Help with making healthy snacks (and meals) ahead of time.

MzNiz

I have been trying really hard to change my eating habits. I am pretty good about it especially when I practice portion control and not eating out.

Now I want to try and make more of my own snacks and meals by baking, cooking, drying, etc. ahead of time. I am really hoping this will make the calorie counting part of losing weight/staying fit easier and cheaper.

My husband and I were given a nice food dehydrator for Christmas and I have some ideas already I know I want to try. For example I have dried fruit but never made my own dried pineapple or strawberries and I want to try and make kale chips (never had any).

I know some of you have great suggestions that we all could benefit from so shoot!

NatNatToBeFit

We have a NuWave and recently experimented with making our own beef jerky when we find meat on sale. Not sure how lean skirt steak is, but that was the best cut we've used so far. I figure with doing this I can control what seasonings are on there and how much sodium is added AND I can find a package of meat for about $6-9 to make a pound worth of jerky, whereas a 6-7 oz package of jerky runs about $7-9.

You could maybe try making veggie chips (yams, kale, beets... maybe even zucchini??).

Mcctin65

I heard the suggestion the other day about making a pot of soup and freezing it in individual single serving containers. Love this idea.. if I don't plan ahead I really mess up.
When I make veggies I make extra so I can throw them in the skillet in the morning with my eggs. Sometimes I make a giant skillet of sauted veggies, eggs and some turkey bacon and I'll split it for the next day's breakfast also.

Lialena

I started looking into dehydrating and making meals more convenient over the summer. Haven't bought a dehydrator yet (changed jobs and decided to wait on spending the money - the one I want is a tad pricey) so no personal experience to share, but I have found that there is a Lot of great info to be found on youtube that answered most of my questions and gave me some great ideas.
Start with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVpIHre2ao which begins a fantastic series of videos on dehydrating, and gives some examples of ways to use your dehydrated foods. Also search for "meal in a jar" and other terms like dehydrating for camping and food storage. The "preppers" and campers have the majority of useful videos about this. The videos from other cooks tend to be just "how to dehydrate xyz" and not so much on how to use it once you'd dried it.

I'm particularly looking forward to trying the meal in a jar concept when I get my dehydrator. The idea is to have all the dry and dehydrated goods, including seasoning and sauces, in the jar ready to use. Just pour into a pot, add water, and cook.

Freezing, as Mcctin65 mentioned, is another way to go. I don't like the texture of the results when I've tried it, but a lot of people do this successfully. I second the recommendation to double up on what you are making for any foods you still enjoy when reheated. I do this for chicken breasts, salads, cut veggies, and so on.

Every now and then I use one of my days off to to make some things ahead for the week, such as a batch of pasta sauce, cut lettuce (on it's own in a plastic container it stays crisp for about 4-5 days), roast chicken, rice, veggies, muffins... whatever keeps well for several days. I find I eat better when I do that.

For snacks I've made some compromises with myself. I don't want to entirely give up sugary and salty foods. Going That healthy right now would entirely derail me because I'd be miserable. Instead I budget for them in my calories and am using small plastic containers to portion out small servings of things like pretzels, chocolate, dried fruits, and popcorn. The same could be done for veggies and dip, cheese, yoghurt, fruit, and other healthy items.

rvfamily4

Where to start... I bought a Food Saver and it has helped so much. On Saturday I put a menu plan together for the following week. I take everyone's schedule into consideration so that I can add dinner out if need be. I go shopping if need be to get missing items. On Sunday I prep as much of the food as I can. I make rice, quinoa, pasta, etc and get my portion into one bag and the families in another. I love the crock pot so I through everything into the bag and then i can just dump it into the crock pot in the morning- no need to think about it. I wash salads and get them into mason jars. I also get some baking done - snacks, breakfast bites, etc.

I know it sounds like a lot of work but it it one day of getting stuff prepped - and I have the kids help with all the dishes. Then the week days go smoother and I am less likely to cheat as I already measured out my portion sizes.

Things don't always work out and there are hiccups some times but for the most part it has really helped. For recipes - there are tons of websites with healthy recipe ideas. I try to pin a bunch to pinterest when I get a chance, plus I have a few websites that I like.

Looking for a snack to satisfy your sweet tooth... http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/shanibars/ My kids really like these too. I wrap up individual servings and put them in the freezer so we can grab and run.

Good luck!

lisarfrank

As far as snacks go, I buy grapes, sliced apples, berries, shredded carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflowe and whatever else sounds good. I wash it all and cut it up and divide it all up in baggies and that way it is always ready to go. I also carry almonds with me at ALL times. When I am starting to get hungry and I have nothing with me. I can eat about 10 or so and be satisfied until I get get home.

As far as meals go. I try to have a few lean cuisines in the freezer and always have salad stuff ready to throw together with some of that precooked grilled chicken. YOu can have lunch/dinner ready in seconds.

brianlee66

The almond thing has helped me loads

shoppingdiva2011

This group sounds very interesting, hope I get some good recipes here. If I get any I will share

MyChocolateDiet

a family member of my husbands has always made beef jerky I think from deer meat also on one of those. she does it paper thin and everyone goes nuts for it. she had to "train" two more family members on her technique before she could hang up her hat as she was getting tired of it but announced she was quitting and it was decided that 2 people needed to be trained on it so the family would never have to be without it.

i personally cook fresh everyday as a SAHM now. IN the past however as a student I used to cook all or most of my meals on a sunday. My schedule was class monday-friday. friday afternoon go home crank up the radio, drink and clean house all drunk and dancing for around 3 hours. Then nap, shower check messages and set up plans for the night. Saturday I'd cook and relax with family, at picnics birthday's whatnot. Sunday I had to be home no matter what I did during the day by like 5 or so, because I'd shop and cook everything for the week. This plan allowed me to balance school/study/commute by the week. And a social life on the weekends.

I'd cook whole chickens stuffed with lemons and onions seasoned well in the oven, lots of baked potatoes and I'd cook a huge pot of spaghetti and anothr one of rice on top of the stove. I'd separate into large and small containers some to take to school frozen and heat up at lunch time when partially thawed at a microwave in one of the student centers. SOme of it, i'd eat fresh and keep fresh for a couple days in the fridge. SOme of it i'd tupperware it rice only, chicken only, or spaghetti only & refridgerate, and have that over the next few days too. Living across the street from a supermarket and having family and college friends with families with all kinds of fruit and veggies trees and plants those were things I'd get on the fly and cook fast and easily add to my standard pre made fare. The last few days of the week, I'd usually be able to afford a few meals out, and or eat whenever visiting at anyones house whatever they were having. It got me through college on a very low budget. I was in shape the whole time. My school had hills and valleys and it's colleges were quite spread out so just walking from class to class to library with a heavey book bag was exercise in itself, but i usually added a class with some type of physical element, swimming, dance, etc. Hope this helps.

magpie525

Jerky from a dehydrator is great; my grandfather uses a jerky gun where you just squirt seasoned mince out of something similar to a caulk gun (can buy mixes or make one yourself to control the sugar and salt levels). Fruit chips (great paired with nuts for a post-workout sugar and protein fix) and fruit jerky can make your favorite fruits more mobile. Also experiment with dried veg - a great chip substitute is a mix of sliced carrot and peppers with kale (season like kale chips). A lot of summer/fall veggies are great dehydrated e.g. squashes, tomatoes. Look at Just Tomatoes brand snacks if you want more inspiration.
One thing to watch with dehydrated foods is portion - there may be less water but there are just as many calories. In general I try take one afternoon per weekend to do most of my cooking; portioning out lunches and snacks for the week saves time and helps with calorie counting.