.

You are inventing a problem and enjoying being a martyr. I love to cook elaborate meals, but I confine it to weekends when I don’t work.

And “salmon patties” are gross, low class food. Disgusting.

My 13 old cooks too but is way less efficient and messier than adult. Don’t pretend that makes life easier — and they usually have homework unless adults who will be cleaning up.

Salmon patties are actually using up some canned salmon from a trip, but calling other food “gross”, are you 11??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. I have a HS senior, two HS juniors (2 boys & 1 girl) and DH. Here is my morning schedule looks like

Breakfast at 6;30am: take an hour
- make fresh cashews milk for five people (15 mins),
- make egg white with spinach and whole wheat toast for four people (15 minutes),
- make smoothie from fresh avocado, strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple and banana for five people (15 minutes to prepare and blend)
- make fresh oats milk for five people (10 minutes)
- clean up (10 minutes)

Lunch: Take about 65 minutes - DH WFH and kids are home school
- Homemade chicken soup - 30 minutes
- Salad - 5 minutes
- Freshly made Chicken Lasagna - 30 minutes
- (make smoothie from fresh avocado, strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple and banana for five (15 minutes to prepare and blend),
- Freshly made Almond milk for three (10 minutes),

Snack: 15 minutes
- (make smoothie from fresh avocado, strawberries, blueberries, mango, apple and banana for five (15 minutes to prepare and blend),

-Dinner: one hour
- steamed vegetable (10 minutes),
- Lobster or seafood on Pasta (40 minutes),
- fresh smoothie (15 minutes)

Rinse and repeat.

I've been doing this for the past three months and it is exhausting. Fortunately, I am already retired but still feel overwhelmed at times.

WTF. Why are you making so many different things per meal? Why would you do salmon cakes, tofu, and steak for dinner? Why so many smoothies? Why do you make 2 special drinks per meal? Chicken soup and “Chicken lasagna” whatever that is. It makes no sense.

We have some in our family that are vegetarian, regular, or pescatarian. So you can’t make one meal that everyone will eat. It’s common for kids to have strong preference differ from parents. Not everyone has pasta and spaghetti sauce every night.

It’s hilarious that you go from “special individual meals for all” to “you must just eat canned food or pasta from a jar.”

I make one delicious, healthy, balanced meal each night. If someone wants something different they can make it themselves. Your kids are in high school! My 13 yo can cook most of the foods you listed, it isn’t hard.

Your family is drinking way too many calories, BTW. Not healthy, even if the ingredients are healthy.

You are inventing a problem and enjoying being a martyr. I love to cook elaborate meals, but I confine it to weekends when I don’t work.

And “salmon patties” are gross, low class food. Disgusting.

Yeah NYT is epitome of low class

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023040-salmon-croquettes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why on earth aren't you making your milk in bulk? And why on earth aren't your husband and children helping to cook and clean up?!

Because meals in bulk means soup, casseroles, etc. if you want fresh vegetables they have to be freshly cooked. Reheating refrigerated steamed cauliflower??? Nightmare food.

Sure kids and DH can trade off cleaning (I’m DH actually and generally clean) but there is only one sink and one dishwasher…

And when you use multiple cutting boards for meat and veggies, bowls for mixing, pans for searing and pots for steaming — it’s a lot to clean up even for a simple meal with fresh meat, vegetables, and a starch. Forget making a sauce or garnish!

+1
I agree. We do a lot of cooking and use fresh ingredients. If I want my kids and family to eat healthy, well balanced and varied meals - it means a lot more work. My kids do not like ultra processed food. We don't even buy shredded cheese for example. So there are pans, bowls, pots, gadgets and tools, cutting boards, blenders and grinders...just a whole lot of whole lot.

I have a friend, who basically uses every thing frozen, boxed, canned or from a jar. After she finishes cooking, there is a whole pile of cans in the sink. I usually have a huge bucket of veggi peels, fruit peels, egg shells, shrimp shells, trimmed fat from meats etc.

So is mine, which is why I have chickens who turn my delicious scraps into healthy eggs. But weeknights I can still produce a meal in under an hour. I don’t cook lunches and breakfast is quick most days. Weekends I do more for breakfast and my kids still make their own lunch. They are 13 and 9. Why aren’t these teens cooking some?

Be smart about pans too. Dutch ovens rule, I have a few. Sear, sauté, roast, then make the sauce in the same pan while the meat rests. Cook smarter.

Nah. I come from a culture that is known for its wonderful cuisine. My family cannot eat like y'all do. Also, I cater to my kids preferences. Why? Because I value that they like the food that they eat and that they eat healthy food. I am not raising Duggar children.

[Anonymous]

I’m starting to hate the word “healthy” in this context because it’s meaningless.

[Anonymous]

It feels like if I’m not at work, I’m in the kitchen or at the grocery store. It’s exhausting and annoying. I have started trying to get most of my shopping and some meal prep done on the weekends and it does help. But I still spend way too much time in the kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why on earth aren't you making your milk in bulk? And why on earth aren't your husband and children helping to cook and clean up?!

Because meals in bulk means soup, casseroles, etc. if you want fresh vegetables they have to be freshly cooked. Reheating refrigerated steamed cauliflower??? Nightmare food.

Sure kids and DH can trade off cleaning (I’m DH actually and generally clean) but there is only one sink and one dishwasher…

And when you use multiple cutting boards for meat and veggies, bowls for mixing, pans for searing and pots for steaming — it’s a lot to clean up even for a simple meal with fresh meat, vegetables, and a starch. Forget making a sauce or garnish!

+1
I agree. We do a lot of cooking and use fresh ingredients. If I want my kids and family to eat healthy, well balanced and varied meals - it means a lot more work. My kids do not like ultra processed food. We don't even buy shredded cheese for example. So there are pans, bowls, pots, gadgets and tools, cutting boards, blenders and grinders...just a whole lot of whole lot.

I have a friend, who basically uses every thing frozen, boxed, canned or from a jar. After she finishes cooking, there is a whole pile of cans in the sink. I usually have a huge bucket of veggi peels, fruit peels, egg shells, shrimp shells, trimmed fat from meats etc.

So is mine, which is why I have chickens who turn my delicious scraps into healthy eggs. But weeknights I can still produce a meal in under an hour. I don’t cook lunches and breakfast is quick most days. Weekends I do more for breakfast and my kids still make their own lunch. They are 13 and 9. Why aren’t these teens cooking some?

Be smart about pans too. Dutch ovens rule, I have a few. Sear, sauté, roast, then make the sauce in the same pan while the meat rests. Cook smarter.

You are only cooking one meal at weeknights and that takes you an hour? Ok. You are not very smart or efficient are you?

As for as your kids making their own meals? Well, not every kid is fated to be raised in a family that values great food. They will end up with no great culinary memories of their childhood. Are they from midwest BTW?