How to Cook Real Food When You’re Really Tired

I used to be a casserole cook. I would take boiled chicken or browned ground beef and mix it with cans of creamy soup, cheese, and butter. Sometimes frozen or canned vegetables were involved. Ritz crackers or potato chips were an acceptable topping to add culinary height and crunch. In 2016, I realized that this diet was not serving my body well. I felt like I was drowning in life. I was brain fogged. My whole body hurt. I wanted to see if a diet of “real food” would heal my body or make a difference at all. But how do you cook real food when you’re really tired? Let me share with you what I learned along the way.

START WITH A PLAN

Don’t over-plan. Don’t assume that you’ll cook real food from scratch seven days a week. You won’t want to do that…especially in the beginning. That’s a recipe for overwhelm. Plan to make just TWO or THREE real food meals your first week out. Find a recipe to guide you for each meal that you plan to make. Begin with ingredients you know. For instance, if you’re used to eating canned green beans and potato chips, don’t assume that your first real food recipe needs to be beets and turnip greens. Find something within your realm of familiar.

Make a simple plan. Don’t find new recipes that require complex culinary skills. Here are a few that I recommend for beginners:

Simple Vegan Breakfast Tacos by Real Food Real Healing

Paleo Breakfast Casserole by Real Food Real Healing

Baked Salmon by Real Food Real Healing

Burnt Broccoli by Danielle Walker

Greek Meatballs by Spring Forest Farm

Egg Roll in a Bowl by Unbound Wellness

Chicken Tortillia-less Soup by Paleo Running Momma

COOK WHEN YOU HAVE THE TIME AND ENERGY

I used to cook dinner somewhere between 4:30 and 6:00 pm. I cooked dinner right before dinner time, as one does, right? Well in 2016, right about the time I decided to change my diet, two things were going on at the same time. One – late afternoon was my most fatigued time of day. Two – my son had just turned two and late afternoon was his crankiest time of day. I found that if I tried to cook dinner right before dinner time, both my son and I wound up in tears.

During that whole year, I cooked dinner during my son’s afternoon nap time. That left me free to cuddle him or read to him during his cranky hours. It also gave me a bit of relief so that I did not have to stand and work during my most fatigued hours. My son is now much older and no longer naps, but I still cook when I have the most time and energy. I no longer allow “dinner time” to dictate my schedule in the kitchen. Some days I cook dinner first thing in the morning. At other times, I cook over lunch or while I’m homeschooling my son. If it makes sense to cook at dinner time, I will, but I’m not bound to that schedule. I allow myself the freedom to make choices that benefit my health and mental well-being.

DO THE BEST YOU CAN WHEN YOU CAN

When I first switched my diet, even if I cooked during nap time rather than dinner time, I often lacked the energy I needed to complete simple tasks. I remember sitting at the dining room table to chop vegetables because I was too tired to stand at the counter. I remember laying on the floor in front of the stove because I couldn’t stand up long enough to simmer a meal. Do the best you can when you can. Allow your expectations to match your physical and mental health.

In the beginning, look for quick, easy meals. Don’t try to make a recipe that takes two hours to prep and three hours to cook. Set yourself up for success. As your body heals, you’ll have more energy and more desire to accomplish complex tasks. While I don’t love the texture of frozen vegetables, they are as nutritionally complete as fresh vegetables. If you’re making a soup, or something where the texture won’t bother you, take the short cut and use pre-chopped frozen vegetables. Allow yourself such small graces.

Your best will grow as you heal. Within 4-6 weeks of making a drastic swing to “real food” I felt like an entirely new person. I stood at the counter. I cooked at the stove without laying down. Complex meals became a challenge I wanted to take on. I was ready to learn new things. And instead of just cuddling my son during his cranky time, I was pushing him in a stroller on our way to the park. Do the best you can when you can. Your best will get better.

DON’T GIVE UP

When you make a drastic change all at once, you’re likely to feel worse before you feel better. The body will have to get used to a new normal. For instance, you may experience detox symptoms if you cut out sugar all at once. Commit to at least thirty days of change before you decide if a diet of “real food” is working for you or not. I’d suggest more like six weeks, but if that sounds too daunting, mark off thirty days on the calendar. Feed your body with real food and positive affirmations. 

“Real food heals.”

“I am feeding my body the real food that it needs to heal.”

“This real food will give me energy and make me stronger.”

I was so radically different after 4-6 weeks of real food, that I didn’t want to go back to what I’d eaten before. I saw the benefit of my time in the kitchen. Real food made real change to my life. Don’t give up. Allow time for change.

ARE THERE RULES TO FOLLOW? WHAT IS A “REAL FOOD” DIET?

There are so many diets you could choose to follow. There’s Paleo, The Autoimmune Protocol, Whole 30, Atkins, The Specific Carbohydrate Diet, The FODMAPS diet, etc. If you have a specific condition you are trying to treat, you may find one of those useful…but if you’re just looking to improve your overall health, the following are my personal “real food” suggestions.

PRIMARILY USE FOODS FOUND IN NATURE:

• Eggs
• Fruits and vegetables
• Herbs
• Nuts
• Pasture raised meats
• Seeds
• Whole grains (oats, rice, quinoa, etc.)
• Wild caught seafood

TRY TO AVOID:

• Artificial flavor
• Artificial sweetener
• Carrageenan
• Corn syrup
• Food dyes
• Gums/Stabilizers
• Refined Grains

USE SPARINGLY:

• Alcohol
• Sugar
• Processed food (If choosing a time-saving processed food, look for less than five ingredients…all things that you can recognize and pronounce.)