So I need to change ALL my food choices...

sarahslim100

Find a good cookbook-kids one and learn from it. Have friends show you how to cook-i ask all the time and im a good cook.

For brekkie i have weetbix with fruit, or toast with eggs/ricotta and tomato or pear/sardines/scrapping of avocado. My metabolism is so much better now having brekkie.

For lunch roast pumpkin,sweet potato,eggplant, carrot, parsnip, mushroom..not potato too high gi, with rosemary and olive oil. Fills me up more than my previous lunches so i dont snack

Snacks..greek yoghurt with honey and nuts/fresh fruit, fruit-max 2 pieces per day, glass of plain milk

Dinner- lots of variety. I love salmon steak with lemon juice, corn and veggies/ salad (spinach/rocket/fancy lettuce). Get lots of ideas from michelle bridges crunchtime & no excuses cookbook.

upgetupgetup

I never thought I'd be a Sunday bulk cooking person, but it makes life so much easier. I put off trying it for a looooong time (honestly I hated the idea of food not being the freshest, and it sounded annoying to do). But 1 hour's work on Sunday means lunch and dinner take exactly 10 minutes to prepare until Wednesday. I invested in Glasslock storage containers, which keep things in decent shape for a few days.

I marinate the chicken in garlic, olive and a bit of lemon juice for about an hour, grill them, cut them up into portions and stick em in glassware. I get lots of variety through the week. Greek: add tzatziki sauce - Greek yogurt, garlic & dill - and some tomatoes. Korean and other Asian style: 1 tablespoon of a marinade drizzled over top. Mexican: chili. Italian: cut up and put in a tomato or pesto sauce with some brown pasta <- can chuck some cut up broccoli in the pasta water for the last 6 minutes and you've got a meal in a bowl. American chicken sandwich: tiny bit of mayo, celery, onion, rye bread.

Add some fiber to lunch and dinner - sweet potato, brown rice, you can cook the same time on the Sunday.

Last add some veg. Bag of salad if you want, or some other boiled green, takes no time at all.

Breakfast: eggs & toast or oatmeal.

I have easy sliced meats on hand too: lean ham, turkey. Ham and some low fat cheese on rye bread, heated in a toaster oven's great in the morning if I don't want eggs.

I do keep a couple of lean cuisine-type microwave dinners in the freezer for days I REALLY can't be bothered.

Tools:
- digital scale to weigh portions
- Glasslock containers
- meat mallet to even out chicken breasts (so they cook evenly)

upgetupgetup

Also, on portions and meal timing. It doesn't matter how often you eat or when, reeeeally, for 99.99% of people. But even though it might not make a difference as far as 'fat burning' or whatever, eating around every 3 hours has really helped me control my appetite. So my chicken portions are 4-5 oz each.

This is really different from the 3 squares a day, which I never thought I'd stop.

dakitten2

In addition to a slow cooker (crockpot), I'd opt for a George Foreman Grill. I have both and I use the GF Grill every single day. Mine has interchangeable plates that you can cook tons of things in.

Also, making large pots of soups or stews and freeze them in individual portion sizes. Also you can make a pizza in 5-7 minutes using Flatout Flat Breads and I have several varieties I make that are all less than 300 calories for a typical medium size pizza.

deb3690

Have you seen those bags of mixed carrots broccoli and cauliflower int he market? Pop some cups of that in a double boiler with water and steam them til they are soft enough for your preference (less is more). splash with some lemon juice and you have a terrific start on appropriate foods! Not hard and it tastes really good...combine with rice for more interest. add a quartered potato once in a while....Give it a try!

HayleeWho1122

i love easy healthy recipes! Here are some hope it helps.

Bean dish (you can excludes any of theses that you don't like) served cold
1. A can or 2 of drained black beans or pinto or both
2. can of drained corn
3. chopped tomatoes
4. canned sliced olives
5. lemon or lime juice
6. cilantro
7. avacodo
8. chopped onion


Chicken pasta
1 Chicken
2.gluten free pasta
3.half and half
4. lemon juice
5. chili garlic sauce (or just fresh garlic and chili flakes)

KenosFeoh

Ack! Don't forget to punch holes in the potato before you put it into the oven, or the steam won't be able to escape, and it will explode.

I recommend a crock pot. They usually come with a recipe book. So easy!

bix301

I just realized yesterday how many calories was in the yogurt I was eating. 190! So, I switched to the Kroger brand carbcutter and that is 60 cal.

wibutterflymagic

Why do you need to change your food choices? Same thing as I told you in your other post. Calories in vs calories out.
You can waste your time playing around with silly things, or you can get results, your choice.

Preparing nutritious meals is not a silly thing. If you put crud into your body you're going to get crud out of your body. Eating only processed or fast food is not going to make your body perform properly. Anyone that thinks that only eating smaller amounts of crap is good for you is fooling themselves and will have a big wake up call when their arteries are clogged and they have cancer from all the fat and man-made ingredients.

Now to address the post at hand. I've recently found using plain greek yogurt is really good in tuna and chicken salad. It's just as creamy as mayo and adds some zip. I make mine with a little chopped celery, onion, seasoning salt and pepper. Some chopped apple in the chicken salad is really tasty too. You can make sandwiches or have it in a salad or with your favorite crackers. The chicken, veggie and rice meal is one of my staples. I also like using cream of chicken and/or cream of mushroom soup with it too. I try to make something on Sundays that will last me most of the week for lunch. Some recent meals have been: meatloaf(turkey or hamburger), homemade soups and chili---you can make big batches and freeze smaller portions to take out when you want them. I make my own spaghetti sauce and freeze that as well----very simple, a big can of diced tomatoes, a big can of italian seasoned tomatoes, tomato paste, chopped onion, carrots, mushrooms and black olives(depending on what I have) add some additional spices: garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil. Let is all simmer for about an hour. You can then use the sauce for anything. Spaghetti with or without meat sauce, over a chicken breast topped with parmesan or mozzarella etc.

silencethelamb

bump

Built_Strong

I always tell people the same thing when they say the can't or don't like to cook - invest in a crockpot! I make my weekly meals on Sunday and I don't have to do any work. I buy those McCormick seasoning blends and use those to season the meats in the cooker. Easy peasy! After 6-8 hours I have a weeks worth of lunchs & dinners with little effort and no standing in front of a stove. Portion & freeze & you're good to go.

I also use jarred/canned sauces. My faves are the Presidents Choice marinating sauces - chimichurri, spicy satay, Korean BBQ, just pour in a bottle with 5 - 6 chicken breasts and you have instant bases for meals. Add a salad and/or rice and dinner/lunch is done.

MinMin97

Cool! You will do fine, over time you will get good at this!
Here's a quick, simple, totally delicious casserole...check it out....

Tortilla Casserole:
casserole dish (whatever size you want)
Jar of salsa (mixed with equal parts of water)
corn tortillas
shredded mexican cheese

Salsa/water on bottom of dish, a single layer (slightly overlap is fine) of corn tortillas, layer of cheese.
More salsa/water more corn tortillas, THEN more salsa, top with cheese!
You can actually make as many layers as your dish can handle, just top with salsa/water and cheese:)
Now, cover the casserole dish with foil and bake until hot/bubbly!

You can add into the layers things like meat/beans, but.....not necessary.
Serve this delicious casserole with any or all of the following: meat, beans, avocado, tomato, olives, sourcream (or nonfat plain greek yogurt), lemons, jalepenos....etc!

Have fun, everybody loves this, and it is super easy. Just use what you have!

Another quick one:
Canned Tuna ( I like trader joe's no salt added), like maybe one can
Mayonnaise, like maybe 3T
shredded colby jack cheese, like maybe 2T
Bread of choice

Mix together and spread onto bread slice(s). Top with a little more cheese if you want. Broil until bubbly/slightly golden.
Serve with carrot sticks, mandarin orange slices, grapes, etc.
Optional additions to tuna mix: squeeze of lemon juice, dash of tobasco sauce, chopped cilantro, sliced olives. If you decide to not broil it, maybe you could add some finely chopped celery.

Enjoy!

There is a lot you can do if you:
roast a chicken, then freeze the meat
Make a beef roast and freeze the slices
Make broth by simmering the chicken bones with a few additions, like celery/onion/whole garlic cloves/parsley, peppercorns/etc
Make a pot of pinto beans, drain if desired, freeze the beans in ziplocs (lay them flat for easy thawing later)

LittleMissRainey

Bumping to steal ideas

anzi888

Really good recipes here!! Most of what I do was already mentionned, but here goes. All these can be done within 30 mins (an hour max) :

MEAT: I use a lot of the same spices that I got from "epicure" (minced garlic, chili garlic salt, 3 onions, cheese chives + bacon, etc.) and put them on:
-Chicken cooked at 350 for about 40 minutes in a glass dish (pyrex)
- Shrimps sauteed/fried in a pan for about 10 minutes at low to medium heat (I get the ones that aren't cooked, they're black but turn red when cooked)
-thin cut pork chops either in the frying pan or in the oven. (takes about 10-20 minutes)

I use the herb and spices shake n bake for pork chops or to make my own nuggets (cut chicken breast in strips, roll in seasonning and cook just like nuggets)

CARBS:
-I eat a lot of rice but have recently changed to Quinoa. I still don't remember how to cook it right, so I look it up online. (usually takes about 15 mins to cook). I put in some OXO sauce (chicken bouillon) in a pouch, onions, peppers for taste)
-You can always throw in a potato in the oven. Poke it before and put it directly in (can take up to an hour to cook).
-I will sometimes cook a whole box of rottini, put in some cream of chicken, throw in veggies (peas,carrots,beans, etc), put some chopped cooked chicken, sprinkle with cheese, broil in the oven... meal for a week.

VEGGIES:
I usually buy frozen carrots/string beans/mini corn cobs/brocolli/colliflower, etc. and either boil them for about 10 minutes or steam them (I have a microwave steamer). I eat them without anything on them but you can put some butter on it or cheese.

MY FAVORITE: low fat, low calorie clam chowder: cut potatoes in cubes, sprinkle salt, put water up to where the potatoes reach in the pot, half an onion diced. Cook until potatoes are done. Put in can of baby clams with the clam water, 1/4 cup of milk, simmer for a while and VOILA! I put some "dough boys" in there (1 cup flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, pinch of salt, water, make little mushy balls, put in chowder for about 5 minutes)


Once you get used to a few things, you will be more comfortable and try new things. Enjoy!

harmonyh10

I love roasted veggies and will buy bags of the precut/washed veggies and put them in a single layer on a covered baking sheet at 425 for 12-20ish minutes until they are a little browned and cooked through. You can eat some now and container up the rest for later in the week or to add to broth for soup/stews

5stringjeff

Coming from a guy who just learned how to scramble eggs a couple of weeks ago, I have no doubt you can learn how to prepare basic meals.

saraann4

casseroles and crock pot recipes will save your life. All you do it throw a bunch of ingredients in then bake/put on a temp.

Topher1978

On a day that you can cook, cook a large meal… I will do things like make pinto beans with an onion or two, a garlic bunch, and sometimes some root veggies along with my seasoning. I will make some mexican fried rice (wild mixed with brown) and make a bunch of burritos, wrap and freeze them. I will make crawfish ettouffe with wild brown rice mix, and freeze them in meal sizes etc. Beef or chicken stew (thick) with the same type of rice. I haven't been doing this recently because my situation doesn't lend to making this easy enough. I will go back to it when I can. This way, after 3 weeks you have a nice variety of foods to choose from and they are filled with good veggies. If you want more details message me.

DawnieB1977

I always make my own meals, and they are never complicated! I have 2 young kids and want them to eat healthily.

Tonight we had jacket potatoes and tuna and salad. Easy. Heat oven, put in potatoes wrapped in foil, open tuna, mix with mayo, make a salad!

I like to make chicken breasts - I put them in an oven dish with a bit of white wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic and rosemary and cook for half hour. Roast carrots are also good cooked in the same way. I also like to steam veg - carrots, broccoli and peas.

Sweet potato mash is also nice - peel sweet potatoes, boil in water, drain, mash, done!

I'm not a fan of pasta, but it's an easy meal. You could cook some onion, mushroom, courgette etc with some garlic, add some tinned tomatoes and cook some pasta shells and that's a simple meal.

Anyway, feel free to look at my food diary, it's open.

hopsonc24

Crockpot!!!
$6 -- WHole chicken fryer with salt and pepper on low until you get home from work....use that chicken for multiple meals.
I did this on Wed night...chicken breast with spinach and sweet potatoe for dinner...same for lunch the next day, chicken for fajitas (leaf lettuce instead of tortillas)..chicken for a bacon bbq pizza tonight.

Leave the bones and juice in the crockpot cook on low over night and you have your own chicken broth, use it and any leftover chicken to make chicken tortilla soup (throw in some tomatoes, peppers, cayanne pepper and japs)

Crockpot on low for 8-10hrs or high for 4-5hrs

$6-$10- pork shoulder or a flank steak-shred it, eat it plain, or on a salad or as fajitas

I cook 90% of the meals I eat ( breakfast lunch and dinner). For me its about planning ahead, and making it as cost effective as possible. Prepare as much as you can on your day off and freeze it or refridgerate it.

I