On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:55:39 +0100, Ashley Moran 
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Hi
>
>I'm considering switching to an alternate day eating pattern.
>Basically because even eating once a day is wasting far too much time
>- by the time I've prepared, cooked and cleaned up the mess after a
>meal, I can easily lose 2 or 3 hours in the day.  

Hi Ashley,

I can sympathize with this. I absolutely hate to cook, and eating paleo is a 
challenge for me because of all the extra cooking (on top of being a single 
mom and working full time). I'm not very successful so far, but when I am, it's 
because I've planned ahead. 

One thing I do is cook ahead. When I make dinner, I often make enough for 
either two meals for the entire family, or at least for a lunch for me the next 
day. Then we'll eat the leftovers the next day, or I'll put them in a container 
and freeze them.

Occasionally I'll cook on a Sunday for the whole week. I'll have a chicken in 
the crockpot, something baking in the oven, and something cooking on the 
stove all at the same time. Everything gets portioned into Rubbermaid 
containers so at dinner all I have to do is put it in the microwave. I'll put some 
in small containers to take to work.

I realize that some things won't freeze or even keep well when made ahead--
like salads--but the real preparation time goes usually goes into the meat dish 
anyway. You can put together a salad while the main dish is in the microwave. 
Also, I try to make one-dish meals. A meat and vegetable soup, or ground 
beef scrambled with spinach and egg.

Hard-boiled eggs can be cooked ahead will keep for at least a week. 

Hope this helps,
Marianne