Anonymous
02/27/2023 19:32
Subject: How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
30-45 minutes - dinner only. Kids eat cereal for breakfast and buy lunch at school. Both parents eat lunch at work.
Anonymous
02/27/2023 19:27
Subject: How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
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.
Anonymous
02/27/2023 19:24
Subject: Re:How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
I am guessing, I spend at least 1 hour cooking or doing prep work - daily.
We mostly make North Indian food and we tend to eat very traditional (read elaborate) menu. When I make Italian, Thai, Chinese, Mexican, American meals - they are more simplified. We usually have one or two veggies, one meat dish, fresh rotis, rice, daal, yogurt dish, salad, chutneys etc when eating
I also set yogurt almost every 2 or 3 days, soak beans, wash/dry/cut/store veggies and fruits, marinate meats etc.
Other than that? I do a lot of prep cooking when mood strikes. Have been cooking for 30 years and I am better organized, but only to some extent. For most parts, my family prefers freshly cooked meals, and DH is taking over, more and more. When I am hosting a big party, I start cooking 2-3 days in advance.
We mostly make North Indian food and we tend to eat very traditional (read elaborate) menu. When I make Italian, Thai, Chinese, Mexican, American meals - they are more simplified. We usually have one or two veggies, one meat dish, fresh rotis, rice, daal, yogurt dish, salad, chutneys etc when eating
I also set yogurt almost every 2 or 3 days, soak beans, wash/dry/cut/store veggies and fruits, marinate meats etc.
Other than that? I do a lot of prep cooking when mood strikes. Have been cooking for 30 years and I am better organized, but only to some extent. For most parts, my family prefers freshly cooked meals, and DH is taking over, more and more. When I am hosting a big party, I start cooking 2-3 days in advance.
Anonymous
02/27/2023 19:04
Subject: How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
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.
Anonymous
02/27/2023 19:00
Subject: How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:1. Make milk for 3 or more days at a time
2 prep all the fruit for smoothies once a day or once every 2 days. Then its just throwing it into blender
3 chicken soup can be made enough fir 2-3 days. Same with lasagna.
What meals are good fr 3 days? For a family of five that is HUGE.
Only the grown ups are having the soup and lasagna for lunch. You cam make 2 big lasagnas for dinner and eat them Monday and Wednesday with a fresh salad.
Anonymous
02/27/2023 18:58
Subject: How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
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.
Anonymous
02/27/2023 18:57
Subject: How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
Anonymous wrote:1. Make milk for 3 or more days at a time
2 prep all the fruit for smoothies once a day or once every 2 days. Then its just throwing it into blender
3 chicken soup can be made enough fir 2-3 days. Same with lasagna.
What meals are good fr 3 days? For a family of five that is HUGE.
Anonymous
02/27/2023 18:56
Subject: Re:How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
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.
Anonymous
02/27/2023 18:50
Subject: How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
1. Make milk for 3 or more days at a time
2 prep all the fruit for smoothies once a day or once every 2 days. Then its just throwing it into blender
3 chicken soup can be made enough fir 2-3 days. Same with lasagna.
2 prep all the fruit for smoothies once a day or once every 2 days. Then its just throwing it into blender
3 chicken soup can be made enough fir 2-3 days. Same with lasagna.
Anonymous
02/27/2023 18:39
Subject: Re:How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
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.
Anonymous
02/27/2023 18:29
Subject: How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
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!
Anonymous
02/27/2023 17:22
Subject: How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
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?!
Anonymous
02/27/2023 17:21
Subject: Re:How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
You cook a meal for breakfast for your family? We're more cereal and fruit people in the mornings.
Anonymous
02/27/2023 17:11
Subject: How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
Half hour a day just on milk prep and an hour a day on smoothies. I think you can significantly cut back just by making those foods in bulk/meal prep.
Anonymous
02/27/2023 16:58
Subject: Re:How much time do you spend daily on cooking healthy meals for a family of five?
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.
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.