Somehow today's conversation at lunch became about my eating habits. Kind of ironic considering I was eating a chicken sandwich and apple, while my two friends were having re-heated pasta and salad and a Lean Pocket.
Anyhoo.
During this lunch, I apparently baffled my co-workers with my eating habits (what I cook and do not cook). I will try to explain some of this here.
First off, I hardly ever "cook." I only started making my own meals about a year and a half ago because I lived in the dorm all throughout college. I always helped my mom make dinner up until I was 18, but she usually did most of the stuff that required getting some stove-action. The most common meals that I eat now are: soup (heated in the microwave) and cheese, sometimes with a vegetable or fruit. Lean Cuisine (my favorite is sesame chicken). Hormel Beef Roast heated in the microwave, usually with corn from the frozen aisle or in a can. Smart Ones Three Cheese Ziti. Drink of choice: skim milk. Always perfect. I just tried a Cafe Steamer from Healthy Choice, which was chicken breast, broccoli, and linguine with roasted red pepper sauce (I sound like the commercial). It was very tasty. And quick. Quick is the key. You can't have a meal with Meg if it is not quick.
And by quick, I mean under 5 minutes. Really. None of this "10 minute to prep, 10 minutes to make" crap. That is too long for me to wait. I get off work at 7:00pm on weeknights, which means I am usually home between 7:45-8:30 (depending on traffic and stops I make along the way home). By the time I get home, I have not eaten a meal in 5-6 hours. I am hungry now. I am tired now. I have new TV to watch now. I have a craft project I want to work on now. I want to watch the Pistons-the-one-time-they-are-on-TV-in-LA now. You get the picture. The easiest and tastiest thing for me to do at this point is pop something in the microwave. It gets the job done and then I am onto something else for the evening.
I am not against cooking (although I understand it seems that way from what I wrote above). I just do not like to spend the time or effort to make something every night of the week. Or even 3 or 4 nights. Besides it being so late by the time I get home, I usually don't make food for anyone other than me. I don't particularly like leftovers, so it seems like a waste to make a meal for just me. Another criticism of my eating habits is that I won't know how to make food for my future children. First, I do not have kids right now. Second, I do not see myself having kids in the near future, so I have plenty of time to learn. And lastly, there will be others to help me make food when the time finally does come.
I am also a pretty picky eater. I am willing to try most any food once, but if I don't like, I don't like it. And I don't want to eat it again. I hate tomatoes and mushrooms. I like to shave the outer green off a cucumber and then cut away the middle to eat only the edges (hate the seeds). I don't like stems in my lettuce. I just want a flat piece of lettuce. Emeril agrees with me, so back off on this one. I don't like vegetables much in general... carrots, broccoli, potatoes, red/green/orange peppers, and corn are probably the best. I hate the fat on meat or the little veins inside (bleh). I don't like cooking with wine because I can taste the alcohol in my food.
And now for a list of things I have made in the past (and will again the future). By "make" I mean that I have to put stuff together and usually have to cook at least a portion of it on the stove.
--Salmon with light mayo and onion salt on top. This is amazing. Please try it, even though it sounds gross.
--Spaghetti and sauce.
--Ramen noodles with chunk cheese.
--Chili, chips, and cheese (add lettuce).
--Chicken breast and corn.
--Pumpkin pie from a recipe.
--I like to bake cakes, cookies, and brownies from boxes.
--I have no made my mom's lasagna yet, but I plan to do this sometime in the near future.
Conclusion: I do not like making meals because it is not something I am particularly fond of and it is not how I want to spend my evening after a long day at work. I think things would be different if I got off work earlier or if I had someone to cook/eat with. I am still a youngin' though and have many more years to experiment with making food.
Anyhoo.
During this lunch, I apparently baffled my co-workers with my eating habits (what I cook and do not cook). I will try to explain some of this here.
First off, I hardly ever "cook." I only started making my own meals about a year and a half ago because I lived in the dorm all throughout college. I always helped my mom make dinner up until I was 18, but she usually did most of the stuff that required getting some stove-action. The most common meals that I eat now are: soup (heated in the microwave) and cheese, sometimes with a vegetable or fruit. Lean Cuisine (my favorite is sesame chicken). Hormel Beef Roast heated in the microwave, usually with corn from the frozen aisle or in a can. Smart Ones Three Cheese Ziti. Drink of choice: skim milk. Always perfect. I just tried a Cafe Steamer from Healthy Choice, which was chicken breast, broccoli, and linguine with roasted red pepper sauce (I sound like the commercial). It was very tasty. And quick. Quick is the key. You can't have a meal with Meg if it is not quick.
And by quick, I mean under 5 minutes. Really. None of this "10 minute to prep, 10 minutes to make" crap. That is too long for me to wait. I get off work at 7:00pm on weeknights, which means I am usually home between 7:45-8:30 (depending on traffic and stops I make along the way home). By the time I get home, I have not eaten a meal in 5-6 hours. I am hungry now. I am tired now. I have new TV to watch now. I have a craft project I want to work on now. I want to watch the Pistons-the-one-time-they-are-on-TV-in-LA now. You get the picture. The easiest and tastiest thing for me to do at this point is pop something in the microwave. It gets the job done and then I am onto something else for the evening.
I am not against cooking (although I understand it seems that way from what I wrote above). I just do not like to spend the time or effort to make something every night of the week. Or even 3 or 4 nights. Besides it being so late by the time I get home, I usually don't make food for anyone other than me. I don't particularly like leftovers, so it seems like a waste to make a meal for just me. Another criticism of my eating habits is that I won't know how to make food for my future children. First, I do not have kids right now. Second, I do not see myself having kids in the near future, so I have plenty of time to learn. And lastly, there will be others to help me make food when the time finally does come.
I am also a pretty picky eater. I am willing to try most any food once, but if I don't like, I don't like it. And I don't want to eat it again. I hate tomatoes and mushrooms. I like to shave the outer green off a cucumber and then cut away the middle to eat only the edges (hate the seeds). I don't like stems in my lettuce. I just want a flat piece of lettuce. Emeril agrees with me, so back off on this one. I don't like vegetables much in general... carrots, broccoli, potatoes, red/green/orange peppers, and corn are probably the best. I hate the fat on meat or the little veins inside (bleh). I don't like cooking with wine because I can taste the alcohol in my food.
And now for a list of things I have made in the past (and will again the future). By "make" I mean that I have to put stuff together and usually have to cook at least a portion of it on the stove.
--Salmon with light mayo and onion salt on top. This is amazing. Please try it, even though it sounds gross.
--Spaghetti and sauce.
--Ramen noodles with chunk cheese.
--Chili, chips, and cheese (add lettuce).
--Chicken breast and corn.
--Pumpkin pie from a recipe.
--I like to bake cakes, cookies, and brownies from boxes.
--I have no made my mom's lasagna yet, but I plan to do this sometime in the near future.
Conclusion: I do not like making meals because it is not something I am particularly fond of and it is not how I want to spend my evening after a long day at work. I think things would be different if I got off work earlier or if I had someone to cook/eat with. I am still a youngin' though and have many more years to experiment with making food.
Ah, a woman after my own heart. Cooking is a wonderful pasttime - for someone else to do for me. It's not that I can't do it, I just choose to do it selectively.
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