"NO-RECIPE Go To Meals" for busy people

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kat_O
kat_O Posts: 10
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all- I was hoping to get some ideas going for SUPER quick meal ideas for people who don't have time to follow recipes. In the perfect world, we'll all have time to chop 8 different kinds of veggies, make a fabulous stir fry with tofu etc.

This is not reality for some of us. I don't want to follow a recipe at night after working all day, cleaning when I get home and then wanting to spend time with my boyfriend (not in the kitchen). Here are some of the go to meals I use and I was hoping you all could post similar ideas-

Breakfast:
-I sometimes bring 2 packages of instant grits and then make them with the hot water from the industrial coffee maker we have in our lunch room. Very tasty, filling, easy breakfast. If i feel like it, sometimes I'll bring a Morningstart breakfast pattie to heat up.
-Jimmy Dean dlites turkey sausage & croissant sandwiches: these are a little high in fat for the size though
-Cereal and skim milk if I can pack the night before- LOVE Kashi Honey Sunshine, super healthy and filling
-Bagel thins with laughing cow

Lunch
-Smartones (obviously) but I add steam fresh corn packages or broccoli packages (the 1 WW point ones) to make them more substantial, along with my own spices like garlic or crushed red pepper
-Amy's and Kashi meals (LOVE LOVE LOVE Mayan Harvest Bake); but be careful which ones you choose...some are very diet conscious, others are definitely not
-Leftovers like spaghetti & sauce or whatever was made the night before

Dinner- THE TOUGHY
-Whole wheat pasta & low fat red sauce or low fat alfredo (Is it Classico, I think...? Anyway, it's pretty good) and I toss it with a package of steam in the bag broccoli. Sometimes I'll grill up chicken on the foreman if I feel ambitious and toss that too.
-Ground turkey & Whole Foods' Back2Nature meal kits...they are similar to Hamburger Helper
-Whole Foods prepared meats...ALWAYS good
-Baked Potatoes as the meal itself with different toppings, fat free cheese, sour cream, etc.
-Progresso Light/Weight Watchers Soups over Brown Rice or Mashed Potatoes
-Turkey burgers with alexia fries
-Lean Cuisine personal pizzas with a snack like Mediterranean Snack Company Lentil Chips (SO good)
-Tortillas with Eden Organics Refried Pinto Beans (almost no sodium) and fat free shredded cheese- just fill and microwave! You can add jalapenos from the jar, fat free sour cream, whole grain rice, etc.


What are some other non-recipe meals? (Preferably those that will satisfy a finicky "meat and potatoes" boyfriend)??

Replies

  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    Stir fry.

    Heat up frozen stir fry vegetables. Cook cubes of chicken or, even easier, pull meat off of already cooked rotisserie chicken or, easiest, buy already cooked chicken. Mix your cooked chicken (or whatever protein you like) and hot formerly frozen vegetables together in a pan. Add some soy sauce, some red pepper flakes, some ginger, a touch of sesame oil, and you've got a pretty healthy dinner that took 5 minutes. If you have time, make rice to go with it. Even faster- make a batch of brown rice and keep it in your fridge all week, pulling out scoops as necessary and zapping it in the microwave.
  • bzmom
    bzmom Posts: 1,332 Member
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    bump
  • nab22
    nab22 Posts: 168
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    bump
  • kmunis
    kmunis Posts: 48 Member
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    One of my favs is chicken breast pounded thin, seasoned with a little pepper and thyme and pan fry with a little evoo or cooking spray. For potatoes I cut a whole potato into small cubes and throw the cubes in a zip loc, add a little evoo and whatever seasonings you like, I'm partial to garlic and rosemary, then shake it up. Pour them on a baking sheet and bake at 400 until just browned. Then add your fav veggie for a complete meal.
  • heididormanen
    heididormanen Posts: 76
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    This is a toughy for me because most of what you listed I can't have.. the sodiium on all of the packaged stuff is just ridiculous.. so I have to stay away.. we are a huge beliver in make in large quanities and freeze in small quanities. We save leftovers in indivdual portions in the freezer so that we can pull together a meal quick.

    Here are a couple of shortcuts though.. for stir fry.. you can use frozen veggies or just use one kind like broccoli super easy

    chef salads are big in our house.. throw in whatever is in the fridge and top with cold cuts and cheese

    we always have hard boiled eggs for sandwiches or breakfast on the go

    breakfast for dinner is another biggie in our house.. we usually do bacon and eggs (we bake the bacon.. put a cookie drying wrack on a cookie sheet and bake at about 350 for 30 minutes, it drains all the fat and leaves crispy yummy bacon)

    pizza dough is also always on hand.. we buy a whole wheat one and leave it in the freezer, thaw it out the day before and you can turn that into anything from stromboli to calzone, to indian flatbread.. the kids love it and it is super easy

    That is all I can think of right now
  • beccala18
    beccala18 Posts: 293 Member
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    I get fresh veggies at the store and the day that I bring them home, I chop them up and freeze them (or just put in the fridge) to be able to make whatever I want a lot easier. It's easier for me to do that prep work all in one go, then I can just throw them into the pasta/rice/crock pot for a tasty and easy meal on weeknights.

    You could also spend a bit of time on the weekend and make a couple of more "recipe" meals that you can keep in your fridge to use for dinner throughout the week.
  • lucky1ns
    lucky1ns Posts: 358 Member
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    Just plain old baked chicken thighs.

    I bake them on a rack over a cookie sheet so the oil drains and they roast really nicely that way.
  • krsaxton
    krsaxton Posts: 56 Member
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    bump
  • DeenaSteelerGirl
    DeenaSteelerGirl Posts: 449
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    This is a quick and easy one.. Because I love my crockpot .. Take boneless ckn breasts (3 - 4 maybe even 5 depending on the size or how many people you plan to serve) put into crock pot with one jar of salsa.. mild or hot.. whatever you like. Cook all day on low. When home from work shred the ckn. and make tortillas. You can use the wheat shells. I top with low fat sour cream. Black olives. Lettuce and tomatoes. Very good and quick.
  • dakotasky
    dakotasky Posts: 21
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    Bump!
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
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    Being a single mom on a tight budget, I have been able to work this one out. here are some common dinners for me, lunch is usually a frozen entree' or leftovers.

    1. Tyson Grilled Ready Chicken Breast- Cooks in microwave in about 2 mins and is real, the store brand will look and taste like a McChicken minus the breading. Put on Salads, in wraps, or with a side of steamer frozen veggies.

    2. Ground Turkey- I never use beef anymore, I cook this up with taco seasoning and mix with lettuce, tomatoes, a little cheese and salsa or low-fat ranch. Also a big winner for my family is spaghetti with whole-grain pasta. I usually throw a handful of frozen spinach in the sauce as well.

    3. Tuna helper- It's not the greatest for you but my son LOVES it and I always mix in some frozen spinach or cali blend veggies when simmering so he can get his veggies.

    4. Baked Beans and Turkey Smoked Sausage. Good one fore my little one when he wants beans and weenies.

    5. Boca burgers. Super easy and good for you! About 100 calories and microwaves in a little over a minute. I take them for lunch too! I have even added the parmesean-bruschetta kind to Smartones or Healthy Chioce pasta meals that don't satisfy me.

    And a couple sides I like:

    - Mashed Cauliflower. I might mash up 1 or 2 potates with it but make it the same as you would mashed potatoes. Good with some garlic.

    -Roasted diced potatoes, baby carrots and onions. Chopp up the potatoes, and onion and place on cookie sheet with the baby carrots. Cover with a little olive oil and salt/pepper if you'd like and bake.

    -
  • SmashliT
    SmashliT Posts: 49 Member
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    I like to buy the already-cooked rotiserrie chickens for nights I know I will be especially busy. I can get 2 dinners out of them easily. One night I will usually make a pizza: Buffalo (whole grain digiorno thin crust pizza topped with franks wing sauce, sliced red onion, pulled chicken meat, reduced-fat mozzerella cheese, fat-free crumbled blue cheese) or BBQ (same crust spread with BBQ sauce, pulled chicken meat, sliced red onion, cilantro, and reduced-fat mozzerella). I will usually just have some of the fresh express salad on the side. The other night I will have the chicken breast plain with some of those steam in the bag veggies and some whole grain cous cous (the easy to make box kind.)
  • poisongirl6485
    poisongirl6485 Posts: 1,487 Member
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    This is a quick and easy one.. Because I love my crockpot .. Take boneless ckn breasts (3 - 4 maybe even 5 depending on the size or how many people you plan to serve) put into crock pot with one jar of salsa.. mild or hot.. whatever you like. Cook all day on low. When home from work shred the ckn. and make tortillas. You can use the wheat shells. I top with low fat sour cream. Black olives. Lettuce and tomatoes. Very good and quick.

    I also do this with a little modifications. I use about 2 lbs of chicken breasts, some salsa, a brick of fat free cream cheese, a can of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup, and seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and black pepper. I don't usually start it until 1 pm, so I cook it on high for about 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally. The chicken just falls apart by the end of the cooking time so I can usually just break it up with the spoon. Then I roll into tortillas, spoon the extra sauce over them in a baking pan, top with shredded cheese, and bake for 20-30 minutes until bubbly. Then top with whatever you want...I use shredded lettuce, more salsa, sometimes olives, and fat free sour cream.
  • isabelk
    isabelk Posts: 153 Member
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    Can of:
    Black beans
    Chickpeas
    White beans

    Plus:
    chopped onion
    chopped tomato or pre-made salsa

    Plus:
    olive oil
    balsamic vinegar
    lemon juice

    Plus:
    prewashed spinach
    chopped parsley
    chopped basil

    I'm so lazy sometimes it's just chickpeas and lemon juice, but the more time I have, the more goes in. Mix it up and save half for the next day (my hubby won't eat it). NO COOKING and almost no dishes :)
  • lucky1ns
    lucky1ns Posts: 358 Member
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    It's difficult when you are trying to stay away from so much processed foods.

    It's so bad for you.

    i cringe lately when walking the frozen food section.

    What has happened to our society?
  • lucky1ns
    lucky1ns Posts: 358 Member
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    Here is a tip-

    Microwave the veggies then cool before freezing.

    This is my fast and easy version of my MIL's blanching.
  • maremare312
    maremare312 Posts: 1,143 Member
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    My super lazy breakfast is 2 caramel rice cakes with 1 T of peanut butter and a banana.

    Or I'll make scrambled eggs in the microwave with broccoli, morningstar farms veggie sausage, and a bit of shredded mozzarella cheese. It's best if eaten on a sandwich (english muffin) or in a corn tortilla.

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