How to Cook With Full Time Jobs

T here’s a variety of reasons why you’d want to know how to cook with full-time jobs–all of them very valid. Perhaps you’re trying to cut costs, eat healthier, or find something productive and creative to do. But cooking while working might be intimidating if you have a new job, haven't ever cooked before, or are resuming work after a long break but it might help to start with the small things. 

Cooking can also be a way of self-love and self-care. It’s a form of investing in yourself. Creating a habit of cooking your meals is similar to making some other significant adjustment for the betterment of your daily life.  

So without further ado, let’s dive right into what you can do to make it work.

Stock Your Pantry on the Off Days

Maintaining a supply of pantry basics is a fantastic strategy to speed up daily cooking and make meal planning easier.

Make sure you have all the staple foods in the pantry before the week starts. Make sure to keep versatile options that can turn into a couple of different choices; an example of this is pasta. Depending on whether you make pesto sauce or you use ready-to-eat meatballs, you can have two completely different options to pick from.

You'll only have to consider grocery shopping when getting fresh things during the weekly grocery trip if you have most of the basic staples already. This might help you relax and make your food planning efforts more efficient.

Save Recipes and Track Your Favorite Meals 

It's aggravating when you forget recipes that you loved. Even worse if you thought it took you 45 minutes tops but now it's past two, you're starving and burning every ingredient you pop onto the pan. We have all been there. It's no surprise. But it's a huge demotivator if you're trying to get into cooking while balancing a full-time job.

So what helps? When preparing something you've prepared previously, keep track, document, and understand what you're doing ahead of time.

Keep a running list of your favorite and least favorite dishes to avoid such culinary snares. It can also be a good idea to keep track of any changes you've made or want to change in a recipe to go from novice to pro in the kitchen.

Repurpose Leftovers to Cut Down on Cooking Time

Plan and prepare enough food to leave leftovers for the next day if you don't wish to be cooking throughout the week. Making some additional portions of what you cook for supper is a quick and easy way to prepare lunch for the next day. Some might say, even easier and quicker than the 2 minute quick and easy lunch recipes on Youtube. 

If you don't like leftovers, consider how you may reuse them to make them seem less like leftovers. For example, you may roast a whole chicken and add root veggies for supper, then simply shred the remaining chicken for soup, or tacos, or use it as a salad topper.

Cooking in Batches

Batch cooking refers to the preparation of big numbers of particular items to use the items in a variety of ways during the week. This strategy is very handy if one doesn't have a lot of time throughout the weekdays for cooking.

To use this technique for stir-fries, scrambles, salads, or rice bowls, start by preparing a large quantity of couscous or rice then roasting a tray of your favorite meat, veggies, or even tofu.

Cutting Corners in The Kitchen

Don't be ashamed to admit that you need to save money. If you aren't good at slicing veggies or can't manage time for batch cooking then you can buy cheap frozen vegetables. 

Space out your cooking days when you work full time to make sure you don't oversaturate yourself.  

It can be helpful to know which local grocery shop has some cheap nutritious, ready-to-eat choices when you're just trying to take the day off your shoulders by the end of a workday.

Having the odd day when you can’t cook doesn't mean you should order fried chicken or indulge in significantly less healthy options. 
Keep in mind that not everyone's meal prep, planning or even cooking techniques are the same. Knowing which bits you can skip out on and what corners to cut can enhance productivity and might help you keep to your ambitions for longer. Who knows, a few months of following these tips and you can learn how to cook with full-time jobs in no time.