Ideas for big one-pot meals I can make at weekend and eat for lunch during week please

Options
Sued0nim
Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
in Recipes
As we moved into winter I had to move away from salads and use the microwave at work to reheat lunch to stop me going to the free cafeteria and losing myself in uncountable food :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I've adapted a chilli recipe to a delicious veggie version that gives me 30 cals per 100g - with rice and cheese it's a lunch for under 400cals

Also have a butternut squash risotto that's great

looking for other ideas - I'm a pretty good cook and good at adapting to lower calorie versions but lost for ideas momentarily

if you have any I'd be grateful

if you already have low-cal recipes please link / post but happy enough to take the idea and adapt myself
«13

Replies

  • clafairy1984
    clafairy1984 Posts: 253 Member
    Options
    There are loads of one pot dishes on BBC Good Food website for free. Ive just started making soups, and making a big one pot on a Sunday for dinner, with leftovers for work. All the dishes show the calorie count, and so far, all the ones I have tried have already been on the MFP database, so easy to add to food log :smiley:
  • RBRoy
    RBRoy Posts: 31 Member
    Options
    I made taco soup in the crock pot yesterday. Black beans, corn, salsa, diced tomatoes, a little chili pepper, and a taco seasoning packet. You can add chicken/ground turkey if you want. I made mine without meat. You can eat it as a soup with some shredded cheese on top .... or you can drain with a slotted spoon and eat in a flour tortilla. Super easy, lots of veggies, and smells delicious cooking!
  • sherylG
    sherylG Posts: 4
    Options
    Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

    - Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 8 hours

    Ingredients
    3 pounds yellow onions, peeled & thinly sliced
    12 cups beef broth
    1 cup red wine (or your favorite beer)
    2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
    3 tablespoons unsalted butter
    1 teaspoon minced garlic
    ½ teaspoon dried ground rosemary
    Toppings (optional):
    Crusty day old bread or croutons
    Swiss cheese
    Instructions
    1. Place sliced onions into a large slow cooker. Top with beef broth, wine, worcestershire, butter, garlic, and rosemary.
    2. Cook on low 6-8 hours or until onions or soft.
    3. If desired, spoon into oven safe bowls and top with bread/croutons and Swiss cheese. Place in warm oven to melt
    cheese.

    271 cal / serving-12 servings per pot
    ( cheese & bread not included )
  • grlgemini
    grlgemini Posts: 42
    Options
    I made taco soup last night. I used fire roasted diced tomoatoes, green chilis, jalapenos, can of rotel, can of corn (no salt added on all of these), and then I used lean ground sirloin. You can add beans or chicken/turkey. Also, another go to of mine is fairly simple. It is a breakfast quiche, but I eat it for lunch too. Shredded hash browns (around 3-4 cups), chopped onion, red/yellow bell pepper, jalapeno, any meat you like (i have used sausage, turkey, chicken, and bacon), and then some cheese on top. Bake the hash browns first at 425 for about 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Layer all the other ingredients (add any veggies/meats you like). Top with some cheese. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. So easy and so good!
  • Go_Mizzou99
    Go_Mizzou99 Posts: 2,628 Member
    Options
    Jambalaya - no rice. This recipe is outstanding!!! I use Aidelle's Andouille Sausage as it is leaner and tastes incredible, although it is a little expensive at $6.50 for 4 links. Without rice, it is something like 200 calories a cup if you use the sausage I mentioned.

    Sometimes i will add a little quinoa to thicken it. If I do make rice, I make it on the side. If I make this for a football tailgate, I mix the rice right in to this recipe so it is not as messy.

    allrecipes.com/recipe/colleens-slow-cooker-jambalaya/
  • jeffreytsparks842
    jeffreytsparks842 Posts: 6 Member
    Options
    Turkey chili with kidney or black beans (or both!). Low fat, low cholesterol, lotsa protein, and chili "ages" well. Use low/no sodium tomato sauce and/or beans. The spices keep it from being bland.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    Options
    http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/10/slow-cooker-rosemary-garlic-beef-stew-slow-cooker/

    Very tasty!
  • Kekekylene
    Kekekylene Posts: 112 Member
    Options
    I am terrible at recipes so I don't have any ideas for you, but any chance you could share your butternut squash risotto recipe please? :)
  • superraachel
    superraachel Posts: 106 Member
    Options
    Picadillo! I like the recipe from the Skinnytaste website. I sub ground turkey for 1/2 of the ground beef to make it a little lighter, while still having enough fat to give it flavor. It is easy to make a ton of it. I take it to work and eat it as is, kind of like a thick chili. Or you can put it in low carb/high fiber wraps and make mini quesadillas with some cheese. It is also excellent to stuff peppers with to translate it to a dinner later in the week.

    I've been making large quantities of soup lately too, because it freezes so well. Acorn squash apple soup is my latest obsession, but italian wedding is always my fall back.

    Other stuff that reheats well at work: spaghetti squash spinach casserole, plain veggies like green beans, carrots, broccoli are easy to "steam" in the microwave and usually just need a little S&P and some seasoning (Italian, rosemary, lemon pepper, etc). Hot steamed veggies are always more satisfying to me than eating them cold and raw. I cut up a bunch of veggies over the weekend, and bag them up for the week to throw in my lunch box.
  • JustAnotherGirlSuzanne
    JustAnotherGirlSuzanne Posts: 932 Member
    Options
    pea soup. om nom nom
  • LJDaye
    LJDaye Posts: 69
    Options
    bump
  • bookworm_847
    bookworm_847 Posts: 1,903 Member
    Options
    I made this yesterday. It was pretty good, but I might have to play with the seasonings next time.

    http://www.ziplist.com/recipes/slow-cooker-chicken-burrito-bowls/cf3dfc50-0f59-0132-5024-22000ae70c9e

    1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, chicken thighs, or a mix
    1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
    1 to 1 1/4 cups chicken stock, divided
    2 teaspoons chili powder
    2 teaspoons salt
    1 teaspoon cumin
    1 cup brown rice
    1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
    1 cup frozen corn
  • hnsaunde
    hnsaunde Posts: 757 Member
    Options
    http://allrecipes.com/recipe/one-pot-salsa-beef-skillet-2/detail.aspx

    I don't use actual KD or the cheese sauce, instead I sub macaroni and add in a 1/2 cup of nacho cheese when I add in the frozen corn, and then put another 1/2 cup on top and cover with a lid to melt it.

    I divide it into 5 or 6 meals, and it freezes well.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited November 2014
    Options
    Crossfitkeke wrote: »
    I am terrible at recipes so I don't have any ideas for you, but any chance you could share your butternut squash risotto recipe please? :)

    Sure it's this bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/13012/simple-squash-risotto but

    I spray the cubes of squash with spray olive oil

    2tsp of olive oil to fry onion, celery and risotto rice

    No butter, wine or parmesan

    Increase the stock to 8-900 ml

    My version is tasty enough for me, but you might want to add back some of the calorie dense ingredients I took out ...I serve it with a rocket salad ..mine works out at 93 calories per 100g ..and 350g is a nice sized portion so it makes a meal for under 400 cals
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    Options
    That beef stew looks great...

    I bring my lunch to work almost every day and it is usually leftovers. I don't necessarily cook one meal and bring it all week, I usually try to make enough for at least one extra serving of whatever I'm cooking each night to take the next day.

    I do use my crockpot a lot in winter - and a lot of the things I make I will have it one way for dinner and then repurpose it later so that I don't get bored.

    For example - salsa chicken (literally can be as easy as chicken breasts and a jar of salsa or you can add rotel, peppers, corn, seasonings) I will shred that and serve it over rice for burrito bowls for dinner. Then I will take the leftovers and put them back in the crockpot with a quart of chicken broth, some extra seasoning, and it becomes tortilla soup.

    Same with a beef chuck roast - I might serve it with new potatoes and carrots for dinner, then shred it and add bbq sauce and bring it with hawaiian rolls for lunches.

  • lohkin
    lohkin Posts: 43 Member
    Options
    Every single thing I have made from the SkinnyTaste website has been amazing. I make enough for my family, then bag/box the balance in single servings. I am currently working my way through a cycle of sloppy joes / balsamic pork roast / butternut squash soup / buffalo chicken chili / pasta fagiloi / zucchini lasagna roll ups.
    Tonight, we are making skinny tuna casserole, which won't freeze well. I have found so many great recipes on that website, though. I also menu-plan our dinners, which makes it even easier to figure out what my lunches will be.
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
    Options
    I always think soup. This is a soup I make almost once a week. I have used lean beef, turkey, venison and even two cans of kidney beans for the beef. All very good.

    http://soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2012/10/spicy-beef-vegetable-soup.html

    I also second picadillo! I love the savory sweet combo. Great over rice or in lettuce wraps.
  • Kekekylene
    Kekekylene Posts: 112 Member
    Options
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Crossfitkeke wrote: »
    I am terrible at recipes so I don't have any ideas for you, but any chance you could share your butternut squash risotto recipe please? :)

    Sure it's this bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/13012/simple-squash-risotto but

    I spray the cubes of squash with spray olive oil

    2tsp of olive oil to fry onion, celery and risotto rice

    No butter, wine or parmesan

    Increase the stock to 8-900 ml

    My version is tasty enough for me, but you might want to add back some of the calorie dense ingredients I took out ...I serve it with a rocket salad ..mine works out at 93 calories per 100g ..and 350g is a nice sized portion so it makes a meal for under 400 cals

    thank you!

  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    Options
    I try to make a big pot of soup once a week. This week the soup was minestrone.

    You could try curry or a stir fry.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
    Options
    Posole is very low calorie and delicious. You can find a bunch of recipes but the basics are pork or chicken, pablano peppers and onions, broth or stock and hominy. Some people garnish with shredded cabbage or red radish.

Categories