meal planning

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tgray69
tgray69 Posts: 16 Member
in Food and Nutrition
planning meals for next week. I know it's just food but I get bored easily and it can be overwhelming. I don't want to spend hours in kitchen or eat same thing for lunch and dinner all week but it's hard planning for me. I've been doing it off and on since 2004 so I should have the hang of it. Any suggestions?

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  • busyPK
    busyPK Posts: 3,788 Member
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    Take a loook at the recipe section on here - lots of great ones posted. Also, check out skinnytaste.com for some yummy, healthy recipes. :smile:
  • anulle2009
    anulle2009 Posts: 580 Member
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    i agree with the above. Also try sits like eatbetteramerica, skinny taste, eat yourself skinny
  • morgansmom02
    morgansmom02 Posts: 1,139 Member
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    skinnytaste.com has great crockpot recipes!
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
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    Cook extra of the stuff you enjoy, I make up a double or triple batch of pancakes, they'll do for a couple weeks (freezing them separated by wax paper they warm up in the toaster just fine like eggo's or waffles...) cook once covers meals for a good stretch.
    Big batch of soup toss whatever in the pot, my last one had stewing beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, barley, a rice blend... more veggies that I can't recall... was excellent and warming, it portions out nice.
  • FatNurseSlim
    FatNurseSlim Posts: 64
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    My best advice is not wasting left overs, im in the habit now of sticking left over bolognaises/ soups/curries etc into tuppaware and straight into the freezer even if its only a small portion it can top a jacket potatoe or be a light lunch

    I swear by this as i work shifts, and previously used to just bin left over food and hit the canteen for chips !
  • laurenkoszola
    laurenkoszola Posts: 101 Member
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    skinnytaste.com has great crockpot recipes!

    ^^Agreed! I have used several of her crockpot recipes and they all have been a huge success! Especially when I'm the only healthy one in the house!! Also thinking/planning your meals ahead is great for making sure you are on track with your weight loss as well. And leftovers!
  • sciencenerd2011
    sciencenerd2011 Posts: 37
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    We are having these next week:
    1) Buttermilk roasted chicken: http://smittenkitchen.com/2012/01/buttermilk-roast-chicken/
    2) Enchilada casserole (Cooking Light) http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/enchilada-casserole-50400000118573/
    3) Sausage Ragu over creamy polenta (Cooking Light) http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sausage-ragu-creamy-polenta-50400000118618/
    4) Low fat baked ziti with spinach http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/09/low-fat-baked-ziti-with-spinach.html
    5) Greek chicken with cous cous (this one is from the American Heart association).

    I plan my meals one week ahead of time--it helps me stay on track. All of these things are less than 400 calories per serving.

    Good luck! (PS. I also love skinnytaste.com and Cooking Light)
  • moujie
    moujie Posts: 229
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    whole chicken in the crock pot. I have a huge one so I use a roaster chicken which is nice because it has a little pop-up hoogie to tell you when it's done. I chop an onion, maybe some potato, put it in the bottom, chicken on top, 1/4 cup (that's really all you need) of water and cook it on low for like 6 - 8 hours. makes delish chicken for the first night's meal (plus lots of stock), then you can do all sorts of recipes the rest of the week quickly and easily with your pre-cooked chicken. viola.
  • tgray69
    tgray69 Posts: 16 Member
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    Thank you for the wonderful ideas and suggestions. I have looked at skinnytaste in the past but never tried any b/c alot were too many ingredients. I will give it another chance.
  • pdworkman
    pdworkman Posts: 1,342 Member
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    I have been using the meal planning on BigOven.com. Generates a shopping list and everything. I am gradually learning how much to make in a week, because there are leftovers that needs to be eaten up too!

    Pam
  • RillSoji
    RillSoji Posts: 376 Member
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    I like skinny taste, big oven and eating well. Use them all the time for ideas. And I also have a tendacy to pick up cookbook/magazines when I'm at the checkout. Any recipe can be tweaked to be healthier. ~_^ If you're interested I post my menu plans on my blog every week. Some recipes take some time but for the most part I keep it to 30 minutes active time.
    http://rillsmenu.blogspot.com/
  • mamaparks87
    mamaparks87 Posts: 54 Member
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    tgray- I use skinny taste and I agree some of the recipes call for a lot of ingredients. What I do is make a few of her recipes in one week that use common ingredients. Also, a lot of the things you might have to get are one time buys that last quite a long time- curry powder, fish sauce, soy sauce, etc. A lot of the things I always have on hand like salt and pepper and chicken broth. It is worth it and you will enjoy her recipes so much you will make them over and over!

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