There’s cereal in the cupboard, I think. By the wonderful Grace Farris.
P.S. Fall bingo and Grace’s beauty uniform.
There’s cereal in the cupboard, I think. By the wonderful Grace Farris.
P.S. Fall bingo and Grace’s beauty uniform.
I’m 43, single and childfree. I have always struggled with the dinner problem. It’s so annoying to have to eat so many times a day. Recently I was gifted 2 weeks of hello fresh and wow, i feel like an adult. Having a real dinner most nights! But it’s still a lot of work to create, I am enjoying not having to figure out recipes and they are surprisingly tasty. I wish I had partaken in this during 2020. It’s a treat to not have to plan this shit and I’m a scavenger/starver like have the time, if left to my own devices.
Yes, Hello Fresh is a revelation! I loved it, but found it was a tad too much work for nights when I was tired/unmotivated. Now I used Gobble – same as HF, but in half the time!
I just sat down with my meal and opened up this post to read while eating. I looked at the post and looked at my plate: graham crackers with almond butter (with milk for dipping) and tortilla chips and mango salsa. I had this yesterday too, but yesterday I had peanut butter. I’m really mixing things up over here, hahaha!
…is it Blursday again already?
Reading this and comments it seems like this labor falls squarely on the women members of household for the most part. And like it stresses these same folks out. Is there ever switching off?
that is a complicated answer / longer conversation. I love following this woman: https://www.instagram.com/thatdarnchat/
I noticed that too but wondered if that is because most of the readers here are women, so we are hearing female responses? My husband cooks more than me and I know quite a few couples where the man is the main “cook”. Maybe I am just very lucky? And happen to have some lucky friends?
Hi Anon- I wondered the same thing. Ps: My husband is also the main cook on our household.
Haaaaaaa. I frequently comment that I’m constantly blown away by needing to feed people 3 meals a day every. Single. Day. Like omg, didn’t I just make a meal??!! Why do we need to eat again??!!
In my family we used to call this having a scavenge dinner.
This is our meal schedule sans the Avengers chicken nuggets–which my BF would love! We just do what we can do. :-)
My mother in law told me this story: Her little neighbor boy had been playing outside and said he was going in for dinner. She asked what they were having for dinner that night and he said “Mom said it’s YoYo dinner tonight – yo’ on yo’ own!”
Love!!!
Hahahaha
I can get my kid fed, but only because I have caved to making a rotation of the seven things he’ll eat. But did I have popcorn for dinner last night? Reader, I did.
This is the first of Grace’s comics I have been able to relate to!
Love this one so much I want to frame it and hang it on the kitchen wall.
Oh my gosh yes!
I’d like to add:
One meal I made too much of
Again
Again
Again
God no more…rice?
More rice?
Corn chips
Can we add –
Taco Tuesday
Taco Wednesday
Choose Your Own Adventure Thursday
Pizza
Pizza
Pasta
Why don’t I make what I like because you barely eat anything but goldfish crackers anyway Monday
LOL YES
“WHAT DO PEOPLE EVEN EAT” hahahaha. I’ve asked myself the same when trying to figure out dinner for my family. Thought I was the only one!
YES. Where is the Jetson’s invention, meal capsules?
Ha! I just contemplated this week doing a call out to the community or asking for post guidance on Am I Terrible at Grocery Shopping??? I seem to be at the store all the time, yet there never seems to be anything to make. More organized heads of household kitchens, teach me your ways!
YMMV (we are a two person household):
On Saturday, I shop and cook. It has been really helpful for me to think of the CATEGORIES of food I need in a week:
1. What two large meals can I make for dinners and lunches through the week?
2. What are we eating for breakfast (we generally go between yogurt parfaits and baked frittatas alternate weeks)?
3. Do we have a frozen pizza for Saturday and salad stuff?
4. Do we have two different types of fruit?
5. Do we have a tasty snack and drink option for Sunday apero?
6. What drinks do we have?
COVID made me start routinizing our food week and then I can just plug various things into that matrix.
Andrea, that is GENIUS! I will be amending that template for a household of one and using it :)
Basically what Andrea said, except I would also suggest menu planning, keeping in mind you don’t need full elaborate meals every night, and leftovers count, and then cooking on Sunday as much as you can for the coming week. Also, a grocery app is very useful (I use AnyList and all family members have access), or at least a pad of paper to live in the kitchen so you can keep a running list as things get low or run out. Then pick one day to do your shopping. I like Thursday to have things on hand for the weekend, and I hate being in a crowded store on the weekends.
I try to have a variety of staples always on hand that can be combined for a meal- protein (chicken, frozen fish, ground beef), carbs (pasta, rice, beans), fats (cheese, olive oil), and veggies (brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, bell peppers, zucchini). Once you internalize the basic formula of protein + fat + fiber, it’s easier to build meals off that foundation!
Easy staple meals for us (we usually have at least one of these at least once a week):
Egg roll in a bowl with rice- I use @healthylittlepeach’s recipe from Instagram
White chicken chili- salsa, frozen corn, frozen chicken, canned beans, and broth in a crockpot, served with pimento cheese & tortilla chips
Spaghetti with chickpea noodles & broccoli salad
Pot roast with potatoes and carrots
Pork tenderloin with roasted veggies
Everyone has their system and this is mine: grab a sheet of paper, at the top list Monday through Sunday and jot down what’s going on for the week (we just have a baby so no elaborate after school activities). The idea is to get a sense of what days you won’t have time to cook, won’t want to cook, etc. Below that I write a list of 3-4 things to make for the week. Don’t get too ambitious. You’ll think if something mid-week you’re craving that you could add to the list, or discover leftovers you want to repurpose into another meal. Once you have your menu (ish), make a grocery list on a separate paper/in your notes app/however you prefer. Now back to the sheet with the weeks events and the menu – make a spot for groceries so you can jot it down when you think of/run out of something. I also like to put a short list of frogs to eat (tasks I’ve been avoiding) that I need to do during the week and if I’m really bold I’ll make a short list of things in the fridge/freezer/pantry to use up.
I would love a post about this. Just had my first kid and like seriously, what do oriole even eat??? Always shopping. Money always spent on food. But like… never anything to make or have??
I usually prep two soups each week (BudgetBytes has super affordable and delish recipes), a bean/rice meal with roasted veg, a large veg salad with white marinated beans, and then random others like bruschetta with “meatless” balls in sauce, tacos or burritos with loads of pico, sauteed onions and peppers, or baked potatoes with roasted broccoli and vegan “cheese” sauce, or an easy go-to of tomato, onion, and cuke salad along with Angela Liddon’s chickpea salad – easy to prep in advance.
I have index cards of about 40 vegan meals that I make, and cycle through them based on what I have on hand, but we have faves and some are made every other week. I have about eight soups that are rotated that are top-notch and that keeps it affordable, too. Our grandkids love soups, so that’s an easy choice when we have them, but I have a bag of Impossible nuggets in the freezer if a kid is not feeling it that day. Use up all the leftovers is our guiding principle. My husband is a gem – he loves leftovers for lunches and through our working careers we always brought our lunch in vs. buying it, saving us so much. (We each stashed a few shelf stable meals in our desks because there’s always mornings when you forget or don’t pack it up in time.)
We use anything as a side dish, too. Cut pineapple, apple slices with slivered almonds, carrot sticks and bell pepper hunks with hummus, pickles and olives, even a bowl of grapes. Fruit always seems to go.
Looking forward to reading others’ go-to meals for ideas! I enjoy trying to make tasty meals from what’s available, and love new options!
I needed this!!!
This is so real.
Love this! A random bowl of pasta with parmesan is on my list, too.
Random bowl…Brussel sprouts or cauliflower and Parmesan cheese here.
Guac on ” Spaghettio’s”, no way!
Is that some kind of NYC affair?
This is 100 percent me. I’m so burnt out on meal planning that even posts or discussion threads about “easy meals” feels overwhelming! Dairy free husband, picky kid, trying to eat less meat, etc…I just want to plop a box of cereal on the table and call it a day.
3 words:
Breakfast For Dinner
2 words:
Subscription Service
; D
Yes, Crys – Brinner for the win!
Oh my goodness YES – same!! I’m so over it.
This.
The secret is planning an entire menu and grocery list on the weekend. But then, my husband asks what we are doing on the weekend. Piles of laundry! Food planning! Dishes! All the same we usually do.
This hits wayyyy too close to home. I spend Sunday meal planning and prepping, and am usually good at staying on plan through lunch Wednesday, but after that all sorts of things go awry!
And it’s just my husband and me!
LOL! Basically every week.