Anyone cook?

Is it just me or does it seem like the majority of people here eat most of there food in restaurants or from pre packaged food ( sadly I too eat way to much take out/ ready meals)

What are the best quick qnd healthy meals?

Thinking of creating a November no take out/ restaurant challenge... Anyone interested?

Replies

  • amann1976
    amann1976 Posts: 742 Member
    i cook a lot more than i have done in years past... i think that is one of the reasons for my success... when you cook at home you can control what goes into your foods. i did eat out tonight though
  • alisiaendris
    alisiaendris Posts: 213 Member
    We do eat out a bit. For two main reasons: one-everyone in this family is so damn picky that the only way to satisfy them is a resturant, and two-we work too much that by the time we gett home noone is in the mood to cook. Lame excuses, I know. I could probably cut down to once or twice a week...
  • I am one of those 'out for dinner' people. Since I've been religiously tracking here I'm having trouble finding restaurants that will allow me to stay within my calorie goal for the day. I'm the type that if I don't pre-plan what I'm going to have at a particular restaurant then ill get the greasiest, fattiest, most baddest thing on the menu.....yum! So, I've been cooking. I'll just take regular recipes and change the ingredients to make it healthier. I've come up with some really good creations.
  • sapphireswi
    sapphireswi Posts: 583 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/sapphireswati

    This is the link to my MFP food blog
    I post some of my easy recipes and their pictures here . . . There aren't many cos I just started out but I hope you like them :flowerforyou:
  • victorious27
    victorious27 Posts: 250 Member
    I actually eat a good, home cooked meal pretty much every day, courtesy of my Dad! We don't always eat "healthy" according to a lot of avid MFPers, but I actually think his food is healthy and very very delicious!

    What he normally cooks is simple stuff: grilled chicken, pork chops, green beans, baked beans, the occasional steak, fish.... However, we have our bad (but oh-so very yummy) days: Zatarans jumbalayah mix with smoked sausage(and/or) boiled chicken, smoked sausage and sour kraut (if not for the sausage, it wouldn't be considered "bad"), hand pattied burgers with bread as the bun etcetc.

    A favorite here is boiling our own broccoli and melting some velveeta cheese...but I only use a tbsp of cheese per ladle scoop or broccoli. :wink:
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I cook 3 meals a day 7 days a week except for Wednesday lunch out. I don't get what's so hard about cooking - except putting all the ingredients into my diary!
  • clover5
    clover5 Posts: 1,640 Member
    I cook most days for our family, but we have pizza on Fridays, and sometimes go out one other night too. The more I cook at home, the better for my weight, even if I have desserts & snacks.
  • topshopperwantabe
    topshopperwantabe Posts: 112 Member
    We do cook a good amount at home, I usually do a soup, chili, black beans and rice, type of meals or something in the crockpot. I love using the recipe feature on MFP. I scan or put all the ingredients in the recipe site for a total number of calories and when done cooking, I portion it into storage containers and divide the calories for a per portion serving. It's a great tool. We eat a couple of those meals a week on our busy days and I freeze some to break out later. The weekend we get a meal or so out maybe a cheat meal now and then. I'm gluten free so I tend to eat more in than out. Luckily my hubby prepares a lot of our meals during the week, we plan them out ahead of time. If you do eat out I suggest you search the database to see how many calories before you order to avoid the shock later. LOL
  • MissJanet55
    MissJanet55 Posts: 457 Member
    I love to cook, and cook most of my meals (although I do have some friends who like to eat out). Feel free to friend me if you like.
  • mamasmaltz3
    mamasmaltz3 Posts: 1,111 Member
    I love to cook soup. It is an easy, cost efficient way to get great healthy meal. I load mine up with lots of veges. And they are all low calorie meals that heat up great the next day. I make chicken soup, vegetable beef and barley, lentil stew, chicken tortilla, ham and beans.....I love soup.
  • slow cookers a busy family best friend. You can make quick fast meals. vegetable soups, pot roast, chili, stews, bbq pork, bbq chicken. You name it I have slow cooked it. Quick tip. It just takes a few minutes to set up and you will be amazed how easy it is. I have soaked beans over night. In 10 minutes in the morning I can cut up celery, carrots whatever you like. Isometimes will take 5 minutes the night before and cut everything up so it is ready to go in the morning. One of my favorites corn beef and cabbage.Even if you need to make quick choices for chili I use soy crumbles, diced tomatoes with peppers in a can. can of kidney beans drained and rinsed, tomato sauce. I add chili powder, paprika. I also add some water. I cook it for 8 to 10 hours. I top it with chopped onion, light sour cream, and a small amout of cheddar cheese. You can omit the cheese and sour cream. It makes quite a bit and chili states so good the next day. You can serve it over brown rice the next day,
  • jagspal
    jagspal Posts: 75
    Yes! I love to cook! If I plan ahead I can have wonderful meals! If not of course and or on super busy days we are getting take out. Yuck! I now prefer my own cooking hands down! Shopping ahead and planning a menu are key for me, some people like to have things like chicken breasts hard boiled eggs etc. for a quick meal, ready to go in the fridge, for hectic days. Good luck! Once you start you will may not want to go back to salty bland take-out!
  • gmctech
    gmctech Posts: 104 Member
    I love cooking.... but hate the clean-up! Also I reallllllly hate eating out... I just don't like it... even high end restaurants aren't appealing to me.... Give me a home cooked meal or sandwich any day over eating out.... and as for boxed meals... well I do admit I have one from time to time, but I don't like them, they're just for need food quick emergencies....
  • 12774
    12774 Posts: 1,416 Member
    I prepare all my meals for the week 0n Sat/Sun, except salads thats prepared just before eating. The foods are too high in calories and sodiumAnother thing it cost less to prepare
  • I also forgot to mention sometimes I will just fry up a couple egg whites for a meal too. I usually will do three and I like to add mushrooms, green peppers and a small amount of cheese.
  • If you started to cook and put the money in a jar that you normally spend on going out to eat you will be amazed. Count up your money in three months. I was able to save enough money to treat the kids to an overnight trip to Sea World. Come up with a goal, new clothes, travel. It is easy.
  • endlesoul
    endlesoul Posts: 98 Member
    I cook 99.9% of all the meals for 3 adults. The 4th adult cooks for themselves for the most part. Each of us 3 adults eat differently, so I have to have 3 different meals for just dinner .For the most part I can cook a meat or poultry and incorporate it in the 3 separate meals. For breakfast and lunch its easier they eat leftovers or I pull out a premade frozen meal.
  • Emtabo01
    Emtabo01 Posts: 672
    I've always sucked at cooking, when I joined MFP, I realized I needed to start eating at home more. I've been doing tons of skinnytaste.com recipes. They are easy, healthy and delicious, even for new cooks.
  • nataliefamily3
    nataliefamily3 Posts: 189 Member
    I cook breakfast and dinner every day except Tuesday my fiancee cooks dinner while I work a double. Lunch is bad though I do tend to grab something if I'm out doing errands especially if my toddler gets hungry.
  • annwyatt69
    annwyatt69 Posts: 727 Member
    I cook all the time and have about 40 recipes in my recipe database. I have had weight loss surgery, so my portions are small, but my sons would rather eat my home cooked food than anything from out. I make all my recipes low fat and lower calorie. I make some awesome enchiladas and out of this world Italian food.
  • reese66
    reese66 Posts: 2,920 Member
    I cook daily. Breakfast if it's not rolled oats and yogurt is eggs. Lunch is leftover of dinner the night before. Dinner I almost always cook unless it's date night or pizza cause we both worked late...
  • deniseblossoms
    deniseblossoms Posts: 373 Member
    I try to cook the majority of the time but it seems that my eating out goes in blocks. Won't do it for weeks then I'll have 3/4 meals out in a row. I am getting better about the choices I make since I've started to log every bite I take.
  • Kaydana123
    Kaydana123 Posts: 71 Member
    I make most of my food myself. Every couple of weeks or so I'll share a pizza (of the frozen supermarket variety) with a friend while we watch a film but meals out and takeaways are reserved for special occasions only and only happen a handful of times a year.

    I've spent a fair amount of time finding ways to minimise the amount of time I have to actually spend cooking. Most of my food is made in large batches in the slow cooker at weekends (mostly using frozen veg because it's cheaper, with the added bonus of already being chopped up) so during the week all I have to do is empty a container into a bowl and pop it in the microwave for two minutes.
  • mabelbabel1
    mabelbabel1 Posts: 391 Member
    I cook my meals from scratch everyday.
    I've never been into fast food or takeaways.
  • I cook all the time!! Message me if you want some recipes. Eating out is so rarely good for you and those Smart Ones dinners still have a load of carbs sometimes.