I suck at eating healthy! Any tips? :P

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cprobertson12
cprobertson12 Posts: 90 Member
edited July 2018 in Food and Nutrition
Ladies and Gentlemen, I admit it. I'm lazy a bachelor.

If you can't be bothered reading this ramble - feel free to skip right to the end, where I finally get to the point!



I'm a mad scientist: which creates the excuse problem that I spent my time doing mentally stimulating, technical, and taxing stuff than exercising - because exercise is boring is difficult to do while you are studying/sciencing/engineering.

Luckily, I walk the 2.1 mile trip to and from my work each day - and that 21 miles of walking has stopped me from turning into a pumpkin!

That said, I start diving training next week, and I need to get this bod in order!

I'll deal with the sitting exercise problem in a different thread - what I need is to get a plan in order so I can stop being lazy start eating healthier!



Right - so the basic problem is that I find cooking boring. As such, I often rely on takeaways - high calorie-density, large-portioned, magically-appearing-at-your-door goodness.

Dang! It's easy to get fat off that stuff! Luckily, it's also easy to cut out as part of the real problem - meal planning/preparation/cooking. Okay that's three problems, and they aren't easy to fix if you're really lazy busy :P


I've tried eating healthily in the past - cooking my own meals and whatnot - and it quickly fell by the wayside for two reasons:
1 - it takes time to cook.
2 - fresh food is hard for me to come by - I order groceries in once a month - and fresh food doesn't generally keep that long - I don't drive, and there are no shops nearby that sell fresh fruit and veg.

As a result, what happens is I quickly turn to frozen food that I can throw on a bacon tray. Okay that was a brainfart, but I like the idea of a bacon tray, so I'm keeping it. Frozen food that I can throw on a BAKING tray and be done with.

It's easy. Grab some carbs: chips, croquettes, a baked potato, whatever - grab some protein: fish, chicken, whatever that is, whatever - put it together - simple meal.

It's not great but it could be worse.

IF you combine this with low activity levels (I sit at a desk at work... I sit at a desk at home... and I stand at a workbench in my lab at home. There's like, NO activity except from walking back and forth to work! Jeez!) it is a recipe for big-belly.

Any suggestions on what I could do to eat healthily, that requires next to no effort? Damn. I'm going to have to put effort into this, aren't I? Hmmm...

- Is it feasible to batch-cook at the beginning of the month, freeze it, and eat that for the remainder of the month?
- Would splitting my monthly shop into bimonthly shops help to increase the proportion of fresh food in my diet (while minimising freezer-space taken up by frozen X)?
- How effective are services like gusto (the kind that send you fresh food-in-a-box that you cook up)? Obviously I can't afford six meals a week with them - but would it be worth considering for boosting my existing diet?
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Replies

  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
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    Have you ever considered a meal delivery service? It gets pricey if you do it for every meal, but there are options out there (depending where you live) for services that deliver the fixins' and you do thwe cooking, and others that deliver the meal fully cooked and you just heat and eat. THere are also places like SNAP (not sure how wide spread they are) where you can peruse their menu online of that days fresh offerings and just pick up and take home, and again, these are heat and eat.

    Batch cooking is another great option. Meal prep as well. I go grocery shopping on the weekends, cut my veggies, make my burgers/meatballs/etc, boil eggs, make lunch meat wraps on Sundays for the whole week.
  • cprobertson12
    cprobertson12 Posts: 90 Member
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    Aye, that's what I was wondering about with "Gusto" - though I'll look around and compare prices/quality.

    As you said, it gets pricey if using it for every meal... so I'd need to use it to augment my diet rather than becoming it! Which makes sense of course!

    I shall look into it! :D

    ... I wonder how much it'd cost just to hire a cook... wow, not only would that probably be too much, that'd also be simply beyond mere laziness!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    OK, overkill, here's a sample meal plan I made up for someone with specific food intolerances, and had to go gluten free. If I recall correctly, she wanted variety.

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rsNF_Pz-QJyLpDSdfsndq0Qh3aQWpTi3RZ83ceg8Jmg/edit?usp=sharing

    For a brainiac bachelor who is deadly bored with cooking, I suggest you learn at least how to roast a hunk of meat. The roasting does not require supervision so prep, set the timer, and go read. The meat could be a chicken, beef roast, pork loin, or fish. You do this once a week, chopping it up in to single size servings and throw them in the freezer.

    Buy yourself a variety of sauces; spaghetti, alfredo, curry, soy, teriyaki, and sriracha.

    Have on hand a variety of starchy sides; pasta, rice, potatoes.

    Have fun with fruit and vegetables. Get different ones every week. Google a recipe, roast them or eat them raw.

    Not counting the vegetables, you have 72 different combinations of meat/sauce/starchy side available with this plan.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Oh, if you have trouble acquiring fresh vegetables, order in frozen.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Is there a farmer's cooperative locally that can ship you bi-weekly garden produce?
  • aemsley05
    aemsley05 Posts: 151 Member
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    How about using those microwave steam bags of frozen veg (or veg and rice combos)? It's even quicker than cooking in an oven and minimal effort. You could have them for a side with your protein of choice.

    Canned foods could also be good for you as they don't take up freezer space, don't go off quickly and can be heated quickly. Soups are tasty, often full of veg, and generally pretty low calorie. Canned veg, beans and lentils can all be heated quickly. One of my favourite 'lazy' meals is to throw a can of sweetcorn into a can of macaroni cheese then just heat and eat. Or canned mushroom with canned spaghetti. Or canned lentils, jar of pasta sauce, can of tuna... You get the idea. I'm a big fan of cans :)
  • cprobertson12
    cprobertson12 Posts: 90 Member
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    WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »
    Maybe get a wife? LOL My husband would eat spaghetti every day if he were single, just with different toppings :)

    Girls? How do they work? Is there a "how-to" guide anywhere? Maybe a technical manual or a textbook I can refer to? :P

    jgnatca wrote: »
    Oh, if you have trouble acquiring fresh vegetables, order in frozen.

    Ah, so use the freezer primarily for fruit/veg storage - while the drier, starchier goods can be kept in the cupboard - thus giving me a constant supply of decent frozen stuff - good thinking batman! I'm having a look over that meal plan as we speak :D

  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    Google "meal prep". It's a thing!! Also, invest in a crock pot

    There are pages and pages and blogs and blogs devoted to cooking once a week and preportioning meals for the freezer.

    I started making one or two casserole- or Crock-Pot stew-type dishes on Sundays and then freezing them in individual portions (silicon muffin tin works wonders for measuring, then pop the little enchilada or veggie lasagna pucks right into a freezer bag the next morning.) In about a month I had a pretty good variety of pucks in the freezer that I could pack for lunch when I was too lazy to make a salad, or grab for dinner.
  • shaf238
    shaf238 Posts: 4,021 Member
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    Obviously you need to decide what foods you enjoy eating, there's tons out there and people have already suggested a few. My contribution to this is to make sure that you prep your food in advance. Nothing worse than having a busy day and wanting to eat, and relying on whatever is in the shops close by because it's so easy to go with something unhealthy just to get some food down you. Don't do it! Plan your day/week in terms of your food.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    edited July 2018
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    I have three cooking gadgets that make life much simpler. 1) rice cooker, 2) slow cooker, 3) 3 tier steamer. All allow you to throw in what you want and walk away. I use the rice cooker for rice, rice and lentils, and steel cut oats. The steamer: meat on the lower level and veg in each of the upper tiers. I make extra so I get a couple meals at a time.

    There are some great recipe sites as you start to get more brave.

    As for the girls, we are a tricky breed. User manuals are hard to come by.
  • georgieamber2
    georgieamber2 Posts: 229 Member
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    listen to podcasts whilst cooking / working out!! I'm one of those people who doesn't listen to music when they work out. Instead, I love a good podcast filled with information and stuff ... i find it a learning experience and you're getting fit at the same time. Maybe give it a try? x
  • cprobertson12
    cprobertson12 Posts: 90 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    Is there a farmer's cooperative locally that can ship you bi-weekly garden produce?

    That is a good question - let us have a quick google! Hmm - we might be onto something here - doesn't seem to be anything immediately obvious, but it's definitely a path I'll need to explore!

    rosebarnalice wrote: »
    Google "meal prep". It's a thing!! Also, invest in a crock pot

    There are pages and pages and blogs and blogs devoted to cooking once a week and preportioning meals for the freezer.

    I started making one or two casserole- or Crock-Pot stew-type dishes on Sundays and then freezing them in individual portions (silicon muffin tin works wonders for measuring, then pop the little enchilada or veggie lasagna pucks right into a freezer bag the next morning.) In about a month I had a pretty good variety of pucks in the freezer that I could pack for lunch when I was too lazy to make a salad, or grab for dinner.

    Ooh! I have a slow-cooker :D That is a good shout with the muffin tins for portioning - going to have to try that!

    Aye, I've got a bunch of them up now - I think I'll make sunday my "cooking day" - after all, I already use it for doing most of the other housework - it wouldn't take much of an adjustment to add an hour of food prep into it!


    23rochelle23 wrote: »
    Ok a few options - (I’m basing this on the premise you want more veges/ fruit when you say healthy)

    1. Buy frozen/steamer bag veges when you do your shop - there is nothing wrong with meat, potato and veg for dinner if it keeps you full and satisfied. It takes no more time to throw a few pre-diced veges on the same tray. If you want to make it cheaper you can buy your veges fresh, dice them into appropriate sizes and freeze them yourself. Buy a variety (roast, stir fry etc)
    Good plan! I always seem to forget about stir-fries, will need to make a bunch of them again :dizzy:
    23rochelle23 wrote: »
    2. Meal prep: make bulk food the day after shopping - spaghetti bolognaise sauce can be full of veges, make a lasagna, make some curries and stews, portion as you need - pull one out in the morning - it’ll be defrosted by Dinner - boil pasta/rice and heat through - Dinner
    I have a habit of forgetting to pull them out in the morning - such a pain! Easy to fix with some backup meals in the fridge though! Lasagna and curries are easy ones as well!
    23rochelle23 wrote: »
    3. Shop twice a month - there are plenty of fruit and veges that will last half a month - even bags of spinach, cucumbers etc and the like should last about ten days (although this varies hugely depending on where you buy them from - I shop at Tesco and my housemate shops as Lidl - my fruit and veges last prob double what hers do before going yuck). Also some fruit / veges can last a fair while - carrots, cabbage (great raw as a salad base in this heat), onions, peppers, radishes, beans/snap peas, broccoli, beetroot, potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples, oranges, nectarines etc etc should all last you the month or very close to it.
    That's a good list there! :D Aye, I think shopping twice-a-month will be the way to go: I'm getting my shopping list put together just now!

    23rochelle23 wrote: »
    4. Shop monthly for big stuff and pick up some veges on the way home (or even squeeze in another walk ;) - you wont know yourself).
    I'd need to squeeze in another walk I'm afraid - nothing but industrial estates on my walk-to-work route! Though, to be fair, sometimes random vegetables do crop up at the roadside - not sure how that came to pass.
    23rochelle23 wrote: »
    But most importantly - and I say this with caring intentions
    Stop making lame excuses :lol: - you aren’t too busy to cook - you just aren’t inclined to do so.

    But I am really lazybusy! ;) Also, I'm really good at making excuses!doing science and it takes up some a lot of my time!

    Hopefully I'll be less lazy once I start getting into a proper schedule - a bit of structure will help a lot I reckon!
    23rochelle23 wrote: »
    Make a meal plan - it can be super simple and the same for the four weeks of the month - add to it slowly. Make quick and easy meals - you don’t need to be a chef.
    If you like prawns it takes about 6 minutes to cook them in a pan - throw in some pre cut stir fry veges and sauce - healthy meal in less than 10 minutes.
    Home made burger patties take minutes, as do simple sauces for pasta.
    The thing that will take time is planning your month a little so your shop is in line with feeding yourself the type of foods you want to eat.
    Look up once a month cooking - I’m sure you can commit a few hours once a month? Also they have great recipes like basic mince which you can then add
    Tomato sauce - spag Bol
    Mexican spices - Mexican salad/tacos
    Beans - chilli
    Make into meatloaf
    Make burger patties
    Etc etc - all from one base ingredient :-) (and just grate a whole bunch of veges in there!)

    Good luck :-)
    Another good list! Thanks again :D Meal-plan is in-the-making as we speak :D

  • cprobertson12
    cprobertson12 Posts: 90 Member
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    Wow there is so much good advice here - every time I start a reply more role in while I'm typing!
    georgieamber2 wrote: »
    listen to podcasts whilst cooking / working out!! I'm one of those people who doesn't listen to music when they work out. Instead, I love a good podcast filled with information and stuff ... i find it a learning experience and you're getting fit at the same time. Maybe give it a try? x

    Good shout! I tried it in the past but found it hard to concentrate on what I'm listening to - excuses, excuses! No reason not to try again though - the podcasts I was listening to must have just not been interesting enough! There's an electrical engineering blog I'm rather fond of, I should give his podcasts a go :D

    sharifsahmed wrote: »
    Obviously you need to decide what foods you enjoy eating, there's tons out there and people have already suggested a few. My contribution to this is to make sure that you prep your food in advance. Nothing worse than having a busy day and wanting to eat, and relying on whatever is in the shops close by because it's so easy to go with something unhealthy just to get some food down you. Don't do it! Plan your day/week in terms of your food.
    Planning seems to be a common bit of advice! I will need to get on it!

    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    I have three cooking gadgets that make life much simpler. 1) rice cooker, 2) slow cooker, 3) 3 tier steamer. All allow you to throw in what you want and walk away. I use the rice cooker for rice, rice and lentils, and steel cut oats. The steamer: meat on the lower level and veg in each of the upper tiers. I make extra so I get a couple meals at a time.

    There are some great recipe sites as you start to get more brave.

    As for the girls, we are a tricky breed. User manuals are hard to come by.

    My mother has (had?) a steamer - wonder if it'd be worth borrowing it from her! I also have a slow-cooker which I used a lot when I first got it - will need to get back into it! As for the rice cooker, hmm... tbh I've never had a problem just using a pan - the trick, which I surprisingly didn't realise until fairly recently, is simply not to stir it - and if you leave a bit of starch (wash it less thoroughly) it forms a skin around the outside so the whole lot just pops straight out the pan when you're done - a perfect cake of rice :D

    Did you know that if you accidentally don't add enough water to your rice and burn the bottom of it, it smells a lot like popcorn? S'true, s'true. You won't get the smell out your kitchen for days! :D
  • annaskiski
    annaskiski Posts: 1,212 Member
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    I've used the Blue Apron meal kits for a few years now. They're healthy, and you can build up some recipes.
    You might consider yourself a sous chef after a while :) (and dazzle the ladies)
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
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    You've gotten some good ideas already for meal prep and planning, so I won't try to add to those :smile: However, since you're of a scientist mindset, you might enjoy learning a little more about the science of cooking. I got started with Alton Brown's Good Eats and America's Test Kitchen. I enjoy knowing WHY things work in the kitchen. It also makes improvising recipes much more rewarding when you understand the underlying mechanics of what's happening. I haven't read it, but have heard this is a good one for those of us more on the geek side of cooking: https://www.amazon.com/Science-Cooking-Peter-Barham/dp/3540674667
  • thisPGHlife
    thisPGHlife Posts: 440 Member
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    cprobertson12 wrote: »

    Any suggestions on what I could do to eat healthily, that requires next to no effort? Damn. I'm going to have to put effort into this, aren't I? Hmmm...

    - Is it feasible to batch-cook at the beginning of the month, freeze it, and eat that for the remainder of the month?
    - Would splitting my monthly shop into bimonthly shops help to increase the proportion of fresh food in my diet (while minimising freezer-space taken up by frozen X)?
    - How effective are services like gusto (the kind that send you fresh food-in-a-box that you cook up)? Obviously I can't afford six meals a week with them - but would it be worth considering for boosting my existing diet?

    It looks like you've already answered your question! Yes there will be some effort needed. Yes, doing a months work of prep and freezing it could totally work. For me personally, I would rather shop twice a month, still do meal prep and freeze so you don't have to think that hard most days, but also have some fresh fruit and veg to work with.

    Also, I will also even that a slow cooker is one of the best investments every. You can make soup, stew, ribs, chicken, pot roast, I've seen recipes for lasagna, and so much more. And it really is as easy as their I'm your heart, your veg, your seasonings, and any liquid you want to add, then set it and forget it. I will often prep the cooker the night before so that in the morning I set it before leaving for the day and when I get home, dinner is done and the house smells amazing. Mine also has a timer so that when it's done cooking it switches to warm. You can even prep several days of crockpot ingredients so that a couple times during the two weeks you pull out one container, dump it in the crock pot, and turn it on.

    One thing I would start with though is loving. Get into the habit of loving everything. Foods aren't inherently bad, some just got your goals better than others. Once you start logging you can see where your really calorie dense foods are and start cutting back some. You don't necessarily have to completely eliminate your takeaways. Maybe you still get it and have a half portion for dinner with a salad and then take the rest with salad for lunch the next day. And I've done salad that are mixed greens from a bag with some grape tomatoes and dressing thrown on top. They don't have to be fancy.

    My husband and I both started watching what we eat and paying attention to portion sizes a little over a month ago. We weren't horrible eaters. We both crave veggies. We just sucked at self control. A couple days ago my husband's even said that he can't believe how much he was over eating before. Even dishes that I made in the past for us went from two portions to a more realistic four portions (which they should be) and I have terrible finishing it sometimes.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    I would go with the meal prep if you don't mind the repetition - it'll be less work than the meal kit delivery options (you would still be doing all the cooking on a frequent basis with those - would really only save shopping/planning/recipe-finding time). Most things will freeze nearly indefinitely if stored well. Maybe grab a few frozen meals to rotate in for variety.

    Don't obsess over fresh food. In most northern climates, what doesn't store for lengthy time periods of time wouldn't have even been available to buy in those locations years ago for much of the year. What you do buy fresh can be chopped and stored for later use. There is nothing wrong with frozen and canned. Canned can be rinsed to remove some sodium if there at all and if you care (and they are often used in recipes where people would have added their own salt anyway).

    Cooking appliances that don't have to be babysat are convenient for a lot of dishes. I use the electric pressure cooker a lot.

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