Family of Two. Suggestions?

Prep meals ahead of time on the weekend, or whatever free day you have. You can also make use of a crock pot, where you can have a meal slowly cooking all day and is hot and ready to eat when you get home.

Hi There!

I'm a family of one so I understand it sometimes feels like a waste to cook and know so much of it will go to waste. Lately, I've learned to freeze the leftover portions immediately instead of putting them in the fridge "just in case". This accomplishes the less waste purpose but also allows me to have a healthy lunch to grab if I don't have time to pack something else.

As for cooking, I'm a big crockpot fan. You can do an internet search for "easy crockpot recipes" and the options are endless. Chicken breasts & salsa = shredded chicken tacos, Pork tenderloin + diet coke= yummy pulled pork. You can even find several blogs where you can commit to 4 or so hours of cooking and come out with dozens of freezer meals to pull out and cook on demand.

Good Luck!!

I also forgot to mention when I cook supper- I cook enough for lunch (and at most another supper) for the next day as leftovers. Much more then that and we are bad about eating leftovers.

Prep meals ahead of time on the weekend, or whatever free day you have. You can also make use of a crock pot, where you can have a meal slowly cooking all day and is hot and ready to eat when you get home.

I was going to suggest this as well! I make anywhere from 3-5 dinners on Sundays, to have ready when I come home after work & the gym. Crockpot meals are always included.

Easy ideas:
1. (as suggested above) Chicken breast or pork loin in green salsa for tacos or taco salad.
2. Meatloaf. Make 3 or 4 at a time, and wrap them in the freezer ready to thaw & cook. Or, cook them in muffin tins for individual servings, then freeze for later.
3. Stuffed peppers or cabbage. Mix together a little turkey Italian sausage with brown rice (google Alton Brown's brown rice recipe - it's yummy & fool-proof, make rice 1 night as a side, then use leftovers for peppers) & marinara sauce, and stuff in a pepper, and cook all day in the crockpot. You add or top with cheese, I you have the calories for it. This is my teenagers favorite.
4. Chicken breast chili. Super easy. Couple of chicken breasts in the crockpot, topped with onions & peppers, a couple of cans of beans, a can of tomato sauce & diced tomatoes & season to taste with chili powder, cumin & oregano (or whatever you like). Cook all day in the crockpot, & the chicken shreds. Then freeze the leftovers in 2 serving portions for an easy dinner another time.

Good luck! Also, when you are bored, watch cooking shows! A lot of them teach cooking techniques.

Check out the Hungry Girl site and there is also an "Eat This, Not That" book that is dedicated to food items around 300 calories or so. I tried to start a topic: "yummy lower calorie food finds" but no one has added to that thread yet. As you discover lower calorie snacks and meals please post there--I can always use suggestions. Right now I'm happy to have found Coco Pop Cakes. I found them at Target. Like a small tortilla sized thin rice cake that doesn't taste like much except crunch, but you can put a tablespoon of Nutella or Peanut Butter and it seems like a "big" snack.

Beef jerky is something I ate as a snack when I started. Also the 100 calorie Kelloggs Pastry Crisp are good and come in different flavors. I like to put roast in a crockpot with baby carrots, onions and potatoes cut into chunks, a can of beef broth or a beer, some garlic powder , salt , pepper and some worchestershire. Sometimes I add alittle green pepper it gives it a good taste. You can add seasonings u like I vary mine.This will cook all day . Also it can be beef or pork roast. The vegetables can be fresh or frozen. The potatoes can be canned just drain first .so can the carrots , whatever you have on hand. The crockpot can be very versatile, I even made meatballs in it the other day,skinnykitchen.com recipe. I hope this helps.

I learned to cook with a Sunset book entitled "Easy Basics for Good Cooking," and there's a great newer book called "Keys to the Kitchen" which has tasty recipes, illustrations about techniques, and a very readable style.

I'm also a fan of crockpot365 and smitten kitchen blogs and recipes.

Hello Everyone,

This is my first time posting in this community. I have been lurking for a while at different times. My wife and I have used MFP on and off and have had success with it in the past, however we never stick to it. We have decided finally to do this program together and keep each other accountable. We have no kids currently and have a pretty difficult work routine which makes for long days. Our hardest problem is setting aside time to cook in the afternoon as which often leads us to getting fast food often because it is "convenient". We know that from here on out we have to set aside the time to cook. I think our other large problem is we are both young and never really had anyone to show us how to cook (so this will be a learning curve for us as well). We are planning on going grocery shopping (researching) some healthy options for us. I have two questions for you:

Do you have any suggestions of "snacks" that work for you if you are in a time crunch or on the run? Any snack bars or shakes that work best? (Any suggestion is appreciated)

Also, are there any meals that are somewhat healthy and easy? We are not necessarily looking for 100% healthy meals. Right now our main focus is to just get in the habit of cooking and then we will focus more on what we are cooking. We figure that just about anything that we cook will be better for us than fast food. The problem is we often have too much left over and sometimes find ourselves wasting food because there is just two of us. Do you have any meals that you cook that is ideal for just two people?

Once again, thanks in advance for your help! I look forward to the lifestyle change that is about to take place in my family and sharing it with all of you.

ARog;
You've received a bunch of good suggestions already of ideas that "work" for the various posters.
Unlike you, as the first born son in an Italian family I had the good fortune (or curse?) of growing up in the kitchen. My bride, OTOH, learned how to boil water and make jiffypop, that was pretty much the extent of "home cooked" in her house.
Today she approaches "world class" (if I do say so myself).
Anyway, the point is, none of us were born knowing how to cook so, like anything else, just jump in the water's fine.

Regarding your "fast food" addiction (or necessity), it's really not *devil* you've been led to believe it is. It CAN be, of course, but it need not be.
Here's an interesting video that might change your understanding of what is (in the minds of some) "myth" or "conventional wisdom".
http://tinyurl.com/cr5fx68

I'm not advocating for the fast food industry (certainly they have earned much of the shame that has been bestowed upon them), but neither am I an advocate for common knowledge - memes which take on a life of their own despite living in a "fact free" zone.

Cooking 5 or 6 meals "ahead" on the weekend works for others, it doesn't for us and while crockpotism is great once in a while, it too isn't something that will ever become daily fare in our house - to each his/her own.

Once you build up a decent set of kitchen basics (and gadgets), and get "comfortable" it's really quite easy (even on a tight schedule) to "throw" something together quite quickly and for it to be healthy, nutritious, fresh, and meet your specific dietary goals.

In addition to the basics, you will absolutely need a good, and versatile kitchen scale, set of measuring cups (pyrex, various sizes 1cp to 4) and measuring spoons.
In scales, you can spend a fortune but need not do so. We'd recommend digital, grams and ounces, and the ability to "zero out" the weight of a plate or bowl. They're available from about 10 dollars and up. Here's an example:
http://tinyurl.com/p7288ny

The other, absolute "musts" are, a good digital bathroom scale, and a good (and user friendly) tracking app/program. MFP is as good as any (better than some, others prefer different UI's), you just need to find one that works for you set aside the few minutes EVERY day to keep it current. Log food and weight daily but DO NOT "obsess" over daily weight fluctuations (takes 2-3 weeks, at least, for trends to be meaningful.)
We find that looking at our daily totals (and what's "left"), makes deciding on the dinner menu much easier. How many cals, fats, carbs are left and adjusting portion size to "hit" daily goals.

On the bathroom scale, there too one can spend a ton on the latest, greatest, 700 function, wifi enabled "cadillac" or for ~30 bucks try this:
http://tinyurl.com/pnrseot

Finally, the VERY best thing you have working in your favor is the fact that you and your wife are "in this together" - if I were to list those things responsible for our success, that we are too would be, far and away, number 1.

I have had the same struggle. I have never been a big cook and never really learned, but have gotten better in recent months... Here are a couple suggestions

1. Start by finding 2 recipes you would like to try before grocery shopping. Get the ingredients when shopping and then cook them within a couple days. By finding the recipe, cooking it, and realizing how good it is. It will help. Therefore it is not overwhelming and you will see the result..... Also I research 5 ingredients or less recipes to keep cooking time short. and you can continue to increase recipes you find or whatever, but 2 seems like a good way to start and it's not overwhelming.

2. With fresh veggies like broccoli, cauliflower- cut those up once you get back from the store and put in a container for easy grabs. I also cut up half a iceberg lettuce and have in a bowl so I have easy access.

I really like this approach!!

My husband and I are also a 2 person household. Honestly we're both so used to cooking for ourselves and for others, that it is pretty easy for us to cook the "right" amount w/o having too many leftovers, but I can understand how it is an issue for some people who think it's overwhelming to start if they haven't cooked much before or are used to a bigger household etc.

We have a few shared boards on Pinterest where we come up with meal ideas and then go over them when we're making our weekly grocery list. Most weeks, our list is made up of 2-3 new recipes and then a few easy go-to recipes that we already like and are easy to make. This only takes about 15 minutes of our week.

Meal ideas can be found anywhere...these forums, magazines, websites, etc. It is also pretty easy to tweak "regular" recipes - more so with cooking than baking - for example, making your own wheat crust for pizza and then topping it with 1/2 cup of shredded part-skim mozzarella and a tbsp of Parmesan, instead of the suggested 2 cups of fresh mozzarella and 1/3 cup Parmesan. It makes a huge difference. Also, omitting bacon or mayo from certain recipes...endless swaps and omissions can be made.

For us the BIGGEST thing is having a list on the fridge of meals - either for 7 days/10 meals/2 weeks/whatever works. I've actually been doing this for about 10 years, even when I was with my ex and eating very unhealthy...it is just a very usable idea, in my opinion. It doesn't all have to be fancy meals, it can be as simple as listing sandwiches & salads alongside a casserole, pizza, fish, grilling out, a Mexican night, whatever. But for us it makes it way less likely that we will grab takeout or go out because 'there isn't much to eat in the house'.

Good luck, OP!

I am a busy mom of 3 young kids (5 and under). I work part-time (4 days a week) so I cook on my days off - Saturday and Tuesday (Sunday is my day of rest). I cook enough to last until my next cooking day - usually 2 or 3 recipes. If I decide to make a recipe that truly does not taste good reheated or it's a crock-pot recipe, I prep as much of the recipe as I can ahead of time i.e. chop veggies, clean/trim the meat, etc.

I know myself well enough that if I can't get dinner on the table fast, I will resort to junk i.e. frozen nuggets/fries, frozen pizza, canned veg, cereal/milk, etc. Although, my kids love when that happens

It take a bit of planning - deciding which meals to cook, buying the ingredients and cooking on my days off, but it's worth it. I starting do this years ago to save money, but it clearly has health benefits to it.

Btw, the meals do not have to be fancy! Tacos, split pea soup w/ crackers, meatloaf with steamed rice and veg, spaghetti with salad, stir-frys... I used boxed "helper" meals too, I'm not ashamed to admit. I use extra lean beef (93/7), add extra veggies and skip adding any milk/butter/oil.

We use our crockpot to cook up a bunch of meat to use during the week in different ways. BBQ chicken/ turkey or even just cooked with chicken stock to add into pasta or rice...

I pan fry salmon, chicken breasts, and steaks in bulk. Then I put a few in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. It takes BARELY any time to cook fresh meat.

My favourite thing to do when I get home late is heat up a piece of meat, and then steam half a bag of frozen veggies in a bowl of water in the microwave (6 min), or sautee fresh veggies in a pan. Very fast, super delicious when you experiment with sauces and spices, and easy cleanup!

I totally understand because I DESPISED cooking before starting my own weight loss journey. But if I can do it, I swear anyone can.

Other fast favourites:

-Tuna sandwich (one can low sodium tuna mixed with one tbsp light mayo and some mustard, on light rye with spinach and cucumber)
-Egg and chicken bacon sandwich
-Making 5 or 6 mini pizzas on pita bread and then freezing them.
-Turkey burgers - 1 lb ground meat and a ton of raw onions makes 4 patties. They cook up in the oven really damn fast.

Basically the trick is to cook stuff when you have time, then freeze it to reheat on days when you're lazy/tired/don't want to throw together a meal

An idea I got from my doctor, of all people, was to cut up an apple, then put the slices into a jar with a tablespoon of orange juice to keep the apple from going brown. That way she has something healthy to snack on in between patients. I plan on trying this when I go back to work in the fall, because I often have very little time in between speech/language therapy groups.

I also make a batch of granola with oats, raisins, nuts, dried apple, and maple syrup or honey every couple of weeks. A 1/2 cup of granola in a sandwich bag is an easy snack.