Time Saving – Page 5 – in thriver words

Never Enough Time to Cook? Don’t Cook at Mealtime!

If you never seem to have enough time to cook and get a meal on the table, why not stop cooking at mealtime? No, I’m not saying starve. And I’m not saying eat a bag of chips on the run. In fact, as you’ll soon see, I’m not even suggesting that you eat out or throw together a sandwich.

The other day, my mom was lamenting how long it takes to cook everything from scratch. She’s on permanent dialysis and my stepfather (let’s call him NewDaddy) is on a healthy regimen due to recent bypass surgery and prostate cancer.

What’s funny about this is that Mom has told me for years how healthy she eats, but really she consumes mostly saltine crackers, lettuce without adornment, and the occasional piece of cherry pie. She has finally given up the Dr. Pepper that was her fourth dietary staple.

Mind you, no medical professional has ever really questioned her nutrition because her weight fell in the ideal range, or at least it was ideal until the last couple of years. Now she spends a lot of time in the hospital where she’s encouraged to eat LOTS of calories because she’s so thin. Instead, she adds a protein supplement to the handful of supplements she takes every morning and talks a lot about how much she eats, but she does seem to be cooking more often.

I’m sure compared to grabbing a cracker, preparing an entire meal from fresh food feels like it takes all day. Mom’s not alone. A lot of us just can’t figure out how to fit cooking into our already overburdened schedules.

With the exception of Mom, my entire family tends to get fussy when we’re hungry. It can be pretty hard to face the idea of standing in the kitchen whipping up a meal when I’m both feeling irritable and listening to Ben’s grouchy tone.

I recognize that what we need is food as quickly as possible and I want it to be fresh, healthy food, but I also recognize that the pressure of preparing a meal at that moment may make an uncomfortable situation worse.

I suppose this would be no big deal except that I often get focused on a project and fail to recognize it’s time to eat until I’ve already reached the too hungry phase. It seems that I create my own problem, so I figured I should create my own solution. Hopefully my solution will work for you too!

Here’s what seems to work best for me – cooking when it’s not mealtime. Prepping and cooking when there’s no pressure and I’m feeling good means that the food will be ready when I get hungry. It also guarantees I’ll have a more pleasant cooking experience. And it helps keep everyone on schedule since there’s no delay in getting a meal on the table.

Sometimes I can just leave dinner on the stove until the next meal. Sometimes I have to put everything in the fridge and reheat it before serving. Other times, I’ll combine some cooked items into new configurations when I’m reheating.

The good news is that cooking during in between times means a meal is always ready when I need one. This makes me feel calm and happy.

Try it. If you feel calm and happy too, let us know by commenting below.

I Can’t Stand Cleaning Up the Kitchen!

I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand cleaning up the kitchen. Ever think it would just be easier to throw away all the dishes…or all your clothes…or everyone you know and start over? It probably would be easier. But would it really accomplish anything?

I have to say I’m not in love with cleaning up the kitchen. Being in love with cooking, this creates constant internal conflict for me. It creates external conflict as well. I can’t stand to see dishes in the sink or crumbs on the floor so if I wait to clean up the mess, I feel irritated every time I walk through the room.

Now I know this is a silly dilemma because it takes very little time to remedy the problem. I have a dishwasher so it’s not like I have to wash each and every plate, bowl, or spoon. My All-Clad pans are easy to clean even when I’ve burned a sauce onto them. And, I don’t feel this way if I’m helping a friend clean up after a party at their house.

So what is my real problem? I let things sit and think about them too much.

I don’t have this problem when I do the dishes during wait times while I’m cooking. I just rinse, scrub, fill, dry, and put away as if it’s no big deal. When I think about it, it’s the same with laundry. If I move the wet clothes to the dryer in the morning when I reach for a clean towel, it feels natural to refill the washer with dirty clothes and turn it on. Boom! I just made progress on two loads of laundry before even having a cup of coffee.

It’s no different with paying bills, doing sales tax reports, watering the plants, or mowing the lawn. The more I put off the task, the more I think about it. The more I think about it, the more daunting it seems. The more daunting it seems the more likely I am to put if off causing me to think about it more making it seem more daunting, and well, you get the picture. I’m going round and round in a vicious circle until my mind begins to believe that it’s simply too overwhelming to tackle the project.

If I travel around the circle too many times, I may even begin to feel a need for relief from the mountain of work I’ve created in my mind. I may spend 30 minutes or an hour zoning in front of the TV, or ranting to a friend, or taking a nap to avoid that overwhelmed feeling.

If I’m facing a task that takes longer – cleaning out a closet – I may practice avoidance behavior for months or years. At some point I begin to feel justified because the obstacle has grown so large in my mind it truly looks insurmountable.

The truth is, I could put a box and a notepad in the corner of my closet and get rid of one thing per day and have the closet clean in a month or two. It would take so little time I wouldn’t even notice.

The same pattern often prevents us from beginning a fitness program, cooking healthy food, giving up gluten, changing jobs, or learning ballroom dancing to please our spouse. When it comes to all the small things that would improve our lives that we feel daunted by, Nike has it right. The best advice is JUST DO IT!

Now, I must leave you because I have dishes in the sink and you know what that means. No, I’m not going to take a nap.

What is it that you just can’t seem to begin and how can we help you?

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Travel Tip #7 – Ship it!

Planning a trip, want to make sure you have your favorite gluten-free snacks on hand, but don’t want to pay for extra baggage – ship it!

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you probably already know that for me to feel my best, I have to eat at very regular intervals. In order to make sure I have something gluten-free available on the road, I have to prepare in advance.

I’m planning a more lengthy trip than usual and I just don’t want to deal with the hassle of calling every health food store in the area in advance to see if they carry my favorite snacks. I certainly don’t want to carry a week’s worth of food and have to wrestle heavy bags through the airport and into my rental car.

I tried talking myself into the idea that I can always eat the salty, oily peanuts available at every convenience store, but I’d really rather have raw almonds. More gas stations now have bananas or apples available, but it’s never guaranteed. And, of course, I’ll be meeting up with some other folks on totally different schedules. The required timing of a 10-mile trip to the grocery store may prove to be inconvenient either for them or for me.

So, I’m going to do the easy thing. When I do my regular shopping, I’m going to grab an extra bag of raw almonds, some gluten-free pretzels, some dates or golden raisins, and ingredients for orange chocolate or carrot muffins. I may also grab some protein bars.

At home, I’ll make the muffins and package everything in small, easy to carry containers that I can grab and throw in a backpack each morning while I’m traveling. Of course, I’ll carry some of these on the plane for immediate consumption, but I’m going to pack the bulk of these snacks in a box and ship them in advance to arrive just before I do.

While I’m at it, I’ll probably ship some extras shoes so that I’m prepared for all the possibilities that may arise.

Whew! I don’t know about you, but I always feel better when I have a plan in place that makes my life seem easier. From now on, when destination resources are in doubt, I think I’ll just ship it!

Pei Wei Does It Right!

I’ve got to hand it to Pei Wei; they really do it right. Not only do they have a gluten-free menu, their customer service is superb.

Today was a hectic one. We had planned to clean out the office so I was expecting a relaxed, jeans wearing sort of day. Of course things rarely turn out as expected.

First, we had no internet, which meant no email. Most of our business moves back and forth via email with very large attachments. When that method isn’t available, much driving around is required.

Then there was an urgent pick up, and before I knew it, I was two hours behind and needing to grab a quick lunch. I was close to Pei Wei, so I called 411, got the number, and made a call.

A friendly girl answered my call and asked how she could help. I said, “I’d like to place an order to go.” She asked, “Is this Cheri”? “Yes,” I replied feeling surprised. “Would you like gluten-free edamame, and a gluten-free Pei Wei spicy chicken with brown rice?” she inquired. “That would be perfect,” I said still feeling a bit dazed.

It really was that easy. When I arrived 10 minutes later, my order was ready. Each container was marked with a gluten-free sticker, and the enclosed soy sauce packets were Tamari. A quick debit card swipe and I was headed back to my card with a bag of food in my hand.

Since I don’t often order from Pei Wei, I did not anticipate this personalized interaction. They used technology to create a customer service experience that exceeded my expectations. Not only that, but they made getting gluten-free take out easier than pie on a day when I was already overwhelmed. For that, I am grateful.

If you’re in a hurry and need to stick with your gluten-free plan, give Pei Wei a call. They may already know exactly what you want to order.