I used to love to cook, and as time passes more and more I have become SUPER adverse to it and I have no idea why. Even the idea of say, making oatmeal on the stove or a pack of instant Ramen is too much for me. I do plan on trying to make myself do it and try to form a habit of it but for now I’ve only been buying pre made/take out food and it’s super expensive. How do yall hack this so that you buy groceries you’ll actually eat??
Some info:
I don’t have a microwave
I’m not super food restrictive
I’m a brat and only like fresh veggies (not precut or frozen), usually organic
I try to avoid preservatives but I do like chicken nuggies/tots/frozen pizzas, but I really want to try and stick to a healthier veg filled diet
An example of something that isn’t overwhelming for me to make are protein shakes: put powder, kefir, water, PB&J in a jar, shake it, drink it.
Any advice is super appreciated 🙏
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Honestly I would bet that it is a burnout thing, but it’s been a couple of years that the love of cooking has been decreasing…I guess it could still be burnout though 🫠🫠 since you’re on keto, can you give me some other ideas of what you eat? It looks like charcuterie is the best option lol but yeah, sneaking veggies in is a must
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Ooo, Cabbage to snack on sounds great. I saw a snack of cream cheese spread on red bell pepper too which is really good. You are definitely speaking my language lol. The mug cake idea sounds pretty easy to whip up too. It’s so wild, like why does that seem less labor intensive than cooking a pack of Ramen noodles?!No reason, brain just days so lol.
I sympathise. I tend to only make things that are beyond simple to make. It’s like an emotional/intellectual block. I just can’t put in the effort because I don’t feel like that effort is being paid back by the experience. 45 minutes of cooking for something I eat in 3 minutes just is not worth it.
You can circumnavigate that issue. Instead of preparing a ration, prepare several: some steps will barely increase the total preparation time, so the proportion of time spent cooking to cooked meals will change for the better. On top of that, do something else while you cook, such as listening to an audiobook or a podcast, or talking to someone. Not only it is a more efficient use of time, but it will help you take your mind off the fact that you’re doing a chore.
Totally feel that. Especially if I cook for my partner too, I’ll make a big batch of food that takes 1.5 hours and I expect there to be 4 meals for us there, buy he eats a lot more so it ends up being like, 2.5 meals and then it really feels like it was such an effort for that
Would an electric kettle help? You can boil water with it, and then pour that water over ramen noodles, seasonings like miso paste/ chili flakes/ sesame oil, and chopped veggies. Makes a decent noodle soup, and is less hassle than heating it all up on the stove.
Or a slow cooker/ pressure cooker, where you just put all the ingredients in and it cooks it into a stew, soup or sauce.
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I love kefir! Its a staple food for me since it’s so easy and healthy. I’ll make my protein shakes with it or have kefir and a banana for breakfast and it’s relatively filling
To eat more veg you can drink juices or simply eat fresh veg: just wash and eat. It will not make a meal alone but it can make one healthier.
I’ve been trying to do that more with like, Hummus or other dips. So hard.not to reach for the Crackers and chips though lol.
Weird advice but what worked for me is making it harder or gameifying it a bit. It was easier when I wasn’t working and had more time but less money. I have MCAS along for the ride with autism so I flip between what foods(and environmental triggers)I have allergic reactions to. I developed a pretty severe aversion to eating because of the puking and pooping. I needed something to make me eat more than cook.
I do fortunately have the privilege of space for good gardens and a decent little kitchen. And my autistic mum often found 6 children overwhelming so I started cooking at 7 years old.
The one that really worked the best was focusing on how far you can ‘from scratch’. Great way to learn about making sauces. Adding in the aspect of a time challenge makes you think about shortcuts and how to get to a desired flavor in a different way than the recipe calls for. Making different kinds of pasta is fun. Or wanting donuts so you learn to make donuts.
I have space for gardens and I’ve found making meals that come to me through a 3 month project(or 3 years for my thyme) is a good incentive to use the products of my labor and then actually eat the thing too. I’m not going to let 9 tomato plants go to waste and I’m going to make something delicious too. I grew my own onions, tomatoes, oregano etc and made some awesome pasta sauce that took 25 minutes, 3 days, 4 months or 2 years to make depending on how you split it.
Getting a little deeper into the process also adds in a data collection and manipulation layer than can tweak my brain in a fun way. Kitchen scale, precise temps, durations, shopping lists, costs etc etc.
I don’t have any specific recipes for you but what I can say is to make food prepration as easy as possible. Reduce the number of steps needed, prep ingredients ahead of time or simplify recipes. Do keep in mind that it is better to eat something unhealthy than eat nothing at all. You need to get that energy from somewhere, after all.
I keep it simple.
Example today I make grilled/BBQ pork roast, BBQ fresh veggies and premaid potato salad.
@ratboy Have you seen this? https://traumbooks.itch.io/the-sad-bastard-cookbook
Also, maybe precook your meals on sundays (or any given day) for the whole week, so you only have to go through the pain of cooking once a week and just warm it in the oven later.
