Ain't nobody got time for that!

yasmind01

Hey!

This is my first MFP community post! Just wanted to share a tip with everyone and see if I can get some helpful tips back!

Dieting can be such hard work and funnily enough, takes twice as long as just eating whatever you want! One thing I find really useful and filling is a stir fry. They're quick and easy to make, versatile with chicken, fish or meat, as well as noodles, rice or even cous cous. And the best thing is, they can be as healthy as you want them to be, especially if you fill them with some hearty vegetables.

Anyway, one of my tips is to go shopping and buy vegetables for your stir fry- my faves are kidney beans, spring onions, peppers, chillies, sweetcorn, carrots, white cabbage and spinach but you can add as many more as you like. I usually chop up everything on the day, mix it all together and stick it all in a large freezer. It's easy storage and keeps the food fresh for longer and whenever you fancy a stir fry, you just add them straight in, no mess, no fuss. It's more of an incentive as well because it takes no time at all, even cooking from frozen!

Let me know if there's any great tips you think someone else could benefit from to!

Y

gaelowyn_pt_duex

I bulk buy lean meats- chicken cuts, pork chops/loins, beef steaks and roasts(ok- not so lean but I love a good roast). For the boneless stuff, I put them in vacuum sealer freezer bags, and either put on a yummy rub or marinade(italian, asian/teriyaki, latin inspired), vacuum it up and seal. freeze. when I need a meal for the next day I pull it out and pop in fridge, the meat marinates as it thaws. Now I can grill, broil, bake, saute it up. For roasts and whole chickens, I cook them as I normally do, then either repurpose leftovers into soups, chilis, salads, stir fries, etc, or I package it up and freeze. I prep bulk ground beef and turkey- some goes in to the freezer still raw to make burgers with. The rest I brown up and make into sloppy joe, taco/burrito, and spaghetti sauce, and some I leave plain to add into chili or something later.
I eat leftovers for lunches, so I pack them up into indi servings. If it's a lot left over, I freeze in indi servings. I make crock pots full of soups and chilis, and divy up into individual servings. I really love my vacuum sealer. I seal up just about anything I freeze in them. even soup and chili. When I need a lunch, I can reach in and grab one. Don't even need to pack a freezer ice pack, the soup/chili thaws pretty safely at my desk in my lunch sack. I keep clean reusable bowls to put the soup/chili in and microwave.

amusedmonkey

I arrange my fridge and pantry in a way that the lowest calorie items are in front and the higher ones are in the back. The highest calorie items are usually in the hardest spot to reach.

This way, I know I will only reach for high calorie items if I specifically feel like having them instead of mindlessly grabbing something too offensive to my calorie budget randomly.

mistikal13

Meal planning is my number one tip/strategy. Shop the sales, shop seasonally, make a meal plan and the rest falls into place for me.