we have a great meats shops down the street; they have a deep freezer chock full of good eats; like sweet and sour chicken; vegetable lasagne, chicken tenders, etc etc etc. Brother Ed, one of the guys, prepares all of this himself and it's very good quality, healthy and tastes terrific. so i would get alot of these entres and make several during the week.
another thing i did that helped was to make a big pasta dish and have it all week. generally this was either a cool pasta salad for summer, or a baked style pasta for winter (with cheese, spinach, mushrooms, sauce, onions, etc).
here are some other things i did during different seasons (mostly for food, but some other tips here as well):
winter--soup. make a big pot every week. it's easy with boxed stock, frozen vegetables, whatever. soup is easy and you can walk away while it's cooking. i never had a crock pot, but people say you can plug them in and let 'em go all day long.
summer--cut up in-season vegetables ahead of time and have them ready to go. or, buy them already chopped up! it's quick to make a vegetable salad, just season with EVOO, S&P, red chili flakes, whatever. same with fruit--by it cut up, or once it's home, cut it up and have the portions all ready to go; you could make a GIANT fruit salad and portion it out in plastic containers for your lunch or snacks for pre/post training, and your family would enjoy it too.
winter--Bernard's deli meats, bakery bread and good cheeses makes a hearty and fantastic hot sandwich that is fast and keeps my husband happy. (Bernard's is free range). this with soup is a gut bomb and fills up the tummy very good. plus, it's damn good eats! if you're vegetarian, you could just layer up hearty vegetables and slide the sandwich under the broiler! you could make "pizza baggettes" this way--with really great bread, some sauce and cheese. DAMN! it's good.
winter--buy whole chickens, slap on EVOO, S&P, slam it in the oven on 400 for 60-90 minutes (until themometer reads DONE!), along with some cut up potato, baby carrot, whatever and this is a very easy to prepare hearty meal. at the last minute pop some gravy in a skillet and slide in the oven and your family will think it took you hours and hours of hard labor. the best part is that while it's roasting, you're free to do other things! butternut squash and basically anything vegetarian, it's the same principle. marinade it, and roast it. bing, you're free to go, and the oven helps warm up the house.
summer--pre-marinate meats, vegetables in ziplock back. use a little EVOO, a little lemon, fresh herbs and black pepper. when you get home it's marinaded to perfection and you can fire up the grill. takes 10 minutes to grill it! if you have a cast iron skillet you can put that puppy on the grill and sautee your vegetables right in it without having to fuss with vegetables falling through the grate, or fuss with skewering them.
Groceries--make friends with your local butcher. you can call ahead, place your order and pick it up after work or whenever you can. if they offer delivery, that's even better!!! probably, you could do the same thing with a small market in order to get really good produce, etc.
laundry--by things you can wash and wear. save handwash for garments you love, or for special things unless you like the dry cleaners. since i never liked dry cleaning, everything is wash and wear; handwashed things are easy too, just dunk in a little soap and cold water, rinse, squeeze, and voila! it's dry in no time.
email, email, email! i don't like to talk on the phone because of my career in executive recruiting. it's no fun to talk when i have to do it all day at work. so i email and this is actually a much faster, more enjoyable mode of communication (IMO). it might help you save time too.
employ your kids! i don't have kids, but if i did i would try to inspire their ability to help. kids can wash clothes, care for pets, and do lots of things. if they get paid for chores, or get other rewards, then that's a win/win for everyone, and kids feel a sense of responsibility and accomplishment with positively impacting the household (and their wallets ;)
do business online! if you can do business online, great. this might save you from ushering yourself all over town and spending time on errands.
good luck in your training ladies. these things helped me during IMWI training last year (with the exception of kids, we found pugs are basically good for nothing outside of being adorable, loving, and squishy. my husband still hopes that one of them will get a job, but i keep telling him it's hopeless. :)
another thing i did that helped was to make a big pasta dish and have it all week. generally this was either a cool pasta salad for summer, or a baked style pasta for winter (with cheese, spinach, mushrooms, sauce, onions, etc).
here are some other things i did during different seasons (mostly for food, but some other tips here as well):
winter--soup. make a big pot every week. it's easy with boxed stock, frozen vegetables, whatever. soup is easy and you can walk away while it's cooking. i never had a crock pot, but people say you can plug them in and let 'em go all day long.
summer--cut up in-season vegetables ahead of time and have them ready to go. or, buy them already chopped up! it's quick to make a vegetable salad, just season with EVOO, S&P, red chili flakes, whatever. same with fruit--by it cut up, or once it's home, cut it up and have the portions all ready to go; you could make a GIANT fruit salad and portion it out in plastic containers for your lunch or snacks for pre/post training, and your family would enjoy it too.
winter--Bernard's deli meats, bakery bread and good cheeses makes a hearty and fantastic hot sandwich that is fast and keeps my husband happy. (Bernard's is free range). this with soup is a gut bomb and fills up the tummy very good. plus, it's damn good eats! if you're vegetarian, you could just layer up hearty vegetables and slide the sandwich under the broiler! you could make "pizza baggettes" this way--with really great bread, some sauce and cheese. DAMN! it's good.
winter--buy whole chickens, slap on EVOO, S&P, slam it in the oven on 400 for 60-90 minutes (until themometer reads DONE!), along with some cut up potato, baby carrot, whatever and this is a very easy to prepare hearty meal. at the last minute pop some gravy in a skillet and slide in the oven and your family will think it took you hours and hours of hard labor. the best part is that while it's roasting, you're free to do other things! butternut squash and basically anything vegetarian, it's the same principle. marinade it, and roast it. bing, you're free to go, and the oven helps warm up the house.
summer--pre-marinate meats, vegetables in ziplock back. use a little EVOO, a little lemon, fresh herbs and black pepper. when you get home it's marinaded to perfection and you can fire up the grill. takes 10 minutes to grill it! if you have a cast iron skillet you can put that puppy on the grill and sautee your vegetables right in it without having to fuss with vegetables falling through the grate, or fuss with skewering them.
Groceries--make friends with your local butcher. you can call ahead, place your order and pick it up after work or whenever you can. if they offer delivery, that's even better!!! probably, you could do the same thing with a small market in order to get really good produce, etc.
laundry--by things you can wash and wear. save handwash for garments you love, or for special things unless you like the dry cleaners. since i never liked dry cleaning, everything is wash and wear; handwashed things are easy too, just dunk in a little soap and cold water, rinse, squeeze, and voila! it's dry in no time.
email, email, email! i don't like to talk on the phone because of my career in executive recruiting. it's no fun to talk when i have to do it all day at work. so i email and this is actually a much faster, more enjoyable mode of communication (IMO). it might help you save time too.
employ your kids! i don't have kids, but if i did i would try to inspire their ability to help. kids can wash clothes, care for pets, and do lots of things. if they get paid for chores, or get other rewards, then that's a win/win for everyone, and kids feel a sense of responsibility and accomplishment with positively impacting the household (and their wallets ;)
do business online! if you can do business online, great. this might save you from ushering yourself all over town and spending time on errands.
good luck in your training ladies. these things helped me during IMWI training last year (with the exception of kids, we found pugs are basically good for nothing outside of being adorable, loving, and squishy. my husband still hopes that one of them will get a job, but i keep telling him it's hopeless. :)