[Newmala]

This is going to sound weird...but I'm completely UNMOTIVATED by food. I never have an appetite. I hate preparing food, I hate cooking food, i hate grocery shopping. My whole life I've never been much of an eater. I think I ruined my metabolism early on and that's why I maintain my weight on 800-1000 calories and gain weight if I eat anything more.

I recently started roller derby, hot yoga, working out and working a fast paced job. I know I burn a lot of calories and I also know I'm not getting proper nutrition because I'm perfectly content with eating cereal, granola bars and the occasional piece of fruit...or whatever is left over in the fridge.

Any ideas on quick, nutritios food, snacks, meals would be greatly appreciated!

[KawaiiCandie]

roller derby?!!? omg! so cool! lol.

hmm.... well, i used to be like you, but recently, i've started to enjoy cooking more. Since I'm eating clean now, i make a lot of salads, and stir-frys and things with veggies... and i've started to get really into trying to make my plates "pretty" lol. is that stupid? it makes me enjoy the cooking process more...

i dunno if i can help you with "quick" foods to make, although my suggestion would be to spend an evening (sunday night?) cooking and then pack yourself a bunch of lunches for the week. then you don't have to do anything when you're hungry except to reach into the fridge and put that tupperware in the microwave

the quickest thing ever i could suggest you to cook is, buy some frozen mixed veggies, and some hot-dog sausages, chop-up the sausages and throw everything into a pan/wok for a couple of minutes. delicious and healthy. i sometimes throw in a bit of teriyaki sauce in there for yumminess

as for snacks, just pack little ziplock bags with nuts! quick, great and full of protein!

[LucyOlivia]

KawaiiCandie's suggestion of making a batch of food is the best one I can think of. Me and my friends used to spend Sunday night making a batch of delicious chilli and rice or stir fry and then we would portion it into tupperware boxes and put it in the fridge for the next day or the freezer for later days in the week.

Have you also tried Quorn (or other tofu/soya based meat alternatives)? They take about five minutes to cook with veggies and because it isn't meat you can even cook them in a bowl of water in the microwave. There are burgers, sausages, fillets, steaks, chunks and even 'fish' pies made with veggie meat. I like to get ramen noodles, frozen veggies and veggie 'meat' chunks, put them in some water and microwave them. It's like singapore noodles if you stir some chilli sauce in after you cook them.
Pasta or salad are also great and easy. You can dunk a can of tuna on pasta or salad to make it more nutritious (never skimp on protein).

Good job on taking the first step to proper nutrition! Remember that we're not nutritionists though so if you are having problems with your metabolism you could maybe see a doctor or a dietician?

[angiemama]

The best advice I ever heard was to make the base of any snack a fruit or veggie. So an apple with PB or carrots and non fat ranch or fruit and yogurt with granola

[Doomkitty]

I'm sort of the same way so my breakfast is usually yogurt these days. The most complicated thing I "cook" is a hardboiled egg.

For lunch, to save money and feel like I'm actually being an "adult", I'll eat something I threw on in my crock pot. Last time it was vegetarian chili which I would have made faster if I actually knew how to handle a knife... This time it was veggie stew which, again, wouldn't take long if I knew what I was doing with sharp objects.

[smashlers]

Crock pot chili or taco soup. I use boca crumbles, one can rotel, one can black beans, taco season packet, 1 can hot chili beans, 3 cups water. Boom. Set it on low for 6 hrs. So good.

I think the crock pot saved my life.