Tried making 3-course meals for a week, learned a lot of lessons - Business Insider

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I made 3-course meals at home for a week, and it was simultaneously exhausting and inspiring

2023-12-31T12:34:01Z

Meal from Day 2; Meal from Day 6 — I made three-course vegetarian meals every day for a week.

I challenged myself to make three-course meals for seven days straight.
I made both complex and simple meals throughout the week, though I had to go grocery shopping twice.
Some days inspired my creativity but mostly, the cooking and dishes left me exhausted.

I've loved cooking and baking for a long time but lately, spending time in the kitchen has felt more like a chore.

I decided to challenge myself to make three-course meals in hopes of snapping out of my cooking rut. I made appetizers, main entrées, and desserts every day for a week.

Here's how the challenge went.

I spent a lot of time brainstorming and menu planning.

Strawberry desserts — Planning the simple and elaborate dishes took some time.

Before I started cooking, I planned a dinner menu and went grocery shopping. I wanted a mix of meals that I've made in the past and some new recipes that required the same ingredients I'd use for the other dishes.

I'm vegetarian so none of my meals included meat.

I was expecting a busy workweek, so I tried to plan less time-consuming recipes on weekdays. Ultimately, I opted for simple appetizers and main courses and more complex desserts.

I went grocery shopping on the first day of the experiment and on the fifth day to ensure some fresh items wouldn't go bad before I could use them.

In total, I spent $115 on groceries, not including the pantry and fridge staples I already had on hand.

I had to kick off my experiment with two desserts, since one needed plenty of time to chill.

Day one meal of salad skewers, mac and cheese, and pumpkin streusel — Day one's meal consisted of salad skewers, mac and cheese, and pumpkin streusel.

My day-two menu included a tres leches cake that needed to chill overnight, so I got started on that in the early afternoon of day one.

I kept the first day's meal fairly simple since I was prepping two desserts on the same day.

I went with a starter of salad skewers made with pear, arugula, and Brie plus a sprinkle of pecans and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

I complemented the flavors of the appetizer with a pear-and-white-cheddar mac and cheese inspired by a restaurant meal I had at Lake Tahoe last year. I roasted the pears with spices, made a white-cheddar sauce, and combined the ingredients with cooked pasta.

For dessert, I kept a fall theme with a pumpkin streusel.

Day one had me feeling creative and inspired for the week ahead, but I was already tired of washing so many dishes.

Thankfully, the weekend prep work meant I didn’t have to make a dessert on the second day.

Vegetables, chips with guacamole, and dessert — Day two's meal included guacamole and chips, veggie nachos, and a tres leches cake.

For day two, I was relieved that my tres leches cake was already mostly prepped in the fridge.

I went with a simple appetizer of fresh guacamole and tortilla chips and a veggie-packed dinner of sweet-potato "nachos."

I didn't feel like making a big dinner when the time to cook came around, and this is normally a time when I'd just make something fast, like grilled cheese, or order something from a restaurant.

But I pushed through and was glad I did because the entire meal tasted great.

Yet again, I had a lot of dishes to clean up at the end of the day but I tried to find some gratitude that I could make such a tasty, veggie-packed meal on a busy Monday.

I was impressed with my day-three meal from start to finish.

Cornbread, honey butter, an apple and pear dessert, and chili — I made a vegetable chili, cornbread with butter, and a pear-apple pastry on day three.

The third day of the experiment fell on a day I was going to a concert so I opted for a quicker three-course meal full of comforting fall flavors.

I went with my no-recipe pumpkin chili, which I made with onion, peppers, beans, pumpkin, tomato paste, lots of spices, and veggie broth.

For the appetizer, I made Jiffy cornbread and an easy butter with honey and sea salt.

For dessert, I spooned apple-pear fillings over puff pastry so I didn't have to break out the stand mixer or any measuring cups.

Though the meal was filled with shortcuts, it still turned out to be delicious and felt better than grabbing fast food or eating an expensive dinner at the concert venue.

The easy meal also meant I finally had a little relief from doing the dishes.

On the fourth day, I was exhausted, and my lack of enthusiasm was pretty evident in my cooking.

Potatoes and veggie burger cut in half — Day four's dinner consisted of a salad, jalapeño-popper burgers with potatoes, and ice cream with fruit.

I expected to be a little worn out by the middle of the week so I planned for a super simple dinner: A salad with honey-mustard dressing, a jalapeño-popper-style stuffed plant-based cheeseburger with roasted potatoes on the side, and ice cream for dessert.

Wednesday was long and tough so I was looking forward to some comforting food that still offered a lot of nutrients.

But I could tell that I rushed through making the food, as this meal didn't taste as good as the others. The hot strawberry compote and vanilla ice cream I finished the meal with was the best part.

My partner graciously helped me clean up my dishes on this day despite having a different dinner and dishes for himself.

At this point, I just hoped I would have a fresh surge of energy to make it through the last few days of cooking and baking.

On day five, I felt creative and swapped the simple app I had planned for an autumnal soup.

Soup, a chickpea entree, and a mousse — For day five, I made a pumpkin-pear soup, sheet-pan vegetables with a ricotta spread, and a lemon mousse.

Day five started with another grocery run, as some of my fresh ingredients were running low and I needed some extras to make the night's meal.

I decided last minute to switch my appetizer from cucumber bites to pumpkin-pear soup to use up some of the remaining produce.

Making the soup was easier than I expected and it was so delicious, that I was glad I decided to take a detour.

For dinner, I made a sheet-pan meal of roasted chickpeas, peppers, zucchini, and carrots and paired them with an artfully smeared whipped lemon ricotta. The veggies tasted delicious with the hint of cool, lemony ricotta cheese.

The lemon flavors continued with the easy mousse dessert, which only took about five minutes to prepare and a few hours to chill in the fridge. The lemony mousse was a huge hit for my partner and me.

I was glad I explored some new things because it got me excited for the final days of the experiment.

Day six fell on a Friday, so I made it into a date night.

Pasta and bruschetta appetizers — Day six's dinner included bruschetta, a meatless carbonara, and a crème brûlée .

I was so excited for Friday's dinner, which consisted of bruschetta, a meatless carbonara, and a fancy, more challenging crème brûlée.

Despite wanting a bit of a challenge, I was surprised by how easy the crème brûlée was. It only took about 15 minutes to prep, then the rest of the time was spent baking, chilling, or broiling.

The crème brûlée turned out nearly perfect, with a slightly overdone top. I knew instantly this would become a staple dessert recipe for our household, and I was happy I decided to try something that seemed daunting to me.

My success with the crème brûlée restored my excitement heading into the last day.

With the exception of the appetizer, my final meal and dessert ended the week on a high note.

Jalapenos, cookies, Buffalo chicken, and zucchini — For day seven, I made cream-cheese-stuffed peppers, Buffalo cauliflower and tofu with zucchini, and chocolate-chip cookies.

On day seven, I had plans with a friend so my final three-course meal was a little early.

I went with a game-day theme of cream-cheese-stuffed bell peppers, Buffalo cauliflower and tofu with a side of blue-cheese dipping sauce and zucchini, and my favorite chocolate-chip cookies for dessert.

I winged the cream-cheese-stuffed peppers but realized I should've followed a recipe, as they turned out quite bland.

Thankfully, the entrée made up for the lackluster app.

Of course, the chocolate-chip cookies were also a hit, but this is a dessert I make often. I knew I could count on them for a good end to the week.

I learned a lot in this short week, including how to tap into my inspiration and excitement for cooking.

Jalapeno-popper burgers — It could be hard to find the energy to make even simple dishes on some days.

Overall, this challenge got me more excited to be back in the kitchen — at least at first. I loved planning out my menu, and my first day of cooking and baking felt really fun and inspiring.

By the end, I was a little overwhelmed with how much time I had to spend making each meal, how much money I was spending on groceries, and the long amount of time I spent cleaning up afterward.

I could tell a major difference between the meals where I put little thought or energy into them and the meals where I was actually excited to be making them.

But upon reflection, I finished this experiment feeling inspired to try putting together one three-course dinner a week as a treat to myself and my partner moving forward.

I don't plan to force myself to make something so elaborate when I'm not in the mood but this experiment inspired me to restore my joy for cooking.

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