menu planning, favorite places to find recipes

sonjavon

I'm just starting out but have had great success in the past 4 days... I've lost 7 pounds! I've been walking for about an hour every day and have been faithfully drinking my water and counting calories. BUT - it's time for me to go to the grocery store. Normally, I would sit down and plan a months worth of meals and go out and purchase everything I need. Looking at my normal recipes though, I'm finding that I'm going to need to make some major changes....

Where do you go to find good, nutritious recipes? How do you plan your meals? What are some of the healthy staples that you ALWAYS keep in your house?

I am a Stay at home mom, I homeschool my 11 year old and my husband works from home... so I'm looking at planning 3 meals a day/7 days a week for everyone. Hurdles I face are: DH doesn't like fish (I can make hium chicken on those days - no biggee), 2 of us are deathly allergic to mushrooms and we are trying to be as frugal as possible.

I'd appreciate ANY advice, ideas or direction that you can give me!
Thanks in advance!

sonjavon

I'm just starting out but have had great success in the past 4 days... I've lost 7 pounds! I've been walking for about an hour every day and have been faithfully drinking my water and counting calories. BUT - it's time for me to go to the grocery store. Normally, I would sit down and plan a months worth of meals and go out and purchase everything I need. Looking at my normal recipes though, I'm finding that I'm going to need to make some major changes....

Where do you go to find good, nutritious recipes? How do you plan your meals? What are some of the healthy staples that you ALWAYS keep in your house?

I am a Stay at home mom, I homeschool my 11 year old and my husband works from home... so I'm looking at planning 3 meals a day/7 days a week for everyone. Hurdles I face are: DH doesn't like fish (I can make hium chicken on those days - no biggee), 2 of us are deathly allergic to mushrooms and we are trying to be as frugal as possible.

I'd appreciate ANY advice, ideas or direction that you can give me!
Thanks in advance!

aprilvet

Unfortunately, some of the healthier choices in the store are more expensive.:grumble: I'm a huge fan of whole oatmeal- not quick cook, hummus with pita or baby carrots, apples. I like to make large dishes and use the left-overs for lunch or the next meal. Here's my favorite, extremely healthy and not expensive spaghetti sauce- (avoid the canned/jarred sauces--- expensive and most have too much sugar and sodium)

1 package Shadybrook Farms 99% fat free ground turkey (1.25lb)
1 tbs olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
2 small cans tomato paste
2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes
spices- I use 2 bay leaves, 1 tbs each dried oregano and dried basil-- adjust these to your taste

Saute onion in oil until soft. Add ground turkey and crushed garlic. Cook until completely browned. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix well. Add spices. Simmer 30 minutes. Adjust spices as desired. Add salt to taste. About 8 servings, 1.5 cups each. About 280 calories.

For a change, I will substitute Shadybrook Farms 99% fat-free sweet Italian sausage.

Good luck!!! Try looking for good recipes in Cooking Light.:flowerforyou:

codykitty

These are my favorite sites to find recipes!


www.cookinglight.com

http://www.recipezaar.com/

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/browse-recipes.asp

http://www.hungry-girl.com/

sonjavon

Thank you SO much for your help!
Aprilvet - do you serve your spaghetti sauce with pasta? If so, what kind?

Amy_B

I do my menu planning a month at a time too, but it's not always as frugal as I'd like it to be (although it's better/cheaper than going to the store several times/week). I like www.kraftfoods.com or ideas. They usually have a part that says how to make the meal lighter. I also use www.hillbillyhousewife.com. I just make substitutions so things are better/healthier. Do you have an Aldi's around you? Their "fit" whatever section is getting bigger and bigger.


I always keep spinach around for salads with grilled chicken strips. I have whole grain/wheat pastas all the time, 2% cheese, whole wheat tortillas, healthier "butter" (Smart Balance or Promise), frozen and fresh veggies, etc.

timetoembrace

www.eatbetteramerica.com

I found it on the Biggest Loser website. Some of the stuff looks pretty good...




Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Online Calorie Counter

FitnessGeek

Where do you go to find good, nutritious recipes? How do you plan your meals? What are some of the healthy staples that you ALWAYS keep in your house?

I own a number of cookbooks, but sometimes I wonder why? The internet is by far my go-to place for recipes. I don't really have a favorite website, I like to google dishes and compare recipes. My favorite cookbooks are the from the Moosewood Restaurant.
MFP's forums are also a great place to get recipes because most of us have done the work to add nutritional information to them before we post.

The following items are staples in my house, I really feel like I can make almost anything with these items. If, I want to make something special, I just pick up an extra item one at a time. I also like to base variations on what is on sale at the time. Coupons do a lot of the decision making for me.

My fruit/vegetables staples: zucchini, onions, spinach, cilantro, green bell peppers, carrots, celery, habanero peppers, garlic, blueberries, strawberries.

My dairy staples: plain yogurt, skim milk, light sour cream, cheddar cheese

Meats staples: white meat fish like tilapia, shrimp, eggs

Boxed staples: cereal, oatmeal

Snack staples: popcorn, chips & salsa, jello sugar-free pudding

Bulk section staples: olive oil, arborio rice, couscous, quinoa, pasta, granola

And remember: healthy options are expensive at the grocery only if you are buying pre-packaged "healthy items". When a brand is paying to market something as healthy, trust me, you are paying extra for it! Stick with raw ingredients like veggies/fruits/meats. And try to buy grains from the bulk sections, it will help you save money.

I hope this helped. :flowerforyou:

aprilvet

Thank you SO much for your help!
Aprilvet - do you serve your spaghetti sauce with pasta? If so, what kind?

Yes, I do serve pasta- my husband and kids would die if I didn't. I use whole wheat pasta. The kids are totally accustomed to it now, it's all I buy. I usually only eat a 1/2 cup myself- of spaghetti noodles that's 1 oz and about 100 cals.

Good luck!! Lots of great suggestions here!