Brrrr...I'm freezing! Need hearty warming recipe suggestions...

jrochest
jrochest Posts: 119 Member
edited November 28 in Health and Weight Loss
The seasonal change has come early to the Prairies -- and I've lost 50 pounds at this point so my body is feeling the cold! I'm back on campus with long days, lots of meetings, class prep and teaching, and it's only getting worse from here. My weight has held steady for the last 3 weeks, but I'd like to fire up the weight loss again -- I'm still 5 pounds away from a BMI below 25 and I'd like to get down another 20 pounds or so, eventually. That means re-tightening up the counting (weighing/measuring) and avoiding social situations (which happen a LOT at the beginning of term). More than anything else, though, I need suggestions for hearty, low-calorie meals, especially grab and go breakfasts and portable lunches.

I have access to a kitchen at work: can stick things in the fridge or freezer as long as I don't go nuts. I try to keep breakfast under 200 calories if I'm eating lunch; I try to keep things well below 1200 or the scales don't budge at all.

Anyone got recipe/food suggestions?

Replies

  • slossia
    slossia Posts: 138 Member
    Make sone chili, 2 lbs ground chuck browned, add 2 cups kidney beans 16 ounces tomato sauce and get 2 alarm chili mix. Easy peasy
  • jrochest
    jrochest Posts: 119 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Eat more than 1200 accurately measured Calories and then you will feel less cold and have more energy to do things.

    Alas, then I will not lose any weight. I'm 5' 4.5" and 57, and I'm female -- I have a TDEE of about 1375 calories.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,300 Member
    edited September 2018
    jrochest wrote: »
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Eat more than 1200 accurately measured Calories and then you will feel less cold and have more energy to do things.

    Alas, then I will not lose any weight. I'm 5' 4.5" and 57, and I'm female -- I have a TDEE of about 1375 calories.

    Oh? You're sedentary and currently weigh 115lbs?

    In any case the answer you seek is called soup!!! Soup with lots and lots of vegetables! Cabbage beets pumpkin onion carrots parsnips etc. Add a little bit of meat. And maybe some potato or sweet potato. My current batch gives me two liters of soup for 700 calories.
  • jrochest
    jrochest Posts: 119 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    jrochest wrote: »
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Eat more than 1200 accurately measured Calories and then you will feel less cold and have more energy to do things.

    Alas, then I will not lose any weight. I'm 5' 4.5" and 57, and I'm female -- I have a TDEE of about 1375 calories.

    Oh? You're sedentary and currently weigh 115lbs?

    In any case the answer you seek is called soup!!! Soup with lots and lots of vegetables! Cabbage beets pumpkin onion carrots parsnips etc. Add a little bit of meat. And maybe some potato or sweet potato. My current batch gives me two liters of soup for 700 calories.

    According to Scooby.com daily calories for weight loss is 1291 -- nothing happens if I exceed 1200, in practice.
  • OddDitty
    OddDitty Posts: 248 Member
    Hi there! May I make a suggestion? The most body warming thing you can have is soup. That's right. Soup! Make yourself a bunch of whats called "dieters soup." Actually its just a heckofa vegetable soup. Here's how you make it:

    1 small head cabbage, cut up into small pieces
    3 large carrots, cleaned and cut up into 1/2" thick pieces
    3 stalks celery, sliced 1/2" thick
    Frozen green beans (not defrosted)
    kale, cleaned with the ribs removed, then chopped *this is really optional* around 1 cup
    1 small onion, diced
    3 cloves smashed garlic
    2 large cans whole tomatoes (smushed up by hand)
    2 large boxes of vegetable broth (if you need low sodium adjust)
    2 tsp olive oil
    Italian Seasoning blend- 1-2 tbsp

    In a very large pot, cook the cabbage, carrots, celery, onion and garlic on medium low heat until softened. Add Kale and cook til wilted. Add in the frozen beans and tomatoes. Stir. Add in the broth and bring to a boil, add the beans and bring to the boil again then reduce to a simmer and cook til the beans are tender but not smooshie.

    Eat hot!

    This freezes wonderfully. Now heres the thing: you can add to it easily. If you are low carb, then dd in some meat each time you heat it up. Just make sure its cooked meat. You can turn this into a pho easily enough with the addition of some water chestnuts and shoots. Or you can add noodles and make it a minestrone. Its all up to you!

    I make three lots of it and divvie it down into 1 qt containers and freeze.

    This should help I hope! But soup will be your warming friend!
  • jrochest
    jrochest Posts: 119 Member
    OddDitty wrote: »
    Hi there! May I make a suggestion? The most body warming thing you can have is soup. That's right. Soup! Make yourself a bunch of whats called "dieters soup." Actually its just a heckofa vegetable soup. Here's how you make it:

    1 small head cabbage, cut up into small pieces
    3 large carrots, cleaned and cut up into 1/2" thick pieces
    3 stalks celery, sliced 1/2" thick
    Frozen green beans (not defrosted)
    kale, cleaned with the ribs removed, then chopped *this is really optional* around 1 cup
    1 small onion, diced
    3 cloves smashed garlic
    2 large cans whole tomatoes (smushed up by hand)
    2 large boxes of vegetable broth (if you need low sodium adjust)
    2 tsp olive oil
    Italian Seasoning blend- 1-2 tbsp

    In a very large pot, cook the cabbage, carrots, celery, onion and garlic on medium low heat until softened. Add Kale and cook til wilted. Add in the frozen beans and tomatoes. Stir. Add in the broth and bring to a boil, add the beans and bring to the boil again then reduce to a simmer and cook til the beans are tender but not smooshie.

    Eat hot!

    This freezes wonderfully. Now heres the thing: you can add to it easily. If you are low carb, then dd in some meat each time you heat it up. Just make sure its cooked meat. You can turn this into a pho easily enough with the addition of some water chestnuts and shoots. Or you can add noodles and make it a minestrone. Its all up to you!

    I make three lots of it and divvie it down into 1 qt containers and freeze.

    This should help I hope! But soup will be your warming friend!

    That looks strikingly like WW Zero point soup -- which I remember as being delicious! :)
  • buffinlovin
    buffinlovin Posts: 100 Member
    I don't have any recipes to add, but for soup, chili, or anything that you want to heat up in a bowl, Crock Pot makes a lunch warmer that I absolutely can't live without! https://www.crock-pot.com/collections/lunch-crock/

    They often go on sale, I bought 3/$30 to keep 1 and give the other two as gifts. I freeze my soups and chili in individual portions (I use the plastic deli-style containers, 16oz, like these), and just take them to work frozen. I put it in the lunch warmer when I get in at work, and by the time lunch hits its all heated through! The lid is sealed pretty tight so I don't have a lot of smell/aroma while it's heating which is nice, so it doesn't bother my coworkers.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    Yep, soup. Chili.

    I need to branch out on my soups... I pretty much only make either ham and potato soup, zuppa toscana (potato, kale and italian sausage), or chicken noodle.
  • kimothyschma
    kimothyschma Posts: 209 Member
    edited September 2018
    Minestrone is also delicious! I just made this one https://anaffairfromtheheart.com/crock-pot-minestrone-fallforflavor-giveaway-included/ but next time I would leave out the pasta.

    Also hot chocolate and hot tea alllll winter long.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    Lentil soup but with red lentils - they cook much faster and if you don't use too much water you can get a lovely, thick soup when they go mushy. Stock, carrots, potatoes, onion, little bit of garlic, lentils. I've been doing it in my pressure cooker the last few years but stovetop is also fine.
  • PHOTOCHAP
    PHOTOCHAP Posts: 104 Member
    I gotta 2nd the red lentils! I have 'em every week in soups, curries and and stews. Best of all you can just have lentils and a stock of your choice done in 30mins. Warm and filling and good for you!
  • jrochest
    jrochest Posts: 119 Member
    Thanks guys -- I will break out the Instant Pot and fire up some soups -- and stews. And yes, I'm going to bring an electric kettle, a teapot and a mess of teas to my office. I've also filled the freezer at work with nukeable frozen meals -- not ideal but better than the cafeteria. I walk to work, so carrying an extra lunch bag in addition to the laptop and the books and the purse is a bit cumbersome.
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