separating the shopping from the cooking

[geeksdoitbetter]

one of the things i often forget is that after a successful shopping run, i'm usually too tired to actually cook anything i'd bought

in my head, it seems so possible and normal to sweep by the grocery after work and then come home to make a delicious meal

but, in my reality, it hardly ever works out

i'm trying to be more gentle with myself and letting the shopping day be separate from the cooking day

Comments

[jumpuphigh]

Oh, yes. So much this! I've really started buying more frozen things so that shopping and cooking can be separate. Also, making large meals in the slow cooker and then freezing servings in mason jars for later seems to be working pretty well for me.

[geeksdoitbetter]

frozen things!

i don't know where i got the idea, but i've always opted for canned over frozen veg

i really want to change this, as frozen veg is so much easier to open and add to a meal in progress

and! the package amounts don't matter as much, coz i can just put a hand fulof frozen corn in my stew and continue freezing the rest. where as perhaps a whole can might be too much

mebbe i'll specifically write "frozen corn" on my next shopping list

[jumpuphigh]

Yep. As someone cooking for one, the flexibility of being able to use just a handful of frozen is fantastic. Also, frozen apparently has more nutrition than canned or fresh. I don't know how true that is.

[jesse_the_k]

Don't have the statistics to hand, but can testify from significant experience that frozen tastes a world better than canned.

[jumpuphigh]

Also, I just thought of this, you can get more and more things frozen that you used to only be able to find canned (or jarred). For example, I just found out that you can get artichoke hearts frozen. I LOVE artichoke hearts.

[moizissimo]

SO JEALOUS! Frozen artichoke hearts still haven't made it to where I live.

Although. I found frozen kale recently (NOM!), as well as spinach frozen in ice cube size chunks, so artichoke hearts can't be far off!

[jumpuphigh]

Oooh. Also, if you are into soups, dried legumes are fantastic. I'm currently making a split pea and potato soup in my slow cooker. Dried split peas keep forever and potatoes will keep for a while in the fridge. So, having those types of things on hand means that I can whip up a healthy meal without much work or having to go to the grocery store.

[0jack]

I really relate to this. The way I usually shop, I try and grab at least two fast/easy/good meals that will save me time while I process and prepare other foods that night and the next day. I try and portion out the work over a few days. A rotisserie chicken or a chunk of ham can be good investments that way. It is really hard and good for you for being gentle with yourself. You will benefit in the long run.

Sometimes, I end up doing two shoppings—one for necessities and one for prep/cooking. It can help to separate it out like that, to make sure I have the bare minimums (pasta, sauce, frozen veg, canned soup, crackers) and then when I have time and energy, I plot something bigger and go after it. Those days are kind of my "hunter" days. I decide what I'm going after, stalk my prey, drag it home, and process it in my lair.

[geeksdoitbetter]

i think part of it is, i grew up with these immense multi hour once a month grocery trips

and, going more than once a week makes me feel all weird and profligate

i want to be a hunter!

[0jack]

It is REALLY hard to break from what you're used to doing. It's been 20 years of me running my own household and I still feel guilty that I can't spend a month on canning and freezing every fall, that kind of thing. Framing things in terms of efficiency helps me sometimes. I have to be as efficient as possible—pushing myself is ultimately inefficient. I've noticed that I get more done, in the end, when I work within my capacity and nourish myself well.

If you have storage/freezer space, there's another thing I do, and that is that different staples that require prep have a different week of the month. For example, I try to only buy and cook/freeze ground meat (for tacos, pasta, cottage pie, etc) once a month. Another week, I might buy chicken on sale or a pork shoulder. Once I get this set up, I have lots of variety all week long, but I'm only wrestling with one thing at a time. Once I had that going, I started doing the same thing with pre-cooking and freezing rice, mashed potatoes, corn bread, banana bread, cookies, pasta, and more. Not huge portions, often just some for now and some for one other meal.

One thing at a time. One thing from each family in a week. If I miss a week or two, it's no big deal, I just start again when I feel better. If I have a little extra energy, it's a bonus.

[geeksdoitbetter]

"hat is that different staples that require prep have a different week of the month"

~boggles~

that is brilliant!

[jumpuphigh]

pre-cooking and freezing rice
I can do this?

I pre-cook and freeze a lot of stuff. Right now, in my freezer, I have cake, cubed bread, soup, and curry. However, it's early in the winter still and I've just picked up on my slow cooker usage so in another few weeks, I'll have a few more items in the freezer as well.

[0jack]

I do it, yes. :)

I cook rice until it's just done, then spread it out on a cookie sheet to cool and dry. I often freeze it on the sheet (I put some parchment paper, wax paper, or a clean tea towel down for that) and then bag it. I heat it in the microwave or toss it straight into soup. For fried rice, I thaw it on the counter or in the fridge if I remember to take it out early enough, until it's loose grains, then I fry it up.

Pasta like penne and fusili and rotini seem to freeze best of all the pastas.

[jumpuphigh]

This is so fantastic. I usually just buy the pre-cooked bags of rice from the store but a) they are pricey and b) they have about twice what I want in a packet so I end up just not eating rice all that much even though I love rice. I am going to try this. Thank you

[0jack]

I love rice, too. I think I have six kinds in the cupboard right now if you count wild rice. No, seven!

-Uncle Ben's
-wild rice
-jasmine
-white basmati
-brown basmati
-red
-black

In case you haven't tried it, green & brown cooked lentils freeze really well, too. French lentils are my favourites. Same with many kinds of beans. The lentils and rice can be used in mujadarra (a dish with ghee or oil and caramelized onions and various spices—my teenaged daughter will cut you for a bowl of this *g*) or they can be fried up with onions and garlic, then cooked with taco seasoning and used to fill tortillas. Super tasty and cheap.

[jumpuphigh]

I've never had mujadarra. It sounds like something I need to investigate.

I love the idea of frying them up for use in tortillas. I'm going to try that. *adds lentils and tortillas to grocery list*

[amadi]

I always get something prepared or easy to microwave when I do a big shopping trip and know that I'll need to eat in the few hours afterward. (I try to shop after dinner to avoid it, but...) Frozen burritos or a salad from the salad bar, soup, something like that. It takes such a burden off. Nothing worse than getting home with bags full of groceries but nothing I have the ability to eat when I need it right then.

[jadelennox]

on shopping day, I often splurge on one precooked thing, the kind of thing that goes straight to the microwave, or some other kind of snack I can eat as soon as I come home in lieu of dinner.