One of the most common gripes I hear is how daunting the thought of cooking every night is. Everyone’s motivation barriers are different — summer brings new challenges for some with frequent travel or extensive family activities. Fall and winter bring other challenges as routines normalize, but still expand, and the physical and mental fatigue take over.
If all of this sounds familiar, you aren’t alone. I, too, go through ebbs and flows with preparing meals. Why do we feel like this? A few hunches…Decision Fatigue. Humans make ~225 decisions each day, according to a 2021 research study at North Carolina (source). Time Crunch. It’s human nature to over-extend ourselves. Many commitments make it hard to squeeze in meal preparation. Exhaustion. Physical? It’s real. Mental? Have you SEEN the news lately? Lack of Inspiration. Our brains like routine because it’s safe, but our taste buds can disagree.
So if I don’t want to cook, where do I start?
First, I think we need to lay two out two fundamental ideas. I want us to normalize the term preparing a meal instead of cooking a meal. When we think of cooking, we might exaggerate what is necessary for the meal you need in a situation. Some meals don’t require cooking! And some do! Try shifting your perspective to preparing, rather than assuming cooking has to happen. Where you start on ANY goal depends on where you’re AT. Those of you working with me know that many answers to your questions start with well, it depends…and that’s because everyone’s situation is different! There’s no one-size all solution. When it comes to preparing meals, you need to meet yourself where you’re at.
So when I’m preparing, what can I try?
Take a few minutes to reflect on WHY you don’t want to prepare a meal. There’s no wrong answer. There’s no shame. But this is an important step to complete because we can’t change our behavior without understanding why we behave (or avoid) the way we do. Use this information to your advantage.
If your budget allows, start with easy to prep or ready made foods that can join other foods to make a meal. For example – has your fresh produce been going bad in your fridge week after week this summer? Take that money you spent and buy one already cut/prepared vegetable and one already cut fruit. Yes, they will be more expensive per item. However, if you can’t get yourself to cut the veggies or fruits and you still want to nourish yourself? Buy the pre-cut stuff. Then set a reminder on your phone to eat it! This also applies to proteins/meats. Many stores sell pulled chicken, pork, etc. that can add protein to any meal in less than one minute.
Start small with a meal you don’t necessarily need to cook, but can be put together. When I’m in a rut, I look at what I have in the following categories and then combine them:
Whole grains (microwavable brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat pasta, or whole wheat bread)
Veggies (frozen or canned on the nights I want to lay down and sleep for a week)
Protein (plant or animal-based — often frozen, something i can pop in the air fryer)
Toppings (cheese, nuts, etc)
Flavor – something that’s going to make me actually eat this! Usually a sauce(s) or seasoning
Let go of the shame or guilt you may feel when using quick-cook or no-cook preparation methods. Easier said than done, I know.
Make a list of foods that you’re actually excited to eat — try to prioritize 1-2 meals this week with those foods, regardless of the nutrition, to get your brain back in the habit of preparing or cooking a meal.
Prepare multiple servings of your meal, so you can have leftovers tomorrow! You might have a pack of microwavable rice, frozen broccoli, rotisserie chicken, with toppings and flavor — consider dividing these easy prep foods into multiple containers so you can have an simple preparation tomorrow as well.
The Bottom Line: Start small. Be realistic. Ask for help if you need it! Give yourself some grace and take the small victories to build confidence. Don’t end up like sad chef boy here.
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