What to Eat??? Help planning meals

JulieF11

I have had more than one person ask me what to eat... so I decided to share this with the community, and perhaps you all have your favorite items to share too. :-)

For Dinners: Go to the library and check out a couple "healthy" cooking cookbooks. Find some items that you like and make them. I like to make several and freeze them in sizes that are handy. I keep bags of spinach and baby greens to make a salad with each meal. I don't always eat "clean" as you'll see with flavored yogurt, etc... but a whole lot better now! and learning new things as I try new recipes. Sometimes I go to the produce section and look for a new veggie and then buy it, and google how to make it once I'm at home. I surprise my family and ask them to guess the mystery food.

Lunches in a hurry: Harris Teeter has all natural soups that are delicious, like organic veggie chili... and they sometimes go on sale buy one get one free.... I stock up so I have them in my re-fridge to heat up at work (I eat with a piece of fruit). I buy a roasted chicken (I know it's not processed) and then cut it up and put it in the fridge to make wraps, add to salads, etc... Sometimes I bag half of it and freeze it, and pull it out when the other half is nearly gone. I keep all the items I need for wraps available at all times as it's easy to take with me and eat in the car. So I also keep fancy mustard, shredded lettuce, low-fat mayo, tomato, sauerkraut (I like it on wraps), baby spinach, cucumber, peppers, etc... Look at Subway's options and keep the ones you like in your home. Fill that sucker up with veggies and you'll feel pampered, full and it's good! Sometimes I eat Michelina's Lean Gourmet meals (frozen Wal-Mart for $1). I like the Buffaloe Chicken rolls best. It takes 1 minute in the microwave and I can take it with me since I don't need utensils to eat them. Not "clean" food, but fast, tasty and low-cal.

Snacks in a hurry: Hard boiled eggs (if you like them, Wal-Mart has them premade and shelled in with their fancy cheeses), Clif Bars, Wal-Mart has snacks like carrots and hummus in a handy to-go pack. I love those! They also have apples and yogurt dip or caramel dip. I also keep almonds in baggies, pre-weighed. I keep a couple bags in my pocketbook so I am never in a bad spot and hungry. This came in handy when my dad went to the hospital. Everyone else had to eat hamburgers and fries, I had almonds (and I had dried apricots too) in my pocketbook. Dried fruit stays nicely in a pocketbook. Its higher in calories, but much better option than fast food or what you get at the vending machine. So I keep those in my car. I always carry food with me to prevent bad situations where I'm stuck hungry with poor options. I also buy frozen individual packs of Edamame beans (Wal-Mart frozen). You can microwave them and take it with you. They are low in calories and high in fiber and I think very good. Apples stay a long time, so I keep those in the fridge (they are better cold). I love to keep those sweet colored peppers (the small ones are sweetest and they have a pack of them at the Wal-Mart produce section). I cut them in half, remove the seeds, spray with olive oil, and roast them. I do mine in the toaster oven. The longer they roast, the sweeter they get. I eat them like candy! I go ahead and cut and freeze what I don't use. I don't roast the frozen ones, but rather add it to scrambled eggs and such. They get squishy after being frozen.

Breakfast in a hurry: Clif bars (I get them at Wal-Mart) I love the cherry almond, and carrot cake (Food Lion has that kind) and oatmeal chocolate. I also like to keep hardboiled eggs on hand. The egg white is only 15 calories, the whole egg is 65 I think. I like flavored yogurt too. Oh, I keep frozen fruit to make smoothies. I can hide things like Kale or Bok Choy, etc in the smoothie. My kids like them too. I rinse out the blender immediately, so it's easy to clean. If I don't have time to clean it, I fill it with water before I leave and that way it's easy to clean later. If you let anything dry in it, it's a pain. I also clean it by hand so I can use it daily if I want to... I don't like to wait for the dishwasher. Oh yes, I love oatmeal, and you don't have to use the instant, but sometimes I do. The regular oats only take a couple minutes anyway. You can add fruit and nuts and honey. Very good and good for you.

When I'm not in a hurry, I like to make spaghetti squash. It's a favorite of mine since it's fun (looks cool) and takes on the flavor of the sauce. I like acorn squash too. I also like to make beans and rice. I've heard that it is the perfect recovery food after working out. They do make a good beans and rice that is canned so fast and easy, but it has a lot of salt so I eat it sparingly. I get the tasty one at Aldi's. I don't really care for other brands of beans and rice. I love scrambled eggs too! They are so good for you and you can add whatever to make them tasty. I love adding spinach and garlic! I make it mostly spinach and a bit of egg!

IsMollyReallyHungry

Thanks Julie!

itsjustdawn

So glad you shop at Walmart and not solely at stores that are only located in a few states! Thanks for sharing that with us!

knelson422

I have a prep day where I cook a bunch of meat (I am talking like 10 pounds) and then freeze it so that it is ready to add into meals. Also, cut up and roast veggies and then freeze them so that they are ready for add ins too. The prep day saves me on a busy day. Thanks for all of your tips, very helpful.