Afraid to share

you can keep your diary private - that way others can't see what your eatng even i they are your friends (they just get the message that you completed it and if applicable, were under your cal goal)

As t learning to coo - are there any classes you could go to - local colleges/schools often run some - or local parenting groups/charities might.

Another idea is to set up a friends cooking group - you each pick one recipe you can make, and teach it to the others. In no time at all you're having a laugh and learning lots of new skills. And everyone can manage to find ONE recipe they can make: try pasta with passata & some diced veg (very yummy & healthy & quick & easy)

I'd be happy for you to add me. I can't suggest any recipes or tips for cooking, but that's because I don't. Like you, I go for affordable convenience - I just make better choices about which convenience foods I go for.
So, if you're looking for someone else that doesn't cook and doesn't care if none of your food is fresh and home-made, add me.

I know how you feel with the cooking...I had A LOT of Hamburger Helper growing up!! (I cannot stand it today!) I am also a very picky eater. My actual cooking usually consists of Tacos, Chili, Spaghetti, Pizza, Chicken and Rice, Meatballs, Mac and Cheese, Grilled Cheese, and summer grilling foods (chicken, steak, hamburgers, hot dogs on the grill). And some of those are barely actually cooking. I often find myself making frozen food items for myself and my family. I have just recently joined the site, I have a few pounds of baby weight that I want to loose, but I also want my kids to grown up eating healthy (I have a 4yo and an 8mo). So I have decided now is the time to do something about it!

I find that most recepies that are out there that look good always end up having things that I don't like in them...mushrooms, onions, sour cream, peppers, nuts, mayo, cream cheese...the list goes on and on. I see all these pictures of foods that look good, but looking at the ingredients I always think 'Eww Gross!' I don't know if you are familiar with the website pinterest, but I have recently started really looking on there for simple healthy meals and I have started making a list. My goal this summer is to try a bunch of new recepies with my family and see which ones we all like. I am then going to print out and put together this meal planner (http://boldturquoise.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/putting-together-your-meal-plan-binder-for-the-year/#entry) and hope that this helps me make better choices than the drive thru when it comes to dinner for my family. (I don't think I could actually plan out the entire year, but I am going to shoot for a month to month planning.)

Dont be afraid to share your logs, I have really seen a lot of encouragement on this website, sometimes when we are struggling to make good choices it is nice to have someone that can give us ideas to help us change or even to simply tell us they believe in us and that we can do better tomorrow. 8-) And as others have said if you are not comfy sharing your logs quite yet you can keep them private for as long as you would like. 8-)

Hey there! There's no need to be ashamed of not knowing how to cook. Everyone has to start somewhere. I'm no cooking connoisseur but having been brought up learning to cook yummy but not super healthy foods, I've had to adjust to having to cooking healthy meals for one. Now I find it easier cooking small amounts of food because I know how much food is enough for just me. I find if I make larger meals so I have left overs I'm tempted to go for unnecessary seconds.

One tip I have for cooking for yourself is to portion your meat as soon as you get home from the shops. I usually find that eating a certain amount of protein with a meal makes me fuller for longer. My portions are usually around 100-150 grams (sorry I don't know ounces or pounds) but you could have more if you work out a lot.

Also, you can't go wrong with fresh fruit and veg. There are so many great vegetables out there to help compliment a meal. If you like really simple meals, you could just do some grilled or steamed chicken or fish with some steamed vegies (that have been lightly salted before cooking to bring out the taste). You don't have to go overboard with the veg, I found a little can go a long way. I find that 50-100 grams or about a 1/2 cup-1 cup each of 2-4 different types of vegetables is plenty for a meal.

Next easiest thing to do is stirfries, brown (not burn, lol) a portion meat in a pan or wok and add some veg like snowpeas, broccoli, capsicum (aka peppers), baby corn, zucchini, garlic (I love garlic, its so yummy!) and a tablespoon or two of soy sauce, and you've got a great, healtht meal right there! Of course I encourage you to look up recipes, there are so many great one floating all over the internet.

If your ever stuck for a meal idea, feel free to message me, I always have one or two up my sleeve, and you can always adapt them to your own tastes and what you have on hand.

Hope this helps you a bit. Good luck!!

You sound exactly like me with the not knowing how to cook and keeping your diary rpivate! Feel free to add me if you'd like. One thing I did find is that I bought a cheap slow cooker and started making stews in that- you can buy cheap veg and cheap meat and just chop it up and chuck it in. I'm sure you can do a lot more with it but it's a good start!

I kept my diary private until I worked out the kinks in my meal plan. I usually have a 1/4 c egg substitute on an English muffin for breakfast (all I do is toast the muffin, and microwave the egg in a small bowl sprayed with Pam) and I microwave soup for lunch (Campbell's Select Harvest has some good lo-cal ones, a couple even have 50 cals per cup) and a light sandwich for lunch. When I cook dinner, I usually try to find at least one new recipe to try with my family each week, sometimes they are "keepers" and sometimes we decide to never have it again. It's trial and error! Start with recipes you know you like and build from there. There are also a lot of prepackaged healthy snacks, and fruits and veg don't require a lot of effort. You can do this!

Don't post very much but hope I might be able to help! I now prepare from fresh almost entirely, but when I started at university and a bit years ago, I survived on cheese toasties and takeaways (and put on about 21lb). What I'd suggest is starting out with some dried pasta and a sauce in a jar. Cook the pasta exactly following the instructions, heat up the sauce in a pan or the microwave and you're done. You can then move on to adding bits to the sauce, like mushrooms, or frying a little bacon to go alongside it. Gradually, you'll feel confident enough to move onto things that are more ambitious.

If you follow the instructions, there's very little that can go wrong and the worst that can happen is you end up throwing it out and eating the convenience food - which is no worse than where you started in any case!

Hope that helps - feel free to add me if you want to have a look at the things I make

OP - after reading your post I just want to give you a big hug. :flowerforyou:

OP - after reading your post I just want to give you a big hug. :flowerforyou:

Me too!! :flowerforyou:

Feel free to add me! I basically taught myself now that I'm living on my own how to cook certain meals and prepare stuff that's actually edible to others as well. Took a while and a lot of recipe searching on the food network or in cookbooks (or even asking my parents for tips even though I tried to do stuff on my own), but I've finally got it down for the most part. Plus, I know what it's like to just cook for yourself and start portioning stuff now... took me forever to get that skill.

With time and patience, you get better at it. Cooking isn't a natural ability you're born with, you just kinda figure it out through trial and error. If you need tips, I'm always here to help!

Remember, you got this! No one will scold you because of your habits and if they do, they need to take a good look in the mirror and realize that their insecurities with their weight have also led them to this site for one reason or another, too. No one is perfect, but we all deserve to be happy! :happy: