help! need cheap (beginnerlvl) cooking recipes

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SivirSarah
SivirSarah Posts: 74
in Food and Nutrition
Hey everyone,

I have been on this site for almost 2 months now and i have been eating right (pre package meals) and tons of water and i have been exercising. But now i want to start to cook my meals to be better able to control my calories and to not have to eat the same old lunch meal that i eat everyday. I will say this right now....I am not a cook (seriously i burn grilled cheese :grumble: ) so this is going to be an undertaking for me. however i am willing to try because i know it will be better for me and the hubby and because it will also save me money. I need help. I am good at following directions tho so feel free to send me a link or give me a detailed description of your fav easy meal. thanks all :flowerforyou:

-Ambient

Replies

  • medavis510
    medavis510 Posts: 11
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    www.foodnetwork.com, go to the Healthy Eating section. They have several "Easy Level" meals. I also have some Weight Watchers cookbooks, and most of the recipes are easy. You can also look online on how to use the correct cooking techniques. Good Luck in the kitchen!
  • HoopFire5602
    HoopFire5602 Posts: 423 Member
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    E-Mealz. hands down, no contest. You can choose your plan (veggie, fat free, gluten free, carb free, etc.)
    It gives you a weekly dinner menu, plus a shopping list of what to buy. I highly reccomened it. It's 5 bucks a month, but my food bill dropped dramatically when I started using it.

    Just google e-mealz. Greasted five bucks I ever spent.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
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    use allrecipes.com! It's free and you can read the reviews from people! And you can size the portion size to adjust how much you want to make!
  • Sara1978
    Sara1978 Posts: 213 Member
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    I'd recommend getting a copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook-- it's got a red and white plaid jacket, and various editions of it have been out since 1930. The recipes in it aren't always as healthy as they could be, but as far as being a survival guide for someone just learning to cook goes, it is GREAT. There's a foreword that includes cooking basics and the terminology that you need to know, and then each individual section contains charts that just basically describe how to cook things. Want to know how long to cook meat x and to what temperature? There's a chart for that. How to prepare different vegetables? There's a chart for that too. I honestly hardly ever use the recipes, but I use the charts CONSTANTLY.
  • tandroes
    tandroes Posts: 163 Member
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    cookinglight.com..... soooo many ideas, and free!
  • cahira
    cahira Posts: 163
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    I've heard good things about e-mealz.com as well, but I haven't tried it out yet.

    Tonight's easy dinner is a ground-turkey & green bean stir fry. I fry up the meat, add some spices - garlic, pepper, a smidge of soy sauce, and some red pepper flakes, etc. Then I add in a few cups of chopped fresh green beans and cook them until tender-crisp. I serve it with rice and sometimes a fruit for the boys. Very good, very easy.
  • heididormanen
    heididormanen Posts: 76
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    HI.. I have been working with my son (15) in trying to teach him how to cook.. so he is in your boat.. there are a couple of great easy ones..like quiche (didn't think I was going to say that did you).. here is my recipe..

    1 frozen pie crust
    2 cups of egg beaters
    2 cups of milk products (you can use sour cream, milk, whole, skim.. really whatever and a combination is fine, sometimes I do 1/2 skim milk and 1/2 sour cream)
    then add anything you like.. ham, cheese, spinach, mushrooms, onions, peppers.. really the sky is the limit. and it freezes great. Cook in a 350 degree oven for about an hour until it seems to set.. let it cool for a few and dig in.. very high in protein and a great way to sneak in some veggies.

    Another thing I have been getting for him is these relatively new mccormack seasoning packs.. they make a dinner and you just follow the directions on the back.. it has all the seasoning you need. We had apple and sage pork chops last week and they were good.

    The last one is stir fry.. that one is easy because you can't really go wrong.. you can use any veggies, any protien, you can eat it over rice, pasta or alone. We keep a couple of stir fry seasoning mixes in the cabinet. The only thing to watch out for is making sure you cook your protein enough.. I always have my son cut up chicken into bit size pieces because they cook faste (if you throw the chicken in the freezer for an hour or two it makes it easier to cut up)

    Most important.. don't be afraid in the kitchen.. have fun with it.. what is the worst thing that will happen..(you will have to order pizza :wink: )
  • lovelyelizabethc
    lovelyelizabethc Posts: 2 Member
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    Creamy Pork Chops and Rice 4 servings

    Estimated cost per serving: $2.20

    1 can (10-¾ oz) 98% fat free cream of celery soup
    1 soup can of skim milk (about 1 cup)
    ½ envelope dry onion soup mix
    ¾ cup uncooked brown rice
    2 cups chopped frozen broccoli, thawed*
    4 lean pork loin chops (about 3 - 4 oz each)
    2 tsp Mrs. Dash garlic and herb salt-free seasoning

    1. Preheat oven to 375° F

    2. Stir together soup, milk and dry onion soup in an
    8X8 inch baking dish; mix in rice and broccoli

    3. Arrange pork chops in rice mixture and sprinkle
    with Mrs. Dash seasoning;cover with foil

    4. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 15 minutes.

    Nutrition facts per serving: 360 calories, 7g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 65mg
    cholesterol, 700mg sodium, 43g carbohydrate, 4g dietary fiber, 30g protein

    Good source of Vitamin a, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron and Dietary Fiber

    Pyramid servings: 1 oz. grains, ½ cup vegetables, 3 oz. meat and beans

    Nutrition Note: Lean pork chops are a great alternative to chicken. They are
    an excellent source of thiamin (Vitamin B1) and niacin (Vitamin B3), vitamins
    essential for energy metabolism. Other sources of thiamin and niacin include
    enriched or whole-grain breads, cereals, pastas, rice and legumes. Choose your
    pork products wisely. Bacon and pork sausage are high in fat and saturated fat;
    whereas pork loin chops and roasts, Canadian bacon and ham are lean cuts.
  • lovelyelizabethc
    lovelyelizabethc Posts: 2 Member
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    Easy Pineapple Chicken 4 Servings :happy:

    2 tsp canola or sesame oil
    1 (10-oz) package frozen broccoli (or stir-fry vegetable mix), thawed*
    1/2 C stir-fry sauce
    1/4 C pineapple juice, use reserved juice from canned pineapple
    1/4 tsp garlic powder
    1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional – use if you like it hot!)
    1 (15-oz) can pineapple chunks or tidbits, drained (reserve the juice!)
    2 C diced cooked chicken or 2 (10-oz) cans chicken breast, drained and flaked

    1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add all ingredients
    EXCEPT the pineapple & chicken. Cook and stir until heated through, 5 – 6 min.

    2. Add pineapple and chicken; cook another 2 minutes.

    Serve over instant brown rice or whole wheat pasta.

    Nutrition information, per serving: 260 calories, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat,
    29 g carbohydrate, 3 g dietary fiber, 26 g protein, 1100 mg sodium, 60 mg cholesterol.
    Good source of vitamins A and C.
  • sarahsmom1
    sarahsmom1 Posts: 1,501 Member
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    Chicken soup

    Organic Free Range Chicken Broth Low Sodium, 1 container (4 cups ea.)
    Baby Carrots, 12 ounces
    Green Giant - Whole Kernel Sweet Corn, 1 3/4 cup
    Chunk Chicken In Water, 10 oz
    Celery , Raw - ~ 1 Stalk, Medium (7-1/2" - 8" Long (40g), 3 Stalk
    Onions - Raw, 1 small
    Fresh Frozen Green Peas, 2/3 cup
    Pasta – Egg noodles, 4 oz

    Total: Calories 1227
    Per Serving:# Calories 245#

    On stove top I use water first so not to waste the broth add carrots, onion, and celery cook until 1/2 way done add corn,peas, and the noodles cook for 10 minutes finally add the chicken cook for about 5 minutes more. It make (5) 2 cup servings
  • kittybitz79
    kittybitz79 Posts: 213
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    Some really cheap ideas...

    Next time you cook chicken cook a little extra or buy precooked diced chicken. Some easy things you can do for lunch is take the extra put it in a tortilla shell with a little sauce (I use ranch but hubby uses sour cream and sals) and microave it for 20 sec. Throwing it in a salad works well also. Heating it ups to eat by itself works also with a Just for One veggie.

    When you make supper, take a portion and put it in a container to take with you to work. This is one way we worked to portion controll our suppers.
  • dmoses
    dmoses Posts: 786 Member
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    I like the simple recipes too. Hungry Girl has lots of easy, few ingredient recipes.
  • thrasherb
    thrasherb Posts: 2
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    Hey
    Kraft web site has a lot of low fat recipes.
    Anything chicken or fish is good.
    chicken in the crick pot with lemon pepper id also good serve with rice and asparagus.

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