No brainer meals.
missingnumero
Posts: 9 Member
Ive been on my diet for four days now. I decided to go shopping for the week on a whim and pick up what I thought would be a good week's worth of nutritious meals. I spent 70 bucks in total on my groceries.
The awesome thing is that after eating my meals for the first three days, I noticed my nutrition is almost perfect. Some of my vitamin intake is too low, but I've been compensating with a multivitamin every day. I'm pretty proud of my ability to gather the right stuff, at the right price, with the right calorie counts and nutrition.
That being said, do you guys have any good recommendations for well-balanced dinners? My breakfasts and lunches are perfect, but my dinners are harder to plan for since they take a while to whip up, and I have packed days.
The awesome thing is that after eating my meals for the first three days, I noticed my nutrition is almost perfect. Some of my vitamin intake is too low, but I've been compensating with a multivitamin every day. I'm pretty proud of my ability to gather the right stuff, at the right price, with the right calorie counts and nutrition.
That being said, do you guys have any good recommendations for well-balanced dinners? My breakfasts and lunches are perfect, but my dinners are harder to plan for since they take a while to whip up, and I have packed days.
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Replies
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My dinners are usually pretty basic lean protein and vegetables. If I have some time on the weekend I make a big pot of chili and portion it for the rest of the week and freeze what I am not going to eat in the next 2 to 3 days. The BLOG section under EAT also has some great suggestions.0
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My dinners are usually pretty basic lean protein and vegetables. If I have some time on the weekend I make a big pot of chili and portion it for the rest of the week and freeze what I am not going to eat in the next 2 to 3 days. The BLOG section under EAT also has some great suggestions.
Thank you! That sounds good!
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I love eating breakfast for dinner. It's quick and pretty easy to adjust according to which macros I need.0
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annaheyoolay wrote: »I love eating breakfast for dinner. It's quick and pretty easy to adjust according to which macros I need.
I've never been a breakfast guy, so I almost have to force it in the morning. It's getting easier though.
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We love the Trader Joe's turkey patties. A turkey patty and a frozen veg makes a pretty good, instant, brainless supper. If I'm feeling creative, I'll "dress" the veg (e.g. with a mustard-caper dressing) or throw a slice of cheese on the turkey patty.0
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HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »We love the Trader Joe's turkey patties. A turkey patty and a frozen veg makes a pretty good, instant, brainless supper. If I'm feeling creative, I'll "dress" the veg (e.g. with a mustard-caper dressing) or throw a slice of cheese on the turkey patty.
That sounds good! Would rice or pasta go well with that? I try to fit carbs in my major meals.
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I have salad just about every day with my dinner, and usually baked chicken breast or trader joes chicken hot dogs, or tuna fish for protein and some type of veggie like butternut squash or green beans....I usually buy a marinated turkey breast ( I love shady brook farms rotissierre) and bake it on sunday, and it will last a good 5 days. I weigh it out after its cooked and divide it into 7 servings (that's how many it comes with) and then every day I pull out a serving for dinner....0
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I buy organic chicken patties and chicken sausages at BJs. I also use my rice cooker and make a big pot of rice once or twice a week. One patty, a cup of brown rice and quinoa and a frozen veggie are a simple, filling meal that takes 10 minutes to put together.0
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I have salad just about every day with my dinner, and usually baked chicken breast or trader joes chicken hot dogs, or tuna fish for protein and some type of veggie like butternut squash or green beans....I usually buy a marinated turkey breast ( I love shady brook farms rotissierre) and bake it on sunday, and it will last a good 5 days. I weigh it out after its cooked and divide it into 7 servings (that's how many it comes with) and then every day I pull out a serving for dinner....
I bought some sliced chicken breast and made a wine-based marinade for it. I've sectioned that out for seven dinners. I have been making those Jolly Green Giant steamables and some brown rice. It's been good, and I plan on changing it up every week. I don't want to get bored by eating the same food all the time. That big turkey breast idea is a good one. I might try that next week.
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LovelyIvy466 wrote: »I buy organic chicken patties and chicken sausages at BJs. I also use my rice cooker and make a big pot of rice once or twice a week. One patty, a cup of brown rice and quinoa and a frozen veggie are a simple, filling meal that takes 10 minutes to put together.
That's kinda what I've been doing.
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Skinnytaste.com has a tonnnn of amazing recipes that are easy to cook on the weekends and get everything made for the following week. She even has a lot of freezer friendly recipes that make closer to 8 servings that you could easily portion out and freeze for later.0
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I make large batches in the slow cooker and portion out and freeze, and that's worked really well for me. Spaghetti sauce, red beans, curry, etc. Then I just defrost, make pasta or rice, and serve. Very quick and easy!
For fresh meals, lately I like chicken thighs with some kind of roasted or steamed veggie.0 -
I try to eat balanced. Like a protein, starch and vegetable. The best advice I can give you is to transform your leftovers into new meals.
Like leftover rice and broccoli turns into a stir fry with addition of leftover meats.
Left over rice turns into a stuffed bell pepper easily This can be vegetarian or with meat.
Cook your meats with different seasonings for salad, tacos, stir frys. Gives your meats more of versatility.
I love black beans. I eat those then use leftovers for black bean burgers.
Eggplant parm is one of my favorites. You can cook half of eggplant for parm; other half for eggplant lasagna or spicy eggplant. I bake my eggplant for the parm. Can do the same for zucchini. You can roast some or sautee for side dish. Then another you can scoop out the middle to make zucchini pizza boats.
I'm not a big breakfast person but heuvos rancheros are the bomb! Corn torillas can be chicken tacos one meal. Toast tortilla, add refried beans, egg fried with spray in nonstick skillet with salsa & whatever toppings to make the heuvos racheros.
The beans can serve for this and then used for black bean burgers.
I find the best recipe is to think outside the box and have fun with it!
Good luck!
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burritos... burritos every day. you can put anything in a burrito!
I like mine with fried black beans for protein (though obvs chicken or grilled beef would be amazing, i'm just terrible at cooking meat for some reason), corn, either freshly made rough chopped salsa or sauteed peppers and spanish onion, shredded cheese, and a generous dollop of either guacamole or sour cream to top it off! My burritos normally clock in around 400 - 500 cals but if I've had a big day chopped baby spinach work as a good filler in my opinion, since it tastes basically like nothing.
eta: I always have leftovers with my black beans - they taste great next to poached eggs the next morning. especially if you have a bit of guacamole to spread on your toast!
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Steph38878 wrote: »I try to eat balanced. Like a protein, starch and vegetable. The best advice I can give you is to transform your leftovers into new meals.
Like leftover rice and broccoli turns into a stir fry with addition of leftover meats.
Left over rice turns into a stuffed bell pepper easily This can be vegetarian or with meat.
Cook your meats with different seasonings for salad, tacos, stir frys. Gives your meats more of versatility.
I love black beans. I eat those then use leftovers for black bean burgers.
Eggplant parm is one of my favorites. You can cook half of eggplant for parm; other half for eggplant lasagna or spicy eggplant. I bake my eggplant for the parm. Can do the same for zucchini. You can roast some or sautee for side dish. Then another you can scoop out the middle to make zucchini pizza boats.
I'm not a big breakfast person but heuvos rancheros are the bomb! Corn torillas can be chicken tacos one meal. Toast tortilla, add refried beans, egg fried with spray in nonstick skillet with salsa & whatever toppings to make the heuvos racheros.
The beans can serve for this and then used for black bean burgers.
I find the best recipe is to think outside the box and have fun with it!
Good luck!
That was extremely helpful. Thanks!0 -
girlperson666 wrote: »burritos... burritos every day. you can put anything in a burrito!
I like mine with fried black beans for protein (though obvs chicken or grilled beef would be amazing, i'm just terrible at cooking meat for some reason), corn, either freshly made rough chopped salsa or sauteed peppers and spanish onion, shredded cheese, and a generous dollop of either guacamole or sour cream to top it off! My burritos normally clock in around 400 - 500 cals but if I've had a big day chopped baby spinach work as a good filler in my opinion, since it tastes basically like nothing.
eta: I always have leftovers with my black beans - they taste great next to poached eggs the next morning. especially if you have a bit of guacamole to spread on your toast!
Only 500 calories? Awesome!
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I usually have eggs for dinner, with a handful of veggies. Or a quick stir fry or salad.
I prep all my veggies on Sunday afternoon. Takes a good two hours, washing, cutting, spiralizing, putting them in containers. But meal prep for the week is done. I also boil eggs, so they are ready to add to a salad or for a quick snack.0 -
check out budgetbytes.com lots of quick dishes, many single skillet/pot ones.0
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eggs.
I mostly eat bacon and eggs for dinner. I cook on Sunday- or crock pot some other time of week- and that's my lunch situation- and then I prechop veggies for myself and cook bacon- saute' the veggies and then throw the eggs in for dinner.
Takes less than 10 minutes to make a meal. Easy and delicious.0 -
I rely pretty heavily on frozen vegetables at dinner. I steam some of those (usually broccoli, broccoli/cauliflower blend, or green beans) and have a whopping helping with a side of protein -- small pan-grilled pork chop, couple of chicken drumsticks or thighs, seasoned ground turkey, seared chicken sausage, or half a steak. It's a simple formula, I get variety by choosing different vegetables and meats, and it's always easy to prepare.
When I want something a little more substantial I use the Crockpot to make a roast with root vegetables, or Mexican chicken for tacos, or a big pot of beans to have with cornbread. I usually pair these with frozen vegetables, too.0
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