Reply #152: Just Too Tired [View All]

[RazzleCat]

I know how to cook healthy, and I have transportation (expensive, but have it), and easy access to decent grocery stores. What I don't have is the energy to cook a good and healthy meal 3x a day. Here is my average day. Alarm goes off 4:30 am, shower dress, pick up house, walk dog, get to work by 6am. Work, involves running around like a chicken with its head cut off. My job is a combination of physical, and mental. If I am lucky I can get a 30 minutes slow down during the day to eat anything. Finish up work around 4:30pm, drive home in traffic arrive home about 5-5:30 (later if their is an accident). Lets look here already half of the day gone. When I arrive home I am dead beat, right now we are in a long term heat wave, I spend up to 6 hours outside in the heat doing physical work (yes I drink water on site). All I have the energy for is a flop down, and stare at the walls. The comments that I could cook a healthy meal are correct, but they just don't take into account that I can hardley get up the energy to wash to grit off myself, let alone get some laundry done, spend time with my child (age 15), or see my honey. My average food cooking consists of a turkey sandwich, cup of yogurt, and maybe a piece of fruit, but keep in mind I have to get to the store to do this and I did mention that I have a 15 year old, he can eat a whole weeks worth of food in a day, then we are screwed, yep out of money and now no more fresh food for the rest of the week. I have explained over and over and over to him, honey this is it, when its gone were out, but he just does not give a dam, so my average meal is more along the lines of a bowl of cereal (I like bran) and a glass of ice tea. Now I am not "poor", but I don't have much, I am getting over a 5 year unemployment hump, add in that I am making less than I did, and the cost of living has gone up and my grocery budget is tight, about $40.oo per week for 3x meals for two persons. Add in dog food, and cat food, and its a tight squeeze. I can not emphasise enough how much plain old exhaustion keeps one from cooking, I just don't have the energy to come home and cook, or plan that meal the night prior and get it all in a crock pot. I try for the healthy, but I know I am not making the grade. With all of the above bitch I am going to try and do better, I have a coupon for 20% off any single book, so going to go to the store and see if their is a book that has what I need, i.e. a weeks worth of inexpensive meals, with shopping list and prep planning all set out for me. Note I said I eat a lot of sandwiches and yogurt, why? fast easy and not so unhealthy. I don't have the brain power or energy left to plan out a weeks shopping list with "planned overs" bulk purchase of fresh items to use over and over in different recipes (all items I did when unemployed, and that planning would take me upto 3 to 4 hours to figure out how to use up every item with out any loss, plus I had the time then to slow cook cheap items and do tons of home prep, cutting, cleaning, soaking, et al). Working as hard as I do just plain means I am too tired to spend yet another 5-10 hours a week planning, prepping, and cooking, I just don't have it left in me to do it. So before you dump on the working poor keep the above in mind, like I said not poor, not wealthy (about 38,000 annual, but insurance eats up 600 a month), so my options while better than many are still limited.