Need food ideas ( working two jobs 6 days a week)and on the

heinz4u
heinz4u Posts: 14
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
everyone i need some ideas im so under my calorie count and that why ive stalled so much im sure with working 2 jobs 6 days a week finding it hard to fit good food in...I also started today some jillians whey powder and some luna bars. I havent had junk food which is good, but need fast meals for a few weeks till i get this drywall night job done, then im taking a break for me...lol

Replies

  • aznikigirl21
    aznikigirl21 Posts: 32
    I work 2 jobs 6 days a week also. My suggestion is to cook a bunch of food in advance. I defrosted some chicken breasts, cut up a bunch of veggies and did a huge thing of stir fry. Made a couple cups of brown rice. Then put it into seperate containers so I can just grab and go and microwave. 1/2 a cup of brown rice and 1 1/2 cups of stir fry is filling and delish. You can season to taste. That usually feeds me lunch or dinner once every day for the 6 days.

    Also, turkey, low fat cheese, lettace & tomato roll ups in low cal/low carb wraps are good and so easy. Can also open a can of fat free beans and put some beans, brown rice and a little chesse in for a yummy roll up. They are usually under 200 cal for the meal.

    These and salads are what get me thru the days. :)
  • oAngieMaeo
    oAngieMaeo Posts: 67
    have you thought of taking the 1 day off you have and making meals for the week?? You can cut up veggies fruit, ect to pack. I am sooo stuck on Chicken fajitas right now. Those are easy to warm up also. So are quiches! You are one busy girl!
  • tayner
    tayner Posts: 372
    for breakfast I love taking diced peppers and onions (i dice them up a bunch at a time and put them in a baggie so they are ready to use) and sweat them, then add some egg whites, cook, put them between two pieces of low fat whole grain toast, some salsa, and bang, a filling breakfast in less than 5 minutes that is good for you, and low calorie, yet satisfying because of the protein and whole grains.

    for lunch i have recently fell in love with eating the sweet and spicy tuna that comes in the foil pouches on the fiber select vegetable flavored wheat thins.. low calorie and yummy.. dont even have to add anything to the tuna, it tastes great right out of the package.

    then dinner i change it up...

    good luck finding things that work for you!
  • MirandaJayne
    MirandaJayne Posts: 600 Member
    Hey I do the same! I work mon-fri 830-430, but on tuesday wed i leave early to get to my other job 4-8pm, and saturday 9-3. So for me I use Monday night as my meal prep night. I make my meals for Tues and wed lunch and dinners. Find a couple of protines that you can turn into 4 different meals, like ground mean for example, you can make a pasta sauce from it and taco mean or personal sized sheppards pie or meatloaf or chili. See what i mean. Def the key is to have the meals all packed in the tupperweare you would take your meals to work in that way in the morning you just grab the meal already packed, and your good to go.

    Anyways that is what works for me. Hope you find a useful tip.
  • forgetthatday
    forgetthatday Posts: 7 Member
    Make a quiche! I make one every week and take a piece to work every day.
    [1200 calories in the whole thing, divide how you will]

    1 [30tsp] container Kroger Liquid Egg Whites
    1/2 cup milk
    2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
    1 box frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
    8 oz sliced mushrooms
    20 grape tomatoes, sliced in half

    spray a 9x13 pan.
    layer mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli and cheese.
    mix milk and whites together and gently pour over veggies. the egg mixture probably won't cover the veggies, this is ok.
    bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, until it doesn't look too wet and isn't yet burned.
  • conniemcqb
    conniemcqb Posts: 2
    Taking a day or evening to make several meals is a great idea. I figure if I turn the oven on to cook 1 thing I may as well cook a few things. This week made a turkey, no stuffing. Had Saturday dinner, then cleaned turkey off, made sandwiches for Sunday, and hot turkey and gravy for Sunday dinner. From the bones (carcass) made turkey broth and a vegetable soup from that. This will be used for at least 1 dinner, and several lunches. (freezing half for another week)
    Now we will not eat turkey all week as that can get boring, so while turley was cooking in oven I also threw in some ground beef meatballs to cook up so we can have pasta and sauce this week, maybe some meatball mini subs for another day's lunch.

    I also use my crockpot at least 2-3 days per week to cook whole chicken or beef stew, or even to make lower fat desserts. It is a life saver for when you get home and are pooped but walk in and smell dinner comlete. LOVELY!

    The key is to make a plan of action. I DO NOT stick to it alwqys but it gives me the general idea of what I am planning for at least a week. It also helps on those crazy days when I really do not want to cook but I know something can be nuked up at the last minute from my freezer as it is already cooked.
    Hope this helps.
  • sdirks
    sdirks Posts: 223 Member
    My crock pot is my best friend. It's very rare that I'll cook a meal on a weeknight--everything happens on the weekend and gets put up in the fridge or freezer for the week. Salsa chicken, borscht, ratatoullie, chili, stuffed poultry, pork loin... anything I can prep in 30 minutes and then walk away from! You may end up cooking meals on the "low" setting overnight--I've had to do this a few times and haven't had any disasters (I'm still paranoid about it, though, but that's just me being crazy).

    Cooking meals in advance really helps when your time is limited. Chicken and turkey are best because they'll keep the longest in the fridge after you've cooked them. I also have an electric grill/panini maker that saves me a ton of time in the mornings. Usually I make a grilled veggie wrap with hummus or a turkey panini with cheese or tomato. It cooks in the time it takes me to get my shoes and coat on and there's no messy egg clean-up.
  • blessedtobefit
    blessedtobefit Posts: 157 Member
    Working that much can be a challenge, but YOU CAN put quick and healthy meals on the table with just a little time and lots of planning. What has worked for me is taking one day a week and putting my oven, crock-pot and roaster oven to work by cooking lots of things that can do double duty when it comes to supper each night. For example: I buy 2 Jennie-O Turkey breasts (white meat only) or 3 whole chickens when they are on sale and stuff the cavity with onions, celery, garlic, bay leaf and seasoning. Wrap in tin foil and roast in roaster 24 hours on low (around 200-250 degrees). I pull apart the meat and portion it off for several meals...salads, wraps, sandwiches, soups, turkey pot pie, chicken chili, chicken hash...any recipe that calls for chicken/turkey. Another idea is to season up several chicken breasts with different seasoning blends for different flavors and roast together on a sheet pan in your oven (400 degrees for 20-25 minutes). I also do that with baking potatoes & roasting veggies. It is so easy and your oven does all the work for you. Let them cool and divide for your meals. My favorite is to cook 4-5 pounds ground turkey breast meat and then portion it off in zip lock bags and label them. I will save 2 or 3 for meals that week or freeze for later meals. I do the same for veggies...I will chop all my fresh produce on the day I come home from the grocery store and either freeze them in labeled zip lock bags or cook them for later in the week. All this does sounds like a lot, but believe me it will help you so much and your hard work will pay off when you open your freezer/refrig. and can put together a meal in minutes. Having a well stocked pantry, freezer & refrig. will pay off huge and keep you from running to the store every frew days. Spaghetti, chili, tacos, casseroles all can be ready by the time it takes you to run through a drive-thru or order pizza. YOU CAN do it!

    url=http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker]223713.png[/url]
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • heinz4u
    heinz4u Posts: 14
    Omg I love this site THANKS so much everyone for the great ideas. Going to hit the store later this week and try this ideas out...And Thanks so much for taking the time to answer a post makes all the difference in the world when we are fighting the battle to get healthly and fit. and knowing Im not alone in this is very motivating ...Keep up the great work all !!!!!!
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
    have you heard of 'once a month cooking'? you dedicate one day a month to making all your meals for the entire month and then divide them into your serving sizes to store/freeze them. it is so easy and perfect for a busy person. you only need to buy some fruit, milk and salad greens each week, and you never have to worry about what's for supper. you can google it and tons of info and recipes show up. i love it!

    using your crockpot is also a great idea. here is a chicken stroganoff that is super tasty. only needs 6 ingredients and some egg noodles.

    1 low-fat or fat-free cream cheese
    1 can reduced fat or fat-free cream of chicken soup
    1 package dried italain dressing
    3 chicken breast (cut in half)
    1 oz red wine
    1/2 package slice mushrooms

    cook the first 4 ingredients in the crockpot on low all day. when you get home, add the red wine to the crockpot and stir. boil the egg noodles and saute the mushrooms. add the mushrooms to the sauce and serve over the egg noodles. easy peasy. you are fed and have plenty of leftovers for lunch and another supper. it freezes really well too.
    dawn

    p.s. you can see what i am eating each week at http://everythingisbetterwithcheese.blogspot.com/. i post one recipe a week as well. :) enjoy!
  • ContessND21
    ContessND21 Posts: 1
    I started eating meals that are delivered to me from Bandtastic Meals. I decided to try this after a tasting done at a support group meeting. I work sometimes 10 hours a day, then I go to one of four kids after school events ex: gymnastic (Mondays and Tuesdays), basketball (Wednesday and Thursdays for practices and two games on Saturdays), Art classes (Fridays) and Hockey (Saturdays). Not to mention me trying to workout or just spending time with my husband, kids or myself. I am too busy to worry about food (what to eat, portion control, preparing it ahead of time or planning those meals). I need no brainer food that is healthy and inexpensive. It works for me, let me know if it works for you.
  • tinasullens
    tinasullens Posts: 203 Member
    Wow, lots of wonderful ideas!!
  • kgrutch
    kgrutch Posts: 223
    some of the things that i cook in bulk and keep in small containers to bring to work:

    steel cut oatmeal (i make it for the whole week and cook it for a long time to make it creamy)

    lean turkey chili (i make a huge crockpot full, love it and so filling)

    grilled chicken breasts

    always keep cottage cheese, apples and strawberries and use them daily
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    my trainer taught me to cook up a bunch of chicken, turkey and hamburgers on Sunday for the entire week. I steam veggies and buy bagged lettuce.

    Glad makes the perfect size plastic container to have 3-4 oz meat, and the other 1/2 veggies...add a salad and your done.

    :flowerforyou: Jeannie
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