Because of my schedule it does not allow me to cook. Looking for more ideas on what I can eat and opinions on what I have choosen to eat or things to watch out for. I plan to try to eat every two hours smaller meals, and not eat anything after 6.
General food ideas
Boiled Eggs
Strawberries
Peaches
Watermelon
Cucumbers
Low fat dressing
Yogart, with maybe some granola cerial in it.
Jelly toast
Special K cerial
Lean cuisine frozen dinners
Skim Milk
Diet soda
Pretzels
carrots
celery
Well, with no cooking I think you may get very hungry eventually.
I know a lot of us are busy, but I would say a good thing to do would be to make food and freeze it.
For example, a small lasagna with x-lean beef, whole wheat noodles and low fat cheese. Low fat meatballs. Grilled chicken breasts that can be mixed with rice, salad, made into a sandwich. Lean turkey or beef burgers. The other day I put beef, veggies and beef broth in the slow cooker and it went all night while I slept and I had supper for the next day.
I've taken burgers, a slice of lasagna, and beef stew (well, stew if the broth was thicker, next time) to work with veggies or soup, nuked it and I was good to go.
Part of what I've found is that if you find a way to make it yourself -- and it does take time and planning -- you can just eat so much more and it tastes so much better.
I'd really encourage you to try and work some cooking in, even if it's only one day a week where you do many dishes.
Glad steamer bags have been a huge help to me. I steam different types of veggies in them often. It is fast and easy. I also buy the packages of veggies that are ready to steam. They are expensive but I am paying for the convenience.
I hear ya on the fast & easy, everyone's so busy these days -- prepackaged meals are fine for once in a while when you're on the run, or for lunch some day when you forget, but a steady diet of it gets old FAST, and there's a lot of hidden sodium in that stuff (found that out the hard way LOL) The thing that saved my life was setting aside some time (some say weekend, but i found tuesday from about 5 - 730 is perfect for me!) where I cook something big and grill a ton of chicken breast. Just having pre-portioned baggies of cooked chicken breasts is AWESOME!! you can pick up a salad pretty much anywehre these days, toss some chicken on, a bun out of the freezer too and Bob's yer uncle! yay! While the chicken's cooking, I usually make a ginormous pot of veggie soup to put in small containers to always have on the go. It's a little thing but it REALLLLLLLLLLY helps. There's nothing worse than getting home tired and cranky and then having to think of dinner. Sometimes i grab the soup AND the chicken and mix them because i'm too tired for anything else. Spaghetti sauce (1/2 ground beef & 1/2 ground turkey) is good too... lots of great ideas around this board!!!
Batch cooking is one. I took a 10 pound box of chicken breasts, baked them all with various seasonings and then chopped and froze 1 cup portions for on top of salads, in pita bread, on bagels, quick stir fries, fajita's... that sort of thing.
I also make large batches of ground chicken meat sauce and freeze into smaller portions.
You NEED to EAT to lose weight. Fruit and the occasional granola is NOT going to cut it. It sounds like you believe that to lose weight you have to eat hardly anything and be totally deprived of not only junk but REAL FOOD! I know you can do this but you have to make it healthful at the same time.
Okay see what Trazey wrote? She's lost over 80 lbs. See what I wrote? I've lost almost 120. We EAT. Real food. Often. You can do this but you have to love your body and nourish your body
I don't think you have enough protein in there to keep you not hungry and healthy. Here are some other ideas:
chicken breasts - cook several at once, reheat them later. I put dijon mustard on them or a little barbeque sauce. You can also chop them up and add them cold to a salad
String cheese - great snack on the go
Nuts - in moderation, they will help keep you full when the rest of what you are eating like veggies and fruit might not. Almonds and walnuts are great, just don't overdo
Beans - black beans heated up in the microwave with a little salsa on them are good
I also don't see any fiber in there, which not only keeps you regular but also helps keep you full. Whole grains are best.
Cook up a big batch of oatmeal and grab a scoop, microwave with a little milk and eat for breakfast
Cook up a big batch of brown rice and keep it in the fridge. Also microwaves quickly.
Vegetables. Roast a big pan of them (peppers, squash, broccoli, carrots, zucchini. etc.) in the oven for 45 minutes and keep in the fridge to either heat up and eat later or add cold to salads.
Also Special K has nothing special in it that makes it a diet food. It's a marketing thing. How about a high fiber cereal instead? Shredded wheat, Fiber One, Kashi Go Lean. All are better for you in terms of necessary fiber than Special K.
Fast and easy really appeals to me too. I also batch cook. Last night I boiled eggs, cooked a pot of oatmeal and made a bunch of brown rice with my rice cooker. It was the first time I used it and it was awesome. It cooked the rice and automatically knew when it was done. It was so easy! I also love tuna packets and sliced chicken as quick protein snacks but can be salty. I grill up a bunch of chicken breasts for during the week, great for salads, wraps, fajitas. I also portion out my grapes, cherries and almonds as quick snacks. Planning ahead easy and healthy options for me keeps me on plan.
yes yes, the rice!! i forgot that and wanted to add it but CLCS beat me to it lol - again, nothing worse than tossing something on the bbq and it's done in 15 mins but the rice takes a friggin hour LOL Let it cook when you're doing other stuff (i like to do it while vacuuming and dusting, times out perfectly!) I toss in frozen veg when it's done, some corn/peas/green beans and freeze in containers - nuke it for a minute and you're golden! yay! i'm so excited you're getting these ideas and you can EAT SOME REAL FOOD!!!! I'm not picking on your plan, i just want you to be successful and believe me I've failed a BILLION times doing just that - eating a lean cuisine and a granola bar for days on end til i snapped and ate McDonalds...
seriously...not a mcdonald's meal....the ENTIRE MCDONALDS FOOD CHAIN!!! hahahahahah i'm kinda not kidding
also breakfast is a biggie - i never really believed it but turns out everyone's right! I can't stomach hot foot at breakie, so my fav is a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese (can keep it at work! yay!) and some yummy fruit...
God, the Special K marketing company deserves some kind of AWARD. In my opinion only, the stuff is about as filling and nutritious as air.
Definitely, second/third/fourth the suggestions for batch cooking. I make an awesome spinach/zucchini/leek/tomato/chickpea soup that takes about 30 minutes to make and lasts for multiple meals. It tastes better the next day!
Other easy stuff:
Omelets
Veggie tacos - Nuke 2 morning star farms veggie burgers, crumble. Heat 3 La Tortilla factory tortillas (50 calories each), top with salsa, chopped roma tomato, some kinda green, a sprinkle of low fat cheese - yum...dinner in less than 5 minutes.
Oh my, that soup sounds wonderful, Glory! As does yours Trazey!
Do we have a recipe thread or section to the site? I love to cook--though time this month is at a premium.
ETA: Thanks Shannon!
To the OP:
I know you mentioned in another thread that you feel you have to eat this way because your husband doesn't cook and you don't have time once you get home from work with your cut-off time at 6pm.
Why do you think you shouldn't eat after 6pm? As long as you don't consume the bulk of your calories in the evening, you'll be OK. Do some more research on this if you need to.
If it were true that you could lose weight with a proper meal, even if you ate it after six, would you do it?
If it were true that you will not be able to stay on a weight loss plan if you don't eat a proper meal and don't eat after six, would you still do it?
Last edited by Alana in Canada; 06-04-2009 at 03:59 PM.
I eat a lot of Kashi Go Lean & Go Lean Crunch, sometimes with lowfat vanilla yogurt and whatever fruit I have close at hand. Typically blueberries, raspberries or strawberries.
Quick easy foods
