To be taken aback by just how much of my life is devoted to food

[CrimeaRiver]

And I'm not even a farmer!

Seriously, since becoming a SAHM I must spend hours each week:

• thinking about what to cook, trying to ensure a varied and balanced diet
• shopping for food
• bringing it home and putting it away before it melts/dries out etc
• cooking it
• washing up

Eating it only takes a few minutes! As it happens I quite like/don't mind any of it (except the first one on my list), so it not displeasing. But my goodness! Makes me wonder how tough life must have been for women of yore, who didn't even have dishwasher or online shopping etc.

Maybe I'm missing a trick somewhere. Has anyone managed to reduce the time they spend on food each week, while maintaining a healthy and balanced diet?

It's interesting because when I worked full time (and it really was full time, well over 10 hours a day), somehow I ate well but only devoted minutes before each meal to food. I ate out a lot, but was careful where I ate so maintained a healthy diet. That was also pre-DC and I was younger, so despite that I still weighed less than I do now and looked better than I do now!

I think it's one of those things where, because you have the time, the work stretches to fill it. For example, as I'm at home with one child, I can't justify buying pre-chopped vegetables for stir fry, frozen pizza for lazy nights etc. Add to that that the older I get the more mistrustful of food companies I am becoming, after each and every scandal, so want to ensure I know what I am feeding my family.... I am my own worst enemy in some respects, but I don't think it's a tall order to want to feed good, nutritious, mostly home-cooked food to my family. I'm just astonished at how much time it takes.

You're still allowed to have lazy pizza nights when you're a SAHM you know! Don't start falling into this mindset where you have to do everything in ideal fashion because you're at home. Work will definitely stretch to fill the time if you aren't careful.

What worked well for me was a big monthly online shop for staples (pasta, canned veg, butter, cheese, lentils and beans, etc.) and then a small weekly shop for fresh veg/meat/fish.

You can simplify things by trying to be a bit minimalist. A nice piece of fish and some veg takes minutes. Chicken and potatoes with mustard and herbs, you can just mix and throw in the oven to cook. Or just use bread and salad as sides all the time rather than worrying about the carb and veg portion of the meal. You don't have to have meat at every dinner, etc.

I'm not clear on what is taking so long exactly? Is it because you are thinking up different meals for everyday and then shopping and buying for the meal etc? 'Cause that would add a lot.

We eat home cooked meals the majority of the time but they are quite repetitve, spag bol, chilli con carne, roast chicken, chicken stir fry, pork meat balls, fish occasionally, steak the odd time, roast beef the odd time.

It is a bit dull but it does take a lot of thinking out of the equation.

I agree op but it's also about balance.

I'm a sahm but I don't think that means I need to be a slave to food.

Dh pulls his weight and helps with shops/cooks when he's off.

I have 'cheat' meals a couple of nights e.g. fish fingers or oven pizza. It won't kill the kids, especially if they're active. I quite often have a big bowl of chopped veg with the pizza and they'll fill up on that as well.

A meal that does two nights e.g chilli is a god send. Also some Fridays if I'm tired, I just give them a boiled egg and toasts soldiers with some chopped veg. They love it! Ds who is 8 and needs more filling up, will have some supper before bed. But this is a perfectly fine meal for my wee girl.

YANBU at all! I went on lighter life a couple of years ago where you only have food replacement packs and my goodness I had sooooo much more time and brain space! I'm a firm believer that the human brain only has so much capacity and soooo much of that is taken up by planning/buying/making food. Exhausting!

I became totally lazy with it so we've all lived off crap for months.

Slowly starting to bring more balance in. But it's annoying. I don't see why we need to eat so often. Useless humans! Surely we should have evolved to only need to eat once a day by now.

I think eating less generally is a good idea to reduce the time spent on preparing food. Also calorie restriction leads to longer life expectancy

It does not. Not unless you're eating too many calories to begin with.

I eat very healthy, size 8 and feel like too much of my time is spent preparing food

Not related to those who eat too many calories

YANBU, between fussy children, a fussier husband and rising food prices I spend too much time planning and thinking about meals.
I have cut it down to fish twice a week (expensive but quick after swimming classes and clubs), pizza on a Friday, and things that might last the children and I a couple of meals since DH works away. I do a shepherds pie topped with a sweet potato, carrot and swede mash. It's served one night in a giant yorkshire pudding with gravy and the next with a salad.

God yes I seem to spend my entire life chopping onions! I'm so with you on this OP.

One word. Food processor. This has revolutionised cooking for me - I was getting so annoyed of chopping onions. Now it's a quick shop in half, peel, chuck in the chopper or slicer. Done.

Tbh I the constant thinking of varied and interesting healthy food which everyone likes is quite a big undertaking! I don't even have a family to feed, just DP and we don't even eat at home loads and I still find that tricky!

I reckon the way forward is to have a couple of 'easy' nights eg those nice filled pasta packs plus sauce plus salad, stir fry, pizza. Basically anything that requires zero chopping and no thinking about what to have with it.

I find the key is being SUPER ORGANISED!

I meal plan (lunches and dinners) on a Thursday night and then shop for it all on a Friday.

I try to make the cooking lend itself to a few things at a time.

This week we have/are had/having:

Fri -
Dinner - Spanish chicken bake (cooked 2 extra chicken breasts in it for tomorrows lunch)

Sat -
Lunch - Leftover chicken salad sandwiches
Dinner - Chicken Fajitas

Sun -
Lunch - Out
Dinner - BBQ brisket of beef with baked potatoes and corn on the cob (will then do Mon dinner and Tue lunch) (also made Cottage pie with leftovers for Wed). Pavlova and cream.

Mon -
Lunch - Roasted veg, feta, chickpea, couscous and rocket salad (make enough for 2 lunches plus roasted extra tomatoes and peppers for tomorrows lunch and dinner)
Dinner - Chilli and garlic beef stirfry (using leftover brisket and corn)

Tue -
Lunch - Sandwiches (Brisket, roast tomato and cheese)
Dinner - Chorizo pasta bake with roast pepper salad.

Wed -
Lunch - Same as Monday
Dinner - Cottage Pie (take out of freezer in the morning)

Thurs -
Lunch - Minestrone soup (frozen from a double batch made last week)
Dinner - Spatchcock cajun chicken, paprika wedges and green beans (prepared and marinating overnight).

Fri -
Lunch - leftover Cajun chicken salad in a pitta.

I work Tue, Wed and Thurs so try to have dinner pre prepared on those nights or under 30min. Lunches need to be leftovers or prepared the night before.
Midweek puddings are either berries, yogurt or ice cream and not all the time.
I pick up more fruit, bread and milk once during the week.

I have got so into the way of it I did this when I was a SAHM too.

I totally hear you :) I have recently become a SAHM after going on mat leave with DC3 (now aged 1).

Before she turned 1 I had sterilising and making up bottles to add to the list but it's as follows:

Wake up - bottle for DD, tea/coffee for DH & I (DH does this one job!)
Shower, go downstairs - make brekkie for all 3 kids (and myself if I can be bothered), still have to physically spoon feed baby some of hers, prepare packed lunch and fruit snacks for DCs 1 & 2. Clear up.
Do school run, washing and morning jobs - get a morning snack for baby and either take it where we are going or eat it at home (and clear up!)
Play or whatever - get lunch for baby and I. Usually we eat different food as I have a spicy noodles. Feed baby. Clear up.
Give baby a bottle then put her to bed. Usually start thinking about dinner (de-frosting and cooking some in advance or whatever).

Do school run then empty and wash up packed lunch boxes, water bottles etc. Serve up an afternoon snack to all 3 DC then clear it up.
Sit with DC for a while, then finish cooking and start serving up their dinner. Clear up.

Put DC to bed (another bottle for baby) and serve up dinner for DH & I. Clear up. Take 2 bottles of milk upstairs in small cool bag for baby to have during the night/first thing in the morning.

And that's not to mention the bloody shopping - I do internet shopping 50% of the time but you still have to sit down and do it, then unpack and put it away when it arrives. Also the additional baking/cooking I do for lunchboxes and snacks e.g. quiche, biscuits, cakes, - probably 2 x per week.

I do think it's more time consuming as a SAHM. Even working P/T I did cut out a lot of the hassles (the days I worked there were no lunches or snacks at home, 2 days per week my DC ate their evening meal at the childminders so it cut that out) and I was probably out more on my days at home so I might grab something out for DC and/or I. And it is obviously easier the older they get. My older DC don't make so much mess, can do the basics of getting their meals together and clearing up.

Just to throw another idea in the mix. I've recently started getting a veg box delivered. One of the things I like about it is it takes away the endless choice/coming up with ideas. Now, I know I need to cook something with spring greens/carrots/courgettes to use them up. Sometimes it's thinking of the ideas that take up the time!