Friends who are good with the food part?

SarahRuthRuns

I'm trying to get back into eating right, and I've never quite gotten a handle on the healthy cooking/snacking thing. I feel like I found a few things that worked for me, and I ate those exclusively, and when I got bored of it I just gave up and gained the weight back. It's like I never got past the actual learning curve of actually figuring out how to cook right for my family.

I could really use friends who are good with the food thing to help me along? Anyone??

Is it okay to ask that here?

Penthesilea514

I have the same problems, and I have struggled to find a good answer. I tend to find the things that I like (chicken, fish, tomatoes, carrots), and come up with easy ways to dress them up. For example, I buy frozen chicken breast for the week and I can grill it up and:

1. Put it on a salad
2. Slice it up for fajitas (LOVE this)
3. Make chicken soup (surprisingly easy)
4. Eat it as is

I like to buy a huge variety of spices that make the chicken (or whatever) taste different and mixes it up for my taste buds. I love Penzey's Spices because they make fantastic blends (Arizona Dreaming is the BEST) and many of them come in low sodium varieties. It makes me feel like an expert chef (not the case at all)!

I try to stock up on things I really do like (baby carrots, apples, zucchini) and have them around for a go to snack. I will indulge in less healthy snacks too, but the trick is to budget your calories and eat appropriate portions.

There is a great recipe thread on MFP and a few good recipes sites like CookingLight and AllRecipes- find a few you like, tweek with lower fat/calorie options, and have fun with it!

Good luck!

ParkerH47

The learning curve is all about experimentation. Be willing to try stuff out - there are a lot of food blogs out there which help give me inspiration. If you're feeling adventurous and have the money try local cooking classes.

I used to get discouraged making a big recipe because I knew I would have to log each ingredient but the new recipe function of MFP is really great and makes it easy to just copy and paste the ingredients from an online source.

Also, many people try to overcomplicate cooking. Start out by just following the plate method....
- 1/4 plate or more of protein - (fish, chicken, etc.)
- 1/4 plate of grain (rice, quinoa, farro, pasta, grain blends are in most markets)
and 1/2 plate of veggies ( any will do, but roasting them makes them super tasty)

keep it simple, follow recipes if you need to or wing it if you find them too confining

and don't forget to put on your favourite music and dance in the kitchen - now your burning calories and having fun!

Don't think of cooking like a chore, but as a necessity for life as a human being, as well as a great way to experiment and enjoy real food

Edit: Also try googling one pot meals if you don't like trying to co-ordinate many different parts of a meal - just make sure your getting enough veggies with these.