How much time I spend in the kitchen ⋆ 100 Days of Real Food

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I get a lot of questions about how much time I spend in the kitchen and how to best manage your cooking/cleaning time so you aren't always in the kitchen. And after putting some energy into this post though I realized I may not be the best person to ask because...I honestly like to be in the kitchen! And more importantly I LOVE good food so more often than not I think it's worth the effort it takes to prepare it. I've seriously seen my husband sit there and munch on lettuce (yes, plain lettuce!) because he didn't want to take the time to make it into a tasty salad. First of all, I guarantee I will never be caught dead eating plain lettuce and the reason is because the enjoyment I get out of a delicious meal is worth the time it takes me to prepare it.

While lots of people might quickly throw together a sandwich for lunch (and trust me this can be done quickly while not relying on any highly processed food), a basic sandwich doesn't cut it for me. Sure it would provide sustenance, but a PB&J just doesn't satisfy me like a grilled caprese pita sandwich made with fresh, homemade pesto. So as a result I take the time to make it.

Regardless, I recorded every moment I spent working on food preparation, dishes, and meal planning for a few days (below). And since I've never before added up how much time I actually spend in the kitchen I was a little shocked at some of the totals! I realize some of it (although not all) is because I want to be in there, and my goal is not always to "do it as fast as I can." Often times my girls are in the kitchen with me helping out, eating/sampling the food I am making, and talking about whatever silly things are on their minds. So please keep in mind this is not a minimum of how much you have to cook and clean if you want to eat real food...in reality it's probably more like a maximum! But since inquiring minds want to know the charts below show a typical week at my house.

Some Notes About the Times Recorded in the Charts Below:

The time it took us to eat our meals is not included (unless we were eating/snacking while cooking).
Sometimes it was me and sometimes it was my husband doing the cooking and cleaning...he helps around here!
All interruptions are included in the time slots...so if we had to answer the door, answer the phone, discipline the kids, etc. while cooking then it took a lot longer to get our task done. :)
As you can see we oftentimes eat a late lunch in the summer...we like things this way so don't judge!

Time Management Tips (for the Kitchen)

Leftovers are king! If you are making a big pot of soup, spaghetti sauce, or gumbo then consider doubling the recipe while you are at it and freeze the leftovers so you can have a break another day.
If you are already making muffins or bread then think about what else you might be able to cook simultaneously (like granola or tortillas) while you are already in the kitchen making a mess.
Don't plan labor intensive dinners every single night of the week. One or two nights is realistic and then on the other nights plan to have leftovers or a super quick and easy real food dinner.
Meal planning helps so you know what will be expected out of you each night, and it will also ensure you have the right groceries on hand to make it happen (making a trip to the store for only one thing takes time!).

Our Kitchen Time Charts (Recorded Last Week)

Monday
Start Time	End Time	Total Time	Code	Task
8:39 AM	8:42 AM	3 min	Cook	Prepare cereal for kids
8:42 AM	8:50 AM	8 min	Cook / Clean	Prepare kids' camp snack, some breakfast clean up
9:20 AM	9:22 AM	2 min	Cook	Prepare my cereal
9:45 AM	9:49 AM	4 min	Cook	Make a maple syrup mocha
12:28 PM	12:42 PM	14 min	Clean	Empty clean dishes, load dirty dishes
12:42 PM	1:05 PM	23 min	Cook	Make lunch
1:13 PM	1:24 PM	11 min	Clean	Clean up after lunch, load dirty dishes
5:33 PM	5:41 PM	8 min	Cook	Smoothie snack
5:35 PM	7:10 PM	1 hr 35 min	Cook / Clean	Make gumbo for dinner, set table, some dinner clean up
8:55 PM	9:15 PM	20 min	Clean	Finish dinner clean up, start dishwasher
Monday Total		3 hrs 8 min	Cook / Clean

Tuesday
Start Time	End Time	Total Time	Code	Task
8:33 AM	8:43 AM	10 min	Cook	Pour cereal for kids' breakfast, prepare kids' camp snack
9:25 AM	9:34 AM	9 min	Clean	Work on dishes
9:33 AM	9:36 AM	3 min	Cook	My cereal
11:03 AM	11:07 AM	4 min	Cook	Make a maple syrup mocha
1:58 PM	2:18 PM	20 min	Cook	Make lunch
2:26 PM	2:53 PM	27 min	Clean / Freeze	Clean up after lunch, start dishwasher, make camp snack for next day, freeze some smoothie pops
6:11 PM	6:24 PM	13 min	Meal Plan	Plan out dinners for week and start grocery list
7:15 PM	7:55 PM	40 min	Cook / Groceries	Put together dinner (leftovers plus salad) and put away farmers' market groceries
9:15 PM	9:43 PM	28 min	Clean	Clean up after dinner, start dishwasher
10:02 PM	10:10 PM	8 min	Freeze	Put leftover gumbo in individual containers in freezer
Tuesday Total		2 hrs 42 min	Cook / Clean / Freeze / Meal Plan / Groceries

Wednesday
Start Time	End Time	Total Time	Code	Task
8:40 AM	8:50 AM	10 min	Cook	Pour cereal for kids, prepare kids' camp snack
9:19 AM	9:21 AM	2 min	Cook	Pour my cereal
1:29 PM	1:58 PM	29 min	Cook	Prepare lunch
2:04 PM	2:33 PM	29 min	Clean / Freeze	Clean up after lunch, empty dishes, start dishwasher, freeze leftover smoothies
5:50 PM	7:22 PM	1 hr 32 min	Cook	Cook dinner (including making tortillas)
8:45 PM	9:15 PM	30 min	Clean	Clean up after dinner, start dishwasher
Wednesday Total		3 hrs 12 min	Cook / Clean / Freeze

Thursday
Start Time	End Time	Total Time	Code	Task
8:43 AM	8:52 AM	9 min	Cook	Make oatmeal
1:45 PM	2:40 PM	55 min	Cook / Clean	Make lunch (eating a little simultaneously), clean
5:00 PM	5:20 PM	20 min	Meal Plan	Make out grocery list
				Note: out to dinner
7:40 PM	8:23 PM	43 min	Cook / Clean / Groceries	Put away groceries, work on dishes (empty and load), make granola
Thursday Total		2 hrs 7 min	Cook / Clean / Meal Plan / Groceries

Friday
Start Time	End Time	Total Time	Code	Task
8:32 AM	8:40 AM	8 min	Cook	Prepare cereal for breakfast, some clean up
1:12 PM	1:40 PM	28 min	Cook	Lunch preparation (eating a little simultaneously)
1:50 PM	2:12 PM	22 min	Clean	Clean up, start dishwasher, make a dessert recipe for freezer
5:00 PM	5:05 PM	5 min	Cook	Make a maple syrup mocha
6:48 PM	7:14 PM	26 min	Cook / Clean	Make dinner, some cleanup
7:20 PM	7:45 PM	25 min	Clean	Finish dinner cleanup (my husband and I together)
Friday Total		1 hr 54 min	Cook / Clean