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I’m a busy man. With so much going on all the time, there are many days when I get home from work and realize I don’t feel like spending 30 minutes to an hour plus making dinner. Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook, but sometimes a chili cheese dog, wings or fried chicken sounds way better made by someone else than me.
The problem is, it’s costing me in more ways (or weighs) than one.
In my household, if I don’t cook it, we aren’t eating. I find this to be a very fair tradeoff because cooking is essentially the only duty I perform that is noteworthy, at least in terms of the house. Any idiot can cut the grass, water the plants and feed the animals (my only other chores), and my dishwashing/putting away of dishes leaves something to be desired. Long story short, I am a messy slob and I just can’t help it. I’m not allowed to do laundry anymore after I left pens in my pants on more than one occasion and my attention to detail is often lacking. Even after a long day, there are times where I’m just not up to cooking. People have to eat, which leads me to ordering out and where I live, there is no shortage of delicious yet terrible for you foods.
Besides making me fatter, dropping a minimum of $20 for reach meal is a killer. I’m in a modern relationship so we take turns paying for meals, but really, it’s the pits shelling out for meals. Each time I get the dinner bill (plus a 20% tip), it reminds me that I could have prepared a meal with at least a day’s worth of leftovers for at least half of that. I cringe at the end of every month as I look at my banking statements, realizing how much is thrown away, simply because I’m lazy. We live in a convenience world, and boy, am I living in it.
Sunday used to be my “meal prep” day, if you could call it that. I would largely make different burrito concoctions, take out meat from my bulging freezer (I always buy manager special meat and forget about it in my freezer), or prepare something for a crockpot meal. It’s easy to make a crockpot meal early in the week and eat for the week while making two smaller meals to get through. I’d have a rough idea of what I wanted to make each week and go with it. The problem is, with football season in full swing and the preparation of food for the entire tailgate, I have no desire to devote another day to cooking. It’s an excuse.
I guess this entire article is a self-reflection on personal and general sloth. Up until recently, I was pretty good about making food every night and only eating out once a week. The thing is, I know when I cook, I make a huge mess, have to clean up, do dishes and the looming prospect of doing stuff turns me off from the entire process.
My townhouse gets messier than it already is which leads to anxiety. The kitchen is my dojo and I have disrespected it. It’s one of my many character flaws, but there is hope and I need to get back to my roots. Besides making me fatter and crushing my wallet, it’s taken a psychological toll on me. I’m one of those kind of people that has to keep at the craft or I’ll lose it. I’ve begun second-guessing myself on recipes I’ve made for years. I haven’t been innovative at all and it’s demoralizing.
Maybe many of you share the same problem. Like getting back to the gym after a long hiatus (something I also need to do), you just have to do it. No more excuses, no more lying to yourself. What sets us apart from animals is the fact that we cook our food. Sure, eating out is great, but honestly, I need to cut it out, for my gut and wallet’s sake. .
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Madoff
I specialize in damage control, being the drunkest at any and all functions and social assassination. Always appreciate a strong gif game. Follow me on Twitter. Sometimes I put up cool stuff about golfing at the local dirt tracks.
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Fuck.
This was me with baking over the weekend. Hadn’t done it in forever. Spent Saturday afternoon watching football, drinking beer and making bourbon sweet potato cupcakes with brown buttercream frosting and homemade caramel sauce, and it was nice to be back in the game.
‘sup.
Any left over to share with the classroom?
The vultures at work already got them.
I brought a lunch to work today. But I want to get away from my cube, so I’m walking to Chipotle as we speak.
I used to take the time to the sous vide and crock pot route. Manager special hunk of beef, leave the for day, come back to food prepped and ready.
Of course, now 90% of what I eat is protein bars, which is it’s own form of depressing.
You are the voice of all of us
As a traveling salesman with no access to microwaves, this is my everyday problem. Homemade hot lunches are off the menu, restricting me to cold cuts, sandwiches, or eating out… Anyone got any ideas how to cull my regimen of Chick-fil-a, Subway, Chipolte, and Panda?
Exercise
Noted. But they say workouts start in the kitchen.
Nice article but this is totally unrelated since there’s no forum: Chicago people, have you seen/heard the prices for Wrigleyville bars this weekend? I know Old Crow is doing $225 for 1 app, 1 entree and drinks from 7pm to 9th inning (other places doing similar). Sheffields and Murphys doing no cover. Any other info?
I’ll be in Chicago next week and this gives me intense anxiety
I tried to go to the bars in Wrigleyville on Saturday. I walked by the front of the Wrigley four hours before first pitch and it was already swamped. People told me a majority of the popular Wrigley bars were $100 for cover. I ended up watching with a large group at a buddy’s place right next to the Sports Corner and the Red line. I don’t think it’s worth going to the Wrigley bars unless it’s a game where they can clinch the WS.
I was lucky enough to get to Casey Moran’s early enough on Saturday to not wait in a long line or pay a cover, but I don’t think there is a shot in the dark that I make it to any Wrigley Bars this weekend when Murphy’s and Sluggers both had a $100 cover last weekend combined with having to pay $9 for a Budweiser.
I don’t really mind paying a decent cover or the higher price for beer. The problem is having to get there so early that you’re at the bar for 12+ hours paying those prices.
See that’s why you gotta keep it simple: day drink at a friend’s near wrigley, have homemade snacks that someone’s girlfriend was way too eager to make, and walk to the intersection in front of the field sometime during the 8th inning. More alcohol and shorter time with zero personal space, and you still get to party.
I’d honestly rather be in the mix with the crowd. Just feeling the energy.
They closed off the stadium area mid 7th last weekend. Will probz do the same this weekend.
Murphy’s has no cover this weekend. Yak-zies only $25.
I managed to get into yakzies last Saturday with the gf and some friends. Was a blast.
Was planning on a group going at noonish this Saturday, but between not being able to clinch on Saturday and the covers, we’re staying at the apartment and having a party. Southport. So we can walk up to mingle on the crowds anyways.
I got to Old Crow around 3 and the line was around the block. Got into Barleycorn in 15 minutes with a $10 cover pretty quickly. All the bars are packed early and cover goes up throughout the day. I’m planning on going in by noon at the latest. Gotta be with the people for this.
Holy fucking shit. Well that changes my weekend plans.
Old Crow, Barleycorn, Deuces all doing the same I believe. You can also reserve a 4 person table for $500, but each person still has to buy the $225/$250 ticket as well. Believe Cubby Bear is doing $100 cover but not sure. A few of the places websites are down right now too, I assume because of heavy traffic.
In defense of my laziness, the local Indian diner’s curry tastes WAY better than mine. So I keep the place open stuffing my fat face with tikka masala and coriander chicken on a regular basis.
I always seem to go two weeks of making food for dinner and lunch and then a week of just eating out for every meal, I just end up getting lazy.