Meal planning advice

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Hotgirl100
Hotgirl100 Posts: 7 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello everyone: I need some advice about meal planning. I am really trying to watch what I eat but I have found that no matter how hard I try I never have the time to make meals from scratch. Also I can't afford to make meals from scratch. I have been picking and choosing meals that I have here at home that are already pre-made like for example I have been eating vegetables that come in the Green Giant Steamers collection. For dinner last night I had Stouffer's teriyaki chicken with teriyaki sauce with white meat chicken rice and vegetables. I also had Green Giant valley Fresh Steamers Garden Vegetable Medley. Anything that I can cook in the microwave I eat. Any advice on this you could give me would be very helpful. Thank you.

KEEP PUSHING PLAY: Kathryn

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  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
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    What do you consider from scratch? If you are thoughtful about what buy, you can make food for much less than you can buy meals for. For example I just had some homemade "Panda Express Orange Chicken".

    Premade popcorn chicken, baked (I have also just cooked up regular chicken breast)
    Panda Express Orange Sauce (buy it at Costco for super cheap)
    diced veggies; bell pepper, onion, zucchini

    You cut up the veggies, stick them on a cookie sheet with the chicken, bake the entire thing for 15 minutes, once cooked toss with sauce and viola! A meal in less than 20 minutes.
  • spricia
    spricia Posts: 29 Member
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    Get yourself a crockpot is one idea. There are a lot of soups and stew recipes that are low in calories and very filling. Crock pots save grocery money. This is a great tool to use up vegetables that you have around the house that wouldn't be good fresh anymore. I am making lettuce soup right now because I couldn't eat all of it and it was starting to get wilted. Recipes abound on the Internet, and just because a recipe doesn't call for an ingredient, you can still put it in -- like that zucchini that is starting to shrivel or those veggies that have been in the freezer a bit too long.

    When I know that I won't have time to cook, I buy a bag of broccoli slaw, washed lettuce, and other produce that is ready to eat. I always have canned mushrooms on hand, and a few other easy to fix canned goods. I buy frozen chopped onions, mirepoix, and peppers so I don't have to worry about the prep time.

    If I have time to cook, usually on a Sunday, I plan meals for the week, get the ingredients, and spend a few hours cooking several things that can be frozen in individual-sized portions. These dishes are great for lunches and dinners, and even breakfasts. Last week I made a quiche and had a piece every morning for breakfast.

    Cooking from scratch can save you lots of money if you can take the time to do some planning.

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