low energy, low effort cooking: the saga begins!

I have this problem.  I don’t like to cook, and lately I haven’t been doing a lot of it.

This past week, for example, I’ve only cooked dinner a few times.  Most of the time we pick up food, order food, or go somewhere to eat.  This works in Berlin because eating out here is cheap, however I miss the joy of the home cooked meal and as someone who is quite overweight, I know that this shortage of home cooking is probably the main reason why I’ve gained weight (and struggle to lose it). 

While I lost 15 pounds or so when I was on Xyrem, in the three and a half years since I stopped taking it I have gained it all back plus 40 pounds.

I know that being overweight certainly isn’t helping my energy levels: I have mild sleep apnea and being overweight exaggerates it.  I also know that being overweight or obese effects one’s energy levels in general and as a Narcoleptic I would expect that this would effect me even more than it would someone without Narcolepsy, as I already have less energy than a PWN.  Clearly, I have plenty of reason to be cooking dinner every night.

The answer is simple, right?  Just get in the kitchen and cook a healthy dinner every night, right?

Except if it was that easy, I don’t think I would be struggling with this problem, not to mention writing a blog post about it. :-)

Why is it not that easy?  Well, here are a few reasons why cooking dinner every night is such a challenge for me – and why I haven’t been doing it enough.

1. First, the time one normally makes dinner at (say, somewhere around 6 pm) is not a time when I have a lot of energy – and most of the recipes I would like to cook (even the “quick” ones) take significant energy, not to mention time.
2. I think this is mainly me with a little Narcolepsy thrown in, but I’m not a master chef and I am SLOW when it comes to cooking.  Those 15 minute recipes?  Yeah, they take me double, triple, even four times that to make.  Part of it is the time of day – after a full day I’m likely beat and a bit tired.  Part of it is I tend to just start the recipe instead of planning it first and thus run in to problems (OH, it has to sit for an hour!).  And part of it is I’m not an expert multi-tasker and most recipes assume you’re doing a million things at once (thus it takes me more time sometimes).  And then there is the clean kitchen thing – do I need to wash something to cook this?  When I do make dinner, it generally takes me waaay longer than it should, which is really frustrating and leaves me not wanting to cook again, not to mention exhausted.  Most days I just have trouble getting myself to spend an hour in the kitchen.  It doesn’t help that (like I said before), Berlin is a cheap city and it doesn’t cost much more to eat out at a casual place than it does to cook.  Which doesn’t help me drag myself into the kitchen every night.
3. Is it just me, or do most “quick and easy” recipes or “15 minute meals” recipes take way longer than 15 minutes? (even if you don’t have most of my problems with cooking from reason 2)  Rachel Ray can do it in 30 minutes, but can you?
4. My husband complains about this: I don’t have a set collection of recipes I regularly make, so I’m constantly trying new ones, which means that they take longer and I’m more prone to mess things up (especially since I use American recipes but have to make adjustments since I’m here in Germany).
5. The whole clean kitchen and everything perfectly prepared for me to start cooking thing.  (Okay, so I’m a bit messy – but at least I’m being honest! :-))
6. I know this would all be easier if I would plan my meals, but why bother when I’m probably not going to actually use my “starting tomorrow I will cook a magnificent dinner every day for a month” plan.   (Plus, “meal plan” can be code for more grocery shopping or buying more food – and since I have to carry it all from the grocery store, buying more food means I need to shop more often (or order it from somewhere)).

Which brings me to the challenge: How can I manage to cook a nice and healthful dinner for my husband and I each night?  How can I feed us without resorting to frozen pizza, takeout spaghetti Bolognese, or eating out? 

I’m still working on the answer, but I decided today that I’m going to put some energy into finding ways to get better at this, including finding/ coming up with some truly quick and easy recipes that don’t take a lot of effort.  You are welcome to join me as I share what I try and what works for me.

I suspect that the winning plan for me will be a combination of meal planning (especially defrosting the chicken in advance!), recipes using my large George Foreman grill, slow cooker recipes, and “oven meals” (that’s all in one meals you throw in the oven, like a roast chicken with potatoes and veggies in the same pan).

As I speak, I am making dinner.  :-) 

The meal?  One cubed (very large) sweet potato seasoned with spices, a little parmesan and olive oil and cooked in the oven in a pan and seasoned (just salt and pepper) chicken breasts done on the grill.  I think I’ll also add some canned cranberry sauce, a little ketchup for the potatoes and some pre-cut veggies from the store I have in the fridge with some Ranch dressing. 

I am happy, and the meal hasn’t taken much time or effort.  I’m psyched.  :-)

Tomorrow, I swear I am going to get out my slow cooker and try a new recipe from a website called A Year of Slow Cooking.  Really.  I’ve never tried anything from there, but most of the recipes look quick and easy best of all, there’s usually no standing around fiddling at the stove, flipping, etc.!  If you have a slow cooker/Crockpot, you should check this site out: it has more than 365 free slow cooker recipes (if you have celiac or a gluten allergy, this would be a good site for you, as almost all the recipes are gluten free).

How do you deal with dinner?  Is it difficult for you to get a good meal on the table each night?  What works for you?

(If you want, you can comment anonymously, just so you know.)

Happy Monday!