Student/Mom needs yummy but simple ideas!

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HollieDoodles
HollieDoodles Posts: 678 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Please help!
I'm a full-time student and single mother of 2 teenage boys. I had lost a massive amount of weight a couple of years ago, but have put on much of it when I started back to school this past fall. Before, I was spending tons of time on myself....getting lots of exercise and rest in. Now, I don't HAVE the time to do what I feel needs to be done for myself because my schoolwork takes up my whole day. To top it off, I really don't even cook much anymore. When I'm in school, which is most of the year, I basically snack all day and maybe eat a meal at dinner time. My snacks and meals have been SO unhealthy since school started. I'm out of school now but only until the end of June and would love to get some new habits started, but I need help with ideas.
I'd love to get some healthy snack options and some super easy quick recipes (that don't require using the oven because it gets hot in here). I already do the baby carrot, granola bars, yogurt, grapes, sort of thing, but would like to hear what others do.
Being a student is hard enough at this stage of my life.... I really want to enjoy this time! I want my BRAIN to grow, NOT MY BUNS! LOL

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  • jessalice66
    jessalice66 Posts: 47 Member
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    pizza (around 250 cal per half)
    it looks like a complicated dish but its really not and once you've done it once you pretty much know it off-by-heart!

    you need:
    - 100g strong flour (bread making flour). i'd go for the wholemeal option (you could go half-and-half). you may add more as you wish (100g makes a thin-based pizza around 25cm across).
    - water (around 100ml, but it varies quite a bit)
    - 1 tsp. bread making yeast
    - dried chillies (opt.)
    - tomato puree
    - 2 tsp. pesto (opt.)
    - cheese. i'd go for mozzarella, but you could use cheddar or something instead/as well.
    - any toppings you want

    method:
    - mix the yeast and flour in a mixing bowl.
    - add the water to the mixture. add as much as you feel necessary, it needs a doughy consistency - it holds together when lifted, but not too sticky. if you want any extra spices in your dough you should add them now. i quite like dried chillies. add more flour if you think the base wont be big enough - bare in mind that a little goes a long way with dough.
    - sprinkle some flour on the surface (feel free to use normal flour here). place all the compacted dough on the surface. this is where you need to knead the dough. just keep turning it over and hitting it with your fists. there are many videos online teaching you how to knead if your stuck. i'd keep kneading for around 6 minutes - i find that the longer you knead, the nicer it tastes!
    - put the now kneaded dough back in your mixing bowl and cover the mixing bowl with a tea towel. leave the dough for around 10 minutes, the dough needs to rise/expand.
    - preheat the oven to a high temperature.
    - after 10 minutes, the dough should be slightly springy to the touch. put a bit more flour on the surface and roll out the dough into the shape you want with a rolling pin. this is when you need to decide how you want your pizza. i like my base thin, but others like it fatter. after every few rolls, flip the base over to make sure it doesn't stick to the surface. keep adding more flour to the surface if you think the base is going to stick.
    - once rolled out to the shape you like, place onto a pizza pan. spread tomato puree over the base, and add the pesto, cheese (if using mozzarella, it needs to be ripped into pieces and scattered on the base) and any other toppings you want. keep the toppings healthy - i like pineapple, you could try olives, and definitely do not overload the cheese. note, you could just stick with the cheese!
    - put in the oven for around 25 minutes, until it looks cooked.

    voila! have a salad on the side, and this is the yummiest meal i have ever made. hope i've explained it well enough! :) if you're confused, feel free to ask.
  • seckler
    seckler Posts: 169 Member
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    I have been doing oatmeal with pumpkin for breakfast. 1/2 or 1/4 cup of old fashioned oatmeal ( depends on how hungry you are) 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/4 cup pumpkin, 1 Tbsp of ground flax, 1 tsp cinnamon - warm in microwave for 60-90 seconds then stir in one scoop of vanilla protein powder. If you don't use protein powder you could sub in egg whites and pure vanilla extract.
  • HollyMcCaw
    HollyMcCaw Posts: 154 Member
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    Someone else just posted their blog link with tons of great and easy snack ideas.
    www.fitnesswithnatalie.blogspot.com
  • mom111997
    mom111997 Posts: 101 Member
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    I've mentioned this before to a few others - it's my most favorite snack right now! Make some sugar-free, fat-free vanilla pudding and put it in those little Gladware containers. Then slice up some fresh pairs and use them as a spoon to eat the pudding. They are so good together! And you get some crunch and sweet in the same bite. And the whole thing is low-cal and very filling. Enjoy!
  • ashleyxnicole89
    ashleyxnicole89 Posts: 38 Member
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    Sometimes I just go to the store and grab random veggies that catch my eye. Then think about what "sauce" would go well with them. Like crashed tomatoes, stir fry sauce, chicken broth, come low cal dressing etc. Then I choose something as like a "filler" quinoa, brown rice, pastini. I've made some awesome very low cal for the portion meals this way. Try them hot or cold, cooked or raw. The only time consuming part is cutting them down. If the boys don't eat Veggies cut them all at once and freeze them! Portion them out to make different things so you're not sick of them!
  • rhondaredhead
    rhondaredhead Posts: 135 Member
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    I'm a PhD student/aspiring academic, so I can sympathize! Schoolwork is sedentary and takes up a lot of time, and I find myself wanting to munch constantly when I'm staring at the computer screen. One way I've found to be healthier is to make green smoothies: 1-2 bananas, 1-2 cups of water (depends on how thick you like them), 1 cup of frozen fruit, and 1-2 cups of greens—I typically use baby spinach or mixed greens. Sounds disgusting (and sometimes looks disgusting), but you can add sweetener (honey or agave) if you want and you're getting in several (if not all) of your daily fruits and veggies in at once. I've actually grown to like the taste without sweeteners. Drawback: Not chewing doesn't take away the desire to munch, at least for me. I have to work in other means of doing that. :)

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