Bored with same dinners! Ideas please....

sararoy1981
sararoy1981 Posts: 13
in Food and Nutrition
Hi All,

The subject title says it all really....my boyfriend and I just seem to be eating the same things each week, they are still tasty and we enjoy them but I worry that we'll soon get bored...My boyfriend eats meat but I don't, I tend to have fish or a Quorn equivalent (lamb steaks, peppered beef, fillets, mince etc etc), all we seem to be having week in and out are the following: -

Salads - lettuce, tomato, cucumber, peppers, sweetcorn, grated carrot, grated apple, celery, spring onion and a bit of cheese with either chicken breast in breadcrumbs and quorn/tuna for me....
Stir fry - peppers, carrots, mushrooms, beansprouts, sweetcorn and noodles/rice...again chicken/quorn...
Pasta+Sauce - tinned tomatoes or passata, peppers, mushrooms, aubergine, onion etc etc...
Roasted veg - new potatoes, cherry tomatoes, carrot, aubergine, peppers, onion, butternut squash, parsnip etc etc....again a piece of chicken/fish/quorn

We obviously use spices/herbs for each of the above but we basically just want new ideas/inspiration. It's difficult as both work full time and often exercise together straight from work (cycling/dog walking) so we need quick things as we don't want to be eating too late.

Sorry for waffling on...any advice would be greatly appreiated!!! Can be high carbs for my boyfriend and I'll adapt it to be low carbs for me :-( I'm on 1200 doing a sedentary office job with about 4 stone to lose and he's on about 3000+ doing a very active job with about 7lbs to lose!!!!

Thank you!!! x

Replies

  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I'd suggest getting a few cookbooks, or checking out recipe sites online. You will find thousands of recipes. Many site allow searching by ingredient, so you can plan a meal around what you have on hand.
  • dragonfly123321
    dragonfly123321 Posts: 51 Member
    Have you tried making ground turkey or chicken with home made taco seasoning put in bowl with chopped romaine and a little shredded cheese
  • tedforse
    tedforse Posts: 9 Member
    I have found that skinnytaste.com has some great healthy meal ideas. My husband and I had the turkey zucchini burgers this week and loved them. Might not be your best option since you don't eat meat but plenty of vegetarian options on there! :)
  • dnunny70
    dnunny70 Posts: 411 Member
    I'd suggest getting a few cookbooks, or checking out recipe sites online. You will find thousands of recipes. Many site allow searching by ingredient, so you can plan a meal around what you have on hand.

    I was going to suggest cookbooks. Check some out from the library. Go through the book together, noting any meals that you both would like.

    I do this with my boys. My 6 yo saw carrot cake pancakes and we had some the other day. YUMMY! (Cooking Light cookbook)
  • Patrick0321
    Patrick0321 Posts: 102 Member
    This is quick and healthy (obviously you could use quorn)
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/healthyspaghettibolo_80401
  • FrankiesSaysRelax
    FrankiesSaysRelax Posts: 403 Member
    I have found that skinnytaste.com has some great healthy meal ideas. My husband and I had the turkey zucchini burgers this week and loved them. Might not be your best option since you don't eat meat but plenty of vegetarian options on there! :)

    This. What about looking up some crock pot recipes as well? You won't have to do anything but walk in the door and grab a plate.
  • cwaters120
    cwaters120 Posts: 354 Member
    On occasion,to fill my "I wanna burger" monster, I will slip these "burgers" into my menu plan. They look like burger (hubby tried one because he thought they WERE burger) but they have a milder taste. Play with the spices, if you want something different (awesome with some red curry paste mixed in or drop the thyme and add ginger, lemon and soy sauce or tamari - so many ways to make them) and top with avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, or whatever your little heart desires :bigsmile:

    MUSHROOM LENTIL SLIDERS

    Button Baby Bella Mushrooms, 10 oz
    Unrefined Virgin Coconut Oil, 2 Tsp
    Garlic, 2 Cloves minced
    Carrot - shredded 100 g
    Dried Crushed Thyme, 1.5 tsp
    Large Egg, 1 Egg , beaten
    Egg White Large Raw, 4 each
    Gluten-Free Wheat-Free Bread Crumbs, 1 1/2C
    Onions, Sweet, Raw 280 g, minced
    Lentils Boiled Without Salt, 2.5 cup cooked
    Corn - Sweet, white, frozen, kernels cut off cob, 80 g
    Hemp Hearts 30 g

    sauté mushrooms, onions and garlic in oil. Remove and cool. Add remaining ingredients, form patties (I used a 1/2 c measure) and bake on a foil lined pan (shiny side up and sprayed with nonstick spray) @ 375 deg. for 15 minutes. Flip, bake another 10 minutes or until firmed up a little and heated through. Serve on a bun or however you wish :smile:

    SERVES 6
    Per Serving: 237calories 6fat 14protein IF made as above.

    I am gluten and dairy free due to allergies, but if you aren't you can use regular bread crumbs. If you don't use/have hemp hearts, you can use 1/4 c walnuts OR pecans, ground or chopped very fine.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,958 Member
    Soupe au pistou is healthy, lo cal, vegetarian and delicious. Google for official recipes, but it is basically boiled vegetables where the broth is flavoured with a big dollop of pesto.

    If it is not too high carb for you, barley risotto might make a nice change.

    I eat meat myself, but am a fan of Ottolenghi cookbooks for vegetarian recipes.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,958 Member
    And if you get tired of quorn and tuna, have some shrimp.
  • BaconMD
    BaconMD Posts: 1,165 Member
    www.theppk.com

    You are welcome.
  • AEMW8
    AEMW8 Posts: 94 Member
    Cookbooks and recipe sites are the way to go. There are even some sites where you can type in what ingredients you have and it'll give you a full list of recipes to try. Pick up Woman's Day or Family Circle magazine as well. I forget which has it, but one of them has a menu plan for the entire month. Some dinners are in the magazine and some you can find on their site.
  • sararoy1981
    sararoy1981 Posts: 13
    Thanks so much everyone!!! Some great ideas and recipes in your replies! Just purchased two books for my iPad for Slow Cooker Recipes - one vegetarian and one not as I REALLY like the idea of preparing in a morning and it being ready when we walk in from exercising!!! Also less washing up.

    Big thank you to everyone!!!!! I appreciate all your comments/advise! xx
  • CookNLift
    CookNLift Posts: 3,660 Member
    Pinterest!!!! Go on there in the food and recipe section and discern which ones are healthy OR google for healthy versions of the recipe / use your imagination.

    I literally try and make healthy alternatives to anything I crave. Check out healthy cooking blogs too.
  • HealthyFocused715
    HealthyFocused715 Posts: 340 Member
    I second the vote for skinnytaste.com!

    Also 100 daysofrealfood.com

    And I just received this in my email yesterday...http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/summer-slow-cooker-recipes-00412000083649/?iid=newsletter-ck-072413&PromKey=XET

    We've been eating lots of caprese salad - heavy on the tomatoes and basil - to change up the salad routine!

    Good luck!

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