Well sure. How about calorie counting. It's better life training anyway. You buy the actual foods and make the actual meals.
I could try that, it's an idea, but my cooking skills lack, to put it mildly. I forgot to get that "girls are natural born cooks" gene when I was born. but perhaps learning to cook ain't such a bad idea.
you can do it! I just started cooking 7 months ago! Here is some of the stuff I do:
Scrambled eggs (sometimes with chopped up turkey bacon or sausage)
salmon patties (kind of like crab cakes): canned salmon, egg white (all fluffy) some ff mayo, lemon pepper and bread crumbs. mixed in a mixer. make into patties. Broil 7 min each side. W/ homemade tarter sauce (mayo, relish, lemon juice)
chicken burritos (cook chicken breast in the microwave, chop or shred, cook on stove with taco seasoning, and a can of corn and black beans. Wrap in tortilla.
open face turkey sandwich (sliced turkey, cranberry sauce, bread)
grilled salmon (on george forman with a bit of lemon juice) and a sweet pototato (microwaved)
lettuce wraps (brown ground beef or turkey, add soy sauce and chopped pecans. Serve with lettuce leaves.
Homemade pizza (greek pita bread, pizza sauce (jar), canadian bacon, part skim mozz cheese. Sprinkle with garlic powder and basil. Cook for 10 min under broiler. Top with fresh tomato slices.
Cous cous: put 1 cup broth, 2 tbsp smart balance, and a few herbs and spices (I usually grab garlic, rosemary, parsley, onion powder). But in microwave for 1 min.
Take out. Stir in 1 cup of cous cous. cover and let stand 5 min
Don't be afraid to learn how to cook. As you mentioned, meal delivery systems are pricey. But more important, it keeps you dependent on others for your dietary decisions. Take control - it's so freeing and definitely not as daunting as it may seem. You'll be whipping up delicious, healthy meals in no time. I just picked up a copy of the magazine CLEAN EATING while in the
bookstore. Great recipes and if you can read you can cook. Just follow the directions. Maybe that would be a good place for you to start. Sure, there
might be a failure or two, but you will be learning a new skillset that will serve you well for life. Good Luck.
Slim 4 life actually works and it costs around 600 to join which sucks. BUT you can find people selling the program info on ebay (not saying it's right but they are doing it) and purchase the bars and snacks online at nashua nutrition (google it). Just an idea if money is an issue.
My husband and I are on a relatively slim budget (we're both on disability). We can and like to cook, but because of our health issues also have to take advantage of a lot of easy-to-prepare, not-really-cooking-at-all meals.
We've learned thousands of ways to cut corners when it comes to food costs and food preparation.
There are times when we do absolutely no real "cooking" for days (if not weeks).
Counting plans whether they be calories, weight-watcher's points, fat grams, carbohydrate grams, or exchanges (my preference) are all low-cost options. All the information is available for free online (Weight Watcher's isn't free, but their current and past program information is. All you need is online access or a library card).
It may not seem like, because it seems like (and is) a drop in the bucket compared to all of the information on eating unhealthy, or dieting expensively, but there really is tons and tons of resources for budget-dieting.
It's only a matter of seeking them out (and learning where to look). They're not hard to find (especially if you have online access), but does take a little effort and practice.
You have to look at grocery shopping, food preparation and eating for health and wieght loss a little differently. Making it an enjoyable challenge as much a possible, works better than viewing it as a miserable, impossible chore.
To get you started, you might be interested in the shoestring-meals forum, where we share money-saving tips and recipes.
Definitely calorie counting. It's free, and it makes you realllllly conscious of everything you put in your mouth (in a good way!) The only problem at first is figuring out how many calories you should eat per day for sustained, steady weight loss and adjusting once you start to drop pounds. But once you figure out your BMR and fiddle around with your daily caloric intake based on that, it's super easy. Kind of fun, too!
Calorie counting! I throw together a lot of things, since hate *waiting* for things to cook.
I learned a lot of things on the internet about cooking - I used to refuse to, because I used to feel pressured to because I was a woman, therefore I *had* to know how. No way.
I got over it, obviously, and I feel really satisfied with calorie counting in terms of mainenance and weight loss.
You don't have to be able to cook complicated things in order to calorie count. I prep meat: baked chicken breasts and pork tenderloin, very lean beef browned, drained, and rinsed, and then I eat that with things that don't need prep work: raw carrots and strawberries, instant oatmeal, string cheese, apple sauce.
Start clicking on "fitday" links under people's avatars to see all the different things people eat. Many of them don't require much cooking.
Most grocery stores have pre-marinated meats, rotisserie chickens, steam in the bag veggies, and bagged salads. You don't need to pay for an expensive program! You just need to plan a little. There is a plethora of books available. Check out the offerings at your library. A bit of research will go a long way to a lot of success! Good luck!
Reasonable cost diets.
but perhaps learning to cook ain't such a bad idea.
