Examples of a healthy dinner that will keep you satisfied

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NCmcMan
NCmcMan Posts: 36
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello folks. I have lately been seriously struggling with what I should eat for meals. Generally, I have breakfast down pat. I for breakfast generally eat 1 cup of oatmeal and a piece of fruit, usually a banana. When I am at work I generally have something like a turkey sandwich with fat free cheese, some baby carrots and an apple. For dinner though, I don't know what to do. I usually get frustrated, and say "the hell with it" and go eat at an all you can eat buffet. I really don't like to cook, and I work two jobs, so its really difficult for me to do that as well. I have absolutely never learned about portion control, and thats why I am 300 lbs overweight. What I would like is so healthy ideas on what i could eat for dinner (sides included) If you could provide me with the portion as well, that would really help me out. I know that I should see a doctor or a dietician or whatever, but that is totally impossible because I don't have any kind of medical insurance. I just need to get on track, and I need to do it soon. Please let me know if you have any ideas. Thank You very much :)

Replies

  • kristelpoole
    kristelpoole Posts: 440 Member
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    Check out websites like eatingwell.com or 101cookbooks.com for inspiration. Or just make it simple.

    4 oz. fish filet (bake it with spray oil and salt and pepper and lemon)
    2 cups steamed vegetables (mix and match or 1 type of veggie)
    1/2 cup rice, quinoa, potato, cous cous, orzo, etc

    For dessert, try cottage cheese and pineapple or greek yogurt with berries.

    For a 1 pot dish, throw some vegetables and beans in the crock pot and make soup or chili.
  • kitinboots
    kitinboots Posts: 589 Member
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    Even a cottage pie can be healthy if you make it from scratch and pay attention to what you're putting in it. Add lots of vegetables, use lean mince, and swap potato and cheddar on top for sweet potato and a sprinkle of parmesan.
  • aquitania
    aquitania Posts: 92 Member
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    I guess cooking is like exercising. When you start you hate it, but soon you realise that it's great and suddenly you love it! :)

    You can browse a bit the internet, but here is one page that has really great recepies, they're pretty easy to make, and are low in cals and healthy.

    http://www.skinnytaste.com/

    Hope you find something for yourself! ;)
  • hazelnut861
    hazelnut861 Posts: 390 Member
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    George foreman grills are great for people like us that don't like to cook. There's fish, turkey burgers, chicken breast. You can stuff your chicken breast with spinach and mozzarella if you like. Or baked chicken strips. Or turkey chili. Or turkey meatloaf is pretty easy and you'll have left overs. Good sides... sweet potatoes, brown rice I think, veggies, cottage cheese, salads. Chicken breast salad. Turkey bacon blt. Healthy choice soups. Mine not be the best ideas but it's something. And of course you don't have to use turkey but I prefer it. Good luck! Oh and there's recipes for spaghetti squash on here that I've been meaning to try.
  • Eleanorjanethinner
    Eleanorjanethinner Posts: 563 Member
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    Dry fry (no oil) or grill a big piece of lean meat (anything you like - fish, chicken, turkey, lean steak, lean pork) with some suitable low cal seasoning, big microwave baked potato (leave the skin on, cut it cross ways most of the way through, microwave for 8 - 10 min 'till it's soft. If you're feeling keen you can bake it in the oven for an hour or microwave then bake for 10 min or so to crisp up the skin), microwave lots of frozen veges (corn, peas, carrots etc whatever you like). You can add light sour cream to the potato. Should take you about 10 min of actual cooking, 20 min if you include standing around the kitchen waiting for it to cook.

    Other easy meals I have: light frozen fish fillets, oven chips, (read the labels carefully - find ones low in saturated fat) frozen vegs.

    Pre-made fresh pasta (like tortellini) and tomato sauce. Grate a measured bit of cheese over the top if you like. Add frozen veges like peas to the sauce to bulk it out.

    Our supermarkets sell hot cooked chicken. They're good for a quick meal with lots of salad and a measured bit of bread (bread can be very high cal). Salad like coleslaw (with limited dressing) is good 'cos cabbage and carrot is more filling than lettuce. Just measure out your chicken portion then put the rest straight away and don't eat it! (or don't buy it if you can't eat a bit then stop)

    Good luck!
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
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    George foreman grills are great for people like us that don't like to cook. There's fish, turkey burgers, chicken breast. You can stuff your chicken breast with spinach and mozzarella if you like. Or baked chicken strips. Or turkey chili. Or turkey meatloaf is pretty easy and you'll have left overs. Good sides... sweet potatoes, brown rice I think, veggies, cottage cheese, salads. Chicken breast salad. Turkey bacon blt. Healthy choice soups. Mine not be the best ideas but it's something. And of course you don't have to use turkey but I prefer it. Good luck! Oh and there's recipes for spaghetti squash on here that I've been meaning to try.

    ^this^. also a slow cooker is good if you dont like to cook, is great for making soup, chilli etc, just throw everything in the pot and its ready when you get home from work, with a few more days worth of leftovers too!
    there are loads of amazing receipes on the site, look in the 'recipes' section or 'what do your meals look like' thread.
    as you have so much to lose you should be able to eat more than most people on here and still have a good loss, just adjust recipe quantities to fit your calorie allowance.

    The things that have helped me most is a food scale and a smaller plate. enter your meals into MFP and adjust portion sizes until it fits your cals allowance for that meal. weigh your food out to match what you entered into MFP, and then use a smaller plate so it looks like you are still having a big, full plate of food (1/2 plate veggies/salad, 1/4 plate carbs,1/4 plate protein is a good place to start :)

    if you want a look at my diary, I still have takeout / treats so I dont feel like i am on a diet, but make other meals smaller / add lots of veggies to balance it out, have been losing 2lb/week doing this.
  • sister_bear
    sister_bear Posts: 529 Member
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    Say no to buffets. They'll get you in trouble every time.

    You can still go out to eat, but why not order off the menu something that's not all you can eat? This will give you portion control, but also save you the trouble of cooking, and still let you get out of the house. You're doing so good all day, I hate to see you blow it on the last meal of the day. Check out my blog for restaurant tips. I travel pretty often so I eat out all the time. I never go to a buffet unless someone else insisted and it's a special occasion. Buffets are bad. I don't even do salad bars. I can't control myself. lol
  • mp15
    mp15 Posts: 8 Member
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    Stay away from carbs and sugars (sauces on meats) for dinner. Don't worry to much about fat and protein, and usually that makes dinner easier. Just grill/dry fry or bake some meat (lean beef, steak, chicken, fish, etc.) and steam some veggies. They have these steamfresh veggies that you can microwave in 5 minutes and you can eat half the bag and its usually less than 100 calories. Also in a pinch, low sugar meal replacement shakes are great, because you know exactly what you are consuming.
  • tuftyclub
    tuftyclub Posts: 11 Member
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    soups are great. You can eat gallons of it and it will satisfy you,

    S
  • tuftyclub
    tuftyclub Posts: 11 Member
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    soups are great. You can eat gallons of it and it will satisfy you,

    S
  • tdmcmains
    tdmcmains Posts: 227 Member
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    I second the soups but, really, why does dinner have to be any different from lunch? If a sandwich can cut it for dinner... meh...
    We do a lot of things like some grilled or sauteed protein of some kind, rice, and veggie. Or like... chop up some chicken and veggies, sautee them in a pan with something to make a sauce (chicken broth and wine, tomatoes, something) and put it on pasta. Or we'll do grilled chicken sandwiches if we need something quick and easy with veggies on the side.
  • fjrandol
    fjrandol Posts: 437 Member
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    I know you said you don't really like to cook, but you might want to consider http://www.thefresh20.com/ or http://e-mealz.com/. Both sites provide meal planning for 5 dinners a week, including sides and shopping lists.

    The Fresh 20 meals are scaled for 4 adults. They try and use ingredients that are in season.

    E-meals has meal plans for 2 adults, and also has options for portion control, low-fat/carb.

    These both require a subscription, but the shopping lists really help keep your spending to a minimum (so you're saving big-time there!), and all of the meals are easy to make. Just something you might want to check out. :-)

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