Quick, filling food-No cooking

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tiffanyalther
tiffanyalther Posts: 27 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Alright, so I am ridiculously busy ALL THE TIME (not an exaggeration). One of my main problems is that I would rather quickly pick up Culvers, BK, Domino's, or Subway (the thing I get is really bad for me) than make myself a meal. I need help finding good meals (not just snacks) that I can either buy, semi cheaply, or make within 15 mins dirtying no more than a pan (finding time to clean up or prep food is a major problem).

Feel free to add me if you'd like :) I am trying to lose 90lbs and would love to have some friends on here for support
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Replies

  • emartin17
    emartin17 Posts: 123 Member
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    AM BLT

    one slice of toast
    tomato slices
    lettuce
    bacon 2 slices
    egg on top
  • jalara
    jalara Posts: 2,622 Member
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    You need a cooking day once a week to make meals for the next 6 days. Do that and you'll feel more organized, solve the problem and your odds at succeeding with get much better!

    Best of luck to you!
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    Just about anything in a can can be eaten. Soup, beans, corn, carrots. You don't even need to cook it at all.
  • emartin17
    emartin17 Posts: 123 Member
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    thai veggie potstickers from TJ's (trader joe's) with gyoza sauce are quick too
    add some microwave organic brown rice and you have a complete dinner!
  • Joreanasaurous
    Joreanasaurous Posts: 1,384 Member
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    Have you thought about a crock pot? Throw cans of things in it. Maybe some broth and chicken. Seasonings. And then turn it on and leave. Come home to a home cooked easy meal. Throw it into individual containers and you have meals for the week. You can freeze the rest for later use.
  • kasimarie29
    kasimarie29 Posts: 128 Member
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    i have just dicovered the wonderfulness of cucumber sanwiches! Take a day that you're not so busy and peel a couple cucumbers. then for lunch or dinner you just cut it in half and fill it with ham :)
    that's a LOVELY way to have a sandwich for lunch or dinner without the bread and carbs..
    you can even add a wedge of light laughing cow cheese and the whole cucumber filled with meat and cheese is only like 80 calories and it fills you up!
  • rachaelgifford
    rachaelgifford Posts: 320 Member
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    I think you need to be a little more realisitic about food prep. I can make a healthy meal cheaply in under 20 mins - if I dirty pans, it takes less than 10 mins to clean them.

    I quite often make luncg and dinner if I am on a late shift at work - and I can easily do both in under half hour - even if i cook for both.

    :-)
  • elaanne
    elaanne Posts: 35
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    I like cottage cheese, frozen fruit, and chopped almonds or cashews.

    Or a piece of fruit, a couple cheese strings, and some almonds/cashews.

    Or a small tortilla spread with almond butter, with a banana rolled up inside.
  • beanrider
    beanrider Posts: 66 Member
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    Right there with you!! A lot of the time I end up making a protein shake with a banana added, just because it is quick, easy and I already know the calorie count. Look forward to seeing what gets posted on this thread, I need some ideas too.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    Deli ham, egg and cheese sandwich (add avocado if you like)
    omelets
    Put chicken breast and a jar of salsa in a crock pot in the morning. Use as filling for burritos, tacos or enchilladas. Add veggies or whatever other fillings you like.
    Do you have a grill? Anything is easy on a grill...steak, chicken, fish. I love to make baked sweet potatoes on the grill too.
  • KimINfortheWin
    KimINfortheWin Posts: 251 Member
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    http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/15_minute_dinner_recipes?slide=1#leaderboardad

    http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/easy_no_cook_dinners

    http://www.cookinglight.com/food/quick-healthy/no-cook-recipes-00412000067793/page17.html

    http://www.food.com/recipes/no-cook

    http://allrecipes.com/recipes/everyday-cooking/quick-and-easy/15-minute-meals/

    http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/dinner-15-minutes-selections/index.html

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/10-primal-meals-in-15-minutes-or-less/#axzz2coUqB

    http://www.whfoods.com/recipestoc.php

    http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20405655,00.html

    http://www.rd.com/slideshows/no-cook-no-bake-no-fuss-recipes/
  • tiffanyalther
    tiffanyalther Posts: 27 Member
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    Just about anything in a can can be eaten. Soup, beans, corn, carrots. You don't even need to cook it at all.

    It sounds silly after all the junk and sodium filled foods I eat, but I do worry about the sodium content in all the canned foods... Veggie wise I would rather eat just raw..
  • smn76237
    smn76237 Posts: 318 Member
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    I keep a lot of frozen, pre-cooked things on hand, so all I have to do is microwave. Frozen mixed veggies + frozen pre-cooked grilled tyson chicken or beef strips + 90 second brown rice can be microwaved in no time flat. Yes, the chicken and beef will have more sodium and preservatives than if you made it from raw, but eh, doesn't matter.

    Look up crock pot recipes that you can leave on low heat during the day so that it will be ready when you get home, like this one:
    http://www.stacymakescents.com/fix-and-forget-friday-crock-pot-chicken-fajitas
    Or a bunch of healthy crockpot ideas here:
    http://www.skinnytaste.com/2007/07/crock-pot-recipes.html

    Finally, eating fast food is possible within your calorie goals. Just look up the lower calorie items at some of your favorite/easiest places you would be stopping at. For example, Culver's original butterburger has 331 calories, their grilled chicken sandwich has 381, and their beef pot roast sandwich has 363 cals. If you pick up one of those on the way home and have a side of microwaved frozen veggies instead of buying fries, that's pretty reasonable.
  • tiffanyalther
    tiffanyalther Posts: 27 Member
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    I think you need to be a little more realisitic about food prep. I can make a healthy meal cheaply in under 20 mins - if I dirty pans, it takes less than 10 mins to clean them.

    I quite often make luncg and dinner if I am on a late shift at work - and I can easily do both in under half hour - even if i cook for both.

    :-)

    30 mins is realistically hard for me. I work for 24 hours in a row (literally) 2-3 times a week. I have two short recovery days (I only work 3 hours on these days but its right after my 24 hr shifts and I am dead afterwards). I could hypothetically cook on these days but I am WORN OUT. And every other day I work a 8 hour shift at one job and a 3 hour stock shift at my other.
  • bec_232
    bec_232 Posts: 32 Member
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    Eggs, frozen steam vegetables, cooked rotisserie chicken, chicken sausages, bagged salad, sandwich stuff, etc. are all quick and filling.

    The number one thing is:
    Learning to batch cook (make big meals and then freeze or put in storage containers like pre-packaged meals) will help. Take an hour one day a week and cook. For example: make a meatloaf and while it's in the oven: make a munch of mixed steamed vegs, cook some pasta, sauté some chicken sausage, and buy a cooked rotisserie chicken, quick rice, bag salad, fat free shredded cheese and jar pasta sauce. You will have made: meatloaf w/vegs, pasta with chicken sausage, chopped rotisserie chicken salad over bagged salad and rotisserie. chicken with vegs, rice and melted cheese on top. All in just over an hour. Quick healthy things.
  • elaanne
    elaanne Posts: 35
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    Just about anything in a can can be eaten. Soup, beans, corn, carrots. You don't even need to cook it at all.

    It sounds silly after all the junk and sodium filled foods I eat, but I do worry about the sodium content in all the canned foods... Veggie wise I would rather eat just raw..

    You can always rinse canned veggies.
  • victoriavoodoo
    victoriavoodoo Posts: 343 Member
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    Boil a dozen or 18 eggs once a week; there's a healthy protein filled snack with no sodium that you can grab and eat that is also relatively inexpensive.

    Microwave steamable veggies are pretty quick.

    EDIT: ooh my current favorite quick fix: drain a can of tuna and mix it with mustard. Way less calories than mayo and delicious. If you don't like mustard hummus works. This doesn't require cooking just draining and mixing.
  • ktsimons
    ktsimons Posts: 294 Member
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    I am wickely busy too, but I FORCE myself to cook one day a week...I hate to be negative, but it is very difficult to loose eating pre-packaged & restaurant foods. If you MUST eat frozen meals, please do yourself a favor and stick with Amy's Organics or some other high quality brand. Even thoes have too much soduim and really should be used sparingly.

    this is my Sunday routine:

    I cook a pot of something green - sauteed zuchini, roasted broccoli & cauliflour, kale with bacon - etc - google for recipes
    a dozen or so boiled eggs - cool and mix with non fat greek yogurt and salt, pepper, onion powder...amazing egg salad
    one family size package of boneless, skinless chicken breast - cooked on the grill but you could easily bake it in the oven
    4 turkey burgers or Turkey Italian sausage (or lean beef / pork - whatever is on sale)
    4 salads - lettuce, cuke, bell pepper, celery - then i cut up chicken and add other things in - feta, berries, dressing at the time i eat it...i find that dry salad lasts about 4 days without getting gross.
    after fixing all the food i section it out into plastic containers and mix and match my meals during the week.

    it takes about 3 hours from start to finish, but having 6 lunches and 6 dinners at my fingertips is what keeps me on plan.

    Good luck to you!!
  • shivles
    shivles Posts: 468 Member
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    Big plate if salad with some tinned sardines, mackerel or tuna? Eggs make good snacks, pack handfuls of nuts into bags or containers and keep a couple in your bag. Stir fry is healthy and fast all in one pan.
  • tuffytuffy1
    tuffytuffy1 Posts: 920 Member
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    I was going to suggest what Victoria said, boil a dozen eggs and refridgerate, you have a ready to go snack all the time. Also, deli meat like pepper ham, turkey, etc.

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