Cooking takes so much time and energy, I just can’t do it!
I completely understand. Shopping, choosing ingredients, chopping, prepping, and cooking all take time.
When we’re dealing with health issues, these things can seem impossible.
First, we have to pick healthy meals. Then we list out the ingredients. Go to the store, buy the things, and bring them home. Now it’s time to cook! Who has the energy for that?!?
Speaking from personal experience, I got overwhelmed. The idea of learning all these things and the effort required seemed like too much. I thought it was more than I could handle. I was wrong.
The problem with having no energy is that you have to do something to get more energy. It takes energy to do things!
I had to get over my idea of what cooking is.
What I used to do was cook one meal at a time. I put care into that meal.
The rest of the time, I ate out of boxes, cans, and bags. I’m not proud of it. A single working mom only has so much time. I often put my own needs last.
What to Do When You Think “I Don’t Have Energy to Cook for My Type 2 Diabetes”:
It was when I read about batch cooking that everything changed for me.
Batch cooking is a time when you cook a bunk of things all at once. This takes less time and provides us with leftovers.
I know one woman who paid a neighborhood teenager to come over and chop her vegetables for her. Her hands hurt too much to chop them herself. Where there is a will there’s a way.
It wasn’t long before she had the energy and ability to chop her veggies herself. She still had the teenager over to chop but, that was for fun now.
My first successful batch cook was so easy. I’m still in shock. I made such a big deal about it!
Simple batch cooking ideas:
Batch Cooking Idea 1 – the biggest help when you think “I don’t have the energy to cook for my Type 2 Diabetes.”
Place a whole pork roast in a deep large pan
Rub it with olive oil and sprinkle it with salt
Chop up a ton of veggies into big chunks
Toss veggies in olive oil and salt
Throw them in around the pork roast
Bake it for the time required by the weight of the roast
Batch Cooking Idea 2
Seasoned chicken breasts in a pan with olive oil
Batch Cooking Idea 3
Cauliflower rice in a pan with diced onions, olive oil, and seasonings
Batch Cooking Idea 4
Zucchini noodles with olive oil and seasonings
Batch Cooking Idea 5
Hash- ground beef and diced veggies
Throw it in a pan with olive oil and seasonings
Toss everything in the oven.
This is good for more than a few meals. Separate individual portions. Place them in many containers. It’s so easy to eat later in the week. Everything is ready! Keep some in the freezer for times when you get into a pinch.
Is this the world’s most exciting combination of foods? I don’t think so. Did it get me through a whole week without worrying about cooking or eating unhealthy things? It sure did!
Click here to read our Article Easy Exercise Tips For Type 2 Diabetes
When your big worry is: I don’t have time to cook for my Type 2 Diabetes.
The main thing I learned was to never run out of cooked food. When you run out, you make poor choices.
I had one big surprise. My kids started eating my batch-cooked food! My teenagers were eating meat and veggies for snacks. What?!? Great!
It did cause me to run out of cooked food one night. I did cry in my kitchen out of frustration. I then learned to make more food on Sundays.
Sundays are my cooking days. I look forward to it now. My teenagers help me. I play music, try new things, and enjoy all my matching little food containers. It’s a great part of my life now!
There are many good books about batch cooking. Websites have a lot of information.
My Instant Pot is a lifesaver! I can throw a frozen piece of meat in there with veggies and dinner is ready in less than 40 minutes.
You don’t have to be excited or skilled to get started. You just have to start.
After my first week of eating well, I felt better! I had more energy. I decided my food was bland and looked up seasonings. You can do a lot with seasonings.
At its most basic batch cooking is chopping up a bunch of veggies all at once and cooking a lot of meat. There is no wrong way to do this. You’ll get more creative over time.
You’ll feel much better and your blood sugar levels will go down. My stress levels over healthy cooking went down!
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Her tragic family history of Type 2 Diabetes, and her own diagnosis of prediabetes in 2021 caused her to research more deeply, leading to a passion in educating people on how to hopefully put this disease into remission.
