Convenience Meals?

abetterluke

So by far one of the biggest struggles my family and I have is that despite meal planning and shopping ahead of time there are days (pretty frequently) where after getting home from work or running after the kids all day neither my wife or I really feel like cooking. Which then usually results in us going out for dinner or me bringing dinner home. Which is almost always unhealthy.

I'm all for the occasional pizza but it happens quite a bit. I've recently decided that I'd like to start making some things ahead of time so that most of the week we're just throwing a few things together and heating it up quickly rather than really spending a lot of time cooking. I was thinking about cooking a bunch of meat (chicken, pork, or beef) in the slow cooker every few days and then adding it to recipes to make things quicker.

Just curious if anyone else has any good tips or ideas for ways to make meals more convenient without having to go out to eat.

bonjourjackie

Wraps are the best. I like to take a low-carb tortilla wrap and spread hummus on it and add in a handful of salad mix that I get from Trader Joe's with some tomatoes, red onion, bellpeppers, etc.

Another meal that I do quite often are quiches: http://www.snixykitchen.com/2013/01/19/healthy-whole-wheat-vegetable-quiche/
It lasts me a few days! I buy frozen veggies and just mix them together and pop it in the oven!

abetterluke

Frozen veggies are definitely one thing we've been buying a lot more of too!

I'm not a huge fan of quiche but I do love wraps. I've never tried the low-carb tortilla wraps. Are they pretty good? Can you tell that they are low-carb?

bonjourjackie

Hmm, it does seem a bit more flimsier and softer, but I personally don't mind it too much. I buy mine at Trader Joe's!

abetterluke

Hmm, it does seem a bit more flimsier and softer, but I personally don't mind it too much. I buy mine at Trader Joe's!

Ah nice. Good tip. We've been going to trader joe's lately to get frozen fish filets and shrimp so next time I go I'll grab some wraps and try them. Thanks!

anapestic

Making foods in the crockpot is a good idea. Each dish you make in there can probably serve your family for at least three meals. It takes a little while to build up an inventory, but once you have several different dishes in rotation, you only have to make two or three different things a week.

I made something recently that was just 3 lbs. of boneless skinless frozen chicken breasts, a pound of dried beans (I soaked them overnight), and two jars of salsa. That cooked in the crockpot for about a day, then I took the chicken breasts out and shredded them, but that was all I had to do. I got 16 one-cup servings from that.

There are plenty of other similar things you can do with a crockpot, or on top of the stove.

BTW, if you really don't have anything, do you live near a Chipotle? If you leave off the sour cream, guacamole, and cheese, a burrito bowl should fit into your daily allowance pretty well, and it's both healthy and filling.

abetterluke

BTW, if you really don't have anything, do you live near a Chipotle? If you leave off the sour cream, guacamole, and cheese, a burrito bowl should fit into your daily allowance pretty well, and it's both healthy and filling.

No Chipotle nearby...I also used to work with a guy who found a band-aid in his burrito there so I haven't been able to stomach the thought of Chipotle in years. The only relatively healthy thing there is nearby is a place called Taco Time...unfortunately the last time I went there I got moldy food and haven't been back since.

Other than that near my house is mostly just McDonalds, Burger King, and pizza joints.

ASH2038602

Crockpot and freezer meals are a good idea. Also just having cooked chicken on hand to quickly heat up and throw together with veggies for fajitas, or into salad, toss with BBQ or wing sauce for sandwiches etc. If I have to eat out I will search the MFP database for something that fits my calories. It's really easy to let eating out be a reason to go overboard, but it doesn't have to be.

mathmatt

I like the wraps idea. Along with that, you could do tacos or burritos. If you cut up veggies, one thing that saves time is having a nice food processor that has slicer and grater blades.

davinarn

Look up freezer cooking. There are websites that give you both large and small sessions with step by step directions where you spend a day or 1/2 a day cooking or prepping for a couple of weeks worth of meals. I use to this a lot when my son was younger, now my husband cooks for everyone to come over on Sunday and usually there is enough leftovers to last us that I get out of cooking most days

maddymama

I found out that a lot of time it wasn't the entrée that took the most time, but cooking rice to go with it. I started making double the rice and then freezing the leftovers for future use. I do something very similar to this. I can usually cook veggies and chicken and a pan sauce in less than 15 minutes.
http://www.laurenslatest.com/make-ahead-brown-rice-for-the-freezer/

nixxthirteen

I get home late at night so I LOVE fast and easy meals.

My favourite is pan frying meat with a cooking sauce (hooked on paprika sauce right now), and either frying up some frozen veggies or steaming them in a bowl of water in the microwave for 6 min!

I also live off minute rice, tuna sandwiches, and pizzas made from pita bread and fresh veggies that I make in bulk and then freeze. They take 10-15 in the oven when I'm in the mood for one.