There was a time in my life where I devoted a significant portion of my day to food. If I wasn’t in the kitchen standing over the stove, then I was sitting at the computer obsessively hoarding recipes and trying to come up with new and exciting meal ideas; and when it came to actually eating those meals, I’d go about it so slowly that I could easily spend an hour with a plate by my side if given the opportunity. Food was my be-all-end-all and I wanted to spend as much time with it as I possibly could, even if that meant sacrificing various other aspects of my life in order to do so.
Obviously, this became somewhat of a problem. Not only was I causing myself a great deal of unnecessary stress by trying to force hours of meal prep into my daily schedule, but I would often isolate myself so that no one could disturb me while I ate or prepared my meals; my time with food was so precious to me that I wanted to savor every.single.moment. Obsessive much? You betcha, but that’s what you get for starving your brain and body.
Thankfully, those days are now in the past. Somewhere along the road of life, my brain became frustrated with the amount of attention that food was demanding of me and decided that it had had enough (it probably didn’t hurt that my body was no longer starving, either). Food fixation was replaced with food indifference, and my hours in the kitchen were reduced to minutes. These days, if something takes longer than 10 minutes to prepare, chances are that I won’t make it. So, today’s edition of WIAW is all about quick, but still relatively healthy, meals.
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Back when I was still able to eat oats, my favorite breakfast took me roughly 45 minutes to make. That’s not to say that I had to be in the kitchen for that entire time, but I definitely had to stick around and keep an eye on things. These days, I usually have some sort of cereal with yogurt, fruit, and almond butter so I’m in and out in about 5…
Plain Greek yogurt – banana/peach/blueberries – Kashi Cinnamon Harvest – Puffins – roasted almond butter
Lunches actually haven’t changed a whole lot. I’ve always liked to have some sort of sandwich and salad combo, and these days aren’t much different…
Whole wheat English muffin – herb and garlic cream cheese – deli chicken – random veggies
Dinners, on the other hand, are where my time in the kitchen has really been cut down. After being out of the house for the entire day, the last thing I want to do is come home and cook so I usually just opt for something quick…
Leftover Amy’s pesto pizza
That being said, I don’t really like to rely on ready-made meals too much, so I’ll devote a couple days of the week to cooking up a big batch of chili or stir fry with whatever ingredients I have in the fridge…
… and then enjoy leftovers for a few nights after that. I also love having a batch of baked chicken breasts in the fridge so that I can throw together a meal in a pinch if need be. And if all else fails, there’s always cereal, waffles, or pancakes.
As for snacks, unless I can find the motivation to bake (which I haven’t done for months prior to last weekend)…
The last slice of chocolate chip pumpkin bread
… then I usually tend to stick to simple things that are just grab and go:
While I’m generally satisfied with my no fuss, no muss approach to eating, at the same time it almost feels as though I’ve been rebelling against my prior food obsession by jumping straight to the polar opposite, and I’d ultimately like to find a more balanced place somewhere in the middle. Until that happens, though, I’ll just keep enjoying my quickies.
Happy Wednesday, loves!
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Do you like to cook? How long do you usually spend in the kitchen prepping meals?
What are some of your favorite quick meals/snacks?
I made your pumpkin bread (from the recipe in the other post about it) and it’s so delicious! You can’t even tell that it’s made with coconut oil rather than butter. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for letting me know that you made it! I’m glad you enjoyed it 😀
You have the best photographs of food. Your food posts always get me so hungry! (I’m gonna go grab a snack now 🙂 ). I totally understand what you mean when you describe how eating became too time-consuming. As fun as it can be to prep a new recipe or spend a few hours baking, over-doing it truly takes away the joy from these activities. The moment that something you normally love and find to be a stress-reliever becomes stressful, you know it’s time for a change. I’m so happy to see you pulled yourself out of habits!!
A while back I realized I was spending way to much time thinking about/planning meals and how much I absolutely hated it. Food is, and always be, a fun and important part of my life, but it is not my life. I recently realized that cooking dinner every night is kind of draining. I still love a good home cooked meal so I’ve been doing what you do and making a big ol’ batch of something on Sunday nights to have around all week for lunch or dinner. I feel so much more free!
I’m so happy to hear you have a much healthier relationship with food. I remember when I was so sick I spent SO much time in the kitchen. Weighing out all my fruits/veggies (how flipping sad!) and spending so much time just prepping food and missing out on life. It was very tough. My poor roommate must have thought I was nuts ha ha.
I do love to cook/bake though, so sometimes I’ll spend a lot of time in the kitchen. But, its not doing ridiculous things like weighing vegetables:)
Uh, yah – pretty sure that chocolate chip pumpkin bread needs to be in my life, stat!
I do like to cook, but I usually don’t have time. I’m all about the easy, fast food. I’m a pretty fast eater, too, so I don’t want to take more time cooking it than eating it!
I need that pumpkin bread in my life!
Im all about the quick food prep!! Unless Im baking (which Im going to be doing today – I bought 2 cans of pumpkin to bake your bread with!!) I don’t like spending too much time in the kitchen on myself. Now if Im making dinner for Ninja thats a different story. Ill cook all day for him. But for me? I like it quick and easy!! Which is probably why I love steamer veggie bags lol
I’ve had your chili recipe saved in my recipe folder forevah! Still haven’t made it though… #fail
Hehe I’m exactly the same way with recipes that I save.
I’m always trying to grab quick foods too! I take time on Sunday to prep things for the week because I hate cooking during the week! My favorite grab and go snacks are fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, and quest bars!
I used to have to spend so much time making sure everything on my plate looked just right. I would start over if an omelet broke, or if something didn’t turn out just right. then I would spend at least an hour eating this meal. in the end it was like 9 hours of my day devoted to meal prep and eating, WHAT A WASTE OF MY TIME! College doesnt allow that and has helped me to relax and recover even more! yay for higher education! Now I spend time making my meals (like 20 minutes) but it doesnt consume me and I dont start over if the omelet breaks! its about eating, enjoying, and moving on to the next part of my day.
I can totally relate to the stage you’re in right now – there just seems to be too much going on in my life right now for me to be worrying about what I eat 24/7 or to be spending hours and hours in the kitchen. And to be honest – I prefer it that way.
Still I do enjoy cooking and hope I’ll manage to queez in some home cooked meals in the near future as opposed to having to alwasys resort to “”grab and go” options.
Favorite on the go snack are usually yogurt/fruit, nuts and fruit, hard boilled eggs or peanut butter crackers.
Have a great week!
I think it makes sense that you went from one extreme to the other – it sounds like it was what you needed to do to truly heal your relationship with food! And I’m glad it worked for you! 🙂
I tend to spend about 15 minutes on breakfast and lunch, but I like to take longer to make dinners. It’s my time to relax and wind down!
My favourite fast snacks are an apple + almonds, cheese + crackers, crackers + hummus, homemade granola bars and Greek yogurt + granola.
I only like to bake. Cooking, not so much — unless I’m cooking for myself + others. That makes it more fun! I’m definitely a sandwich / let me reheat that type girl. haha
I’ve always enjoyed baking a lot more as well, probably because I prefer the results of my efforts more than with cooking 🙂
i can relate to this. i am working to find the balance between spending too much time and too little time in the kitchen. although i must say, i adore spending time in the kitchen on the weekends. for me, it is so rewarding to cook and also therapeutic…
Oh how much I can relate to this post! I used to be exactly the same and now I am exactly the same too! I have so much more time to do fun stuff and socialise which is what life is all about. Sure, I still enjoy food but it’s not the be all and end all in my life. My meals aren’t exciting, they’re just things that I like and fancy at the time. I just eat when I’m hungry and that’s it – simple! Get on with the other stuff. Which I guess is why I don’t post so much about food anymore because otherwise people would be like ‘yeah, this is getting boring’ 🙂 I don’t feel the pressure to create new stuff anymore because it’s just not what I want to do. I’m too busy enjoying LIFE 🙂
Oh and everytime I see your breakfast bowls I am insanely jealous by the way!! 😛
I LOVE cooking, but I rarely EVER take more than 20 minutes to make a meal…if I’m REALLY dedicating myself, I’ll go 30…but that’s only in extreme cases where I KNOW the dish is worth the time…like my recent obsession with cauliflower crust pizza! 🙂 My thing is that I never plan enough ahead to prep for a meal that takes any longer than that. Most of the time, once I realize I’m hungry, I’m only minutes away from gnawing my own arm off! Lol
I do like taking a bit of time one day during the weekend though to make up a big batch of something that can get me through a few days into the work week. Love making big pots of chili or taco meat, chicken breasts, and a good amount of roasted veggies (especially sweet potatoes…I get cravings for those mid week and have to suffer through until the weekend because I KNOW I’m not going to wait 30-45 minutes for one of those suckers to bake! And don’t even suggest the microwave…ICK!)
Over the last few days I’ve become OBSESSED with tuna melts. So much so that I’m thinking it might even be blog/recipe worthy because yesterday’s creation was downright sigh inducing! I love it because, even with the time it takes to prep, thanks to the broiler, I’m able to sit down to eat in 20 minutes or less! 😀
I’m sure I have already told you but I always look forward to reading (and commenting on) your posts…primarily because they are SO relateable! It makes me cringe to think back on how much time I used to spend trying to concoct the perfect meal (snacks included)! And you know, God forbid anyone/anything bothered me during! Like you my approach to meals has done a full 180 and is much more relaxed! As much as I love good food, I am okay if not all my meals are “omigod delcious’! I definitely value my time as much, or if not more, than the taste of my meals!
i’m definitely a 10 or less person when it comes to preparing meals. the quicker the better. i use eggs a lot especially for lunch because they cook up so quickly and i can just toss in whatever is in the fridge and voila, it becomes a scramble. And for snacks i eat a lot of fruit/bars. its just so convenient!
Reading this post made me realize that the last dinner I cooked–and by cooked I mean something requiring heat, assembled on a plate and enjoyed at a table–was made while I was at home visiting my mom this summer. Gosh, that needs to change! Since returning to DC in August, I’ve been living life in the fast lane, and unfortunately that means lots of trips to the Whole Foods salad bar/hot bar, pre-cooked chicken breasts and sweet potatoes tossed onto a salad, Amy’s tofu scrambles, cups of Greek yogurt paired with Luna bars etc. etc. On a daily basis, food is merely fuel, getting me from one place to another. Only on Fridays or weekends will I take the time to turn on the oven (I’m hoping to make banana bread Friday) or go out to dinner with friends.
I used to be MUCH different, however! Like you, I’d obsess over every meal; I’d cook elaborate dinners for my family all week; I’d spend hours figuring out new ways to “healthify” my favorite treats; I’d thumb through cookbooks at Barnes and Noble whenever I had a chance. My life was consumed by food! Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy doing these things, and I still love being part of a food-focused blog community, but food is now one small compartment of my identity, rather than my entire identity. 🙂
Hehe I was actually just thinking the other day how I can’t even remember the last time I turned on my stove. The oven I’ll use a few times a week, but the stove? Barely ever… At least we’re saving on our electrical bills, right? 😉
I love spending time in the kitchen but there are just some days where I have to eat on-the-go or I’ve been out all day and I’m starving and I can’t wait half an hour for dinner. I’ve been trying out meal prepping on the weekends when I have more time and that works out pretty well for those days I need a quick meal. But I love being able to sometimes whip up a more exciting breakfast or lunch!
I used to spend at least half of the day thinking about food and no day could pass without bookmarking at least 5 new recipes from Tastespotting. Now there is just no time for any of the things I used to do. Sometimes I miss cooking crazy meals or baking some elaborate cake but… I guess I don’t miss the obsession. When I’ve spent 14 hours in the lab the last thing I want to do the next morning is wake up even earlier than I already do and cook. I must prepare something though because I really don’t like Japanese food so I spent the whole summer eating mainly salads for lunch or some quick scramble on a good day. And chicken, of course, because it’s so much faster to cook than any other meat 😀
14 hours in the lab? Yikes! I definitely don’t blame you for not wanting to sacrifice sleep after something like that. I remember even having to get through a 3 hour lab was bad enough…
I LOVE to cook! I started cooking before my ED started, and funnily enough, throughout my 8 years or so of being locked in with the disease, I hated cooking. See, for me, cooking is a way to unwind, and it makes me feel great. So, when I had a ED, I didn’t want to feel great, so I stopped myself from cooking! I would just have cereal for breakfast, fruit and portable snacks throughout the day, and something random for lunch. Now however, I am back to loving to cook, and spend quite a lot of my time in the kitchen. It’s very meditating for me, and reminds me of being with my Grandma.
It was funny, I read one of your posts the other day saying how you feel ‘racy’ after eating oats, and I’ve been noticing that myself, but thought it was fruit. This morning I changed to cereal, and alas! The feeling is gone! Bodies are so strange…
Love this post! I’ve definitely gotten better at not letting food take over my entire evening, haha. (Although not gonna lie, it takes up a lot of my thoughts… mostly because I look forward to the next meal!)
I definitely have the problem that you used to of dedicating a little to much time to actually eating my meals, but since I’ve started school back up for the fall I have become much more efficient with meal prep. I think it’s great that you are trying to find a balance in your approach to eating without over analyzing anything. I might just have to take a cure from you and do the same. 🙂
i think the simplest things often taste the best. We over analyze and stress about food too much. Oh to be a child again and just worry about what color our milk will turn when we pour our fruit loops. hehe
Or how to pick the cookie that has the most chocolate chips…
I do enjoy cooking but I enjoy baking so much more! I generally don’t spend that much time in the kitchen prepping food unless I have to go to uni and therefore need to pack some lunch. At dinner, I usually make enough for leftovers so that I can have them for dinner later on in the week. I much prefer snacking than making meals these days 😛
My favourite snacks: Cereal, toast (when I’m at home of course), homemade nut bars, chocolate, nuts, cookies.
Oh my goodness – I totally know what you mean about dedicating the ENTIRE day to food – I basically experienced the same exact thoughts as you and I definitely engaged in the same kinds of behavior. I remember not too long ago when you mentioned that now, you “eat to live”, whereas before you geared towards more of “live to eat”. That really made an impression on me – “eating to live” is such a simple and practical concept, and now I wonder why I never really realized the brilliance of this simple approach! I’m so much more comfortable of the idea gulping down foods when I’m busy just for the sake of getting fueled so I could actually live my life (beforehand, I would make every meal a significant event). I feel so much more free!
It’s nice to rediscover old passions and hobbies when food no longer takes up such a significant portion of our days 🙂 I love a good meal, but I’d rather eat whatever and go out and enjoy my life than enjoy my meal and have to put my life on hold.
This is such a thoughtful post Amanda… and one that I am sure MANY people can relate to, especially in the blog world! I mean how can you not be obsessed with food and everything about it when you are part of this community when a major focus is on food?! What you have to do though is have a blog about such topics but then have a life outside of it. Eat and move on… move on to a life outside of the necessity of food and enjoy what it has to offer. I know I am still working on this, but it’s a work in progress 🙂 Your meals are looking most glorious as always darlin!
Eat and move on… I like it 🙂 I think a lot of food bloggers struggle with this sort of thing because there’s a lot of pressure being put on them to always be coming up with new and exciting meals. I look at my meals sometimes and think they’re so boring, but at the end of the day you just have to do what works for you.
I’m all about the quick meals! I used to take way too long on dinner, too. Now I make a bunch of black bean burgers, put them in the freezer, and then grill them on the skillet when I need a quick dinner. 5 minutes and I’m done!
So this post pretty much completely cleared up my question to you yesterday:), I hope you find that balance with food that you are looking for.
To be honest, your previous relationship with food- spending too much time thinking, obsessing, & being around food. Not liking being interupted whilst prepping or eating,( reeeaally hit the nail on the head with that part!)- is EXACTLY like I am now, hurumph. So I guess we are both still looking for that happy medium where food is concerned, & this clearly takes time. Ya see, I DO think food is important & a passion of mine, but it shouldn’t be the be all & end all.
Banana & almond butter HAS to be 1 of thee best quickie snacks!
Xxx
ALL of my meals take less than 20 min. I like to cook, but there are other things to do!
What are the odds you’re posting this when just today I was annoyed at how I spend far too much time preparing and eating food. On days when I have no classes I feel like seriously the biggest part of my day is spent cooking. I plan to experiment with how I feel whipping up faster meals and baking up a batch of muffins for snacks rather then preparing single-servings every time. Your Raisin Bran Muffins are some of my favourites, by the way.
My favourite quick meals are veggie-mishmashes thrown together and left to simmer. I do like cooking a lot – I just don’t want it to keep me from being spontaneous. That’s what needs to change.
I have a feeling that you’ll definitely enjoy the freedom 🙂 It’s nice having extra time to focus on other things and not feeling like you’re chained in the kitchen.