Pre-cooked meal ideas - Help I suck at cooking!

cdahl383

Starting to realize that I need to start pre-cooking some meals for myself if I want to start eating better at home. I really have no idea where to start or what to do though. I've had a few threads on here where people mention pre-cooking their meals in advance for a few days. What exactly do you guys/gals do and what has worked and not worked for you?

If I buy a few chicken breasts, do I cook those up, then put them in some tupperware containers in the fridge along with some rice and veggies or something? I totally suck at cooking, but would like to learn.

Thanks!

jgoulet003

I normally just cook a bunch of chicken breast, salmon, green beans, broccoli, sweet potato and asparagas on the weekend. store them in tupperware and then just prepare my dish that day. It's really simple and you'll feel accomplished

pinklark

I make 3 bean and ground turkey crock pot chili every Sunday. It is a great go-to dinner during the week for me and my husband - easy to eat in between feeding the kids, bathing them and getting them to bed. And it's super filling!

cdahl383

I normally just cook a bunch of chicken breast, salmon, green beans, broccoli, sweet potato and asparagas on the weekend. store them in tupperware and then just prepare my dish that day. It's really simple and you'll feel accomplished

That sounds simple enough that I think even I might be able to handle that! Haha! I'm just a total noob at cooking. Maybe this weekend I'll give something like that a shot. I'll get myself some new tupperware containers and some extra food when I go grocery shopping and see what I can do. If you hear about a house fire in the Detroit Metro area, then you know who's house it was haha!

cdahl383

I make 3 bean and ground turkey crock pot chili every Sunday. It is a great go-to dinner during the week for me and my husband - easy to eat in between feeding the kids, bathing them and getting them to bed. And it's super filling!

Cool, thanks for the idea, sounds good!

lqichick

Pinklark, hey would you mind sharing that chili recipe? Please :flowerforyou:

dopeysmelly

Starting to realize that I need to start pre-cooking some meals for myself if I want to start eating better at home. I really have no idea where to start or what to do though. I've had a few threads on here where people mention pre-cooking their meals in advance for a few days. What exactly do you guys/gals do and what has worked and not worked for you?

If I buy a few chicken breasts, do I cook those up, then put them in some tupperware containers in the fridge along with some rice and veggies or something? I totally suck at cooking, but would like to learn.

Thanks!

Honestly, this is pretty much what I do. I pre-cook chicken breasts, salmon, lentils, beans, beef etc., and also pre-cook whole grains like barley or farro, and then add veggies/salad/fruit/nuts to whatever is lurking in the fridge. I might mix it up by adding different oils or herbs to whatever I've cooked, and compile those in the recipe builder. I might also pre-make combinations of veggies/salads (I've got a great corn, pepper, olive oil, onion salad in the fridge right now).

It's a great way to get a big variety of foods to keep interested, without a huge amount of effort. It makes it easy to weigh out your portions and make sure the whole family eats the same thing or keep it seasonal (if that's important to you).

dispatcher939

Crockpot meals are great, they are easy and usually makes enough to last a few days. You can also prep them on the weekend and freeze them until you are ready to throw them in the crockpot.

Unknown

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cdahl383

I'm aware of the internet and books thanks! Just wanted to get some ideas from folks on here which you did not provide. Sorry.

MinMin97

I LOATHE making up meals in advance. I mean, who knows what we're going to want to eat?
You can roast a couple of chickens or buy a couple of rotisserie chickens, debone the meat and store it flat in a big ziploc. If you make sandwiches regularly, you can freeze the chicken in recloseable sandwich bags, lay flat to freeze.

Have the meat counter thickly slice a couple of roasts for you. (my FAV is cross-rib....awesome flavor!!) Roast it in a lasagne pan,covered tightly with aluminum foil. Just use basic seasoning so that you can make any kind of meal with the meat. Freeze as you would the chicken. I find that the beef keeps VERY well in the fridge for days if you roast the meat for about 3-3.5 hours, until the juices become caramelized (brown)...oven at 350, check the meat at 3 hours. It will be fall-apart tender and amazing flavor.

Make up a big pot of pintos....this is easy, just put the dried beans in a roomy pot, cover by a few inches in water, add in a few jalapenos, whole, and garlic cloves, whole and some salt. Bring to boil,reduce to a good simmer for about 3 hours or more, until those skins are TOTALLY tender.

Make up a big chopped salad....I like to use cabbage and some other veggies, chopped fine, and dress with lemon juice only. It will keep in the fridge for a long time. I LOVE salad for breakfast with cottage cheese and toast!

If you have those three things, then you can serve it all up with a baked potato, or make a sandwich, or use tortillas and fixings, or a salad, use special sauces or salsas, avocado, cheese, or other grocery items you purchase.......whatever your appetite and macros dictate!!

paulzli

I see "I suck at cooking" all the time on the forums. I translate this as "I want to justify eating out a bunch." Seriously, you don't need to prepare a 5 star meal like you're cooking for some fancy restaurant. Even the biggest idiot can do the basics. I mean, if cavemen were able to figure out how to cook for themselves shouldn't a person with access to, among other things, Google, cookbooks, recipes on packages, etc etc.

Lol. Got nothing good to say, dont bother saying it at all. Typical lurker sitting on a high horse looking down at others with no real input to benefit others.

As for the OP, if you like Asian cooking, you can always make 1 pot of rice, a large stirfry of some sort or curry. Portion this up, and you can be set with a meal for a week.

I also love making a big batch of spaghetti sauce (2 weeks worth) and then cooking a large portion of noodles once a week, adding a bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking, and then portion it out for dinner and heat in the microwave.

cdahl383

I LOATHE making up meals in advance. I mean, who knows what we're going to want to eat?
You can roast a couple of chickens or buy a couple of rotisserie chickens, debone the meat and store it flat in a big ziploc. If you make sandwiches regularly, you can freeze the chicken in recloseable sandwich bags, lay flat to freeze.

Have the meat counter thickly slice a couple of roasts for you. (my FAV is cross-rib....awesome flavor!!) Roast it in a lasagne pan,covered tightly with aluminum foil. Just use basic seasoning so that you can make any kind of meal with the meat. Freeze as you would the chicken. I find that the beef keeps VERY well in the fridge for days if you roast the meat for about 3-3.5 hours, until the juices become caramelized (brown)...oven at 350, check the meat at 3 hours. It will be fall-apart tender and amazing flavor.

Make up a big pot of pintos....this is easy, just put the dried beans in a roomy pot, cover by a few inches in water, add in a few jalapenos, whole, and garlic cloves, whole and some salt. Bring to boil,reduce to a good simmer for about 3 hours or more, until those skins are TOTALLY tender.

Make up a big chopped salad....I like to use cabbage and some other veggies, chopped fine, and dress with lemon juice only. It will keep in the fridge for a long time. I LOVE salad for breakfast with cottage cheese and toast!

If you have those three things, then you can serve it all up with a baked potato, or make a sandwich, or use tortillas and fixings, or a salad, use special sauces or salsas, avocado, cheese, or other grocery items you purchase.......whatever your appetite and macros dictate!!

Thanks! This is great!

cdahl383

I see "I suck at cooking" all the time on the forums. I translate this as "I want to justify eating out a bunch." Seriously, you don't need to prepare a 5 star meal like you're cooking for some fancy restaurant. Even the biggest idiot can do the basics. I mean, if cavemen were able to figure out how to cook for themselves shouldn't a person with access to, among other things, Google, cookbooks, recipes on packages, etc etc.

Lol. Got nothing good to say, dont bother saying it at all. Typical lurker sitting on a high horse looking down at others with no real input to benefit others.

As for the OP, if you like Asian cooking, you can always make 1 pot of rice, a large stirfry of some sort or curry. Portion this up, and you can be set with a meal for a week.

I also love making a big batch of spaghetti sauce (2 weeks worth) and then cooking a large portion of noodles once a week, adding a bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking, and then portion it out for dinner and heat in the microwave.

Haha! Well I'm just asking for ideas here is all, pretty simple request.

Thanks for the ideas, sounds pretty good!

MinMin97

I see "I suck at cooking" all the time on the forums. I translate this as "I want to justify eating out a bunch." Seriously, you don't need to prepare a 5 star meal like you're cooking for some fancy restaurant. Even the biggest idiot can do the basics. I mean, if cavemen were able to figure out how to cook for themselves shouldn't a person with access to, among other things, Google, cookbooks, recipes on packages, etc etc.

Lol. Got nothing good to say, dont bother saying it at all. Typical lurker sitting on a high horse looking down at others with no real input to benefit others.

As for the OP, if you like Asian cooking, you can always make 1 pot of rice, a large stirfry of some sort or curry. Portion this up, and you can be set with a meal for a week.

I also love making a big batch of spaghetti sauce (2 weeks worth) and then cooking a large portion of noodles once a week, adding a bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking, and then portion it out for dinner and heat in the microwave.

Haha! Well I'm just asking for ideas here is all, pretty simple request.

Thanks for the ideas, sounds pretty good!

Yes, Yes!! I forgot the batch of rice . I'm partial to white lol. My hubby likes brown:)

SueInAz

I find it's easiest for me to have the ingredients I need for a quick, healthy dinner on hand in the freezer or in cans. I try to stock up when things are on sale and I've thrown away too many fresh veggies and meat because I just didn't get to them in time. I hate wasting money!

For example, I've found that 4 minutes is the perfect amount of time to cook a frozen chicken breast in the microwave. I sprinkle it with granulated garlic and onion before cooking and I can then chop it up or shred it. Frozen vegetables are often better than fresh because they are frozen shortly after picking which conserves the nutrients better than fresh which take time to get to the store, then sit in the store until you buy it and then it sits in your fridge. I love the frozen veggie blends especially the stir fry ones. I can microwave a chicken breast then throw it into a skillet with the frozen veggies some spices or soy sauce and make a quick easy dinner with or without a side of rice or noodles.

cindagrif

Easy meal: Chicken breasts and a jar of salsa. Put in slow cooker for 6 hours. You can have meals for a few days. Either make with rice or noodles or whatever you want! I make it on weekends and have it for lunch or dinner for a few days.

cdahl383

Great, thanks for all the ideas!

Steff46

This one is my fav: 4 chicken breasts, 1 sliced onion, 2 bottles of Sticky Fingers Memphis Style BBQ Sauce (or your fav) in the crock pot on low for about three/four hours! Yum! I like to portion it out and add one can of whatever veggie I have. My favorite lately is Fiesta style corn (it has peppers). Don't forget you can use crock pot liners for easy clean up and faster prep time if your like me and only have one crock pot.
For the days I don't pre-cook I just microwave one can of mixed veggies and top it off with a tuna packet, salmon packet, or canned chicken. All of these items can be stored in a desk or cabinet.

christullos

I tried pre-cooking my meals but I found I would get tired of the food I cooked before I finished eating them so I was wasting food. Frozen chicken breasts (5oz) takes 15 minutes to fast thaw and 8 minutes to broil them, if you pound them to 1/2 inch thick. This way you can season the chicken breast different every day. Tilapia fillets take even less time from frozen to table.

Cardio4Cupcakes

My favorite is 3-4 frozen chicken breasts in a crockpot, cook on low for 4-5 hours, pull out and shred and drain some water, add taco sauce, buffalo sauce, etc. cook for another hour. portion out.

Veil5577

I am no good at cooking either and I don't have the time to do it anyway, so I got a Crock Pot. On my day off, I'd choose a recipe, go get the ingredients, simmer it in the pot all day, and then put a week's worth of servings into tupperware containers and refrigerate them. Works great. I stopped doing it when warm weather hit because I'm eating cold foods now, but come fall the pot comes out again.

perpchaska

I found that pre-cooked meals were my key to success with weight loss. I lost alot of weight about two years ago from this (and working out). I made sure to eat my pre-made stuff M-Friday lunch - then sort of free for all Friday night/sat/sun. I found that the longer i did this, the better choices i made on the days I gave myself off. I also worked out M-F so i had a nice steady weight loss. I'm someone that loves to cook but don't always have the time or energy, so this plan worked out well because i had the weekends to come up with some more creative stuff that may not always have been chicken-breast-with-rice level healthy, hah. as far as the cooking stuff - the more you try it, the better you'll get. just try not to be intimidated and run with it! I also watch alot of cooking shows - it helps you learn. When i was doing premade meals i would cook up a giant pack of chicken breasts from sams club and portion them ( i have a huge portion control issue) out in the ziploc freezer containers with a serving of veggies and wheat noodles or brown rice. I also made myself some soups and then froze everything. I prepared a weeks worth of small salads to eat with dinner and lunch every day - you can do these in quart sized mason jars. If you put the dressing on the bottom ( i make mine homemade with just garlic and salt mashed together, vinegar -red wine, rice, balsamic, apple cider - any will work - and olive oil) and then the hearty veggies on the bottom with the lettuce on the top. the lettuce wont touch the dressing until you shake it up so it wont wilt. these stay good in the fridge all week. i also keep ready made snacks handy - low fat greek yogurt, hard boiled eggs, and natures valley 2x protein bars. For breakfast i make alot of egg cups - just mix in a bowl about 12 eggs, veggies, and some diced up turkey bacon (i cook this ahead of time) and then dump them in a cupcake pan and bake. Breakfast all week!

nroth57

I'm on this thing right now with Spaghetti Squash. to make a bunch ahead of time, buy two good size spaghetti squash (they are yellow and oblong...and CHEAP!) slice them in half, and season well with salt and pepper. put them in 350 over and bake flesh slide down for about 30 minutes, until they are soft. Let them cool off completely and then with a fork, shred the flesh inside into a bowl, discarding the skins. Then season a little more to taste. Experiment with Mrs Dash is sodium is a concern, I like the Italian seasoning one.

I will recommend investing in a panini grill. I can cook 2 chicken breasts with a nice sear on it without oil in 7 minutes on that thing. Cook those up, dice and store in fridge.

So then it's a matter of compiling a bowl of squash that now resembles spaghetti, the chicken and add-ins. I use 2 Laughing Cow wedges - I like the garlic herb or Swiss, but anyone will work according to your taste, then add a few sun dried tomatoes (They are usually near the canned tomatoes in a grocery store. I buy the dry ones, not the oil-packed ones). Sometimes I also saute zucchini or squash and throw that in. I keep all of these components separate until I am ready to eat or pack for lunch. Then I have this really healthy, low calorie lunch for work for the week that takes just a couple of minutes to assemble each time.

Don't be intimidated by cooking if you are new to it. Recipes can be easy to follow, just always read through them first before diving in. If something doesn't make sense, google it, watch videos, etc. Once you get confidence in the kitchen dude, everything will be cake.

lolabluola

I am no good at cooking either and I don't have the time to do it anyway, so I got a Crock Pot. On my day off, I'd choose a recipe, go get the ingredients, simmer it in the pot all day, and then put a week's worth of servings into tupperware containers and refrigerate them. Works great. I stopped doing it when warm weather hit because I'm eating cold foods now, but come fall the pot comes out again.

I love cooking - but YES crock pots make life easy!!!

perpchaska

..

writerelrick

I'm a big fan of soups as the weather gets warmer, or even occasionally during the summer. If you cook them yourself with some low sodium broth of choice (beef, chicken, veggie, mushroom) you can moderate your salt intake and add the flavors you want. Some simple dried herb mixes work really well with your meats or veggies of choice - I love a good tomato barley, miso soups, or even a garden veggie with pesto. All this freezes well.
Cooking and freezing your veggies also works well, and if you have a mic (I don't, but I like to cook on the stove a lot) you can just reheat these in a matter of minutes (I do this at work a lot). If you want to make it really easy to just grab and go, put in plenty of prep time during a weekend, and add some music or game for motivation (if you've got kids, it's a thought to get them to help and see what's healthy).
Leafy salads are great to just distribute into several Tupperware containers and then put a dressing on the day of. I enjoy a mixed lettuce with red onion, strawberry and balsalmic vinaigrette; romaine with tomatoes, feta, garbanzos, red onion and fish oil with lemon juice; spinach/arugula, beets, artichoke, avocado and pistachios with balsalmic; and you can add meat, fish or veggie burger patty of choice with these too (just heat up in the mic and add).
One last thing - overnight oatmeal. This is GREAT! You can do all sorts of stuff with this. No cooking or reheating necessary. Just have plenty of mason jars or small containers on hand and a variety of ingredients of your choosing: oats (of course), maple syrup/honey, berries (blue, rasp, cherry, straw, black), dark chocolate (yes!), peanut butter/nut butter, nuts/seeds of choice, other fruits (bananas, peaches, nectarines, papaya, dragonfruit, kiwi, etc), yogurt and/or milk, then mix and match. My favorites so far: oats (1/4-1/2 cup), strawberries chopped (3-5), 1/4 cup yogurt, and about two-three pieces of dark chocolate chopped up; oats (1/4-1/2 cup), blueberries (1/4 cup), 1 small banana, 1/4 cup yogurt, 1/4 milk, nutmeg and almond flavoring (or nuts); peanut butter (2 tablespoons), maple syrup (1 teaspoon-tablespoon), 1/4 cup yogurt, 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup oats, spice of choice. And the best one yet: the brownie http://dashingdish.com/recipe/brownie-batter-overnight-protein-oatmeal/
(There are so many more here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/samimain/overnight-oats-recipes-to-restore-your-faith-in-breakfast?bffbfood#3v2dmqr)

perpchaska

I'm on this thing right now with Spaghetti Squash. to make a bunch ahead of time, buy two good size spaghetti squash (they are yellow and oblong...and CHEAP!) slice them in half, and season well with salt and pepper. put them in 350 over and bake flesh slide down for about 30 minutes, until they are soft. Let them cool off completely and then with a fork, shred the flesh inside into a bowl, discarding the skins. Then season a little more to taste. Experiment with Mrs Dash is sodium is a concern, I like the Italian seasoning one.

I will recommend investing in a panini grill. I can cook 2 chicken breasts with a nice sear on it without oil in 7 minutes on that thing. Cook those up, dice and store in fridge.

So then it's a matter of compiling a bowl of squash that now resembles spaghetti, the chicken and add-ins. I use 2 Laughing Cow wedges - I like the garlic herb or Swiss, but anyone will work according to your taste, then add a few sun dried tomatoes (They are usually near the canned tomatoes in a grocery store. I buy the dry ones, not the oil-packed ones). Sometimes I also saute zucchini or squash and throw that in. I keep all of these components separate until I am ready to eat or pack for lunch. Then I have this really healthy, low calorie lunch for work for the week that takes just a couple of minutes to assemble each time.

Don't be intimidated by cooking if you are new to it. Recipes can be easy to follow, just always read through them first before diving in. If something doesn't make sense, google it, watch videos, etc. Once you get confidence in the kitchen dude, everything will be cake.

Have you tried zucchini noodles? I was on a big spaghetti squash kick and got burned out - so i started making zucchini noodles. you can get a slicer for about $10 on amazon and one zucchini is enough for a meal so i just make a bunch at once! They are even more like the texture of pasta!

oedipa_maas

I normally just cook a bunch of chicken breast, salmon, green beans, broccoli, sweet potato and asparagas on the weekend. store them in tupperware and then just prepare my dish that day. It's really simple and you'll feel accomplished

That sounds simple enough that I think even I might be able to handle that! Haha! I'm just a total noob at cooking. Maybe this weekend I'll give something like that a shot. I'll get myself some new tupperware containers and some extra food when I go grocery shopping and see what I can do. If you hear about a house fire in the Detroit Metro area, then you know who's house it was haha!

I don't have one, but I think another poster mentioned using a slow cooker. I'm thinking of looking into buying one, since all it requires is a little chopping and throwing in the foods and waiting--pretty simple! Maybe you want to look into one of those. And as silly as it is I LOVE buying new tupperware! Totally motivates me

Some of my "shortcut/simple" foods are meatloaf (I can make it for dinner and then make cold meatloaf sandwiches w/ ketchup for lunches, yum), poached chicken breasts to mix with veggies and mayo/guacamole/whatever for chicken salad, and always make sure I cut up lots of veggies and fruit so they are all prepped and ready to go for lunch or if I want to cook something with them in it.

ValGogo

you don't suck at cooking. you haven't learned the language yet but it's ok.

I like to eat lots of veggies, but I don't like them raw (like broccoli, cauliflower, etc.), so I get eggplant (cut into cubes with skin on), broccoli slaw in the bag (it's GREAT), zucchini or any long squash, onions, snow peas, even grated cabbage, whatever is good and I stir fry it in a big frying pan or wok with a light oil. Sometimes, while the oil is heating, I throw in seasonings (italian herb mix, thyme, pepper (black and red flake kind), garlic and toss it on the oil before I toss the veggies on; it really brings out the flavor. Now, you can do it this way and leave it plain and throw it over salad or warm rice or you can get some tomato sauce or paste and toss a coupla spoons in it to loosen it up and make it "juicy."

Make a bunch of that and keep in in a container in the fridge. *kitten* like that lasts for days at a time and you can eat from it continuously.

That's my go-to veggie mix.

Or you can make soups.

ValGogo

I see "I suck at cooking" all the time on the forums. I translate this as "I want to justify eating out a bunch." Seriously, you don't need to prepare a 5 star meal like you're cooking for some fancy restaurant. Even the biggest idiot can do the basics. I mean, if cavemen were able to figure out how to cook for themselves shouldn't a person with access to, among other things, Google, cookbooks, recipes on packages, etc etc.

THIS!!!