Jenn is hosting another WIAW and I thought it would be a fun way to explore how much of my day goes into preparing food and how it compares to you guys…
Prepping ahead of time, with a couple hours of Sunday food prep for example, really helps. These peanut butter and honey energy oat bites were easy to snag on my way to the computer in the morning, along with a cup of green tea.
Prep Time: 3 minutes
School was cancelled yesterday due to a little sleet and the temperature dropping below 30 degrees (insert my eye roll here), so a little natural medicine workshop that my friend, Kelly, and I hosted turned into a big ‘ol wild play date, which really made it more fun! The moms drank smoothies, caught up on each others lives and talked natural health while the kids tore through the playroom. It was a good time!
Smoothie: 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup coconut water, 1/2 cup almond milk and 2 scoops of mango protein smoothie mix
Prep Time: 5 minutes
The play date made the morning fly by, so Hailey and I squeezed in a quick lunch before nap time. Well, nap time for her, though I was tempted to join in!
Leftover brown rice pilaf and field peas with two handfuls of super greens mix, goat cheese and mushrooms, topped with a new favorite Blush Wine dressing.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
I had last’s night’s roasted chicken remains simmering into broth in the crockpot for about 18 hours by nap time, so I went ahead and made the soup for dinner while Hailey was sleeping. I also snacked on some carrots and hummus.
Prep Time: 40 minutes
After a few after nap errands with Hailey, we both came home to cook in our kitchens. She made soup on her stove (a blend of shriveled flower petals, dried elbow pasta and cinnamon which was as delicious as you might imagine!) while I threw together a dinner for her. Well, I say for her, but I ate several spoonfuls for quality assurance purposes.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
On crockpot days or days I make dinner during nap, I’m always stoked once Hailey goes down and there isn’t much to do in the kitchen. I sliced some avocado and cilantro, then dinner was served.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Prep Time: 5 minutes
I ate two bowl and a handful of tortilla chips, then crashed on the couch while David put away what was left and wiped down the kitchen. He’s a keeper, I tell ya.
So, total prep time for the day… 1 hour and 13 minutes.
Of course, every day is a little different, but I thought it was kind of neat to see how the time added up. Of course, if you factor in clean up, it would certainly up the total a bit more, mostly just for dinner prep and cleaning the dang blender (some for unknown reason I hate doing that, even though it’s pretty dang simple).
How much time would you guess that you spend of food prep each day?
Jen says
So interesting! I bet I spend a similar amount of time. But I also bet clean up is 30+ minutes/day because someone I live with is an extremely messy eater. 😉
Fran@BCDC says
Preparing ahead when you have a busy schedule is so important. I was very good at it when I was working. I should do it more now but time gets away from me now more than when I was working. Have a great day!
Tina Muir says
I guess I had never really thought about it! Interesting to learn about your experience though. As I have night MBA classes three times a week, I spent about 2-3 hours food prepping on Sunday and Wednesday, and then it is all ready to go on the other days! I have to make sure I have enough to fuel my training, so requires a lot of thinking ahead of time 🙂
Becky@TheSavedRunner says
How interesting to calculate how much time you spend on dinner! I would say I spend about the same time as you on days when I do crockpot meals, but on days when I don’t use the crock pot I probably would have to add another 30 minutes on to that.
Amanda @ All Day Active says
Hmmm…that is an interesting idea. Now you have me wondering how much time I spend?? I’m definitely going to calculate it today 🙂 I’m guessing it’s in the vicinity of an hour and 15 minutes too…..but it’s hard to know because my dinner prep is usually shared with toddler needs 🙂
Brittany Dixon says
Haha, seriously! Toddler needs at least double the time, doesn’t it? 🙂 That’s why I take full advantage of nap time. Who knows how I’ll make it work when I have two!
Katie @ Pick Any Two says
Good point, Amanda! I’m also guessing my daily prep time is an hour to an hour and a half, but it’s so hard to judge when it’s constantly interrupted by “Mama, watch me!” 🙂
Shannon says
I really don’t prep my food as much as I probably should. The only actual “food prep” I do is when I get home from work everyday, and I immediately pack my breakfast, snacks, and lunch for the next day. But all in all, it doesn’t take me that long! I’m recently trying out new recipes that make more than one meal at a time, so I can plan meals for the week! It’s actually really fun!’
Aaand those pb oat energy bites look SO DELICIOUS.
Brittany Dixon says
I think packing a breakfast, lunch and snack definitely counts as food prep- that’s such an awesome habit you have!
Laura @ Mommy Run Fast says
I haven’t been great about working ahead on the weekends, but breakfast and lunch are always simple and quick (10 minutes each?) and most nights I take about 45 minutes to put dinner together. Plus clean up as Jen mentioned, and it can feel like a lot more time in the kitchen, but it’s not too bad. I love when dinner is done in the crock pot or in advance, too… always a treat!
Brittany from Counting My Cupcakes says
I would say my actual prep time is very similar. Usually about 5-10 min for breakfast and lunch each and anywhere from 30min-1hour for dinner. Snacks are always on-the-go types. HOWEVER. Deciding what I want to eat? You know, the time I spend standing in front of the pantry and open fridge, that’s probably another 30 min to my day total. If I’m diligent and take the time to plan on Sunday (mostly just writing out meals, not necessarily putting them together for the week), I can get my breakfast together and pack my lunch quickly before heading out the door for work. If I don’t plan, I waste so much time just staring at the food trying to decide what produce will go bad first that I need to make sure I eat, what will keep my meal balanced, etc. It’s totally worth the extra planning on Sundays to figure this all out so I’m not frantic in the mornings.
Cassie says
WOW I never thought about how much time I spent… probably at least that. I kind of prep things for a few days at a time typically… a few salads for lunch here and there, a couple breakfasts… it’s probably close to an hour total… more with clean up!
Lauren @ Fun, Fit and Fabulous! says
That soup looks absolutely delicious. I am a huge fan of the crockpot. I often teach until 6:30 PM, so having dinner ready when we finally get home is amazing. Plus, some of my favorite meals come out of the crockpot anyways!
Brittany Dixon says
ah, yes! Doesn’t the crockpot make it feel like someone has been cooking for you all day? If only it could clean up after itself too 🙂
Ali says
That’s probably about an average time for me too. I try to prep meals in advance and then just reheat them during the days. I cut up fruit and veggies and make smoothies which are fast too.
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries says
This totally depends on the week/day for me… I don’t usually do much food prep for the week ahead to be honest. If I had an 8-5 job, I’m sure I’d do more food prep on the weekend. Sometimes I’ll do things like chop veggies or hard boil eggs, but I don’t do anything extensive. There are certain days that I’ll do Crock Pot meals so that takes some preparation ahead of time, and it’s SO worth it! I love Crock Pot days.
liz says
what is the chicken stock recipe you are using? i have a roasted chicken and back bone to use up, any suggestion? I wanted to use your bone broth recipe but I’m not sure a small roasted chicken would be right for that particular recipe!
thanks!!
Brittany Dixon says
This last time I didn’t use a recipe, which is usually pretty easy to do. I tossed in all the bones and other leftover ‘parts’ and added water until it just covered the bones. Then I tossed in some ends of celery, carrots, onion and a bay leaf and let it simmer overnight and until I was ready to use it. It’s good stuff, but always has to be salted to taste, too, for the full broth effect in my opinion. And if you have fresh parsley, throw some of that in there too! 🙂
Maria says
Very minimal. I do a “Sunday Food Prep” and have for a long time – though mine is way less involved than the once I read on blogs! That makes throwing together a smoothie or juice in my morning really easy and my salads for lunch. I just throw everything in a bowl or blender. Dinner varies – sometimes it’s scrambled eggs, sometimes a frozen burrito. I’m making quinoa stuffed peppers tonight and on Sunday I chopped all the veggies, threw them in a container and cooked the quinoa, so it should come together fairly quickly.
That smoothie looks delicious! Ready for warmer temps and lots of smoothies!
Brittany Dixon says
Quinoa stuffed peppers sounds pretty snazzy! What recipe are you using? Or are you winging it?
Maria says
I’m actually using my brother’s recipe (he’s such a fabulous cook!) and I posted it on my blog a loooong time ago: http://southmeetswestcoast.blogspot.com/2012/12/quina-stuffed-peppers.html
I didn’t end up buying enough peppers, so I’m chopping up the 2 that I have and putting them in the mixture, so I guess they will be more like Quinoa Pepper Bowls 🙂
Parita @ myinnershakti says
Most of my time right now is spent time prepping dinner. I would say, I probably spend a total of 45-60 minutes a day doing food related stuff. I can only imagine how that’s going to chance when a kid is thrown into the mix!!
Brittany Dixon says
Is there a kid being thrown into the mix soon? Foreshadowing?? 😉
Parita @ myinnershakti says
Not any time soon 🙂
Danica @ It's Progression says
Prepping food ahead of time (usually right after I grocery shop) always saves me a lot of time the rest of that week, but I honestly really enjoy preparing/cooking food so the time doesn’t bother me. I think it’s great that you’re showing eating a day of healthy foods doesn’t take a ton of time!
Mandi says
I have recently found Annie’s Mac N Cheese at my local Wal-Mart and starting buying it for my little boy since your little one seems to like it so well! I love to find healthier things for my baby that he loves to eat!
Brittany Dixon says
How does he like it? H and I love it! Plus, it doesn’t have the food dyes that some other brands do 🙂
Kathryn @ Illustrated Nutrition says
I’m a nutrition student and I’m almost embarassed to admit that I spend very little time prepping food. My schedule changes everyday, and I’m so busy this semester that I don’t have that one solid day to dedicate to food prep. This usually results in making really bland meals, but it’s better than eating out all the time! Someday I’ll have copious amounts of time to dedicate to food prepping! 😉
Jen@Twenty-Something&Starving says
On a weekday I probably spend about 20 minutes in the morning getting all of the food together for breakfast, lunch, and snacks for both my husband and I. Then probably another 20 or 30 per night for dinner. I’ve been trying to prep more on weekends, but we’ve been super busy lately so it’s tough. I hope to get better at it soon!
lauren says
I have a love/hate relationship with food prep. It’s hard! Most days, I prep lunches after dinner, which makes mornings go so much better. I’m guessing that on a good day, meaning we eat 3 meals at home, I spend an hour and fifteen minutes? That includes packing or making breakfast and lunch for myself, 8 month old and sometimes husband as well as prepping dinner, often two dinners since we’ve been eating late. I usually make half of dinner, give the baby a bath, then finish dinner afterwards. We’ve been eating after he goes to bed at 8pm a lot. Hot food is overrated 🙂 My favorite thing lately has been my oven, throw some meat and veggies in to roast and there’s nothing to watch.
Tiff @ Love Sweat & Beers says
Yaaaay for crock pots! haha My kitchen prep time is a fraction of what it was before I had Ethan. Then again, the food isn’t as good these days either. ha
Matt @ Runner Savvy says
I’d say I spend 45 min to an hour.
LeanonLife says
30 minutes to 1 hour, sometimes more if I’m trying a new recipe.
Rain San Martin says
I just love your authenticity, and your meals always look so healthy, fun and delicious!
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