Anonymous wrote:Yep 4 days a week. Occasionally 3 and then a 6 hr shift if I'm feeling burnt out that week.

You work ALOT.

Anonymous wrote:Yep 4 days a week. Occasionally 3 and then a 6 hr shift if I'm feeling burnt out that week.

That's a full time job op. Give yourself some credit! I didn't read all the pages, but hopefully you've increased the portion sizes. My brother and I were both athletes (cheerleading & soccer, football & track), and we would never order a pizza after dinner.

Yep 4 days a week. Occasionally 3 and then a 6 hr shift if I'm feeling burnt out that week.

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't take me hours to cook. The food may take a while in the oven or on the stove, but I do other things while waiting for the food to cook. Usually catch up on emails and fold clothes. I work during the day but since I work 12-15 hr shifts I only work 4 days a week

So you ONLY work 48-60 hours a week?
Hell, that's more than I ever worked in my life.

It doesn't take me hours to cook. The food may take a while in the oven or on the stove, but I do other things while waiting for the food to cook. Usually catch up on emails and fold clothes. I work during the day but since I work 12-15 hr shifts I only work 4 days a week

OP, out of curiosity are you now primarily SAH? Before you mentioned that DH cooked because you were in grad school. Are you working now with a flexible schedule? Your cook times top 1 hour most days, longer for some recipes. You've done a good job on focusing on cooking from whole foods and now have a better idea about quantity. Do you ever rely on convenience foods for some courses?

Anonymous wrote:"An entire bag of spinach" is enough for 2 people. Look at the back of the bag if you don't believe me. Those bags say 2.5 servings.

It depends on the size of the bag but really, 2lbs of pasta, 3lbs of sausage, and a bag of spinach should be enough for 6 people since 2 of them are little kids! OP was not feeding her kids enough before but she is doing fine now. Leave her alone.

Anonymous wrote:"An entire bag of spinach" is enough for 2 people. Look at the back of the bag if you don't believe me. Those bags say 2.5 servings.

+1. I use almost an entire bag for me, my husband, and a 7-year-old. Get one of the big tubs.

Anonymous wrote:Op you sound like an amazing cook! Seriously, you should write a recipe book. I wish I could come up with such creative meals. Right now I'm trying to decide whether I should make Greek salad or Caesar salad for dinner. I feel like I only know how to make 6 different things besides sandwiches or eggs. My family is bored of my cooking

Take one sweet potato. Sprinkle with granola. Add yogurt and whipped cream.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tonight we are having spinach, sausage and penne stir fry.

Sounds good. How much are you making?

Two boxes of penne and 3 packages of sausage with an entire bag of spinach.

This won't be enough. Use 3 lbs pasta and a lot more spinach. Spinach cooks down to nothing. I would use at least 4 bags. It is very healthy and a good thing for your kids to eat a lot of.

"An entire bag of spinach" is enough for 2 people. Look at the back of the bag if you don't believe me. Those bags say 2.5 servings.

Op you sound like an amazing cook! Seriously, you should write a recipe book. I wish I could come up with such creative meals. Right now I'm trying to decide whether I should make Greek salad or Caesar salad for dinner. I feel like I only know how to make 6 different things besides sandwiches or eggs. My family is bored of my cooking

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tonight we are having spinach, sausage and penne stir fry.

Sounds good. How much are you making?

Two boxes of penne and 3 packages of sausage with an entire bag of spinach.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I already addressed that "dessert" doesn't mean a lb of sugar every night. Most nights it's something slight like sweet potatoes with granola, yogurt and whipped cream. Other times it's heavier like the ice cream cake. Tonight it's probably gonna be watermelon because I found 2 at a the store yesterday and they look good. FWIW dinner tonight is salad, and nacho buffet (woohoo).

That sounds absolutely disgusting. Granola is pretty much like candy, why add the sweet potatoes?

Because I'm sure your kids have never liked something that's kind of weird. What granola is like candy. I make it from scratch, cinnamon, nutmeg, oats, and a bit of quinoa toasted in the oven.

Anonymous wrote:I already addressed that "dessert" doesn't mean a lb of sugar every night. Most nights it's something slight like sweet potatoes with granola, yogurt and whipped cream. Other times it's heavier like the ice cream cake. Tonight it's probably gonna be watermelon because I found 2 at a the store yesterday and they look good. FWIW dinner tonight is salad, and nacho buffet (woohoo).

That sounds absolutely disgusting. Granola is pretty much like candy, why add the sweet potatoes?