Convenience food

[judecorp]

Someone (nikki_herself?) once posted that someone insinuated to her that it should be a lot easier for her to eat well since she is now a stay-home parent. I guess the thought process was something like: no cookies/cake/goodies around the office, no candy jar, no "working lunch" at a less than health restaurant, no tempting fast food, etc. The rationale was, "You can fill your house with healthy food and then just eat that! No problem!"

I can't speak for anyone else, but I have eaten nothing but CRAP since I have been home. And it's not even like my house is full of crap, but it has been, by necessity, overstocked with convenience foods like macaroni and cheese or instant oatmeal or frozen lunches. Processed crap. Never mind the fact that it is so tempting to go through fast-food drive-throughs while your child naps in the car seat behind you rather than considering lugging her out to get something proper... or trying to eat when you get home and she inevitably wakes up.

But even when I'm NOT eating processed junk, it's still junk. Let's take now. What am I eating? Potatoes. I'm not kidding, I'm eating potatoes. Leftover potatoes from dinner the other night. There was a tupperware container in the fridge and I opened it and there they were. Potatoes. So I heated them up, and here I am. Eating potatoes. With a slice of cheese on top. (A guy's gotta have some protein, you know? *g*)

Comments

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

I'm often perplexed at the line of "reasoning" that leads people to equate a stay at home mom with Peg Bundy in terms of spare time. I remember my mother's justifiable anger when some TV news anchor said "Well at least I'm not some wifey sitting at home eating Bon-Bons."

As for the Potatoes, they aren't evil in and of themselves. As M. F. K. Fisher said "Balance the day, not the meal."

[mayna.livejournal.com]

At least as she gets older, you will skip the drive thru becase if you hit the drive through for a snack, you'll hear from the backseat, "I want french fries!! Can I have a Frosty? I'm so hungry!"

And when you combine the cost for your meal AND theirs, it ends up being more than $4 (I think it was $12 for Wendy's yesterday). Or if all you wanted was an iced coffee, all you'll hear is whining so it's not worth it. :-)

[ntiva.livejournal.com]

I so hear what you are saying! I really have to try hard to eat well when I'm staying home. Moreso (is that a word?), I need to make sure I actually *sit down* at eat actual meals. Otherwise, I'd be grabbing a couple Oreos for breakfast (sadly, no joke), eating the rest of Alex's PB&J for lunch, a few bites of Mary's mac & cheese, and getting absolutely no nutrition at all. I made a list of some nutritious go-to breakfast, lunch, and snack ideas. Most of the things are really easy to make and are high in protein, which always keeps me satisfied longer.

[ntiva.livejournal.com]

Oh, and the drive-thru Starbucks here in town was my saving grace when the kids were sleeping and I needed some caffeine! Do you remember when Alex was about two, he had my order memorized? :-D But, like mayna said, now every time we even go *near* it, Alex suggests going so he can get a brownie bite. :-/

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, totally. It's insane.

A friend of mine has a 12 year old and a baby that's about 3 weeks younger than August, and she works from home for most of the week and goes into the office for 3 hours 3 days a week.

She calls her time in the office a break.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh totally. I never ate fast food before I was pregnant and I am going to put a screeching halt on it awfully soon because I don't want to always be buying fast food for my kid! (And I'm cheap.)

My friend's kid LOVES iced coffee because she's a Dunkin Donuts-a-holic. Whoops!

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

And yet you just know she has coworkers who think of it as the other way around.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I do a lot of grab-n-go, too... I eat a LOT of breakfast foods (bagels, oatmeal, cereal) because it's easy and sometimes I have to consciously remind myself to have some protein. I should start keeping protein powder in the house so that even if I get desperate on time, I can still chuck down something that isn't a carb. :)

In my Martha Stewart dreams, I take our leftovers and put them in single-serving containers. But then I remember that that just makes more dishes! :)

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

I remember when Alex knew your Starbucks order - it was funny because it wasn't my kid! (Ha ha) Alex has always been too smart for his own good, seriously.

Mmm, brownie bite...

[nikki-herself.livejournal.com]

Yep it was the stoopid trainer at the gym.

Let me recount my eating as of today...I had two oatmeal cookies for breakfast, then we went to Target and I got banana bread and coffee at Starbucks...then Eric came home and I ate hummus and soup. If he"d not come home, I'd have had mac and cheese.

I don't get why people don't understand that just because I'm at home it doesn't mean I have the time to make something healthy. I have a kid stuck to my leg or hip and I just can't listen to the whining ...

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, she gets SO MUCH SHIT at work. They (they're all guys, not that it totally makes a difference) are always talking about how she "never wants to work," or whatever.

In fact, she works with Jen. And Jen works with a bunch of a-holes. Jen's boss was looking at her computer the other day where she has a pic of our kid as the wallpaper, and her boss was like, "Don't you get enough of that at home?" WTF??!?!?

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Let's see. I was a little better today. I think.

I had a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast, but then I didn't remember to take my morning meds until like 11:30, when I took them with water. (The first thing I drank all day, oops.) And then, at 2pm, potatoes with a slice of cheese.

I may have some yogurt or something to pretend it's a healthy day. ;) If there were cookies in my house, you KNOW that's what I'd be eating right now. Or Pop Tarts. Dang I would love a Pop Tart.

I don't even know how people manage to cook dinner. I suppose I could stick Punk in the high chair and putter around the kitchen aimlessly but I figure she'll be in childcare some day and maybe she should get the one on one now.

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

I pity the man.

If he has a family, then it must be a terrible, lonely existence. It's sad that he resents his family and home life so much that a mere picture of them is something he finds distasteful.

It also much be a hollow existence to be so devoid of feeling for his own children that the prospect of someone else actually WANTING to see a picture of their kid is alien and worthy of ridicule.

I wonder how much of a role, if any, his own father played in his childhood.

He clearly has no respect for his wife or her duties if he finds running away from them is the appropriate course of action. No wonder he has such a poor understanding of what a stay at home mother actually does with her day.

Perhaps Jen should salt the next Secret Santa or Yankee Swap with a few copies of "Mr. Mom."

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

WOOT! Protein before noon!

As for dinner, do you have a crock pot? If Jenn can chop up some vegetables, and you can toss them into a pot with some protein before 10:00 am, you could have a nice, healthy dinner, plus leftovers by dinner time.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Oh he's a tool alright. And yes, he has two kids - one of them is a couple of weeks younger than ours. He is ALWAYS spouting some sort of family-hating nonsense but then pretends to be kidding. It is MADDENING.

When his wife was having his second kid, it was a scheduled c-section. C-section means 4-5 days in the hospital. He was back at work BEFORE SHE WAS RELEASED! I was so pissed on her behalf, but at least she had her family with her. Ugh. He also kept telling Jen how she should be like him and sleep on the couch so her sleep doesn't get disturbed and all kinds of other BS.

He's an asshat. I feel bad for his wife and kids.

[skatured.livejournal.com]

I was just thinking to myself today about how I don't like pretzels when I should eat them at home :P I want something to dip them in. I should make some honey mustard dipping sauce..yeah. But my point being, at work at least I would fill up on carrot sticks, pretzels, fruit, etc...at home I want something good and fast to eat...and good.

Damn, now I want some fast food. I guess it's a good thing it's ass cold out there and I have NO gumption to go into it. I should make some cookies instead...

oh man.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we have a crock pot. A nice one, even. We're just always so fried by the end of the day. I should get on that crock pot business.

[judecorp.livejournal.com]

Yes! I always brought a nice, healthy lunch to work with all kinds of healthy snacks! Always tons of fresh fruit and veggies, small portions... not anymore. Now I eat an entire container of potatoes. :)

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

On the bright side, if his wife has any kind of a spine (or grows one later) she'll be able to take his uninvolved ass to the cleaners in the divorce.

[kathrynt.livejournal.com]

Stouffer's frozie macaroni and cheese has no preservatives, no trans fat, and no MSG. This is what I cling to when I'm eating it for the 72057367139573th meal in a row.

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

Crock pots are wonderful things.

Rice cookers are as well, especially if they have a steamer basket. I've found most fish tofu are cooked perfectly if tossed into the rice cooker with the cold water and rice. By the time the rice is done, so is the protein.

[hetterrific.livejournal.com]

Crock pots are a lifesaver. Love them... I have three of them (different sizes) and we pretty much live off of crock pot meals this time of year!

[vttwinmama.livejournal.com]

do you have a backpack carrier that gus likes or will tolerate? sometimes we wear the kids around the house in the ergo so that we are still with them and they love that, but we can also get things done, like dinner or other household crap!

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

It works well with some frozen peas for vegetable content.

[kathrynt.livejournal.com]

Also, Broccoli Wokly or the new Steam-Fresh frozen veg. It microwaves right in the bag, which means you don't have to try and empty something into a casserole dish and then find a lid while balancing a screaming baby in your other hand.

My life these days is all about how to get "cheater food" that's as close to homemade as possible. Sigh, for the days of wine and roses.