Easy Lowcalorie meals that freeze well

LDownton
LDownton Posts: 3 Member
in Recipes
Hi there. I am going to have knee surgery so I will be out of commission for awhile but want to continue to try and lose weight. Does anyone have any easy low calories meal recipes that freeze well? Thank you!!

Replies

  • Xellercin
    Xellercin Posts: 924 Member
    Soups/stews are my go to for freezer meals because everything in them is generally cooked to death anyway, so they freeze and reheat well.

    I cook exclusively vegetarian, and a hearty bean or lentil based soup/stew usually comes in at very low calories but is quite filling.

    Similarly, I also batch freeze legume based curries and then make rice on demand for them.

    Back when I cooked meat, I couldn't stand the texture of frozen/reheated meat in a lot of dishes, but legumes tolerate it really well.
  • LDownton
    LDownton Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you very much!
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,380 Member
    I don't really cook "meals", I like to have ingredients prepared and handy that can be used for what sounds good when I'm ready to eat. One thing I make is scrambled egg combo with a pound of sausage, 9-12 eggs (however many I have), maybe some cooked potatoes. It goes into individual ziploc bags and defrosts in about 5 minutes in warm water. Then I can eat it from a bowl, eat it in a burrito, on toast....lots of options and pretty painless to prepare. I also keep pre-cooked meats and pasta on hand. It might be hamburger or Italian sausage that I brown and bag ahead of time, or else I buy the bags of pre-cooked grilled chicken. Then frozen veg and some kind of frozen pasta or rice and I can scoop together something pretty quickly. Having stuff ready to go, but with some inherent variety kept me fed through a month of COVID, I'm not sure what I would have done without my freezer stash!
  • sandielewis2001
    sandielewis2001 Posts: 318 Member
    We keep a freezer full of "freezer stock" premade meals ready for an easy reheat. We usually portion in individual serving sizes using ziplock bags. Some of our usual freezer meals are:

    Chili & Taco Chili
    Brunswick stew
    Basically any soup/stew
    Butter chicken
    Smoked meats: pulled pork, chicken, turkey, brisket
    Lasagna
    Shepard's Pie
    Spanakopita

    Wishing you a speedy recovery!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,025 Member
    I've had a knee replacement as well as a tendon transplant in my ankle send my condolences. I batch cook large quantities of these types of recipes. Basically anything braised or stewed freezes well.

    Braised chicken. To save calories, remove the skin on your own portion at the dinner table. Google for example, dak dori tang, coq au vin, chicken cacciatore.

    Braised beef. Boeuf bourgignon, estouffade, beef rendang. In general for curries such as rendang, keep the coconut milk to a minimum to reduce calories.

    Soups which make full meals such as cullen skink and dutch split pea soup. For dutch snert, use a leaner cut than the pork belly most recipes call for.

    By the way while I was recovering from knee and ankle surgery I managed to do cardio by hopping on the good leg using a zimmer frame around the block. This was incredibly strenuous according to my HRM. The MFP entry for walking on crutches is a pretty accurate estimate for this. It was made by an MFP pal who was also 175 cm tall, broke her ankle and calibrated it with her HRM while hopping on the good leg.
  • LDownton
    LDownton Posts: 3 Member
    Great suggestion. Thanks so much!

Categories