Average time spent in kitchen.

[MINNIE]

I've never kept track, but 1/2 to 1 hour sounds about right. I prepare all my own meals, and I eat very simply.

Most of what I do in the kitchen is washing, peeling, chopping and then putting stuff in the instant pot, rice cooker or microwave.

When I started out 6 years ago, I relied on Jeff Novick's videos and the McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook to streamline my food prep.

Now it's second nature and I don't have to think at all.

I am mostly a no-recipe cook now, and that in itself saves time.

Maybe you could try a recipe once or twice a week for now , and make simple dishes the rest of the time.

My own meals are always one-pot or one-bowl, such as rice plus steamed veggies. Or sometimes it's just one-ingredient - i.e. microwaved potato, or bowl of oats.

Good luck, and remember - this can be as simple or complex as you want it to be.

[moonlight]

When I returned to McDougalling last October, I decided to make all the recipes in the MWL book at least once. I did a lot of prepping and cooking. It was a worthwhile goal. I learned a lot of new dishes. Now for an ideal week I'll spend 2-3 hours one day a week prepping veggies, batch cooking a starch, rice or bulgur, and making a soup or two. During the week I spend maybe 15 minutes putting together a meal. While a potato is cooking in the microwave I can sauté fresh veggies, fix a salad, and have a meal in less than 15 minutes. I love it! So simple. The hard part for me is making myself do the grocery shopping...

[Idgie]

moonlight, are there any MWL book recipes you still make?

[kirkj]

It's probably about an hour an day, maybe 90 minutes. I make big batches of everything and re-heat. I don't really buy anything that is ready to eat so it's lots of cooking on some days, very little on others.

[bunsofaluminum]

I voted the third option, between an hour and a half and two hours, but that was a guess based on some days not cooking at all, and some days making huge batches of several recipes and stockpiling them for meals over the week. So, on a Saturday I might have four hours total in the kitchen, but then Monday through Wednesday nothing more than it takes to nuke a plate of food. I guess it averages out to about 90 minutes a day. But I do a lot better when I have food socked away in the fridge. Much easier to be compliant that way.

[colonyofcells]

Today, I tried cutting 1 head of onion and peeling 1 head of garlic (inside had many small pieces) and peeling the many small garlic pieces did take a long time. Not sure how bad I will smell tomorrow from the garlic.

[Kaye]

Kaye, how about sharing your sweet potato curry recipe.

I make a couple of curries adapted from Meera Sodha's recipes - she uses quite a lot of oil but I find they work out just fine leaving that out and using water or vegetable stock instead.

The sweet potato/beetroot curry is

3 or 4 beetroots peeled and cut in wedges
1 large sweet potato peeled and cut in wedges
1 cauliflower cut into florets
1 onion
1 green pepper
Mushrooms
150g rice
125g green lentils
Curry powder
400 mls of low fat coconut milk (I use almond milk and veg stock instead but you could just use stock/broth)
6 cloves garlic
2 cm piece of ginger
1-2 green chillies
1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cumin & 1 tsp curry powder to make the sauce

Roast the beets, sweet potato and cauliflower in the oven - I dip them in water so wet and then toss in some curry powder to coat rather than using oil as she suggests. Roast the cauliflower for 20 mins and the root veg for 30 mins. While that is cooking make the sauce. Brown the onion in a pan, add the green pepper and mushrooms until softened. While that is cooking blitz in a blender the liquid, garlic, ginger, chillies and dry spices, add to the onion mixture in the pan and then fold in the roasted veggies, rice and lentils. Finish off in the oven for about an hour checking that the rice is cooked.

My other favourite of hers is leek, mushroom and kale subji.

1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp black mustard seeds.
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 leeks trimmed and sliced
600 g mushrooms quartered
1.5 tsp red chilli powder
0.5 tsp tumeric
200g kale - remove tough stalks and tear into bite size bits
150 g frozen peas
150 g frozen edamamee beans

Crush the seeds, stir fry in a little water taking care not to burn, add the onion, garlic and dry spices adding more water so they don't burn. Cook for a few minutes then add the leeks until softening, add the mushrooms. Allow to cook down. Add the kale, cook for 10 mins then add frozen peas and beans. I tend to cook for less time on the hob and chuck in oven to finish off so I can be doing other things. No need to add more liquid as mushrooms provide plenty.

You can get more of her recipes here but as I say they do need adapting to make them more WFPB and even then not all are suitable.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/series/the-new-vegan

[colonyofcells]

The india recipe vegetable dish subji with onion, garlic, leek, peas, mushroom and kale looks very healthy. I would guess that the vegetable dish subji is usually eaten with brown rice, red rice or black rice. I usually do 1 dish porridge/soups/cereals so I would boil rice and peas together (or oat groats and peas).

[americaninca46]

Hi Group, I spend one day a week or week and a half making my meals for the next week or so. It takes me about 2 hrs. to make a huge pot of veggie soup/stew. then I just basically have a hot cereal for breakfast and reheat my soup for lunch and supper with variations of salad, potatoes, rice and beans. My soup is thick and full of all the allowed veggies so it is very filling. I think I spend more time doing my dishes than making meals. I love it this way. I have never been so happy and comfortable with an eating plan in my life. I am never bored with my meals because I only eat when I am hungry. Reminds me of when I was young. My mom never asked us what we wanted to eat. She cooked it and we ate it because we were hungry. Of course we did not have all the temptations of fast food like now. I definitely eat to live. I can easily recognize hunger over craving. I am so grateful for all of you who post and for the great help from Dr. McDougall and Jeff. Rebia

[Langeranger]

Thanks Kaye. Eager to try it

[patty]

Through this site I have been able to explore so many different ways to prepare, cook and try different recipes, now I have settled to eating very simply. I have to say that is the benefit of not having to cook for anyone else. I am really grateful for those who helped me through the forums, the change couldn't have been done without them. I can't believe at one time I did hydroponics. I feel Dr. McDougall and Jeff Novick really helped me lose my fear of food and going hungry. I think someone said, at first it was for health, then ethical and now it is about climate change. I am truly grateful.

Aloha, patty