Dinner sucks

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  • ylor89
    ylor89 Posts: 105 Member
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    Hey! I always have my meals mapped out the day before. That really helps me with making sure I'm eating a healthy (or somewhat healthy) meal. Dinner is tough for me too... I tend to finish up my calories...and then an hour or two later, I want to munch on things! But tonight, I realized that I usually can't finish all of my dinner. It's too much all at once. So if I eat half of it at 6pm, I can save the other half for later if I do get hungry. And it worked! It's almost bed time for me and I'm still very full. Good luck! Hope this helps!
  • justoneanna
    justoneanna Posts: 16
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    If you're not familiar with it, something like Once A Month Cooking (which is a cookbook), or plan-ahead freezer meals in general might be really good for you as well. I do this since my commute + work day = LONG, so when I get home I'm absolutely burned out. It takes me a whole day of cooking to get everything set up, and we always go out to eat on a cooking day (because by the end I can't stand the thought of cooking anything else). But I can make 15-20 meals to put in the freezer easily, and then just take 2-3 out at a time at the beginning of the week. Then they're thawed out and ready to go in the oven (or the crock pot, or whatever). Any leftovers get taken to work for lunches, or saved up for "Leftovers Night" (usually Thursday).

    For me a lot of the energy suck of cooking dinner is deciding what to make and prepping it - this takes all of that and puts it in one big lump, but then you get to eat yummy, healthy dinners easily for weeks! Supplement with quick fixes like salads and it really does last awhile.

    Also, a lot of plan-ahead meals can be made in the crock pot - you freeze all the stuff in a gallon size bag, thaw it overnight in the fridge, dump it in the slow cooker, and voila! magic dinner!
  • fwilson1031
    fwilson1031 Posts: 88
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    that happens to me quite often when if realize i have so many calories left for dinner...i feel i can "afford" it.
    so i try to balance my meals out more during the day so that the temptation isnt quite as strong.
    eating out isnt horrible, and you can still lose weight while doing so..but nothing beats a nice home cooked meal. slow cookers are awesome too

    This is exactly what happens! I feel like I can "afford" it! Maybe I should try eating a little more during the day so I'm not giving in at dinner!
  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
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    Try to preplan your meals for the day..it really helps me.
  • DaveHuby
    DaveHuby Posts: 175 Member
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    I freeze lots of stuff in portions, take it out the night before to defrost, that way when I get home it's ready in 20 to 30 minutes. Rabbit casserole and roasted veg for dinner tonight, all put on mfp this morning so I know where my day can head.

    Ps everything in freezer is created as a recipe as I cook it, portioned and calorie labelled. So simple.
  • dinosnopro
    dinosnopro Posts: 2,179 Member
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    We set a menu for the week, when I get home I have seven options to choose from. It also helps with the grocery shopping.
  • tml1963
    tml1963 Posts: 1 Member
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    I work at home, so it's easy to lose track of time and not stick to the dinner I've already planned. I set a timer and when it goes off, I stop working, have a large glass of water, then look at what I have planned for dinner. This probably won't work for those who work outside the home, but it sure helps me!

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  • workinprogress1533
    workinprogress1533 Posts: 25
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    Dinner is my biggest issue too. I not only have to cook for myself, but for my daughter and boyfriend too. I also have class 2 nights a week so it's so tempting to just go grab some fast food on those nights.
    I try to buy keep individual chicken breasts in the freezer. That way I can defrost one, cook it and make a quick wrap or a salad. And most of the time I will have left over chicken for the next day. Putting something in the crock pot in the morning before work is a great idea. That way it's ready when you get home. And making soup and freezing it is also a good idea!
  • bethFromDayton
    bethFromDayton Posts: 112 Member
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    I vote with those who say 'pre-plan'. I've started a new schedule for myself. Sunday night, I plan meals for the following week. I include any nights we're going to eat out (and it will be at least once). I schedule an easy dinner on nights I know I'll be home late due to an appointment or something. So, tonight, we're having (homemade, was frozen) sloppy joes because DD won't get home until 6:30. We're having meatloaf on Sunday because I'll have time to cook it. (It's already made and frozen).

    My goal (still working on getting it right) is to plan all three meals for the entire week on Sunday--not just entrees but side dishes, too. As I've been reminded lately, Failure to plan is planning for failure.

    I grocery shop in the way home from work on Monday, whether I want to or not. I decided this week that Monday is just going to be rotisserie chicken night so that I don't have to cook a full meal when I get home from shopping. I'll use the leftover chicken for lunches during the week.

    For me, deciding what to have is always harder than just making it, so having a plan really helps.

    I second/third/agree with all the people who said to cook for the freezer. I'm using the Once a Month cooking book less because many of the recipes are too high in calories, but I still cook for the freezer. When I make marinara sauce, I make a lot of it. When I make taco meat, I freeze several of them in 1 lb sizes. I haven't done it yet, but I intend to start freezing pork cutlets and chicken in marinade so I can pull them out the night before and then grill them for dinner.

    Good luck!
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
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    Is is important for you to make a meal that you can all eat together as a family or would you be okay making something just for yourself?

    With my husband's work schedule, it is often just my daughter (9) and I at home for supper.
    So I don't make a big meal for just the two of us.

    For example, I'll make her something like chicken nuggets or fish sticks with mac and cheese and a veggie.
    I will then make myself battered fish fillets (2 are 200 calories) or a turkey burger along with rice and then the same veggies as my daughter and skim milk.
    Both the fish sticks and fillets can be baked together and obviously she won't eat a whole box of mac & cheese or veggies in one sitting, so I have easy to reheat left-overs for the next time.

    I also work part time 2nd shift as an RN and on those days I have a lean pocket and raw carrots for supper and that works very well to stay within my goals.

    Sometimes we do "cave" and have fast food but I have become very aware of calorie content in fast food and try to make wise choices.

    For example at McDonalds I have a salad or a smoothie with a grilled chicken wrap.
    At Subway I have a turkey sub with provolone, veggies and a little lite mayo.

    It takes a little extra thinking and awareness, but if you are aware of how many calories you have left, you can figure out what to eat for supper and stay within your goal.

    Hope this helps :smile:
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Can you have dinner ready when you get home, like a crockpot meal or a slow cooker? Maybe make a few meals in advance so its heat and eat?

    This ^^ For me, the fact that fast food tastes like crap and my cooking is awesome is enough to keep me from stopping for fast food. But if time in the evening is your problem, cook or prep your meals ahead.

    Also, thinner fish filets can be put in an oven frozen and baked, so keeping frozen fish in the freezer is a good idea if you are short on time.
  • BCSMama
    BCSMama Posts: 348
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    I agree with preplanning. I prepare dinners for the workweek for my family on Sundays. Our schedules during the week are super crazy, so it's nice to know there is a nice homecooked meal that just needs to be warmed up. I'll also often do crockpot meals that I've prepped on Sunday and put in the crock in the fridge, so the morning I want to use it, I just put it on and it's ready when we get home.

    Also, I log my food at the beginning of each day. Most of the time, I will know what I'm eating for lunch and dinner so I know how many cals I have left for snacks. I always try to leave 200-300 for the end of the day to use for a treat or glass of wine. That way, I'm not left at the end of the day with tons of calories either.
  • 1newcat
    1newcat Posts: 75 Member
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    My kiddos get mcdonalds once a week and we always go on the way home from the gym... sobtalk about feeling justified, lol. But i force myself (if I'm starving) to have a snack wrap, or grilked chicken most of the time to get me home to the real food. Sure once in a bluemoon i get a mcchicken sandwich, but thats more about a splurge than a time thing. Anyway, meal planning and the snack wrap or bunless chicken has been my resolution, by the time we walk in the door, its 7:00
  • sally_jeffswife
    sally_jeffswife Posts: 766 Member
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    I would make a big batch of soup or chili on your day off that makes alot so I have extra in the fridge that I can just heat up and maybe have it with a quick side salad. Otherwise baked fish in fennel mayonnaise is really yummy and really fast to make. Just lay your fish in a olive oil greased baking dish and in a bowl mix mayonnaise,lemon,fennel,salt,pepper,couple garlic cloves and spread that all on the top and bake it, is really low calories and good if you like fish.
  • aliciapenny
    aliciapenny Posts: 51 Member
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    if you did not go over your calories for the day what is the issue? fast food doesnt make you fat. it only does if you go over your calories. the mroe you stress and the more you try to complicate things the more likely you are to fail. stay within your calorie range and let yourself live a little.
  • miracole
    miracole Posts: 492 Member
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    I eat 6 meals a day (breakfast, elevenses, first lunch, second lunch, dinner, snack) and I find that adding in that second lunch at 4 gives me much better willpower in the evenings to have a healthy dinner. Spread your calories out more during the day and pre-plan your meals, it'll help! feel free to add me to take a look at my normal eating habits if you'd like.
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    Crockpot is great. Also, something I do a lot if it's late when I get home. I have salad stuff pre-made. chicken/turkey/pork is already grilled. Cucumbers/peppers etc are already cut. I just grab a big bowl, dump a bunch of spinach/spring mix in there. Toss in my favorite veggies, weight and throw in something protein and BOOM. Low cal filling and FAST dinner.
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
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    Sometimes I sit down and have a small snack and a cup of hot tea before I start making dinner because I used to have a terrible habit of munching this, that, and the other thing while I was making dinner so that I wasn't even hungry by the time it was ready. Then I'd eat dinner anyway. Craziness!

    It's a good idea to always have something quick and easy to throw together on those evenings when you're just too tired to put a lot of thought into. And if you do stop for food, make it a grocery store where you have better options than fast food. I've often picked up a roasted chicken and salads.

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