Nutrition in your 30's, the Big Challenge!

For me, in my 30's it was Thyme for me to get real about food and nutrition. Not everyone enjoys cooking the way I do. For many people, it is one of the most dreaded tasks. In my thirties, my biggest challenge was to spend less time in the kitchen and more time eating home cooked meals, this coming from someone who enjoys cooking. I had little time, I worked long hours, and volunteered much of my time in the community. To say I needed a cook was an understatement. Since I prefer eating at home during the week and taking my lunch to work, I decided to cook once and call it a week. This not only works for single 30-year-olds, but it works for 30-year-olds with young families. I know that you are thinking, that would be time consuming, I just don't have the time. I decided to calculate the time I spent thawing, prepping and cooking food during the week and I saw that it was a tremendous amount of time. I started to think, what if I only cooked one day a week? Instead of taking 30 minutes to 1 hour each evening, I take about 4 hours on the weekend and cook everything I need for the week. But how do I get started? The answer is very simple. I use Sunday as my day to cook for the week. I start by planning what I want to eat. I cook 3 meat dishes, 4 vegetable dishes, and 2 - 3 starch dishes. That way, I can mix it up and it never seems like I am eating leftover food. I plate the food up for lunch and dinner. I set out all of my Ziploc containers and I just mix it all up. Put meats together with different vegetables and different starches. On a given week, I may prepare two different kinds of chicken dishes and a fish dish. I may even do a fish, chicken, and beef dish. For vegetables, I try to cook what is in season, making sure that I cook at least 4 different kinds. For starches, I prepare brown rice, pasta, and a mixture of roasted sweet potatoes, potatoes, and butternut squash. This may not work for everyone, but it sure does work for me. For cases of extreme boredom, I keep something that is quick to thaw, like shrimp in a bag and toss with tomatoes and broccoli. Remember, you have already made the pasta. This sure to add some spice on any given night. Happy cooking!