Menu Planning & Busy Schedule

LowRob16

Good morning
I know I shouldn't moan that I have a brilliant job that means I get to travel all over the place.
I'm generally in the office for two days a week and then working from different locations all over Wales on the other days.
Sometimes I'm away from home over night or home late from work. And on those nights where I'm home at 5.30 ish because I've been to the office, I very often have a practice or meeting and don't have much time to cook.
I was just wondering whether anyone else is in a similar situation - how do you cope with not having a routine? I'm finding it difficult to menu plan as I'm not in one place (office / home) for much of the time.

angchris

i was very much the same and found it impossible to meal plan and ended up putting on shedloads of weight as i was eating on the run or was tired and just wanted something quick. the best thing to do is to batch cook when you have a day off, buy loads of containers and clearly label and freeze...if say you cook a different meal every day off and freeze 5 or 10 x portions before long you will have a nice selection of meals that can be pulled out of the freezer the night before. for when you are away from home plan for it...pack a coolbag or a picnic bag with knifes/ forks/plate etc full of easily prepared stuff if you have cooking facilities always have a stash of healthy grub available or like me you will tend to end up at the local takeaway

newlywed

I work full time but not quite as hetic as you. However on the nights when I know I'll be late back and only have a short time for food, I do the sharwoods 4 minute noodles with stir fried veg (previously chopped up by me the morning or night before). Or sometimes an omelet (although that takes 20 minutes).

I also find a piece of fresh fish fillet (salmon etc) microwaved with some tinned potatoes, frozen veg, and some sauce can be really quick to do.

LowRob16

Thanks for your replies - pity I don't eat eggs or fish it seems! I really do wish I liked these as they're the basis for so many healthy and cheap meals
On top of all this, I find it very very difficult to find 'me' time (I won't get started on my second and third job!)
I really want to do more exercise but don't know where to find the time

newlywed

LowRob16 wrote:

On top of all this, I find it very very difficult to find 'me' time (I won't get started on my second and third job!)
I really want to do more exercise but don't know where to find the time

I know the feeling. But now I class a bath as "me" time. Can be 10 mins or an hour depending on how much else I need to do. Doesn't have to be long, just 15 minutes still counts and makes a difference.

As for exercise.... in a building choose the stairs not the lift, park at the far end of the car park, go for a short walk at lunchtime to get a sandwich, etc. Sometimes when I'm emptying the dishwasher and have a few extra minutes I put things away one at a time so I have to walk round the kitchen a bit more :rotfl: Just start with little bits that don't take much time. That's what I do and it does make a bit of a difference if you keep looking for the little ways to add a few more steps into the day.

belfastgirl23

I try to use the weekend to plan food. I do fresh food shopping on a Saturday and go for a big cookup/food prep on a sunday, eat 'fresh' (ie cooked on Sunday) until roughly Wed lunchtime and then hit the freezer for the rest of the week. I freeze some of what I cook on Sunday as well and try to eat it on a rotating basis.

For me the key is to think about dinner before I leave in the morning and make sure there is either something suitable fresh or leave something out of the freezer. Freezer stuff usually takes max 15mins to 'cook'. I also have in mind a couple of emergency meals that I can have in desperation. These are either toasted bagel (defrosted) with cheese and fruit or beans on toast in my case but it might be different for you. There is no way around the fact that it takes more organisation but if you use your freezer properly this doesn't have to be a grind.

My big challenge now is figuring out things I can cook in large quantities and freeze.

Oh the other big thing is to do a monthly online shop that covers all the basics. Means there are always beans in the house and there's a few types of bread in the freezer

redspot24

Hello there! I'm in a similar-ish situation to you as I work unpredictable hours often, and usually have a few late nights every week (shouldn't complain - it usually involves a wine reception or other form of socialising that genuinely is an integral part of my work!). For the past few months, I have managed to meal plan for dbf and I, though, and it's working very well so far. Basically, I just make each Mon-Fri evening meals quite flexible, so that they can be interchanged - so then you do the quickest/easiest meals on the late nights.
I also make sure we have enough in to do an 'emergency' tea - eg jacket potatoes with tuna or beans, pizza etc
Also found batch cooking helps, so then there's something yummy that just needs nuking in the microwave.
If you have a slow cooker, you could prepare the stuff for that on a night when you're not late then it's ready for you when you get in the next night, whatever happens.
We also only have (usually) two different lunches per week as that saves lots of time (and money!); one of us will make a large batch of something (eg sandwiches, a salad, wraps) that will do mon-weds lunches, then just need to do a smaller batch of something else for thurs and fri. I suppose if you don't mind monotony, you could just have one thing all week on a rota system.
Hope this helps!

goonlord

This might not be an option but I have found my evenings to be far less stressful buy getting up half an hour (or less) earlier in the mornings. While i don't particularly like getting out of bed at 6am, it does mean I can organise stuff for evening meal, food for work that day, do some washing up so I come home to a tidy kitchen etc. This also means when I wash up in the evening I'm not doing all the breakfast things as well so it is quicker.

Another tip is to cook a large meal one night and then have it the next night too (and maybe freeze extras or take for lunch) although if your evenings are totally irregular it might not work for you.

dolly_day_dream

I work full time and cook from scratch each night. Trouble is I am often so tired when I get in that I need to have it ready to go or there is no way I am going to start chopping before I can cook. Sooo each night while the dish is cooking I am preparing the veg for the next night. Tonight we had cashew paella and I had chopped all the veg for it last night. That meant that all I had to do was start of frying off the veg as soon as I got in. While it was cooking I prepared tomorrow nights meal of potato wedgies and burgers. The pots are all chopped and ready to cover in oil and the burgers are made ready to cook at the same time. Yes I am doing to same amount of work but it seems like less because I am only in the kitchen for the time it takes for the dish to cook and not the preparation time as well IFYSWIM