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Welcome to Her Health Code, the podcast that helps women in midlife feel better in their bodies without the confusion or overwhelm. We’re two health coaches sharing real talk, personal stories, and our best coaching tips that help you reconnect with your body’s wisdom. Think of us as your health-savvy girlfriends, here to help you crack the code to feeling vibrant and strong again.
Jess & Michele (00:00)
Welcome back. I'm Jess and I'm Michelle. And today we are going to tackle decision fatigue in the kitchen. we are going to give you some tips and tricks on what helps us get over a decision fatigue. And hopefully some of these tips will help somebody out there. it's definitely a thing in menopause and perimenopause, whereas you just, you know, you feel very overwhelmed. That is a normal symptom of menopause, but
the whole idea of like what to put on the table every single day is a big overwhelming feeling. it really affects us we have different ways that we combat this decision fatigue because of course we have to have food on the table for our families. today we're gonna get into that and I'm gonna go ahead and get started with some of the things that I found that really helped me.
that I have adopted to getting food on the table more readily, more creatively, and to keeping my family happy and So without the overwhelm, without the overwhelm and added burden to your nervous system, because we need to add all of that into what we're already feeling on a daily basis, right? Absolutely. already feeling overwhelmed by things and it's amplified at this time of life.
So doing something that takes away from that mental load that you're carrying about what am going to make tonight? What am I going to do? When am I going to go grocery shopping? This literally happened to both of us last week because we were recording on Monday and I did not go to the grocery store and do my normal weekly shopping. at the end of the day, we're both literally running What's for dinner? Oh my gosh.
I think we went to the same grocery store, but separate time. for me, it felt like a hot wreck in the kitchen because I was trying to cook things so fast. made more messes and I definitely had a longer cleanup time because I was just throwing together whatever I could throw together in the shortest amount of time possible. And it felt terrible. And so we decided that this definitely could help so many people out there who are feeling the same way.
Because we generally are much more put together about our meals, but this made us realize like my goodness This is not the way that we want to feel it just adds to that stress Well, I there's a couple different things that I do first off. ⁓ I kind of gave up recipes occasionally
I make a recipe, but on a regular weekday basis, I don't use recipes. And the reason why is because I found myself, and I'm sure you have too sometimes, where you got a recipe and you went to the grocery store and you did your big grocery haul and you go to make this recipe the next night and you're like, ⁓ I don't have two ingredients. And you're like, So then you go back to the grocery store.
and you get those two ingredients, but then you see this and you see that and you end up spending an additional $50, $75 that you didn't need to spend because you went back for two ingredients. And then you get home and make that item. And sometimes it's met with unhappiness from your family. Like, why did you make this? then you're like, so frazzled by that point. You're like, I just went out and made an extra grocery trip. I spent extra money. I made this recipe. And then to find out
half of my family didn't even like it. So that is why I gave up recipes because I was like, ⁓ this is too frustrating, it's too overwhelming. So what I decided to do is I became a more creative cook. And I'm not saying I'm the best cook by far, but I'm a very creative cook today. And what I do is I
get the proteins, organic meats or beans or fish or tofu. So just have that on hand. I have those things on hand. So I decide on a weekly basis, am I going to do like one meal of chicken or two meals of beef? I kind of round my meals up protein first. So then I decide which proteins I'm making.
And then I gather a variety of different vegetables. And then I have some starches on hand, whether it's rice, sweet potatoes, potatoes, barley, quinoa. And from there, I either make bowls for the week. So I'll make my proteins for a couple of days, and then I'll have some starch, whether it's sweet potatoes or potatoes, and then I'll have it with some vegetables. And I usually make a sauce or two on the side, whether it's like a chimichurri sauce or like a homemade ranch sauce.
or a stir fry sauce and I create different bowls, whether it's a stir fry bowl or I make a wrap with some different ingredients, a protein, a starch and some vegetables, or I do a quesadilla, but it's really just taking your base ingredients and making meals out of them.
And my family actually loves this way more than when I was making recipes before. I get so much more excitement for when the meals are placed on the table because they just enjoy them that much more because they too can find creativity once I place it on the table. They can use different sauces. can use, you know, they can kind of create it in different ways as well. And I think it's allowed.
all of us to be happier with what's on the table instead of having some of us enjoy it, some of us don't. I think this new method has been great for my family and that's what's worked for me. And also I think you shared a tip with me earlier that sometimes if you're just blank and you have like no idea because you're just feeling really uninspired for whatever reason because some weeks are just like that right? Yes.
gave me a tip that I was like, I'm definitely gonna do that because wow, what a lift, a weight lifted off of your brain and your shoulders. Do you wanna share that as well? Yeah, so I was telling Jess when I'm feeling super like I don't wanna cook at all and for, because for me, deciding what to go get at the grocery store for me is the hardest part. And I told her sometimes what I do is I don't, I take the decision off myself and I say, all right.
What do you guys want? And I make them decide the three meals, the three big meals that I'm gonna make. And it really is such a load off my shoulders when they're like, okay, I want Mexican one night. I want a stir fry one night, or I want a big soup. It is a huge weight off my shoulders when they make the decision because that is half the battle. Once you have the deciding what is going to be eaten, it is so much easier to put together and get on that table so much faster.
I love that tip. And then you already know that it's gonna make them happy. It's in my back pocket. Because it does happen. All of a sudden I'll be rolling and going and flowing and it's usually very easy for me. It's become easy for me. I didn't really know how to cook when I left the nest and just had to learn along the way. But yeah, lately I feel like it's just one more thing to have to do. One more thing to have to think about. One more thing to have to
It is. know, cause disruption in my nervous system and add to the load of stress and right now and this time of life, it's just who needs that? No. So I love that tip and it puts a little bit of the responsibility on the family and gives them some options and some choices because heck, they have opinions too. Absolutely. And they're just eating what I put out. Exactly. it's great that nobody generally... Fossils about it?
There's a little bit of fussing. not always making everybody happy with every meal. There's always somebody who's gonna grumble, not always, you know, there's some meals where somebody's gonna grumble a little Yeah, you kind of try to make everybody happy. But the other thing I didn't touch on, Jess, is that for me, the last couple of years,
my taste buds are wonky. So I might think about wanting one thing on Saturday, like that sounds good. Like maybe Mexican is sounding amazing on Saturday, but it comes to Wednesday. The last thing I want is Mexican and like, cause my taste buds are wonky and I don't know if this is something, anybody else in menopause or perimenopause experiences. But for me, my tastes are unpredictable. And so what I want from day to day definitely changes. It's a thing. And I,
I think that, have you ever tasted like a metallic taste in your mouth? Definitely. It's part of this whole thing and has it gotten better with HRT? I'm hoping that that gets better. Yes, I haven't noticed it. days are like, oh my God, what is, it's like I've been sucking on a bag of quarters
It's terrible, but yeah, that will throw your taste buds right out the door. Yeah, because for me, if it gets like that and my taste buds are all wonky, sometimes I just want something sweet. So sometimes I'm like, I just want a smoothie for dinner. Like you guys, I'll make you guys this. I'll just have a smoothie because your taste buds are just wonky. It's not going to help with the taste buds, but to have somebody else decide. ⁓
Yes, Because you can't decide. Yeah, and if you have little kids out there, if you have little ones still, the one thing I did when my kids were much younger, I have older kids now, but is you put everybody's name in a jar, and then that day they pick in the morning whose turn it is to pick the meal. And so that kind of makes it fun too, it's a game, but of course my kids are far too old for games these days.
But it is maybe if you can't shop for the day and do that, you do it on one certain day. Yeah. Because I like to plan everything out for the week. And I have one day, for me it's Monday. For some people it might be Saturday or Sunday. Whatever that start day is for you, you just have this list of these are the things I'm going to need.
and these are the meals I'm gonna make and I'm going to all the grocery stores I need to go to to source all these ingredients because it's never just one grocery store. it's just a few. So I run the gamut on Monday mornings and hit all the grocery stores. So it's just easier for me to know what I'm gonna make. And so you might have that decision that...
you know, where they tell you what they want if they're older or they pick out of the jar. It comes a couple of days maybe before you go to the grocery store. Well, definitely for a planner like you because you like to plan. Yes, and definitely keeps me out of the stress zone to not have to go the day of. But some people, you know, are okay with that. And that's great, too. But having a plan helps. And then also part of that plan is
generally like one or two things that I can make a big batch of. So whether it's sweet potatoes or it's, yellow potatoes or a big batch of vegetables that I roast and can use in different ways. So sometimes it might start out as this is the side dish to a piece of, to protein and a salad. So let's just take sweet potatoes, for example. And then the next day it might be sweet potato is the main part of the meal.
and having that with a salad or some roasted vegetables. And then those roasted vegetables turns into a stir fry bowl where you add a sauce and some protein to it. So I just kind of like to play around with ways to use the same dish that I can cook in a large batch and it lasts for four or five days and in different ways so that it becomes something more interesting, little bit more interesting and not just the same meal over and over.
That helps as well. And I think if I can do those those things, I feel pretty set but also asking for help every now and then. and trading recipes with friends. Trading, we do that a lot Yes, I you know, it's really a great resource to call a friend and just be like, what was your family's favorite meal last week? I mean, that is a huge help because usually you're like, oh, I haven't made that in years.
I would love to make that, or some version of it. I think counting on friends or relatives or family really does help take the decision fatigue away. And maybe you'll learn something completely new. it can really help switch things up a little bit now.
You might not do that on a week where there's a lot going on if you have kids that are in sports or in things where you're running around a lot because in my opinion. Yes. In my experience, if I throw a surprise dish out there at the wrong time, it causes too much stress because then I'm upset.
I made some things, and I put a lot of effort into it and nobody likes it. So it has to kind of come in at a time where you have a little bit more leeway. some backup. You have a backup. Yes, have a backup meal. Something backup in the kitchen, you know, whether that be you're able to throw together a peanut butter and jelly or quesadilla or something like that.
Absolutely. And also, speaking of having backups in the fridge, at the end of the week, I always do like a leftover meal on Saturday. It's usually our Saturday or lunch by the end of the week. Whatever's left is put out on the table and, you know,
Maybe I make a guacamole or a salad or something to kind of round it out Also putting out sauerkraut and pickles is nice filler. Those are filler foods, maybe some nuts even. So and cheese, all of that can just go on the table with whatever's left in the fridge and then there's no waste. Yeah. And it's a great way to save on your grocery bill and it's a great way to save on waste, like she said. And yeah, it's a, and it's an easy meal and it's an easy meal when you're leftovers.
when you're using leftovers, really does do a lot of great things for your pocketbook and for your ease of life. Definitely. we hope that this has helped you in some way. And if you feel inspired, please share this episode with a friend. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you,