Advice? Ideas?

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xarchie123x
xarchie123x Posts: 6
in Recipes
Hi everyone,
i am new to this site...and most importantly...new to this lifestyle :)

i have been a vegetarian all my life...but 2 years ago..started eating white meat (like chicken, shrimp, fish)

i dont know if it was change in diet, or other changes in life..but have gained 45 pounds over last 2 years!

anyhow, i am commited to change that now...

and first step in my life..is to eat healthy..

now..as if life was not tough for me already...i am a horrible cook! and i mean it...somehow....i just dont know how to cook anything...all i can do is "boil water" :-/

i m slowly trying to learn cooking...and was wondering...if there is any website or place for "cooking for dummies"?

i am embarrased to say it...but i wana learn simple things like...."how to grill chicken on stove top?" , "how to bake fish"? ..and all sort of things...

also,,keep in mind...am on a student budget..so cant afford those fancy recipe ideas...

any ideas/advice of simple...healthy..and most imp- "easy to cook" ways will be appreciated! :)

thanks a million in advance! :)

Replies

  • LisaKC
    LisaKC Posts: 328 Member
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    Hey, I'm a big fan of the Cooking Light website. The recipes are great, but you don't have to add everything they do. You should be able to find some really simple chicken and fish recipes there, and the instructions are generally very complete. If you want to bake fish, start with something really easy, like tilapia. Pre-heat your oven to 350. Coat a glass or metal baking dish with cooking spray. By some kind of seasoning you really like (I use a Jamaican jerk seasoning a lot), and pat it onto both sides of the fish. Place in the pan, and then lightly spray the top side of the fish. Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes and check for doneness. You'll have to experiment with the time a little, as thicker fillets will take longer to cook. Serve with a big salad and some fresh fruit for dessert. Hope this at least gets you started! Good luck and let me know what time dinner is being served. :wink:
  • xarchie123x
    xarchie123x Posts: 6
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    thanks lisaKC!!

    i will start with your recipe for baked fish tonight for dinner!

    i will check the website too :)
  • srgolden
    srgolden Posts: 18 Member
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    Baking fish is the easiest "good for you" thing to do. I bake mine pretty much the same way, but on 375 for 12 minutes. Salmon can be baked the same way. I buy the frozen packages at Walmart because the fish fillets are indvidually wrapped. You can thaw them in water in about 5 minutes.

    Another way to serve is don't put spices on it, bake as usual. Then make a honey mustard sauce to go on top.

    Mix one small container plain greek yogurt with whole grain mustard and honey to taste. Don't use too much honey to keep the calories low.

    You can put this on fish or chicken...or use as a salad dressing. My daughter would rather have this then what I was buying her at the grocery store.
  • xarchie123x
    xarchie123x Posts: 6
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    sounds yummy... will try for sure! :)
  • shazzannon
    shazzannon Posts: 117 Member
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    If you're just learning how to cook the best thing you can do for yourself is to get a Betty Crocker (new edition) cookbook. It's about $30 (you can probably find it cheaper online) but it is TOTALLY worth the initial investment. Not only does it thoroughly explain the very,very basics on how to cook, it has recipes ranging from simple to complex, complete with full nutrition info/serving sizes. Tons of recipes have a "light" preparation as well. I'm sorry to go on and on about it but honestly it is the single best (and most used) cookbook I own.

    Also, if you want some great vegetarian recipes there's the Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas. It has some great recipes (most of which are comprised of really fresh ingredients). It was published in the 70's though, so there ARE some references to MSG and recreational smoking :wink:

    Sorry for being a little over zealous about this but I think cooking is something everyone should know how to do, and I'm really excited that you want to take this step!
  • TracieJ65
    TracieJ65 Posts: 645 Member
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    I have just recently began watching FitTV and there is a show on there called "Healthy Decadence.". Through that show I found out that discovery health has a website with recipes on it. The site is health.discovery.com. At the top is a Diet + Fitness tab. Click on that and then click on recipes. There are quite a lot of recipes there and they break it down by easy and moderate and also Heart Health, Diabetic, and Vegetarian. The little bit I have looked through it I am quite impressed and hopefully it will help you out.
  • Becka77
    Becka77 Posts: 284 Member
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    I love kraftfoods.com for recipes. They have a lot of simple recipes that don't require a lot of different ingredients. I'm cooking for one and it's really hard to find healthy, cheap, quick recipes, but this is a good site.
  • LisaKC
    LisaKC Posts: 328 Member
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    I completely agree with shazzanon that you should invest in a decent cookbook. Betty Crocker is great. Another good one is The Good Housekeeping Step-by-Step Cookbook.
    Let us know how your cooking adventures are going!
    My better half smoked two salmon fillets tonight, and we had that with a salad. Yummy!
  • georgespelvin
    georgespelvin Posts: 14
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    Another easy way to cook fish:

    Halve two fillets (any white fish will do) width-wise and set each half on a separate piece of parchment paper , take a teaspoon of pesto (pre-made is easiest, if you don't like cooking) and spread it on top. Then you grate a cup each of carrot, zucchini and cabbage and mix it together before spreading it between the fillets. Gather the edges of the parchment paper together and tie it with string, then bake it at 350 degrees for about half an hour, maybe more or less depending on the thickness. The fish is super moist, and the pesto brings it all together :)
  • mmccarley
    mmccarley Posts: 3
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