I just went to the grocery store to pick up food for starting on Monday and I walked outta there with a box of Splenda.
I have zero cooking skills and all those vegies and meat just confused and depressed me. I've always hated cooking so I simply never did it. I don't have kids, and DH and I ate out every night.
Everyone says just throw together a bit of this and that. I don't know what that means. I have no spices, I don't know how to cook meat. Once in a blue moon DH would BBQ but he's away for 3 weeks and I don't use the BBQ and besides it's getting cold here now.
I don't like eating meat plain -at the very least I need BBQ sauce or teriyaki sauce on it. My coach mentioned soy sauce and garlic but I NEED A RECIPE. How much soy sauce and garlic - do you put it in with the meat or add it after - how do you cook it - how long, in what etc?
I've spent my entire life avoiding cooking with a man who could care less that I don't cook.
I thought IP was all prepackaged foods like Nutri System, I didn't really understand that there was cooking involved.
Sorry for the rant, I'm just depressed and discouraged and frustrated now.
I have all my IP stuff ready to go but I'm stumped with the meat and vegies part - mostly meat.
I have never cooked an egg in my life - I just had to look up how to cook a hard boiled egg - never done it before - never fried an egg, boiled an egg, poached or fried an egg.
If you really have no idea what to do, I'd pick up a good, basic cookbook that will tell you what temp and for how long to cook various meats. We do cook on the grill all year round, even when it's cold and snowy...
Chicken breasts are easy to bake in the oven. You can even buy the bag of frozen chicken breasts and the instructions are on the package - you can cook them right from frozen - no defrosting necessary.
If you need something on your meat, WF makes several barbeque sauces.
Easiest way for veggies is probably to stir fry them in a bit of olive oil - just chop the veggies, put a tablespoon or so of oil in a hot pan, throw in the veggies and cook until they are as tender as you like. I usually throw in one or two cloves of crushed garlic too, when I put the veggies in the pan. I often use just zucchini with red and yellow peppers.
Is there something specific you want to make?? I'm sure someone here can help.
I like to eat grilled chicken. I have a George foreman grill...purchased from target. So I plug that in to warm up(about 5 min or so). While that is warming up, I get out 14 oz of raw chicken (I use the bare chicken brand). I also only buy chicken breast, skinless. Before putting the chicken on the grill, I do rinse it, dry it off with a paper towel & then trim off all off the white stuff (which is the fat). Put it on the grill & close the lid. I leave it for 4 minutes, then open up the grill & flip each piece. Close the grill again, and let them cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes...or until they are not pink. Once they are done, I then add walden farms seasonings...BBQ sauce is a good one!
I was going to suggest the George Forman grill too. My son had never cooked before either and does everything on his grill now. They are not too expensive either.
YOUTUBE! Think of something you want to make, and youtube it. "How to poach an egg" or "How to stir-fry vegetables" or really anything else you want. You'll get the videos along with it so that you can SEE what the finished product should look like. Just be careful that you're not using ingredients that we're not allowed to. Here's a video from Gordon Ramsey about cooking steak in a frying pan. I was a BBQ only kind of gal until I saw this video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FYZHkjgwdc He's got lots of other really great videos too!!!
I think that grill sounds like a very good idea ladies - thank you!!!!
I have a friend that insists that meat has to be marinated ahead of time to have any flavour - is that true? Do you guys marinate and if so, in what - IP legal of course.
I have a friend that insists that meat has to be marinated ahead of time to have any flavour - is that true? Do you guys marinate and if so, in what - IP legal of course.
No! I no longer marinate my meats. Montreal Steak Spice, Salt, Pepper, and a little bit of olive oil will go a long way!
What you need:
1 re-sealable box of chicken broth
2 pounds of chicken breasts (4 decent sized pieces)
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic (the kind that's all chopped up in the jar)
a big frying pan
Add the olive oil to the frying pan and heat on medium-high heat (somewhere in the 6-7 range on the stove dial) for a minute. Add the garlic, let it sizzle, stir it around a few times. Cook about a minute or two, till it browns a little. Add your chicken breasts to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, flip the breasts and cook another 5 minutes. Now, add 1 cup of the chicken broth and 2 cups of frozen broccoli to the pan. Let it start to boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low - just enough heat to keep the liquid bubbling a little. Cover, and let it cook for about 8 minutes. Cut open the chicken to make sure it's not pink inside. Remove veggies from the pan with a slotted spoon.
Have 1 piece of chicken with the broccoli for dinner one night. The next day, cut one chicken breast into pieces and have it over salad with some Walden Farms dressing and chopped bell peppers. For the third piece of chicken, cut it into strips, and fry it in a pan with 1/2 green pepper cut into strips, 1/2 red pepper cut into strips, 2 tsp worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp Fajita seasoning (look for Badia brand, it has no MSG), and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Cook for about 5 minutes until the peppers are a little soft. Wrap the mixture in some big lettuce leaves for a "fajita wrap". The fourth piece can be reheated and then tossed in some Walden Farms BBQ sauce, and served with whatever your favorite veggies are.
Voila - four days of chicken with no dry boring meat!
YOUTUBE! Think of something you want to make, and youtube it. "How to poach an egg" or "How to stir-fry vegetables" or really anything else you want. You'll get the videos along with it so that you can SEE what the finished product should look like. Just be careful that you're not using ingredients that we're not allowed to. Here's a video from Gordon Ramsey about cooking steak in a frying pan. I was a BBQ only kind of gal until I saw this video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FYZHkjgwdc He's got lots of other really great videos too!!!
I just watched that - I LOVE HIM!!! I guessing that butter is a no-no though, right!! But that seems to be the thing with meat - it seems to need SOMETHING (sauce, butter, etc) so it doesn't taste like cardboard.
AWWWW THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I will buy these ingredients tomorrow and make these meals. What a relief, I can breathe again. LOL. The only thing is, I'm in Canada so not sure about the WF products - I did look for them at my supermarket tonight and didn't see them - I'll ask my coach. Same with the Fahita mix - would that be where the taco stuff is sold??
Quote:
Originally Posted by scorbett1103
Ok, first...BREATHE
Here's a simple one for you:
What you need:
1 re-sealable box of chicken broth
2 pounds of chicken breasts (4 decent sized pieces)
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic (the kind that's all chopped up in the jar)
a big frying pan
Add the olive oil to the frying pan and heat on medium-high heat (somewhere in the 6-7 range on the stove dial) for a minute. Add the garlic, let it sizzle, stir it around a few times. Cook about a minute or two, till it browns a little. Add your chicken breasts to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes, flip the breasts and cook another 5 minutes. Now, add 1 cup of the chicken broth and 2 cups of frozen broccoli to the pan. Let it start to boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low - just enough heat to keep the liquid bubbling a little. Cover, and let it cook for about 8 minutes. Cut open the chicken to make sure it's not pink inside. Remove veggies from the pan with a slotted spoon.
Have 1 piece of chicken with the broccoli for dinner one night. The next day, cut one chicken breast into pieces and have it over salad with some Walden Farms dressing and chopped bell peppers. For the third piece of chicken, cut it into strips, and fry it in a pan with 1/2 green pepper cut into strips, 1/2 red pepper cut into strips, 2 tsp worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp Fajita seasoning (look for Badia brand, it has no MSG), and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Cook for about 5 minutes until the peppers are a little soft. Wrap the mixture in some big lettuce leaves for a "fajita wrap". The fourth piece can be reheated and then tossed in some Walden Farms BBQ sauce, and served with whatever your favorite veggies are.
Voila - four days of chicken with no dry boring meat!
I have never cooked an egg in my life - I just had to look up how to cook a hard boiled egg - never done it before - never fried an egg, boiled an egg, poached or fried an egg.
I do NOT enjoy cooking , the easiest way I have found is the crock pot..put some meat and veggies in with a little water and .Mrs Dash ( there are several flavors and they are o cals and carbs) before work and dinner is ready when you are home
The Fajita spice is just a spice blend - check either in the spice aisle of your market, or if there's an "ethnic food" section with spanish brands, that's where I find it at my market. Badia is the brand I use, but if you check the label and just make sure there's no sugar or MSG, any brand is fine. Fajita spice is basically just Chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and oregano. Nothing too fancy
It'd be worth investing in some walden farms products, especially if you like sauces and stuff. I've gotten mine from www.netrition.com but the Canadian folks here may have other sources that are cheaper to ship!
AWWWW THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I will buy these ingredients tomorrow and make these meals. What a relief, I can breathe again. LOL. The only thing is, I'm in Canada so not sure about the WF products - I did look for them at my supermarket tonight and didn't see them - I'll ask my coach. Same with the Fahita mix - would that be where the taco stuff is sold??
Fajita mix -- check with the taco/Mexican foods. I love that you're getting so much great info. You may discover that you like to cook. I know I've picked up cooking skills on this diet that I didn't have before, and I'm so happy about that. I like feeling creative in the kitchen.
For veggies, I love stir frying. I just coat a fry pan with olive oil (I use a spray can) and when it gets hot enough (I splash the barest amount of water on the hot pan to see if it sizzles well enough), I put some chopped up veggies (all the same size) in the pan, and just keep moving the veggies around until they are done like I want. It really doesn't take long at all. I add in garlic and other seasonings if I want.
And I will third a good basic cookbook. I have a few around my house when I want to cook something I don't have a clue on how to do.
I have the cooking skills of a monkey.
