Reworking my kitchen

dippystick

I'm new to this dieting thing. I usually ate pretty healthy before so I don't have a lot of changes to make as far as giving up things. But I do need to focus more on quantities and combinations. I've been having to eat cheap for the last several years so that usually means more carbs, noodles, rice, etc.

I'm cleaning out my cupboards this weekend and some things are obvious that I need to get rid of. Some I'm going to include in my meals for awhile as I don't have the funds to get rid of everything and start over. My cupboards are pretty bare right now so it's not going to take long.

I live alone and don't have much company so I want to purchase things that are easy for one person to make for one. After raising 6 kids and growing up in a family of 8 that I cooked for, this is taking some time to adjust.

What are items that you keep in your cupboards to create a well stocked pantry so you always have something to eat without feeling like you need to make a quick trip to the fast food place for a quick meal. What are you always have to have on hand items?

I do like to cook so I generally cook bigger on payday weekends and freeze my own tv dinners.

PennyNickel14

I love the cook ahead and freeze technique. I do this with backed oatmeal and mexisoup.

Beans, Tuna, eggs, Frozen Broccoli, cheese, oatmeal or porridge in the pantry will provide you with quick meals in a hurry

themommie

ground turkey
chicken tenderloins
rice ( both white and brown)
pasta
broccoli
sweet potatoes
eggs
yogurt
chicken broth
black beans
popcorn
it is easy to throw together soup, or a stirfry or just grilled chicken , rice and veggies or turkey chili

dsjohndrow

I would go online and try to plan for a month. Then you can move some of the more expensive meals around.

You can make some items in bulk and freeze, like grilled chicken, soups, chili, even breakfast sandwiches and burritos. Then there are other things that will last the work week you can make in Sunday afternoon. Add to that some easy to make meals and you are good to go!

annacataldo

things like individually wrapped salmon/fish fillets, that way u can just pull one out of the freezer, not have anything go to waste, and you could even pull out two and cook one for the following days lunch to save you time. i often have leftovers from dinner for the following days lunch.

i havent watched carbs much because im never over them. im on a very limited food budget too. i find dieting to restrictive and difficult if i cut out certain foods. so for noodles i just switched to whole wheat noodles and stick to serving sizes. white flour is pretty bad for you. you can get dried beans which are very high in vitamins and very cheap; can make all types of soups and such. i have alot of potatoes and rice; you could get brown rice which is a little healthier but i just use the white rice.

when i get meat from the store, i break it up prior to freezing in the amount i want, and freeze it in individual portions--this morning i was going to have sausage, so i pulled out one little baggy that had 2 sausage links in it (turkey).

you could also make a ton of food at once, and freeze individual portions in tupperware containers and pull one out for quick meals. like making a big batch of rice and a big batch of chicken, and throwing rice/chicken, pre measured in each tupperware, maybe put some veggies in there too, and when ur ready u just pull it out and throw in the microwave for two-three minutes.

some processed things for snacks (i know, bad, but whatever)--fiber one granola bars, i keep one at all times in my purse as back up food in case i get stuck somewhere; some stores, like safeway, has their own brand of the fiber bars that are much cheaper. 40 cal no sugar added fudgesicles--full of fiber, filling for a light snack, and tastey too.

ive gradually switched everything over, from canned food all being reduced/low/no sodium, to all breads, pastas, pancake mixes, everything all whole wheat varieties, syrups/jams/canned fruit etc all sugar free. natural peanut butter, etc.

gaylelynnbell

I also live alone 26 days of the month. My hubby is a truck driver and is gone a lot and the kids are grown.

In my fridge, I always have fresh salad in the spinner and ready-to-eat fresh fruits and veggies. I usually buy them already prepared so I don't wind up with more than I can eat and can have a big variety to stop boredom. I also nearly always have hummus, string cheese and fat free pudding cups.

I have a big container that holds a variety of snacks...single boxes of raisins, cereal and granola bars, 100-calorie packs and whatever else sounds good to me that is pre-measured and fits into my plan.

My cabinets have a variety of soups (high in sodium but a great quick dinner when you don't want to cook), instant oatmeal, 100 calorie popcorn bags, high fiber cereal, and always the pretzels...I love pretzels!

In the freezer, you'll find an assortment of Lean Cuisine meals, lots of bags of frozen veggies (easy to measure out a serving and cheaper than buying individual serving sizes). When I buy meat, I divide it into single servings before I freeze it so it's ready to throw on the Foreman Grill and cook in a few minutes.