state of the kitchen
even though i certainly have my off days, i honestly don’t feel like i’ve had to give up all that much in general since annabel has been born. things are definitely more challenging at times — and definitely more tiring, because there are no true breaks! — but i think it has helped me to have already experienced:
– not sleeping nearly as much as i would like
– getting up in the middle of the night — or sometimes not getting to lie down at all
– spending my days at the whim of fate [ie, the pager]
– having very limited time in which to work out, cook, and generally keep our living quarters in a tolerable state
so, THANK YOU residency — specifically the NICU/PICU rotations that called for 80+ hour work weeks, 6 am start times, and regular 30 hour shifts. i may not have learned how to intubate babies very well and i’d really rather NOT run a pediatric code, but hey:
i can meal plan with the best of them.
and just as i managed to eat decently well during those trying times, things are actually going okay in the kitchen right now. i don’t make fancy dinners, but i don’t feel like we’ve had to rely on frozen food or takeout too much. don’t get me wrong — i LOVE having those options on days when i’m just spent, and usually plan on one non-cooking meal each week. [plus, take out is fun. almost as fun as eating out, which we don’t do very often for dinner these days.]
here’s what i ended up making last week, plus my general ‘formula’ for survival these days.
sunday: sunday is always meal plan/grocery day. and because i typically have a bit more time, sunday dinner is usually the most labor-intensive meal of the week. i also try to pick something that will generate leftovers and/or be good to bring for lunch.
zesty shrimp + black bean salad, eating well
monday: lately monday has been a fish/seafood night. this is mainly because if i buy fresh fish at the grocery store on sunday, it has to be used either that night or the next. i typically choose a veg side that can be thrown into the oven along with the fish.
salmon [rubbed with salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, and a touch of honey]
asparagus [both baked/roasted in oven for 15-20 minutes at 400]
seeds of change* grains-in-a-bag [microwave]
tuesday: something easy and weeknight friendly — i’m aiming for no longer than 15-20 minutes these days!
eating well’s broccoli + tortellini salad with arugula pesto
wednesday: easy/frozen copout night –> last week was just pizza + tomato bisque, both out of amy’s kitchen
thursday: leftovers/clean-out-the-fridge night. last week there was tortellini left for josh. i feasted on chocolate chip granola. ehh, it happens.
friday: either another very easy recipe, or quasi-copout meal like the one below:
chicken with seeds of change jalfrezi sauce
roasted cauliflower
brown rice [from frozen — 365 brand]
not really from scratch thanks to the sauce, but a decently healthy, well-rounded meal.
saturday: takeout – or date night, if both josh and i are off [approximately 1 in 3 weekends — yeah, i know]. now that a. will likely sleep through a babysitter [if we go out past 7], i am looking forward to trying to get out on most of these golden weekends!
does anyone else go on the same sort of ‘weekly cycle’?
tips to add?
favorite quick weeknight meals?
i’m always looking for ideas!
* neither seeds of change nor amy’s know/care that i exist. but i do like both brands!
and on another note
looks like it’s a hit:
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