What to eat when busy, poor, and craving unhealthy food??

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hikarizx
hikarizx Posts: 15 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone!

I'm hoping someone might have some advice! As I said in the title, my biggest problems are:
- Busy. I work two jobs and I'm in school. I'm constantly on the go so if I don't prepare food for the day in advance, I end up having to order out.
- Poor. Not really poor. But I'm going back to school in the fall and will be living on a limited budget, so I have to save.
- Cravings. I always seem to crave super unhealthy food. I don't know why. That is one of my biggest problems is generally just feeling very hungry and craving greasy, unhealthy food.

I should also mention that I don't really know how to cook.

Any suggestions are appreciated!! I'm about 5'4'' and 140 lbs.. trying to get down to about 125. So it's not too bad but I am afraid if I don't change my habits now it will be worse down the road.

Thanks. :)

Replies

  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Less of whatever food it is you are craving. Saves calories and money.

    Learning to cook, IMO is one of the best things you can do for yourself. This way you can make your 'greasy, unhealthy' food at home and save tons of cash. ;)
  • hikarizx
    hikarizx Posts: 15 Member
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    Laurend224 wrote: »
    Less of whatever food it is you are craving. Saves calories and money.

    Learning to cook, IMO is one of the best things you can do for yourself. This way you can make your 'greasy, unhealthy' food at home and save tons of cash. ;)

    Do you have any recommendations? :)
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    A basic cookbook like The Joy of Cooking is a good place to start.
  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
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    +1 on learning to cook! I know it's intimidating but it's not nearly as hard as most people imagine.

    YouTube is another great place to learn how to cook! You can find videos with whole recipes on there, or just look up how to do a certain technique.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    What type of super unhealthy food are you craving? Sweets, fries, chips (as in potato chips, fritos, doritos, etc)?
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    "Busy" and "poor" aren't your problems here. If you're busy, eat food on the go, just eat less of it. If you're poor, less food will cost more than more food, so that's fine too.

    The problem you're facing is the third one you mentioned: "Craving unhealthy food". And even that's not a problem in and of itself, because you can eat unhealthy food sometimes, just eat less of it. And don't eat it ALL the time 'cause it's bad for your health and overall nutrition if you do. But once in a while? Sure, why not? CICO.

    The issue seems to be that, whenever you're craving something unhealthy, you have a habit of eating lots and lots of it. In small amounts, fast food is fine. Just don't eat tons of it. Control portions, take half of it home, share with a friend, save it for later, order the kids' meal, whatever.

    And learning to cook is a great idea and a valuable life skill that will serve you well during your whole life. Not to mention, cooking at home is cheaper than eating in restaurants or take-out all the time, so it'll save you money, too.
  • gettinthere
    gettinthere Posts: 529 Member
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    try buying a whole roasted chicken at the grocery store and using it for a few meals. I make sandwiches, chow mein (use the thin noodles and steam with chicken broth), wraps with lettuce, tomato and light ranch or ceasar dressing, then use the bones to make a soup, you can add frozen veggies if you don't have time to chop fresh ones.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Stir fry is a great option for someone with a limited budget just learning how to cook. It's easy, cheap and healthy. You can use leftover meat (like the rotisserie chicken above) and vegetables. I cook, or re-heat, the meat in a frying pan with some low sodium soy sauce, and granulated onion and garlic. I buy the frozen bags of stir fry veggies and just use what I need so there's no wasted food or money. Add a side of rice or toss some pre-cooked spaghetti noodles in at the end and you're done.

    You can use the leftover rice a few days later and make fried rice out of it, too.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Your local public library probably has Mark Bittman's book How to Cook Everything: The Basics. Check it out and you'll be on your way to learning to cook.

    Unless you're vegan or have a problem with cholesterol, egg are nutritious, cheap, tasty, and easy to cook, and they make a good base for many meals. Sauté chopped onion and green pepper in 1/2 tsp. oil for a few minutes, break two eggs into a bowl and beat them, then scramble them in the pan with the onion and pepper, and mix in a little salsa, and you've got a tasty and filling breakfast for under 200 calories. Or use 3 eggs and add half an ounce of grated cheese for a 325-calorie main course for dinner. If you have leftover rice, save it for fried rice. The American Egg Group has a number of other recipe ideas: http://www.incredibleegg.org/recipes/

    I find that eggs leave me feeling sated for a long time (due to the protein and fat).

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