My diet starting to bore me!

NormInv

Been eating incredibly clean for weeks now with occasional indulgence over the weekend. I am no longer looking forward to lunch or dinner. Its all starting to taste bland. I cook meals when I can. Been eating chicken, beans, veggies, eggs, fish, cheese. But now everything tastes like same ol' same ol'. What to do? Put hot sauce in everything? I dont want to get fat.

Mokey41

As long as you watch your calories it doesn't really matter what you eat as far as gaining weight. Enjoy some food!

anifani4

Fix your chicken and veggies in different ways.. add flavor with herbs and spices. Add some fruit to your menu if you don't already eat it. Lots of people seem to like hot sauce on everythinng. I'm not a big fan but if you like it, why not?

JanaCanada

Eat something else. Really. You don't have to eat like a rabbit to lose weight.

JenniTheVeggie

Awww...that's your problem...its not a diet!

PinkNinjaKitty

Try new things! Quinoa is great and it is a great source of protein. I make mine with beans. I try to add new fruits and veggies when I can also. Don't give up! Clean eating is so good for you, just change it up. Allrecipes.com is great to use and you can read reviews for recipes before you try them. Good luck

angelcurry130

play with fresh herbs! cilantro, basil, even lavender can be your friends. you'll be surprised what a fresh chopped bunch of green can do to an entire meal.

cleback

Take a trip down the spice aisle and get inspired.

kaylindeschanel

You shouldn't have to feel miserable - dinner and lunch can be fun. just switch it up - look up really healthy alternatives for your snacks.

As for your clean-eating regime, I know that you can make delicious wraps for lunch.
- I've made apples drizzled in peanut butter and enveloped in whole grain tortilla wraps.
- Sriracha is a spicy sauce that adds more flavor to your dish. It's not heavy on the calories and it's really, really amazing.

Dinner
- Salmon is a great fish to add to your diet if you haven't already.
- Asparagus. 5 spears for 20 calories. That's pretty awesome.

Mix it up.
Breakfast, have some nonfat Greek yogurt on top of some oatmeal. It melts right on top, it's so good.
Add some berries and voila! Deliciously nutritious.

badtastebetty

Grab some herbs and spices. Learn new recipes. There are tons of awesome and nutritious recipes that will help keep your meals exciting.

jmadams111

Awww...that's your problem...its not a diet!

She's got that right; you need to make it a lifestyle change, but within limits you can live with. I have lost a lot of weight and am by no stretch of the imagination eating "clean" as many call it. I eat the same things I always have, just less of it anf skew it toward more healthy.

LisaMarie8713

You need someone exciting to share it with..... the food will be less important...

I like to eat the same things so that it makes logging and shopping easier, but I get bored too. It helps when my kids are here or my boyfriend comes over for a dinner or something. it inspires me to try something new....

Robin_Bin

Check out herbs and spices - not just the hot ones. Also play with different textures and combinations. For instance, chicken can be baked whole, shredded in sauce, mixed into rice/couscous/barley/lentils/soup... Vegetables can be grilled, sautéd, mashed, steamed, spiced. The Silver Palate cookbook has complicated recipes, so I don't cook many of them, but they have great idea starters... sidebars saying which foods or spices go well together. These are just a couple of the ways you can change your food. Enjoy!
Oh, and eggs can be made sooo many different ways: scrambled, baked, quiche, omelets (another way to use those vegetables), over easy, hard boiled, egg salad (you may want to use mustard instead of mayonnaise), spanish omelette, frittada.
And then try some vegetables, whole grains and fruits that you haven't had before. Many of us in the "developed" world have limited ourselves to the most common varieties of a limited number of plant foods, but more and more grocery stores and markets carry more variety... and check out the specialty stores that cater to different immigrant populations.
Not only will this variety make your diet less boring, it is also probably healthier. Variety will make it more likely that you will get the nutrients your body needs.

NormInv

I do try spices including: cumin, paprika, oregano etc. I also try a lot of good stuff including quinoa, greek yogurt, berries, honey, turkey bacon, salmon...I guess I am just bored with this food. I used to eat a lot of chips and beer. Now I dont even like to eat junk food and my body rejects it.

BTW, the comment about my getting fat was a joke. I am in the best shape of my life and am in pretty much in maintenance. But the lifestyle has taken the fun out of food. At least while I was eating chips I used to get excited.

Robin_Bin

Find kinds of chips that fit into your current plan?

HeidiCooksSupper

Awww...that's your problem...its not a diet!

BUMP!!!!

Take up cooking as a hobby. I know, that sounds counter-intuitive but as someone who cooks for a hobby, it's totally the case that good food needn't be heavy in calories. Herbs and spices hardly have any calories and all. Olive oil is one of the best fats you can consume and it tastes great. Good cheese has the same calories as cheap cheese but you can eat less of it because it has so much taste. I'm actually eating more variety since I joined MFP instead of following old habits of too much bread and butter, etc.

NormInv

^ I did take up cooking. Thats what I am saying.

I make chicken and fish in meats. I avoid beef and pork as I dont think they are healthy for me. I also make a lot of beans and lentils. Usually, I make chicken and lentils together in a slow cooker. I put onion, peppers, garlic, ginger, broth, cumin, coriander, bay leaf, olive oil etc in the cooker and leave it to cook. It tastes great. But I dont want to eat that every single day.

I tried some chinese recipe with green onion and other chinese vegetables, soy sauce. That was great too.

I am looking for new recipes. Try something new but manageable for me. So maybe I need to find a recipe book.

I also made stuffed pepper with quinoa, mushrooms, spinach.

marygee1951

Sounds like you're not a stranger to the kitchen. How about making things like omelettes and stir fries just to change things up a bit. If you don't object to frozen meals, maybe you can add some in once in a while for variety -- when I make them I add veggies to bulk them up. How about some home-made pizza - I make them on flour tortillas or large pita pockets. Maybe some crockpot meals? I struggle eating the same thing over and over - so I try to spend some time in the kitchen on the weekends and make some dinners for the week.

cindybpitts

I almost feel the same way..Im just so picky. I cook and eat soup every day for lunch. Im almost sick of it but worried about what else I will eat. I dont eat raw vegetables at all! Tried hummus, quinoa, barley, brown rice, avocados..dont like any of it except barley & quinoa in soup is ok. I looked at healthyrecipes.com to try and get new foods to eat & cook..I looked at 12 pages and couldnt find one thing I would eat. Im having a hard time..tired of what I will eat.

BigGuy47

I agree with the notion of cooking.

Get a *pork tenderloin. Stuff it with quinoa, diced onions, feta cheese and whatever else floats your boat. Grill it. Eat it. When you get bored with that find something else to cook. Cooking new meals keeps it interesting. Some women really appreciate guys that can throw down in the kitchen.

* Pork tenderloin is a lean meat. A healthy choice.

lisacsmith16

EAT REAL FOOD! Hell I had pizza the other night and I still lost! 3 glasses of wine last night and woke up today down too! Change it up a bit!

FluffyMcNutter

Obviously there is some NSFW language here, but try this for more options. http://www.whatthe****shouldimakefordinner.com/ (That's the f-word that got bleeped out from the link).

Of course, if you really just want to eat something that's bad for you, then eat it. Or drink it. I find that when I approach food (or booze) as though things are off-limits, I wind up binging on it when I eventually give in - see: Jelly Bellies.

Maybe you just need to have a steak or something like that.

cindybpitts

I also was cooking steamed shrimp and having left over so I could snack on an ounce or two for protein..tired of that. Boiled eggs are getting old too. Eat cheese all the time. My doctor told me to eat all the beef I wanted so I cook london broil in the crock pot with diced tomatoes,onoins,peppers and then take a chunk of it for lunch. Also eat pork tenderloin. Being picky is the hardest part for me!

michellewong699

Yes, eat the food that you like (: Just eat them in good portions.

And experiment with some spices! Even if you don't like all of them, each day is something a teeny bit different so it will still keep you interested. Hopefully, you can discover some recipes that really work for you!!

NormInv

Not all of us can live in the gray area. I used to binge on chips and junk. Was never extremely overweight. I only had 10 lbs to lose. But I could tell my insides were unhealthy. SO I threw everything out. With me, if its in the fridge or cupboard, I will eat it. SO I dont keep any junk at home anymore.

I am VERY VERY happy with my results. I feel great, so much energy, higher libido, sharper memory.

But it is true that there is no fun in food anymore. Even on weekends if i try and eat pizza, I cant digest it properly, chips now taste too salty. Its like nicotine patches. They take away all the pleasure out of smoking.

I think I need new recipes and try out new spices.

MandyPhoe

Felt the same with a lot of my recipes. So, I have decided to switch it up and eat my way around the world. I consistently look for new recipes to eat/ try from different countries. Italian, Indian, Spanish, Middle Eastern, French, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, & etc.

Try getting to know different grocers around town and see what is available. It is amazing what you can whip up. Try looking at epicuious, food.com, all recipes and the likes for muse.

And here are a few links I have been bouncing about for the past few weeks;

http://www.weightloss.com.au/healthy-dinner-recipes.html
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/you-can-do-it/fat-fighting-diet-low-calorie-dinner-recipes/
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/low_calorie_recipes_to_help_you_lose_weight_throughout_the_day
http://whatscookingamerica.net/RecipeIndexDiet.htm

There are more of course... you just have to make Google your best friend. I hope this helps

cindybpitts

Not all of us can live in the gray area. I used to binge on chips and junk. Was never extremely overweight. I only had 10 lbs to lose. But I could tell my insides were unhealthy. SO I threw everything out. With me, if its in the fridge or cupboard, I will eat it. SO I dont keep any junk at home anymore.

I am VERY VERY happy with my results. I feel great, so much energy, higher libido, sharper memory.

But it is true that there is no fun in food anymore. Even on weekends if i try and eat pizza, I cant digest it properly, chips now taste too salty. Its like nicotine patches. They take away all the pleasure out of smoking.

I think I need new recipes and try out new spices.

All the bad stuff still taste damn good to me!

NormInv

Felt the same with a lot of my recipes. So, I have decided to switch it up and eat my way around the world. I consistently look for new recipes to eat/ try from different countries. Italian, Indian, Spanish, Middle Eastern, French, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, & etc.

Try getting to know different grocers around town and see what is available. It is amazing what you can whip up. Try looking at epicuious, food.com, all recipes and the likes for muse.

And here are a few links I have been bouncing about for the past few weeks;

http://www.weightloss.com.au/healthy-dinner-recipes.html
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/you-can-do-it/fat-fighting-diet-low-calorie-dinner-recipes/
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/low_calorie_recipes_to_help_you_lose_weight_throughout_the_day
http://whatscookingamerica.net/RecipeIndexDiet.htm

There are more of course... you just have to make Google your best friend. I hope this helps

Oui! Excellent idea! Thanks

Robin_Bin

Lots of good cookbooks out there (check a few out of the library?) and many recipe sites on the Internet as well as the entire message board here on MFP for recipes.

JUDDDing

Buy some sriracha.

It ought to make things less boring at least for a week or 2.

2FatToRun

Feel free to look at my open diary I am always adding new **** every week so I do not fall into this rut.