Need food ideas!!

AmyBethDavis16

I started a week ago and basically have been eating the same 4 or 5 meals over and over because I don't know what else to eat. I don't really like to cook so I need fast/easy things to make that don't involve too many ingredients. My basics so far have been:
2 egg whites and 1 egg with sriracha and a cup of fresh watermelon
2 oz boiled chicken and salsa
Progresso light chicken and cheese enchilada soup
frozen dinners (totally a bad idea...so much sodium)
Would love to hear what you eat! Thanks!

jenabugg

I also do not like to cook. One easy and fast recipe I use is a tortilla pizza: 1 tortilla, tomato or hot sauce, cheese, and whatever other ingredients you like (e.g., veggies, chicken). I bake it in my toaster oven for about 5 min.

vegwrangler

I like making large salads that I can just munch on during my work shifts. I have one massive tupperware that I fill to the brim with greens and whatever local, organic fruits/veggies are available. Sometimes I just wash and chop up carrots, celery, etc. to enjoy as finger foods. Generally, if I eat 1 bin per day I can depend on losing 2+ pounds per week because I'm eating so much more food than I would just sticking to the staples.

My go-to convenience meal is a Garden of Life Raw Meal Vanilla flavoured protein shake. I just toss a few scoops in my blender bottle with hemp milk and water and shake it up! It is a huge nutritional boost and super filling. It does taste kind of Earthy, but the chia seeds in it make it super filling. If you try it, double the water it calls for and make sure you drink it fast because it does congeal quickly.

When I have time, I like to make my own freezer meals. I'll make black bean soup or something soupy in the crock pot then store them in single-serving containers in the freezer for easy grab-and-go meals. Rice and quinoa also freeze/reheat well and pair excellently with the low sodium "steamer meals" in the freezer section. One hour in the kitchen can easily translate into a week's worth of quick, healthy meals!

Happy MFPing!

Krikit34

Not sure if you have any specific food restrictions or things you are avoiding.
I have basics that I just change up for a change of flavor. I've also learned to use herbs and spices to help flavor things up.

For breakfast I have eggs: egg and cheese breakfast sandwich, eggs scrambled with veggies, eggs with spinach and feta. Occasionally I'll have oatmeal or Kashi with yogurt and fruit instead.

For lunch I always take a small sandwich, a small salad, and a cheese stick. I switch up the sandwich with different breads, meats, condiments. I also copycat Panera salads for different flavors - your basic ranch, one with almonds, wonton strips and light Asian vinaigrette. I also switch the salad for fruit at times. During winter I'll do soup instead.

For dinner - Chicken in the crock pot makes a chicken and potato dinner, then shreds for chicken tacos, chicken enchiladas, a homemade chicken gyro. Turkey breast also works in the crock pot. Shrimp is quick, as are turkey burgers. Nothing I make takes long, or I won't make it. I make homemade pizza by grilling veggies and topping pizza dough with those. I then use the left over veggies with eggs for breakfast.

One of my favs is mixing a large fat free plain yogurt with a box of sugar-free, fat-free cheesecake pudding mix. (Like you are making pudding, but with yogurt instead of milk.) It goes great with fruit or a granola type cereal. (Doesn't work if you are avoiding processed or sugar substitute items like some.)

Getting bored with food is one reason I've quit my weight loss efforts in the past so I'm working hard to keep that from happening this time. I try to look for a new recipe to try each week or so.

Mangopickle

Meat salads. Chicken, tuna, salmon, surimi, egg. Use Greek yogurt instead of mayo and add 1/2 c frozen peas and 1/2 cup frozen corn.

Sinful_moon

Overnight oatmeal, canned tuna or salmon wraps, parfaits, (healthy/protein or sweet potato) mug cakes, simple quiche or egg muffins?

prochefonal

I like to buy a pound of ground very lean organic turkey, brown in a skillet then add pico de gallo, some Himalayan pink salt, extra garlic and simmer until the onion and jalapenos soften. Then use as a topping for salad, in a tortilla, or an egg white scramble. Top with a little sharp white cheddar. It's fast and delicious. You can even add a can of Pinto Beans and low sodium organic chicken broth and make a soup.

leann8806

I am a single mom of a three year old with a full time job and I really have to plan out my meals. It helps so much!
I eat oatmeal with brown sugar and coffee for breakfast.
I pack a banana and a protein bar for my snacks
For lunch I eat a green giant veggie pack steamer and a Greek yogurt
For dinner either chicken breast with baked sweet potatoes or regular potatoes and cottage cheese, tortilla pizza (tortilla, pizza sauce, cheese and veggies), crockpot lasagna, or Mexican chicken over tortilla chips with cheese and light sour cream. It's just a can of black beans, 2 cans of Rotel, chicken and taco seasoning! Soo yummy.

I have an iPhone so I'm not sure if it's on Android or not but I love love love the Spark Recipes Healthy Recipes app! Sooooo many good ideas and calorie counts too!

JBfoodforlife

Spagetti squash! It tastes great and easy to prep... Just cut in half, clean out seeds, rub with olive oil and bake for 30 min... While its in the oven heat up about 8 to 12 oz of sauce (add garlic and whatever you like to it). I will usually dice up tomatoes and throw them in a small fry pan with a little olive oil... They usually cook down by the time the squash is done ...Once the squash is cooked, shred it with a fork... You will see it break into strands just like spagetti... mix in the sauce, throw some cheese on top and throw it under the broiler to melt the cheese... DONE!... AND you can eat it right out of the shell, no plate to wash! Very easy in my book...

I also suggest buying wraps... I get the whole grain ones from Costco... lots of fiber and low carb... I usually bake 2 or 3 chicken breasts at a time and keep them in the fridge, sliced... throw them on a wrap with some cheese ( I use Kraft fat free cheddar), salad and a sprinkle of Ms. Dash (several different mixes with no sodium... I like the lime one best)... I do the same with eye round roast too... I will cook a roast and slice it up... leaves me with enough for about 4 or 5 wraps, also good with cheese and some horseradish... You can also whip up some tuna or chicken salad, just make it with a little yogurt, fat free sour cream and some mustard instead of Mayo with the onion and celery... A different taste, but very good!!


Oatmeal is always a good quick breakfast idea... You can always add fresh or frozen bluberries to it or just a little honey.... I will have egg whites and cheese on a wrap (told ya I love them! lol) and will sometimes add some Mrs. Dash to them too ( Gotta love free flavor!)

I hope this helps a little!!

pandafoo

These are some things I usually choose from. Feel free to adapt to your preferences

Breakfast
-scrambled eggs Gordon Ramsay style - the fluffiest eggs ever!
-Ezekiel bread (gluten-free) toasted with 1 tbls peanut butter on it
-smoothie with 1/2 frozen banana, 1 tbls peanut butter, a bit of cocoa powder, some raw unsweetened coconut flakes, and 1 cup almond milk (only 30 calories a cup for unsweetened vanilla flavor!)

Lunch
-I buy something from my company cafe - usually the salad of the day, a sushi roll, or hot entree such as bbq dish with side of veggies

Dinner entrees
-grilled steak, chicken, or fish (my husband and I eat this probably 80% of the time)
-buffalo chicken wings from Costco that we bake
-slow cooker dishes like pulled pork or curries

Dinner side dishes
-roasted veggies in oven for at least 30 min
-mashed cauliflower (steam it with some garlic cloves, then use food processor to blend with some milk, butter, salt/pepper, and herbs - tastes just like mashed potatoes but without the calories!!)
-sweet potato fries (you can buy this in frozen section and bake)
-mixed greens salad with homemade japanese carrot-ginger dressing

caperchick78

I've been making sweet potatoe enchiladas. Really easy and delicious. I boil one sweet potatoe until it is soft. Then I put it into a frying pan & add 1 large can of black beans, diced onion, corn (you can use whatever veggies you like). I fry them up then wrap the mixture into small whole wheat tortillas. I get 8 enchilladas. Then I bake them in the oven for 15-20 minutes on 350. I add a little light sour cream & Mrs. Renfros tequila salsa. Very yummy!

I find lunches the hardest for me. Lunch was always boring. I need ideas for my lunches.

kathitoo

A super easy dinner and leftovers for lunch: 1 can Rotel tomatoes, 1 can black beans(drained and rinsed) heat up and serve over brown rice with a smidge of cheese. ( I make a big pot of brown rice and keep it in the frig,or fast Trader Joe organic frozen brown rice.) yummy and super fast!

AleciaG724

Fry a few hands full of chopped kale (from Trader Joes) with some garlic & olive oil for a few minutes. Top it with a good jarred pasta sauce (I like an artichoke pesto sauce) Sprinkle with red pepper flakes and a little parmesan cheese. A whole plate full is only like 250 calories, it's delicious and fills me up.

kilgore67

Overnight oatmeal:
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup skim milk or almond milk
1/3 cup greek yogurt
2 Tablespoons ground flax meal
1 Tablespoon chia seeds
5 chopped up fresh strawberries
1/2 banana chopped up
1 pack Splenda
Mix. Refrigerate overnight. Eat.

rlmassman84

I use my crock pot a lot. I will cook a package of chicken breasts with a jar of salsa and then shred it up. From there I make a lot of burrito bowls with lots of fresh veggies, rice, some cilantro and lime.

rachface1234

Some of my fave simple food ideas for the busy person
1 - smoothie with almond milk + frozen fruit + protein powder + (if I have any) half a bag of spinach

2 - 1 tortilla toasted in oven on broil, top with one fried egg, 1/2 cup black beans, 1/4 avocado, 3 tbsp. salsa

3 - lunch salad - greens + tomatoes + shredded or sliced carrots + olives + arthichokes + no nitrate deli sliced roasted chicken + Annie's goddess dressing

4 - (lots of people hate them but I love them) - halve Brussel sprouts, toss with olive oil, roast on 375 for 10 minutes, flip, roast for another 8 minutes. Serve with sliced chicken sausage (can be thrown in oven at halfway point) or fried egg. Salt/pepper/paprika. YUM

5 - make ahead mango rice salad - cook brown jasmine rice (or fave rice) about 2 cups. Toss with 1 chopped mango, 2 tbsp. toasted cashews or peanuts or almonds, 1/2 avocado, and dressing (chopped cilantro and lime and honey and olive oil and vinegar). Serve with protein (leftover grilled chicken or black beans...) Sprinkle with chili powder of course

6 - make chili with lean meat and portion out into ready to goservings, I love this one: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Turkey-Chili/

7 - 1/2 greek yogurt + 1 tbsp. almond or peanut butter + 1/2 - 1 cup fresh berries or cut up apple slices

8 - luna protein bar

9 - make good friends with a crockpot as former poster suggested - there are so many recipes, just go to store night before, have all ingredients ready to go, dump into crockpot in the morning, turn it on, and at night you will have several portions of a yummy meal ready to go.

10. wraps - buy a tortilla or wrap with a macro content you like (there are some good higher protein lower carb ones that work for me, extreme wellness or low carb are good options). For a quick lunch, add a protein (turkey pepperoni/deli chicken/lentils) and a fat (cheese, mayo, pesto, avocado, hummus), lettuce (arugula, romaine, spinach, spring mix) and any veggie you wanna add (peppers/tomatoes/carrots)

11 - I like applegate frozen turkey burgers, I can pull one out, fry it up in my grill pan, and have it either with bread or tortilla or naked, with some veggies or over some greens with dressing.

askeates

One of my fav stand-bys that is quick is a baked chicken breast. I use it as the protein for many different meals.

Typically I will cook 2 chicken breasts on Sunday evening, cut and separate into 4 containers (3-4 oz each depending on the size of the breast).

2Tbs kraft parmesan cheese
2Tsp Mccormick salad supreme

Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

I use this for spinach salads where I add strawberries, sugar free mandarin oranges, 1-2 tsp chopped walnuts and a light raspberry vinagrette. So yummy.

Use it in a spinach or tomato wrap with lettuce chopped tomato, spinach and a little honey mustard (this is a great on the go food).

Or like todays lunch, I used my mandolin slicer last night to slice a small russet potato, put it on a baking sheet with some pam spray (top and bottom of the potato slices), added a little sea salt and broiled for 10 minutes on each side. So I have the chicken, these potato slices and a cup of steamed broccoli and it is only 286 calories (I have a TBS of sour cream for the potato's too).

My son likes to add that chicken to spaghetti to have a cleaner version of chicken parmesan, and it is really great that way too!

LadyDot1969

We currently use Eating for Life and Comfort Food on a diet cookbooks. Then we portion out meals into 1-cup storage containers. Each meal will range between 150-200 calories if you do it right (we count each calorie and divide out accordingly). Each meal makes a ton of food that we put into the freezer.

Snacks are always Danon Light and Fit Greek Yogurt or any 100 calorie snack pack.

If you freeze the Greek Yogurt, it's like eating ice cream. It is so delicious!

motivatenikki

I'm so glad you started this thread! I am getting a lot of great ideas! Thanks, All!

I'll share some of my go to meals and snacks, too:
- greek yogurt with a side of fruit or kashi granola bar
- powdered smoothie mix w/water or skim milk
- pistachio or almond snack packs
- edamame or roasted chickpeas
- apple and peanut butter
- watermelon (I buy the pre-cut ones in containers so I don't have to mess with cutting it.)
- grilled/baked chicken breast w/steamed veggies (love the frozen bags that you throw in the microwave!)
- grab a rotisserie chicken from the store (no cooking!)
- crockpot roast with carrots and onions
- lean ground meat browned and mixed with brown rice, salsa, and black beans
- tuna salad sandwiches or tuna cakes made with panko
- salad - mixed greens, carrots, bell pepper, tomatoes, and avocado (sometimes I add sweet corn and black beans, too.)

I used to not like to cook, but with inspiration from Pinterest and MFP, I've gotten a little more active in the kitchen. There are a lot of really simple recipes out there.

A few easy recipes that I've recently made and portioned out for lunches and dinners:
- http://damndelicious.net/2014/04/09/one-pan-mexican-quinoa/
- http://rachelschultz.com/2012/07/11/worlds-best-chicken/
- http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2012/07/healthy-chicken-chickpea-chopped-salad/

good luck!

caperchick78

Hey kilgore67, does your recipe need cooking? Or does the oatmeal get soft from sitting in the wet ingredients. I like this idea. I love oatmeal but I'm never up in time in the morning before work to make it!:yawn:

Smirnoff65

Turkey steaks with salad and roasted sweet potato wedges is too awesome I could literally eat this meal every night of the week

tawnywest

I make two different soups and eat them at lunch time with cottage cheese added. One is a spinach soup made with one package of frozen spinach, 2 stalks of celery, 2 carrots, 1 leek, garlic and curry and chili powder. The other soup is Borscht. It's made with grated beets,onions, carrots and grated cabbage (I just buy a package of cole slaw and add it.) You can eat as much of these soups as you want and you're getting a lot of nutrients. Plus if they are in your fridge you can just microwave a serving when you're hungry and add different condiments. The spinach soup was a recipe from a weight loss business here many years ago called "The Weight Loss Clinic". Also in the freezer section of the grocery store you can buy bags of frozen skinless, boneless, chicken breasts. I boil several of these and then dice them up for salad with 1/2 of an avocado, greens, etc. I've never enjoyed "diet" food so much.

2BeHappy2

Tuna can be used in a lot of different ways....casseroles, helpers etc BUT the healthy ways are with Veggies.
Use tuna as a stuffer/filling for veggies like Celery, Avocados, Peppers etc.
Besides making Tuna fish sandwiches using bread, pita, English muffins, tortillas etc, buy a head of lettuce and you can make a salad and add the tuna OR wash some leaves and put the tuna in it and enjoy it as a roll up!

2BeHappy2

Hey kilgore67, does your recipe need cooking? Or does the oatmeal get soft from sitting in the wet ingredients. I like this idea. I love oatmeal but I'm never up in time in the morning before work to make it!:yawn:

LOL...I was just thinking the same!

2BeHappy2

Spagetti squash! It tastes great and easy to prep... Just cut in half, clean out seeds, rub with olive oil and bake for 30 min... While its in the oven heat up about 8 to 12 oz of sauce (add garlic and whatever you like to it). I will usually dice up tomatoes and throw them in a small fry pan with a little olive oil... They usually cook down by the time the squash is done ...Once the squash is cooked, shred it with a fork... You will see it break into strands just like spagetti... mix in the sauce, throw some cheese on top and throw it under the broiler to melt the cheese... DONE!... AND you can eat it right out of the shell, no plate to wash! Very easy in my book...

I also suggest buying wraps... I get the whole grain ones from Costco... lots of fiber and low carb... I usually bake 2 or 3 chicken breasts at a time and keep them in the fridge, sliced... throw them on a wrap with some cheese ( I use Kraft fat free cheddar), salad and a sprinkle of Ms. Dash (several different mixes with no sodium... I like the lime one best)... I do the same with eye round roast too... I will cook a roast and slice it up... leaves me with enough for about 4 or 5 wraps, also good with cheese and some horseradish... You can also whip up some tuna or chicken salad, just make it with a little yogurt, fat free sour cream and some mustard instead of Mayo with the onion and celery... A different taste, but very good!!


Oatmeal is always a good quick breakfast idea... You can always add fresh or frozen bluberries to it or just a little honey.... I will have egg whites and cheese on a wrap (told ya I love them! lol) and will sometimes add some Mrs. Dash to them too ( Gotta love free flavor!)

I hope this helps a little!!

Just wondering, is this a specific squash....like is that what its called or just any kind made like spaghetti?

kikityme

It does taste kind of Earthy, but the chia seeds in it make it super filling. If you try it, double the water it calls for and make sure you drink it fast because it does congeal quickly.

whydoesitmatter2

some of my fav quick meals are:
100 calorie Chobani with 1/4 cup NF cottage cheese mixed together (lots of protein)
2 eggs scrambled w/ 1-2 handfulls chopped spinach (or other veggies)
frozen banana, 1 cup Skim milk & protien powder
overnight oats; 1/3 cup oats 1/2 cup Skim milk 1 scoop chia seeds.. add sugar and cinnamon in the morning

Sandwiches w/ turkey, spinach, lowfat mayo
Fat free refried beans w/ corn tortillas and salsa
Avacado milkshake; 1/4 avacado, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp coco powde,r 3/4 cup skim handful of ice

dinner is what ever… I have 7 kids and a husband so I just cook what they want & count the calories

treats:
Stoneyfield chocolate frozen yogurt 100 calories 1/2 cup
dark chocolate (Lindt) and PB2