Easy Meal Ideas

fsuguy92

Hey guys, I'm a college student trying to lose about 60 lbs. I'm having a hard time finding some easy meal ideas to make where I'm not just eating the same thing over and over again. Wondering if anyone has any ideas? Preferably meals that can be made in about 30 mins (give or take some time) without a ton of unusual ingredients. I do enjoy cooking a lot, I just can't afford to buy a ton of different ingredients for one meal!

katinachaos

Shakshuka (crushed tomatoes, poached eggs, broth, feta, pita/flat bread), super easy to make. You could probably do some tomato sauce the night before over zucchini instead of noodles, and then use leftover tomato sauce for the shakshuka. Black beans and diced tomatoes are nice, versatile ingredients. I look at what's on sale and then see how I can use stuff in more than one meal. I cook chicken up early in the week and then add it to whatever I'm in the mood for later in the week.

strivingfor130

*Piece of meat with rice or baked potato and a vegetable or just vegetables and no starch
*Homemade pizza
*turkey burgers with sweet potato fries
*tacos or taco salad (can use chicken or ground turkey for filling)
*spaghetti (can use spaghetti squash for substitute of pasta if needed)
*Zucchini lasagna (lasagna but made with sliced zucchini instead of noodles)
*Variety of soups
*Omelet
*Stirfry (any meat you choose pan fried with tons of vegetables)

fsuguy92

thanks for your responses, definitely some good ideas! I typically eat a lot of chicken (although I don't particularly LOVE chicken) because it's so easy to make on a george foreman grill. Looking forward to cooking some other dishes!

rockmama72

Do you have a crock pot? I try to use mine to make one thing every week that will give me a few meals. Last week I did a vegetarian chili that I ate by itself, rolled in a tortilla, and on top of taco salad. I'm almost embarrassed to say how easy it was. I used a can of chili beans, a jar of salsa, and a cup of lentils and some water and just cooked until the lentils were done.

harperjs

http://www.skinnytaste.com/ has some really great meal ideas! Here are some that are in heavy rotation at my house:
-burrito bowls (cilantro lime rice, chicken, black beans, salsa)
-chicken enchiladas (go light on the cheese and you get lots of leftovers!)
-green salads
-chicken stir fry (look for the bags of frozen stir fry veggies, super easy)
-chili

Good luck!

Tanya949

I make a big pot of soup, a casserole, prepare individual salads and some egg salad for sandwiches all on Sunday. That gives me one day to shop, chop and cook... easy on the wallet if you just buy what you need for one day of cooking. Then I have several meals of it throughout the week. I save a lot of money on wasted food this way, as well as saving time throughout the week.