What happens when you have to work nights and you cook your family meals? How would you manage? There are only so many times you can ask your family to hit the Golden Arches™ before they turn into a nugget!
Things are about to change here in WDC land. I will be starting a new job come Monday that will see me working nights. I am curious, dear reader, how do you manage with a hectic schedule like that?
I would love to hear about it in the comments.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Spaghetti (not homemade, obviously)
Fettuccine (Mario Batali’s recipe)
Crock pot chicken, beef or pork loin.
Quesadillas
Tomato soup with grilled cheese (winter comfort food)
Roasting potatoes and other foods in the oven while exercising after work.
And leftovers from big meals on the weekend.
We try to cook throughout the week, even if it’s really just assembling a few things and quickly heating them. As much as possible we avoid fast food and only eat at restaurants once or twice per month.
Since we both work full-time (if you can call 60 – 80 hour weeks full-time) we eat late a lot. Well, late by American standards, not European standards – around 8 most nights, if I’m doing something that requires more care or longer cooking, we’ve been known to eat closer to 9. I also cook more than is required for the 3 of us, so we always have leftovers in the fridge if things get particularly hectic. We also try to come home for lunch – we work about 2 miles from our home – and usually have leftovers for lunch, too. When we can’t come home, I’ll pack leftovers to take with us so we don’t eat out so much.
@Jan – A bonus, when you live close to home! All great ideas?
@Mike – All great ideas! Do you plan all your stuff in advance?
one of my jobs has me on the road a lot, so i have to make plenty of meals ahead of time. plus my hubby will get very fat if i don’t premake his meals ahead of time because he can easily eat at McGross every night or spoil himself with pizza EOD. so on sundays i make a ton of sammies and make a couple of meals to freeze and/or store in fridge. lots of salad wraps because you can throw anything in there and its the only way i can get hubby to eat A veggie. granted i don’t do this every sunday, although i try. when i don’t i buy a lot of nuts, kashi cookies and siggi yogurts–all very filling. now that it’s winter soups and chili’s are king.
oh congrats on the new job! where?
@dawn – Sounds great! You are in the same boat as me then, as the wife does not really cook! I am going to be working as a sous chef at the Delta Centre Ville in Montreal, Quebec.
Actually, no, we don’t do a lot of advanced planning. Many times my wife and I are texting in the afternoon and deciding what to have for supper. We keep some staples around for easy meals (sweet potatoes, etc.). Our lives would be easier if we took your advice and started a weekly menu. Hey, it’s Friday! Great to start!
@Mike – I know that a weekly menu is the way to go, but even I get caught in the rut. I like to break days down into proteins… and it becomes much easier to figure out what then.