Culinary challenged female with 1200 calorie goal seeks hel

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anewattitude
anewattitude Posts: 483 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Ok.. so I said it. I'm a disaster in the kitchen and would love to make meals that even a family dog wouldn't turn down! My request is to have some input, preferbaly in the form of easy and quick recipes, to help me prepare healthy and delicious meals for the day that remain within the 1200 calorie count I am on. I have looked at recipes online but another caveat is they must be low sodium as I have high blood pressure! I am ashamed to admit it but the reason I am in the situation I am is because I have always taken the easy way out when it comes to food. You know, McD's here, Wendy's there, etc etc. It was easy, quick and best of all no effort on my part required! As you can imgaine that lifestyle is no longer an option so I am looking for advice. Tried and true recipes from the users of MFP! I should also mention that I need very specific instructions because if left to my own devices I WILL leave something out! I once made potato salad and um, shall we say.. forgot to cook the potatoes? In my defence it was a long time ago, no one got hurt and I swore to all my friends after that I would never show up at a party with potato salad! :) So you see, I could use the help. Anyone willing to toss some ideas?

Replies

  • anewattitude
    anewattitude Posts: 483 Member
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    oops.. that should have read seeks HELP not hel! :)
  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
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    Two words- CROCK-POT. It's fairly fool-proof, and you can google recipes and get toooons of healthy ones. All you do is prep and then throw it in. No sauteing, making sure everything is cooked evenly, etc. And you would be surprised what you can make in it... I've made lasagna in mine. Definitely recommend it!
  • MLgarcia3
    MLgarcia3 Posts: 503
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    you can add me as a friend if you'd like.. I'm on 1210 cals a day.. if anything in my diary looks good to you, message me and I'll tell you how to make it.. I add almost every ingredient I use to my diary.... and I don't cook complicated stuff ;-)
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
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    start easy.

    sandwiches that take little to no work:
    - four cheese and tomato panini
    - open-faced turkey, pear and mozzarella sandwich
    - bacon, tomato and avocado
    - turkey, bacon and gouda cheese in a bagette
    - pizza sandwich in foccacia
    - blt's
    - grilled cheese
    - french dip
    - rueben
    - fried egg
    - tuna melt
    - egg salad sandwich on bagels or croissants
    - open-faced pesto feta sandwich on french bread
    - hot ham and cheese
    - sloppy joe's
    - turkey, green pepper and provolone on hoagie buns

    pair it with homemade soup:
    - veggie
    - chicken tortilla
    - tomato
    - potato or corn chowder
    - beef barley
    - minestrone
    - chili
    - ham and bean
    - broccoli cheddar

    move on to wraps, pitas, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, fajitas, etc and pair them with salad (mix your salad ingredients up each night - there are tons of threads with ideas)

    use your crockpot:
    - pork roast with carrots and potatoes
    - salsa chicken
    - shredded beef
    - chicken stragnoff

    other easy things to make are:
    - rice with veggies and a dash of store-bought teriyaki
    - angel-hair spaghetti and meatballs
    - grilled chicken breasts
    - veggie kabobs
    - hamburgers
    - taco salad
    - breakfast (we call it brinner [breakfast for dinner])
    - goulash
    - chicken pot pie
    - pizza
    - pork chops
    - scalloped potatoes and ham
    - loaded baked potatoes (can use sweet potatoes too)
    - meatloaf

    stop by my blog to get inspired each week with our menu and a recipe. you can find something similar to most of these on allrecipes.com, or you can also send me a message and i can send you the recipes for something if you are interested. cooking is awesome! have fun!
    dawn
  • Dencrossgirl
    Dencrossgirl Posts: 501 Member
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    Get yourself the little mini grill, mine is a proctor silex, paid $12.00 for it. It is only nine inches across. If you want to grill yourself a chicken breast or a piece of fish it is perfect. I make my daughters lunch in it, I take a small tortilla put in chopped onion, chopped turkey, red pepper, low fat tex mex cheese (1/4 c.), red peppers and fold it over and grill it in the grill. I use pita pockets and grill low fat cheese with low fat ham, turkey or chicken. I personally like hot food over cold any day and this grill is great because it cleans easily and when it dies it is easily replaced. When the food is good it is easy to stay on track.
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    Feel free to check out my food diary - I eat 1200 cals/day plus 50-75% of exercise calories. Most of my meals require minimal cooking - I eat a lot of fresh veggies/fruit and meat that is pan cooked. (I'm a fan of canned tuna, as well) Eggs are easy to cook, and I love home made fruit smoothies (you just throw a bunch of stuff in the blender - no cooking required!)

    I am trying to learn to make more things, though - it's less scary if you just pick one or two new recipes to try a week. I'm good at following recipes! But if I try to come up with something myself it has a possiblity for disaster. :laugh:
  • mem50
    mem50 Posts: 1,384 Member
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    Forgot the potatoes? Not as bad as my Ex-sister in-law. She made Man-wiches and forgot the hamburger!:laugh: It's true, She did.

    Crock pot meals are a great one. And as everyone else has suggested everything I was gonna I guess I can't add much else. Except......you will get better at this. We all had to start somewhere and not a better bunch of people have I found yet. Everyone here is so helpful.
  • anewattitude
    anewattitude Posts: 483 Member
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    thanks everyone for your great tips!

    I truly apppreciate it!

    Cheers:smile:
  • determined99
    determined99 Posts: 74
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    i've just joined and was wondering how on earth i can manage on 1200 calories a day............thanks for the inspiring ideas!!

    :)
  • marmite230
    marmite230 Posts: 32
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    Evening meal i had last night.

    Baked Salmon fillet wrapped in parma ham.

    Chop half an onion finely
    crush some garlic.
    finely chop a sweet chilli
    Chop 1 pepper
    sprig of Rosemary
    some Thyme.

    Wrap a slice of parma ham around the salmon, Place the salmon on some baking foil and pull up the edges of the foil then chuck in all the other ingredients. A drizzle of olive oil into the parcel over the fish and maybe add a couple of cherry tomato's then close the parcel loosely. Bake on 180C for 20 mins then open the top of the parcel and crank up the heat to 220C for 10 mins and serve.

    DEEEELISH!
  • anewattitude
    anewattitude Posts: 483 Member
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    thanks for sharing your salmon recipe!
  • robynrae_1
    robynrae_1 Posts: 712 Member
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    simple recipe

    cut up chicken breast in to small chuncks.
    lightly oil frying pan with olive oil let heat up medium heat
    cook chicken in pan :)
    toss in bag of mixed frozen vegs. (your choice)
    reduce heat, cover cook about 7 min take off cover.
    cook additional 5 min
    I like it as a it is but can be served with brown rice or over whole wheat pasta,
    If it seems to dry add a little olive oil (a little goes a long way.)

    one of my favs

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