easy meals with few ingredients?

rmaelee

Hello All,
I recently joined MFP to help me track my food intake. I've always been the one to NOT want to get the 'smart ones,' 'lean cuisines', etc...because I wanted to cook my own food, and not rely on boxed food for my weight loss. That being said, I recently started buying them, because its so easy to just pack the box food with a bottle of water and fruit for lunch. Its portioned out and has the nutrition info on the box. However, I do want to be able to cook my own meals. So I was hoping to get some tips from you guys on easy, quick recipes that won't break the bank (I am a graduate student on a tight budget).

Thanks in advance for any help!

icculus19

i survived for years on one slice whole wheat bread with 4 slices of turkey, a slice of swiss cheese, and spinach. i would cut this in half and have one half with an apple at 11 am the second half and a bananna at 3pm.

if you dont mind eating the same thing everyday i make a big thing of tuna salad minus the mayo on sunday then portion it out into about 3-4 oz serving store in glad where and there is lunch for the week. protien shakes are always easy to make also i use quaker instant oatmeal varity packs and mix it with a half scoop of protien and 1/3 cup of coffee. this is breakfast and pre run meal.

natures choice has single serving skinless chicken breast 9110 cals, 26g pro, 0 carbs, 0 fat) it takes like 5 minutes to fry if you cut it up or about 8-10 if you grill. these again can be made on a sunday and stored in your fridge or ewither lunch or dinner.

try to find the foods you like that are healthy and join either sams club or costco's and buy in balk. it will svae you cash in the long run. the biggest thing is to plan your meals or have a basic meal plan and try to make as much of it as possible on the weekend to have for mon-fri

since i have become anal about what wehn and how much i eat i trust known to make my food. this can suck b/c going out to dinner is rather difficult. also even though "lean cuisine" and "healthy choice" may be portioned out and low in total cals check the sodium content. too much sodium can cause water retention and a possible freak out when you way your self.

good luck with grad school

cbevan1229

If you don't mind doing some prep work in advance, you could make some couscous or rice and a couple of chicken breasts, and then portion it in into some tupperware, and top with frozen veggies and some sort of sauce that you like. You could mix up the sauces for variety - salsa, marinara, a Thai or Indian curry, or whatever you like. Couscous only takes about 5 minutes to make, and you can poach a couple of chicken breasts in less than half an hour, so the prep isn't really that bad. Then in the mornings, it's just as easy to grab as a frozen lunch, and healthier.