#if I think of prepping veg less like ‘cooking’ and more like ‘autistic sorting time’ then it takes less spoons

[yesterdayscake]

a few things that worked for me was making prep and cooking two different steps.

so when I went shopping, I’d get home and be tired so I’d rest. that evening I would prep the veg for storage in my fridge, and sort of as a pre meal prep stage.

so everything got washed and put in jars, and some things would get chopped a bit.

I like jars and clear containers because I can see into them.

that night (the same night as I shopped) I’d eat a pre-made meal. generally one I got at the shops.

…

so some meals take a lot of prep, so for those I would prep everything one day, do my mis en place into little containers, and then do the actual cooking the next day.

if it took super heaps of effort, lif goes on the pot and into the fridge and I would sort the leftovers into tupperware the next day (as well as worrying about the big dish the next day also).

I’ll do a lot of meals where I can eat the leftovers cold, which minimises spoons I’m using between cooked meals. stuff like larb and rice in lettuce cups, I’d wash the whole head of cos lettuce, mix rice into the larb, and then just eat the left overs for breakfast the next few days (this one is especially a lifesaver when you’re about to have a heatwave).

I also discovered that I personally prefer to eat leftover salmon cold, especially in the summer. the coldness mutes the flavour and I can handle it better on particularly autistic sensory days.

and that’s the other major thing that literally changed my life was making breakfast the Big meal for most days. people always say ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ and then spend all their time prioritising dinner!

but personally, if I have a full, balanced breakfast, generally consisting of rice, veg and protein, then I’m eating it when I actually have energy to enjoy it and to digest it properly. by the time I get to evening, I often only have energy to eat crackers or fruit with cheese, but if I had a decent, more balanced breakfast then that’s less of an issue.

last but not least was that I found that if I went to shops that weren’t soul sucking then it took a lot less energy. so I would get delivery from the soulless awful place for the heavy stuff and then once a month or so I’d go to the markets and get the cheaper veg and fruit and nice honey and stuff. it was sort of a compromise between spoons and morale that worked out pretty well.

I don’t know if any of these things will work for other people but they helped me to learn how to cook again after forgetting it all, and to learn to love food again after having appetite issues. and I didn’t go bankrupt while paying far too much rent and living in a very high cost area so hopefully they might help someone else too

so many tips for budgeting/being frugal are just twice as hard when you have a disability

"meal plan!" idk if i'll be feeling well enough to cook every day so it's hard to plan for what to eat

"cook in advance!" i can't cook meals for a whole week at once and plus i can't count on that because again idk if ill feel okay to cook at the same time every week

"use cloth napkins and towels!" those need to be washed and folded, i already have trouble doing my laundry

"delivery is expensive, always shop in person!" going to the grocery store can wipe me out for the day.

"base your food shopping on whats on sale that week!" one, allergies are a thing and some people don't have that luxury, two, that's a lot that you have to prep for and that takes energy.

"DIY!" takes time and energy. maybe i could do it by myself but would it be worth all the time i need to take to recover?

i mean none of these are bad ideas or trying to exclude people. most of it is cutting out conveniences. but for disabled people, something that's a convenience for someone can be a necessity to others

[yournewfriendshouse]

omg wrong blog. but ^^^ that!

here are my tags from that post:

#I think morale is a big thing here #if I think of prepping veg less like 'cooking' and more like 'autistic sorting time' then it takes less spoons #I love putting things in jars so you know #that's an activity #yay! #and then it's easier to actually do the cooking because it's easy to find and stuff #there was other stuff like roasting up a bunch of tomatoes and garlic and stuff to make up tomato paste that I can put on everything #or roasting sweet potato #or making hummus #but generally there is like ingredient prep and then there are foods at the middle stage like the tomato paste and roasted sweet potato #that can be turned into a 'meal' really quick #for instance roast sweet potato on bread with cheese makes an incredible toasted sandwich that will stick to your ribs and sweet pot is very #good for you #so yeah

so many tips for budgeting/being frugal are just twice as hard when you have a disability

"meal plan!" idk if i'll be feeling well enough to cook every day so it's hard to plan for what to eat

"cook in advance!" i can't cook meals for a whole week at once and plus i can't count on that because again idk if ill feel okay to cook at the same time every week

"use cloth napkins and towels!" those need to be washed and folded, i already have trouble doing my laundry

"delivery is expensive, always shop in person!" going to the grocery store can wipe me out for the day.

"base your food shopping on whats on sale that week!" one, allergies are a thing and some people don't have that luxury, two, that's a lot that you have to prep for and that takes energy.

"DIY!" takes time and energy. maybe i could do it by myself but would it be worth all the time i need to take to recover?

i mean none of these are bad ideas or trying to exclude people. most of it is cutting out conveniences. but for disabled people, something that's a convenience for someone can be a necessity to others