I used to love to cook, and as time passes more and more I have become SUPER adverse to it and I have no idea why. Even the idea of say, making oatmeal on the stove or a pack of instant Ramen is too much for me. I do plan on trying to make myself do it and try to form a habit of it but for now I’ve only been buying pre made/take out food and it’s super expensive. How do yall hack this so that you buy groceries you’ll actually eat??

Some info:

I don’t have a microwave

I’m not super food restrictive

I’m a brat and only like fresh veggies (not precut or frozen), usually organic

I try to avoid preservatives but I do like chicken nuggies/tots/frozen pizzas, but I really want to try and stick to a healthier veg filled diet

An example of something that isn’t overwhelming for me to make are protein shakes: put powder, kefir, water, PB&J in a jar, shake it, drink it.

Any advice is super appreciated 🙏

  • door_in_the_face@feddit.deEnglish
    3·
    11 months ago

    Would an electric kettle help? You can boil water with it, and then pour that water over ramen noodles, seasonings like miso paste/ chili flakes/ sesame oil, and chopped veggies. Makes a decent noodle soup, and is less hassle than heating it all up on the stove.

    Or a slow cooker/ pressure cooker, where you just put all the ingredients in and it cooks it into a stew, soup or sauce.

    • ratboy@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      3·
      11 months ago

      Honestly I would bet that it is a burnout thing, but it’s been a couple of years that the love of cooking has been decreasing…I guess it could still be burnout though 🫠🫠 since you’re on keto, can you give me some other ideas of what you eat? It looks like charcuterie is the best option lol but yeah, sneaking veggies in is a must

        • ratboy@lemm.eeOPEnglish
          1·
          11 months ago

          Ooo, Cabbage to snack on sounds great. I saw a snack of cream cheese spread on red bell pepper too which is really good. You are definitely speaking my language lol. The mug cake idea sounds pretty easy to whip up too. It’s so wild, like why does that seem less labor intensive than cooking a pack of Ramen noodles?!No reason, brain just days so lol.

    • SuddenDownpour@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      You can circumnavigate that issue. Instead of preparing a ration, prepare several: some steps will barely increase the total preparation time, so the proportion of time spent cooking to cooked meals will change for the better. On top of that, do something else while you cook, such as listening to an audiobook or a podcast, or talking to someone. Not only it is a more efficient use of time, but it will help you take your mind off the fact that you’re doing a chore.

    • ratboy@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      Totally feel that. Especially if I cook for my partner too, I’ll make a big batch of food that takes 1.5 hours and I expect there to be 4 meals for us there, buy he eats a lot more so it ends up being like, 2.5 meals and then it really feels like it was such an effort for that

  • HerrFalcor@kbin.social
    1·
    11 months ago

    Weird advice but what worked for me is making it harder or gameifying it a bit. It was easier when I wasn’t working and had more time but less money. I have MCAS along for the ride with autism so I flip between what foods(and environmental triggers)I have allergic reactions to. I developed a pretty severe aversion to eating because of the puking and pooping. I needed something to make me eat more than cook.

    I do fortunately have the privilege of space for good gardens and a decent little kitchen. And my autistic mum often found 6 children overwhelming so I started cooking at 7 years old.

    The one that really worked the best was focusing on how far you can ‘from scratch’. Great way to learn about making sauces. Adding in the aspect of a time challenge makes you think about shortcuts and how to get to a desired flavor in a different way than the recipe calls for. Making different kinds of pasta is fun. Or wanting donuts so you learn to make donuts.

    I have space for gardens and I’ve found making meals that come to me through a 3 month project(or 3 years for my thyme) is a good incentive to use the products of my labor and then actually eat the thing too. I’m not going to let 9 tomato plants go to waste and I’m going to make something delicious too. I grew my own onions, tomatoes, oregano etc and made some awesome pasta sauce that took 25 minutes, 3 days, 4 months or 2 years to make depending on how you split it.

    Getting a little deeper into the process also adds in a data collection and manipulation layer than can tweak my brain in a fun way. Kitchen scale, precise temps, durations, shopping lists, costs etc etc.