What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking?

4 min read | 😨 I'm in a food rut and this is the only way I've found to get out!

Alexa Schirm

Aug 16, 2024

I'm having a bad moment with food. Actually, that's not entirely true. I 1000% love food. There is no problem there.

The problem is that I can't figure out what sounds good, or at least something I feel excited to make.

I'm over burgers, tacos, salads, and spaghetti. I just cannot with them. I literally CAN NOT.

Thus, we've diverted to popcorn, smoothies, takeout, and snacking.

I wouldn't say we've hit crisis mode and the place of no return, but we've entered a season I dread.

We've hit a food rut.

Looking back on the history of my food ruts, I realize that August is one of the more common times I find myself here. This is most likely because the seasons and life patterns are about to change, and seasonal changes always bring a desire and craving for different food.

Regardless, you don't have to stay here.

My quick plan to get out of a food rut involves a little creative research and a change in meal planning.

The short answer is, dust off that oven by making something you enjoy even if it's not:

healthy
a full meal

Remind yourself that you are a good cook and that cooking can be enjoyable. Once you work out those relationship problems, you'll have a little more space to get back into things.

After you've warmed up in the kitchen, start doing some creative research.

Don't get crazy wild.

Return to what you usually cook and find ways to mix it up.

I might be over burgers, tacos, salads, and spaghetti, but let's be honest, these are staple foods that are incredibly versatile and easy to cook. I can't just toss them all in the wind, not when my family loves them and consumes them well.

Instead, mix up what you already know.

This week, instead of traditional ground beef tacos (I can’t), I found this recipe for sheet pan steak and chipotle corn tacos. I didn’t have corn, so I substituted a homemade peach salsa (I’ll drop the recipe at the end). It was so good, and yet it is still considered tacos.

I also mixed up my regular salad routine with a fall twist on chicken salad.

And instead of spaghetti, we choose an Asian noodle variation.

They are all incredibly different but created from the same base. That's when I realized that getting out of a food rut doesn't have to be complicated; it's just finding a slightly different twist to the same foods you love.

The easiest way to get out of a food rut is to find a slightly different twist on the same foods you love.

Of course, there is an important element of seasonality. You generally crave change when it's time to shift your food intake for the season.

However, we currently exist in the awkward middle between summer and fall, where you're starting to crave fall foods, but the weather still feels like summer.

I get it. Trust me, I wanted to make soup this week, but I knew that would push my family off the ledge and into a place of no return.

Instead, I compromised.

If I'm starting to crave fall foods but it's not fall weather, take a few fall ingredients and incorporate them with summer foods.

Or make one fall meal per week, mixed in with all your old summer staples.

This week, I made chicken stew with (partially) homemade gluten-free biscuits, which hit the spot. It was heartier and warmer than we needed, but we all craved it so we ate it.

Here's the thing: You will get into a food rut.

The only way to get yourself out is to get back in the kitchen in whatever way you can to strike up some inspiration.

Bake a dessert you love.
Stop at the local farmers market.
Invest in a new cookbook.
Take a quick spin on Pinterest.
Ask your friends what recipes they love.

Let inspiration entice your tastebuds. Once your tastebuds are going, it will be easier to get cooking.

That leaves me wondering: What have you cooked lately that you love? Let's help each other out!

Leave a comment with one or two go-to meals you cook when you don't know what to cook.

Don't complicate it. Batch it.

Overcomplicating mealtime is the number one reason people get into a food rut.

It feels overwhelming, there isn't time, and it can burden your mind. Instead, I like to focus on cooking food staples and using them in multiple ways.

For instance, this week, I made a whole chicken in the slow cooker and set my meal plan to use shredded chicken throughout the week.

Our meal plan this week included:

Monday: Chopped Italian salads with shredded chicken (slow cooker chicken)
Tuesday: Steak and corn tacos with peach salsa and homemade guacamole
Wednesday: Chicken and biscuits (slow cooker chicken)
Thursday: Garlic chicken noodles (slow cooker chicken)
Friday: Homemade pizza night with chopped Italian salads

You might find the repetition boring, but I find it incredibly helpful. Batching just three things saved me SO MUCH TIME.

This week, I batched:

Chopped Italian Salad
Italian Dressing
Slow Cooker Chicken

Batch cooking is a game changer. If you've never experienced my batch cooking system, check it out here. Make sure you grab the Batch cooking guides to help you get started.

—> GET THE FALL BATCH COOKING GUIDE HERE!

Make Tonight Peach Salsa

4 peaches, peeled and chopped
2-3 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 lime, juiced

Mix everything in a bowl and enjoy.

NOTE: Add more or less of any ingredient depending on taste preference.

What are you cooking this week?

P.S. HELP!! Next week, we're going to dive into bad diet advice. I need your opinion on the worst diet advice you've ever received. Leave it here!