Dont know what to do any more

[StuckInARutForEternity]

Can anyone help

I have gotten into a real rut. I am now 7 stone over weight and am getting takeaways every night. I have 2 boys 11 and 14 and an OH. But I just cant bring myself to meal plan or shop for groceries. I dont know what to do any more and I know I'm killing myself but what worse is I'm damaging my families health now too.

I am busy I work from 9 to 4 and then my second job 2 or 3 nights a week from 6 to 830 so theres little time for anything.

Anyone any ideas suggestions or a magic wand?

Once you start you may well find it easier, as you get more energy. And won't it be cheaper too?
Can you take a day off to make a start?
Can you make a big pot of something that does many days ...like a stew that first has dumplings, then potatoes, then becomes a curry?

What’s your OH’s excuse?

As a short term healthier option, could you sign up for hello fresh, or something similar? It’s probably cheaper than take aways, definitely healthier and might get everyone in the swing of cooking again.

Then you could start looking for recipes to replicate favourites and meal planning that way.

He's working until 6 so doesn't be home 🤷‍♀️

You shouldn’t be meal planning alone anyway, there are four people in your household. That’s a job to do together.

Have you got a slow cooker or a pressure cooker?

I'm good at this- I'm a minimal effort cook.

Stock your freezer with easy to Cook foods- chopped onion, peppers, mushrooms, frozen peas and sweetcorn. Even garlic ginger and chilli cubes. It makes everything so much faster to prepare.

Plan your meals, so you don't need to think ahead of time.

Ideas-
dried egg noodles soaked in boiling water for a few minutes. Soften some onion, garlic, ginger, chilli in a pan. Add peas and sweetcorn. Add the noodles and some sesame oil. Gorgeous stir fried noodles in about ten minutes.

Egg fried rice- exactly the same as above, but with cooked rice and add a scrambled egg.

Jacket potato with beans and cheese. Cook the potatoes when the oven is on. Heat them up next day to eat.

I should say, depending if you are veg or not, add nuts or prawns or meat to any of the dishes.

If you have a slow cooker, you can put jacket potatoes in first thing, and they'll be ready at tea time.

Also
Quarter potatoes and onions to cover base of slow cooker. Put a whole chicken on top. Sprinkle and oxo or something on the chicken. Leave to cook all day.

Definitely get pre-prepared freezer veg. It makes bothering to cook so much easier because there's hardly any clean up.

You need to focus on one pot, minimal effort meals. Stews can go in the oven or slow cooker and all the ingredients can be bought ready chopped, so you just throw it all in with some stock. You can do a tonne and use it as a stew, pie filling (ready roll pastry or pre-frozen mash topping), on baked potatoes, or with pasta.

Sausages and mash with peas is very low effort when you get frozen mash.

Even pre-made family size lasagne with a pre-made salad is really easy and much better for you than a take away.

Once you start, you'll find it much easier to keep going. Focus on starting with one meal a week, and slowly increase it.

Thank you everyone

We've just started sitting together and meal planning on a sat morning then the week is so much smoother. No brain needed just check the sheet every day.

Always batch cook so there's 2 meals a week that are based in freezer harvest.

2 easy nights eg oven fish / chips / peas and then pizza movie night on a Sat if we're in.

Building a repertoire of meals that use shortcuts and / or a lot of the same ingredients eg the perfect curry / stir fry / casserole / pasta sauces etc.

Then take photos of each meal plan so you can use them for inspiration after a few weeks when you've fallen back into bad habits!

I'm the same. Always something holding me back although I love my instant pot. I'm going to start dc eating once or twice a week at school canteen then they can have a packed lunch for tea. Those nights I'll have more healthy -omelette/soup/salad/chicken & veg

I agree about using the slow cooker. And also that you'll have more energy once you eat healthier.

I remembered I needed to cook some chicken thighs tonight so blitzed up tandoori powder, garlic chillis bit of salt some olive oil and few dried chillis. Took a minute then spread over thighs and baked. Dh and I just tried one it was delicious. Low fat too. I made a mint yogurt with a bit of mint sauce and splash of milk in Greek yogurt.

There's so many easy dishes to do. Once you get into it you'll enjoy it.

I made vegetarian bolognese today too and have enough left to freeze. Easier that I'm off work today .

If you do all that, how are you having tKeWay every night?

Soups are good for weight loss and easy/quick.

Work out a plan of a dozen simple meals and just keep cooking those over a fortnight. Rinse and repeat. Simplifies shopping as well.

Cook enough for 2 meals if possible. Or cook 2 lots of something that can be incorporated in another meal a day or two later, e.g. Bolognese becomes lasagne, roast chicken becomes chicken curry, fish becomes fishpie.

Every now and again incorporate a new dish so it doesn't get boring.

Definitely agree with the slow cooker! Iceland or farm foods for frozen prepped veg to make it even easier for you.

Slow cooker, but make it a family responsibility.
Mine were cooking 1 night a week at that age. Simple recipes that I did with them initially until they were confident. Then they were responsible.
Meal planning each week and shopping on my day off.
Folder with meal plans Monday to Thursday on the kitchen counter, so whoever got in first knew what to cook.
Recipes in the folder for the week as well. I saved a lot of money that way.
DD1 used to do lamb chops sprinkled with a packet of French onion soup, pillowed in foil so baked in own juices, at 160 C for an hour. Did this with baked potatoes and a bag of salad.
DD2 spag bol with store bought sauce, chopped basil and 1/2 cup red wine. Grated zucchini and carrots added to sauce, served with garlic bread. Not as healthy but still easy to do.

Sorry, any slow cooker recipes put together the night before, the last to leave put from fridge into slow cooker and turned on low as they left.

You can pre-prepare the stuff to go in the slow cooker too, put all the ingredients in a zip lock bag, then freeze, and just remove from freezer when you want to cook.

Cereal for quick meals

Your husband may not be home in time to cook, but there's no reason why he couldn't take over the menu planning part if you are struggling with it. That can be fitted in any time. Perhaps he could take on the food shop/online order too?

I do the menu planning on our house because I'm good at it and (to a certain extent) enjoy it. Whoever is able to then cooks off the plan.

What I do - it isn't perfect but keeps it going and we can have home cooked meals most of the time and get lots of veg.

On Sunday cook a roast using aunt bessies, prepared veg, bisto and a prepared just cook meat.
I prep a slow cooker meal for after work Monday, enough to freeze some - ravine, Spanish chicken, stew etc
Tuesday - one of my prepared meals from the freezer
Wednesday I work from home so make something like risotto, curry, stew and freeze some
Thursday - one of my prepared meals from freezer
Friday - fajitas, stir fry or freezer fish, chips and peas
Saturday - Sainsbury's TA bundle meal with extra veg.

• tagine not ravine 🤦🏼‍♀️

Surely the entire of your second wage is being spent on the takeaways? That just makes no sense!

Sunday: Roast chicken (save some chicken and stuffing for the next day.

Monday: chicken and stuffing baguettes with oven chips/wedges

Tuesday: pasta bake/lasagne with salad and garlic bread (15 mins to prepare either at the weekend/day before then just needs putting in the oven)

Wednesday: slow cooker jacket potatoes. Everyone can assemble their own with cheese, beans, tuna etc. and salad

Thursday: Slow cooker curry/casserole/pulled pork.

Friday: Pizza.

Saturday: Fakeaway meal from Pinch of Nom

Order your shopping to be delivered and meal plan. Set a cooking rota. There is no reason the kids can't do the pizza night, jacket potato and the baguette night to start with then split the rest between you and DH.