I wanna start cooking from scratch, need help with my grocery list!!

Get a gas grill and cook veggies, chicken and fish.

What are your fav foods? I would seek healthy recipies from foods you already like and then move onto new recipies once a week or every other week. I favor Culturally diverse cooking so my pantry to all over the place. Maybe if you get recipies then buy ingredients and spices dish specific you will build your pantry and kitchen items overtime. I would be happy to share recipies that fits your taste. I will try to find you and friend you.

Hey, I am also having thoughts about planning better.

2 shops a week, Sunday and Wednesday (because most food - steak, chicken breast, etc - is ok raw in the fridge for 3-4 days [not fish, check for things you like]).

Sunday:
Protein
- One big hunk of meat (whole chicken, roast beef) to cook for a few days' dinners and lunches. You can put them in sandwiches, burritos, pasta dishes. You could do a chili or bolognese with ground beef, too. Cook this on Sunday
- One dinner/lunch's worth of another kind of meat (chicken breasts, steak, pork chops) to have "fresh" on one of the days. (When you cook a dinner, make extra so you have some for lunch.) Grill, stir-fry or bake this on the day you want to eat.
- Some easy grabby stuff, like tuna or ham or sliced turkey, for snacks and maybe lunches
- Eggs
- 0 or 2% Greek yogurt or cottage cheese
- Low-fat cheese

Veg
- One huge box/bag spinach for salads
- A couple of cans of beans or lentils to put into salads, pasta dishes or soups
- 3-4 different other hearty green vegetables (broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, green beans, asparagus)
- 3-4 different hearty orange or red vegetables or fruits (carrots, red peppers, tomatoes)

Fruit
3-4 fruits per person. Berries have fibre, they're good.

Grainy or carby things
Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, oatmeal and a grainy cereal (for late night snacks)

Wednesday
Same thing

You can also get some frozen fish fillets (individually wrapped). And a couple of frozen convenience things (I have frozen meatballs, you could get a lower-fat pizza, whatever).

Sorry, this is obviously not a veggie diet!

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So the idea is your menu might look like this:

Breakfast: eggs and toast w tomatoes or sauteed spinach. or ham and cheese toasted.

Lunch: soup with lentils thrown in, or a sandwich and a salad (w beans or lentils thrown in)

Snack: an orange veg or fruit; cottage cheese or yogurt

Dinner: pasta with meat, stir fry w rice, meat w potatoes + a hearty veg

Late snack: oatmeal or cereal, maybe a piece of fruit

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That's what I do. I am hoping I'm hitting most of the macro and micronutrients I need this way (hence orange veg - vitamin A and antioxidants).

This is a pretty drastic change to make all at once. I'd suggest looking at what you eat now -- the packages, the processed whatsits, whatever -- and finding ways to replace some or all of them with homemade things. If you eat a lot of Kraft dinner, try buying elbow noodles, skim milk, and good cheese to make a simple version of your own. If you order pizza three times per week, pick up some premade crusts, pepperoni slices, mozzarella, and canned tomatoes to make your own. If you like those frozen skillet meals, try sauteeing fresh meat and frozen vegetables and adding a bottled sauce. Once you've made this sort of easier switch and gotten into a good groove, you can ramp up the homemade factor(homemade pizza crusts, mix your own sauces, etc.).

Basically, start by making what you already eat. Use convenience items to make some parts of the process easier as you adjust to making better choices and spending time in the kitchen. Progress from there to doing everything from scratch, trying new things, and all that other fun stuff. I promise it'll be easier and less jarring, and that means you'll be more prone to stick with it.

I am trying to eat as clean as possible and limit processed foods. There are lots of great recipes you can find through Pinterest.

I loaded the fridge with fruits and vegetables and have started flash freezing fruits that are in season.

I made http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/asparagus-and-ham-casserole for dinner... it was delicious and everyone in my family liked it. The sauce was made from scratch and it was better than using a cream of soup base - aka cream of chemicals. I went light on the ham to reduce the sodium and it's already listed so you don't have to create it.

avskk wrote: »

This is a pretty drastic change to make all at once. I'd suggest looking at what you eat now -- the packages, the processed whatsits, whatever -- and finding ways to replace some or all of them with homemade things. If you eat a lot of Kraft dinner, try buying elbow noodles, skim milk, and good cheese to make a simple version of your own. If you order pizza three times per week, pick up some premade crusts, pepperoni slices, mozzarella, and canned tomatoes to make your own. If you like those frozen skillet meals, try sauteeing fresh meat and frozen vegetables and adding a bottled sauce. Once you've made this sort of easier switch and gotten into a good groove, you can ramp up the homemade factor(homemade pizza crusts, mix your own sauces, etc.).

Basically, start by making what you already eat. Use convenience items to make some parts of the process easier as you adjust to making better choices and spending time in the kitchen. Progress from there to doing everything from scratch, trying new things, and all that other fun stuff. I promise it'll be easier and less jarring, and that means you'll be more prone to stick with it.

This is exactly what I did and have stuck with it for years now. We don't eat out and i make so many more things from scratch.

avskk wrote: »

This is a pretty drastic change to make all at once. I'd suggest looking at what you eat now -- the packages, the processed whatsits, whatever -- and finding ways to replace some or all of them with homemade things. If you eat a lot of Kraft dinner, try buying elbow noodles, skim milk, and good cheese to make a simple version of your own. If you order pizza three times per week, pick up some premade crusts, pepperoni slices, mozzarella, and canned tomatoes to make your own. If you like those frozen skillet meals, try sauteeing fresh meat and frozen vegetables and adding a bottled sauce. Once you've made this sort of easier switch and gotten into a good groove, you can ramp up the homemade factor(homemade pizza crusts, mix your own sauces, etc.).

Basically, start by making what you already eat. Use convenience items to make some parts of the process easier as you adjust to making better choices and spending time in the kitchen. Progress from there to doing everything from scratch, trying new things, and all that other fun stuff. I promise it'll be easier and less jarring, and that means you'll be more prone to stick with it.

+1. If you aren't used to cooking, trying to do everything from scratch and organic and whatever other arbitrary rules (which are just that - arbitrary)you think you need to follow to be healthy is likely too big of a commitment all at once. Start with cooking once or twice a week or subbing some more whole foods into what you are already doing as avskk suggested. Pre-packaged and processed does not equal "bad" food. There are ways to make things healthier by making small changes but much of what you have described is so drastic, it may not be sustainable. You also mentioned doing all this on a budget. Generally shopping at small, natural foods stores is not the most economical choice either. Not to say that eating healthier has to be cost prohibitive, just that the smaller stores don't have the margins to be able to help keep prices down.

I second the above post! I love Skinnytaste, use it all the time. The internet is your friend. Just start a Google search with phrases like: Healthy Cooking Basics and you're off and running! Good luck, I hope you find that you enjoy cooking as much as I do. Cheers!

Lean proteins, fresh frozen veggies (normally cheaper than fresh), and in my opinion number one ingredient is seasonings. You can make most things taste great with right seasonings. Mrs Dash, lemon juice, vinegars, wide variety....

Few staples: eggs, chicken, tenderloin, frozen tilapia or whatever fish you enjoy, yogurt, frozen corn, broccoli, dried beans, olive oil, balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar....