Feeling completely lost!

Feathil

Hi everybody, I'm brand new here.

I'd like to start eating healthier but I'm feeling lost in the sea of random information. General nutrition and cooking education is really poor in the schools here and my mam is a really basic cook -most dinners for her involve meat + potatoes + carrots. I'm currently at college and I've just been getting by, but I'm frustrated about how little I know.

I'd like to have a basic template to start with, and I'm sure there must be one out there, but I just haven't found it. Meat is expensive on a student's income so I have to be careful about how I spend. A template of how to divvy up calories and proteins etc over the course of the day - as I see this site tracks calories, carbs, proteins and fat mainly...

I'm lost with recipes as well, but I figure that if I have a better idea of how to plan for the day/week, I can kinda search based on the things I need to incorporate...

I know I'm being a bit vague here, but in case I've missed out on anything obvious that you could bring to my attention, it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading

AprilOneFourFour

Hi there

You might find it easier to break this question into bite-size chunks.

And maybe you can tell us a bit about what you like to eat and what kitchen facilities you have access to.

It'll also help to say where you live.

Feathil

Thanks, I know my post itself is a bit confusing..

I live in Ireland, in a city with a country market as well as the big supermarket chains. My kitchen facilities are pretty basic as I live in a small space - the close proximity makes the smoke alarm sensitive unfortunately... Once the oil got too hot on the pan and set it off, which to be honest is a bit ridiculous. Just gotta make sure I ramp up the extractor before I even start. The oven is fairly slow to heat as it's the first one I've had not to be fan assisted.

I used to be a picky eater, which is probably a reason why I don't know as many recipes as I should, but I like a lot of vegetables now that I'd like to combine in recipes now - asparagus, carrots, peppers, onion, sweetcorn, chillis, lettuce, green beans/mangetout, etc etc... I've started getting into hotter spicier flavours since I've tried jalapenos and things like that.

I'm not sure how to answer that question with different cuisines, as there are great dishes from everywhere.. Italian is a fairly easy starting point for a student, Irish/English food tends to be stews and things that would have to be made in bulk to be eaten over a few days (as I'm cooking for one). There's a lot of potato dishes involved in Irish food but I find them (the potatoes) hard to cook, but maybe that's something I should tackle.. mexican I know very little about but the spicy quality is appealing, chinese can be good but also very experimental for me, as I haven't gotten used to all of their ingredients.

As I'm not a meat eater every day, only when I can, I can already tell I need to pick up on the protein from other foods and I'll have to explore that. I've gotten started on my food diary so it may be that I'll be disappointing for the first while until I get to react and adapt, but at least I'm already learning from the results!

morgansmom02

I am picky too. I am going to suggest using skinnytaste.com. I don't like a lot of "weird" food, but she has so many great recipes that involve "normal" food that you just throw in the crockpot!

sammi402

Go here: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/
If you're not a fan of meat or just can't afford it, this site has lots of simple to prepare meals full of veggies. For your protien's make sure to do stuff with beans (pinto, kidney, black, etc).

misscaligreen

stir fry is an easy quick recipe..... saute veggies in a non stick pan ( bell peppers, carrots, mushrooms, celery, onion, zucchini, snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower... anything you like) then add meat ( shrimp, chicken, or lean steak) add a pre-made stir fry sauce and voila! yummy, easy and nutritious!

AdrienneinTO

I like these websites for healthy recipes:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/
http://www.eatingwell.com/
http://www.neverhomemaker.com/

I tend to make a lot of stir-fries and stew-types of dishes. Soups are also great, you can make big batches and freeze portions for later.

1FitBabe

How about visually dividing your plate into thirds; 1/3 for your veggies, 1/3 for your carbs like bread, pasta, cereal (count corn here also) and 1/3 for a lean protein (eggs, meat) etc.

Fridarules

Protein is easily obtained and inexpensive if you like things like beans, nonfat milk, tuna in water and low fat turkey or chicken form the deli, which you can add to a salad, a stew or a tortilla wrap with the veggies of your choice. I try to use only whole wheat tortillas or bread if I have any at all. You can also make some whole wheat pasta and add a table spoon of curry -as spicy as you like, and small pieces of chicken breast or tuna. Another thing is you need to know how much protein you need in one day, and get it from meat just three times a week and the rest from other sources. Remember that being here asking for help is the first step to success. I hope this helps.

Emily_Katherine

EatingWell has some sample meal plans, complete with recipes, at a variety of daily calorie levels. It might be a good palce to start:

http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/diet_meal_plans/7_day_weight_loss_diet_meal_plan

Edit:

Check this page out too:
http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/what_does_a_1500_calorie_day_look_like

ushkii

I would suggest you log everything you put in your mouth. This is hard to start and do. It will give you good information on what you are eating and what protein, fat, sugar, carbs, sodium, blah blah, blah....
It is a process and you have taken the first step, asking.
If you take a nutrition class it will give you great information, the internet is full of half truths and fluff, as are many forums/message boards.
Here American Heart Association and government nutrition sites have great information I would bet Ireland has similar sites or departments. Be careful of who is providing the information and if they have a motive to do such.

Good Luck