Need some suggestions...

eoberle27

Hey there, everyone! I'm lookingfor some recipes for healthy foods that I can make in bulk. I have a rather unpredictable job so I never know when I'll be going in and I rarely have time to make more than a hot pocket before I go. In an effort to limit my fast food intake, I'm trying to start taking my own food with me when I can.

So, here's what I'm looking for specifically:

• recipes that I can get a good number of meals out of
• food that will keep for a few days (or preferably, food that freezes/thaws well)
• not necessarily microwaveable (I have access to a microwave at work sometimes but not all the time)

If you guys have any ideas, I'd really appreciate them!

~Emily

worldofalice

My favourite lunch at the moment is really simple - fry up a whole load of veg with onions in 1kcal spray,with a little bit of tomato paste and soy sauce if you like, and/or coriander, paprika and cumin. Add in some black beans/chickpeas, and spinach/kale and let it wilt, then you're good to go! Can be eaten hot or cold, and when I have it at home I like to top it with a poached egg and grated carrot If you eat meat you could always throw in some chicken! it's easy to play with, you can play around with the veg, add avocado - I never get bored

Other ideas - make a giant spanish omelette, that could keep you going for a few days with salad and can be eaten hot or cold!

Giant couscous with roasted veg, make a giant batch and it can last you all week.

Vegetable (or meat) moussaka would freeze well, but you'd want to have it hot!

Have you ever looked at DeliciouslyElla's blog? She has a whole load of amazing recipes, many of which can be made ahead of time - her superfood bread would be a really good one if you pre-cut it and just grabbed a few slices with some houmous!

lucys1225

These are my favorites at the moment. They all freeze well.

http://www.food.com/recipe/slow-cooker-adobo-pork-441399

http://www.slenderkitchen.com/sunday-slow-cooker-turkey-picadillo/ (I double the recipe and leave out the potatoes)

http://elanaspantry.com/green-chili-turkey-burgers/

GiuliaAutumn

You could make a big rice salad: it's meant to be eaten cold, lasts around 4 days in the fridge and there's plenty of different recipes online. The basic is, clearly, to boil the rice, chop up the veggies you prefer, cook the meat or fish or seafood if you're putting some in it. Then add sauce, mix it up and store it.

Soups are very easy to prepare in large amounts but most of them are best eaten warm. Good exceptions are gazpacho (made with raw vegetables, it doesn't even need cooking) or cold beet soup.

Grilled vegetables make a nice snack too and they last longer if stored in extra virgin olive oil.

These were my first ideas, I hope they'll be useful

eoberle27

[quote="worldofalice;

Other ideas - make a giant spanish omelette, that could keep you going for a few days with salad and can be eaten hot or cold!

Giant couscous with roasted veg, make a giant batch and it can last you all week.

Vegetable (or meat) moussaka would freeze well, but you'd want to have it hot!

Have you ever looked at DeliciouslyElla's blog? She has a whole load of amazing recipes, many of which can be made ahead of time - her superfood bread would be a really good one if you pre-cut it and just grabbed a few slices with some houmous![/quote]

eoberle27

Whoops, sorry, posted before I was done with that, lol!

Thank you all for your suggestions, they sound delicious!

Worldofalice, you mentioned a blog. No, I've not heard of it, do you have a link?

mrron2u

I make an egg casserole of sorts most Sunday's and eat on it through the week for breakfast. I usually add Canadian bacon, feta cheese, spinach, tomato and whatever veggies I have. It tastes as good on Friday as it does on Monday.

faegirl22

I love buffalo chicken. My husband and I will get 9-10 lbs of chicken, a bottle of cholula hot sauce and 4 oz of hidden valley ranch powder with about a half cup chicken broth and put it all in the crock pot, cook for 8 hours on low then divvy up into 4oz portions and freeze. I do mine on a salad, he makes a sandwhich, it's yum and can be eaten cold as well as hot.
Also, couscous salad is great.
I also do different cold chicken salads. My favorite is a caesar salad chicken with kalamata olives, homemade caesar dressing, a little goat or parmesean cheese and tomatoes. I ate it on romaine lettuce leaves.
Oh! And Alton Brown has an amazing oatmeal/banana bread that is really good and super filling, for breakfasts or snacks.

enterdanger

This isn't a recipe because I don't like to reheat stuff. Instead, I try to have food staples already cooked. Like this week I hardboiled a dozen eggs. We are eating them for breakfast with an english muffin or an avocado. My husband actually made his into an egg salad sandwich this morning.

For dinners I love a crock pot to make a big batch of something. Tonight we are having the santa fe chicken from skinnytaste.com. So easy and I usually put mine on top of rice, but you could put it in lettuce cups or wrap. Here is the recipe, but I make mine even easier.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken-425-pts.html

I throw 1.5 lbs frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the crockpot with a cup of salsa and let it go all day. When I get home from work, I add in a can of rinsed black beans, a cup of frozen corn, and some cumin, chili powder, and garlic. That's it. I can't leave my spices in all day because if it gets too spicy my little guys complain. Husband and I doctor ours up with some hot sauce.

cindynhamm

enterdanger wrote: »

This isn't a recipe because I don't like to reheat stuff. Instead, I try to have food staples already cooked. Like this week I hardboiled a dozen eggs. We are eating them for breakfast with an english muffin or an avocado. My husband actually made his into an egg salad sandwich this morning.

For dinners I love a crock pot to make a big batch of something. Tonight we are having the santa fe chicken from skinnytaste.com. So easy and I usually put mine on top of rice, but you could put it in lettuce cups or wrap. Here is the recipe, but I make mine even easier.
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken-425-pts.html

I throw 1.5 lbs frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the crockpot with a cup of salsa and let it go all day. When I get home from work, I add in a can of rinsed black beans, a cup of frozen corn, and some cumin, chili powder, and garlic. That's it. I can't leave my spices in all day because if it gets too spicy my little guys complain. Husband and I doctor ours up with some hot sauce.

I'm going to try this one.

eoberle27

Thanks a lot, guys, I'm definitely gonna be trying some of these! They sound easy and delicious!

worldofalice

eoberle27 wrote: »

Whoops, sorry, posted before I was done with that, lol!

Thank you all for your suggestions, they sound delicious!

Worldofalice, you mentioned a blog. No, I've not heard of it, do you have a link?

http://deliciouslyella.com/category/recipes/

Here you go! The food is incredible and pretty much as crammed full of goodness as you can get. Also lots of healthy treat recipes (the fudge and the brownies are both incredible!)

Queenmunchy

Learn to flash freeze - just freeze your individual portions of casserole, burritos, meatballs, nuggets, burgers, muffin tin recipes, cooked pasta and rice on a metal baking sheet until frozen, then transfer to a freezer bag.
Other tips are using ice cube trays to freeze things like pesto or cheese sauce - things you use very little of - to transfer to a freezer bag.
Also, cook one pot meals and portion - soups, stews, chilis, curries, saucy beans, etc. You can grab and go or add a portion and freeze of rice or pasta to add to it.