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

[Anonymous]

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

Tater tot casserole is not healthy? Cut up fruits in the fridge for 3 days is not healthy? Why? Why?

[Anonymous]

Cut up the fruit for smoothies all at once and portion it out in bags and put them in the freezer.

I suspect the response by OP will be that she values fresh over frozen, but that is ignorant of how nutrition works.

[Anonymous]

Breakfast: 2-5 minutes on weekdays (cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit), sometimes up to 15-20 minutes on weekends (waffles, eggs, etc.)
Lunch: 10-20 minutes (sandwiches, salads or leftovers)
Dinner: 20-60 minutes, examples:
Pan-fried cod, roasted kale, rice, orange slices: 25 minutes
Pasta with Rao's sauce (yes, jarred- horrors), roasted broccoli and/or salad
Tikka masala: prep is probably 25 minutes, then it cooks in slow cooker, asparagus in toaster oven takes less than 10 minutes, rice: total active time 45 minutes
Homemade pizza: 15 minutes to make dough in the morning or night before, then 30 minutes night of including preparing a vegetable of some sort (sometimes frozen, or roasted broccoli)
Breakfast-for-dinner takes 15-30 minutes (some combo of fruit/, eggs, frozen Van's frozen waffles, yogurt, chicken sausage or bacon)

[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.

This is insane. You are doing WAY too much unnecessary work. Cashew milk AND oatmilk, freshly made, daily? Really? Drink water or real milk. Those “milks” don’t have much nutritional benefit and they create a lot of food waste (the pulp and leftover oat meal). I would stop that. I would also stop making smoothies. Everyone is eating food all day. Why are you making 15 servings of smoothies daily? Eat an apple. Eat a handful of almonds. I also wouldn’t be cooking lunch. You are already cooking a hearty breakfast, lunch can be leftovers or individuals can prepare themselves something (a sandwich, a grain bowl from stuff in the frig, a wrap, a piece of fruit, yogurt..). Cook a normal dinner that appeals to most.

[Anonymous]

20 minutes for breakfast typically. I cook eggs every morning, oatmeal for one kiddo, sometimes pancakes.

15-20 minutes for lunch - salads, sandwiches, sometimes green smoothies.

30-60 minutes on dinner every night.

[Anonymous]

20min breakfast

0 weekday lunch. Kids eat at school (I require them to for our sanity). DH and I eat at the work café or out.

Weekend lunch 20 min

Dinner 20-60 depends on schedule and what we want to cook.

I am a crockpot queen and use leftover stews for meat pies, etc. DH and I tradeoff 50/50 picking up kids and cooking. Children clean up the dishes (as it should be).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cut up the fruit for smoothies all at once and portion it out in bags and put them in the freezer.

I suspect the response by OP will be that she values fresh over frozen, but that is ignorant of how nutrition works.

Even if nutritionally they are same, the taste and texture is vastly different between fresh and frozen veggies/fruit. Sure, if you are a prepper and want to just survive then it is not a big deal. However, if you value aroma of fresh fruit vs the fridge smell, or if you don't want to cut fruits and put it in plastic bags (yuck!), then you have to do the labor and cut whole fruits and serve them fresh.

Another thing is that if you are spending $$$ for fresh and organic produce, you don't want to ruin their freshness.

[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.

OP, it's great that you place such importance on cooking healthy meals for your family. There are lots of areas where you can cut out work/redundancies:

--3 smoothies per day seems pretty excessive. can you explain how a smoothie vs. fresh fruit adds such nutritional value that you are using and cleaning your blender 3x per day? You might find that prepping fruit salad to last 2-3 days will bring the variety and nutrition you're looking for.
--on the smoothie note, use easy-to-grab-and-eat fruits like apples and bananas for your snacks so everyone is getting those nutrients but they do not need to be prepped for smoothies, can be eaten with a serving of nuts for those who need the protein/fat
--can you make enough almond/oat milk to last a few days? why 2 varieties of nut milks for breakfast? can those who want it just eat almonds instead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:10 minutes breakfast, 15 minutes packed lunches, 30-45 minutes dinner.

My fastest dinner is broiled salmon with broiled asparagus and rice in my rice cooker. I also broil chicken thighs for a super fast protein. Plus those I can do in a foil-lined cookie sheet for quick cleanup.

I think people have different definition of what is healthy and also what is a proper meal. We all are different in terms of how we prep food, what spices we use, different cuisines, how many courses, culture, SES etc.

Some will say - fed is best! And some will value the variety, nutrition, health benefits, taste, and memories created around food. Your choice.

[Anonymous]

A lot of us here do fresh food prep everything, washing, peeling, cutting a variety of vegetables. I mean peeling and dicing garlic or ginger seems to take forever (especially when you have measly gloves). A couple of onions brings me to tears, and the skins seem to go everywhere.

But we aren't making fruit smoothies, and yeah, the blender is its own special PITA -- fruit juices/smoothies are loaded with calories, but if you have a teen athlete maybe it makes sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Tater tot casserole is not healthy? Cut up fruits in the fridge for 3 days is not healthy? Why? Why?

[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!

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.

NP here. 🤮 Ugh! No one in my family can stand pre-cut fruits or even salad veggies.

Then, those who hate them should learn to cut fruits and veggies — and do so daily!!

[Anonymous]

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

Something like this. Weekend meal prep seems to take longer (soups and stews).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This all depends on whether your family eats the same or expects five different meals like a lot of spoiled American families.

Go back to your own country if you feel that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It is disgusting that it took me so long to call troll.