Transitioning from Lean Cuisine to fresh foods? -need advice

Natihilator

I used to set one day aside (usually Sunday) and make several dishes to freeze for the weeks ahead, then portion everything into single-serving glass tupperware and freeze. That way you have a little variety to grab a quick dinner from the freezer.

To me the best snacks are fruit or nuts or both: 10 almonds or walnuts or peanuts, or apple and banana slices with natural sugar-free peanut butter. Fills me for at least 2-3 hours.

blissmanifesto

Net 850 is not enough food. You will stall out for sure. Usual guideline is net 1200 no matter what. As for food, I agree with the other posters about making plenty and portioning it out for future use. Often you can even freeze it so you don't have to eat it all this week. So for example you can make a nice big batch of chili when ground beef is on sale. The other day pork loin was on sale at $1.99/lb by me so I bought a massive piece and cut it up in 3 parts and slammed it in the freezer. I took out one part, rubbed some spices all over it (whatever spices you like) and roasted it at 375 for about 15 or 20 minutes. Chicken breasts or legs are great roasted at 375, sprinkled with a bit of salt and pepper. You can prep lots of delicious veggies this way too, such as sweet potatoes, beets, turnips, parsnips, peppers, mushrooms, red onions or brussels sprouts: toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400 for 15 minutes or until tender. Or you can bake whole sweet potatoes and save them in the fridge; they are amazing warmed up in the microwave for any meal of the day. You can bake up some butternut, acorn or kabocha squash and have a nice big piece anytime. Squash runs anywhere from 40-115 cals a cup and it's full of good stuff. Or steam up a big head of broccoli. Or make mashed cauliflower - super-delicious.

You should aim to make enough food that ANYTIME you go in your kitchen, you have something delicious and tempting all ready-made in your fridge for you. I like the recipes at nomnompaleo.com. There are also a lot of great recipes and also great links at marksdailyapple.com.

leavingfat

A lot of times, I cut down on the servings I'm cooking (unless I'm cooking to freeze/for later.) Last night I scaled down a muffin recipe so that I only made 25% of the total. I don't mind eating a lot of the same stuff, but my husband kind of burns out after two days of the same.

My best advice, I think, it to cook things like soup/curries/pasta in large quantities and freeze for later, but scale down stuff that doesn't freeze so well so that you don't end up with the same food night after night.

ETA: there's a shredded chicken recipe here: http://budgetbytes.blogspot.com/2011/07/taco-chicken-bowls-1066-recipe-133.html. I really like it. We can do it in tacos one night, with rice another, and eventually add it to a tortilla soup or something. It freezes and reheats really well. (I put it in baggies to freeze to save space.)

Allegi32

Skinnytaste has LOTS of great soups - I love the pasta e fagioli. I make a big pot and then take a portion to work with me, etc.

Also, I do eat some frozen food, just because it's hard for me to get myself and my kids ready and out the door on some days. So while I try to eat as naturally as possible, life gets in the way sometimes, and you have to be prepared - better to eat a frozen meal than to go to the nearest McD's and eat a ton of fat/calories! So what I sometimes do is supplement the meals with a nice big green salad with some oil/vinegar or low-fat dressing. It's very filling, I get a nice big bowl of veggies, and I stay on plan!

jc7788

I am terrible at cooking so this is a struggle for me, too!

For breakfast, I find that nothing satisfies me more than a cup of black coffee and a bowl of oatmeal with berries in it!

For lunch or dinner, I find that if I keep components of a salad in my kitchen — lettuce, carrots, walnuts, craisins, goat cheese, etc — I can make a meal quickly and add either beans or meat for protein. Hope that helps!

kr3851

If you're comfy with Lean Cuisines at the moment - try adding a bag of steam fresh veggies to each meal - they're low in calories and will definitely keep you fuller for longer... Until you learn to cook that is, nothing is better than a home-cooked meal! I'm by myself too and will cook 4-5 portions of something and box the spare servings up for lunches and dinners - if I cook a few nights in a row i have about two week's worth of stuff in the freezer and get a couple of weeks off!

westnancy

Sounds awesome! I am stealing this!!!

mallory3411

Get yourself some good containers if you don't have any yet.

What I do is when I have a day off I chop up veggies and fruit and put them in containers. I make enough for a few days. I also always make extra of whatever I make for dinner... portion it out in the containers, pop one in the fridge for lunch the next day and freeze the rest. I always have a stash in the freezer for lunches I didn't plan ahead for or when I just don't feel like cooking or am in a rush for time. Same convienance as frozen meals like lean cuiseine but so much healthier! With a bit of prep time spent it helps in the future. Even if you're just cooking for one it works.

You can also do the same type thing but make things that you can make into different meals. For example, you make chicken for dinner, cook two extra pieces. Make extras of everything else and pop in the freezer. Cut one piece up for topping a salad or making faijtas.

A bit of prep and imagination help a lot!

JazzberryJam

thanks for the advice everyone! i went grocery shopping today for some fresh foods & food containers and will be trying out a few recipes. i also changed my cal count to 1200 so i don't end up hitting a plateau a few wks from now! thanks again

amygirl1112

Good for you!!!Your on your way!!!