Perimenopause in the kitchen: meal prep that works with your energy

Dinner used to feel like just another part of the day. Now? Some nights it feels like the biggest boss battle yet. You stare at the shelves and wonder how on earth you’re supposed to turn this into a meal – especially when your energy left the building an hour ago.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not broken. Hormonal changes during perimenopause can make cooking feel heavier than it used to. Brain fog, energy dips, and decision fatigue are all part of the package. The trick is finding gentle shortcuts that give you back a little breathing space – and maybe even a touch of calm.

Why hormones make dinner harder

Perimenopause is the long run-up to menopause, where estrogen and progesterone start doing their unpredictable dance. That dance shows up in places you might not expect – including your kitchen.

• Energy dips: Lower estrogen can change how your body uses energy, which explains why you’re ready for bed before the pasta water even boils.
• Brain fog: Progesterone shifts can make recipes feel like they’re written in code.
• Decision fatigue: When your body is already working harder to regulate mood and focus, choosing between pasta or rice can feel like climbing Everest.

So yes, dinner feels different right now. And no, it’s not just in your head.

Why decision fatigue hits harder during perimenopause

By the time evening rolls around, you’ve already made what feels like a thousand micro-decisions: work, family, texts, emails, the whole lot. Add hormonal shifts into the mix, and suddenly even small choices – pasta or rice, chicken or fish – feel like climbing a mountain in slippers.

That’s why cooking in perimenopause isn’t just about what you eat, but how many decisions it takes to get there. Every extra choice drains your battery.

This is where gentle meal prep helps. Not the rigid, color-coded kind – but soft safety nets you can fall back on when your brain says, “Not tonight.”

Little wins that make a big difference

Batch with boundaries

Cooking a double batch is one of the easiest ways to protect your future self. Make extra soup, curry, or pasta sauce on a night you have more energy. Freeze the second half – clearly labeled – so you don’t have to guess later.

Put dinner on autopilot

Now is not the time for a brand-new recipe every evening. Keep a handful of go-to meals that are basically muscle memory. Omelet and salad. Stir-fry with frozen veg. Pasta with store-bought sauce. The fewer choices you have to make, the more energy you’ll keep.

Curious how defaults help with mental load? Read more in our meal prep shortcuts for mental sanity.

Simplify the steps

Recipes can be overwhelming when your focus is low. Shortcuts like pre-chopped vegetables, microwave rice, or rotisserie chicken can be the difference between eating at home and ordering takeout.

And when even those feel like too much? Hold My Spoon takes the chaos out of recipes by breaking them into one step at a time. That way, you don’t lose your place when brain fog sets in.

Food prep that respects your hormones

Perimenopause asks a lot from your body. Meal prep can give some of that energy back:

• Protein prepped ahead: Roast chicken or cook salmon once, then mix and match through the week.
• Snack stations: Keep nuts, fruit, or yogurt where you can see them. They’ll help smooth out the mid-afternoon slump.
• One-pan meals: Toss meat and veg on a tray, season and roast. Dinner’s done, dishes are minimal, and your energy stays intact.

If it’s cravings that trip you up most, we dive into that in our perimenopause cravings guide.

Where Hold My Spoon fits in

Even with shortcuts, recipes themselves can be the sticking point. Traditional instructions love to boss you around: “Meanwhile, chop this” or “don’t forget to stir that.” No wonder it feels overwhelming.

Hold My Spoon was built to soften that chaos:

• One clear task at a time
• Ingredients inside each step (no scrolling up and down)
• Built-in breaks if you need to pause mid-recipe
• Smart shopping lists that match what you’ll actually cook

Think of it as a calm co-pilot in the kitchen, taking away the clutter so you can focus on the part that matters… like eating dinner at a reasonable hour.

A kitchen with more kindness

Perimenopause often arrives right when life is already full – careers, families, relationships, responsibilities. Add hormone swings into the mix and suddenly the kitchen feels like one job too many.

But here’s the thing: scrambled eggs, toasties, even cereal bowls all count. Perfection isn’t the goal. Protecting your energy is.

So whether it’s one frozen batch of soup, one default dinner on repeat, or one recipe reformatted by Hold My Spoon, let yourself take the easy win.

And if weight changes are part of your peri story, our gentle guide on perimenopause weight management tips has more support. For a bigger picture on midlife health (from sleep to boundaries), see our perimenopause self-care guide.

For other kitchen overwhelm strategies, check out our ADHD meal prep guide for busy brain meal prep ideas. 

It’s time to give yourself a break

Perimenopause may be unpredictable, but dinner doesn’t have to be. With small prep wins and a calmer way to follow recipes, food goes back to being doable – not draining.

Because some nights, saving your energy is the recipe for success.