Good morning everyone. I would love to get your ideas about this.

Adding school to the mix has pretty much completely decemated life as we knew it. On the up side, the two youngest teenagers have started working out, which I am thrilled about. Dinner around here has been "I'm too tired, whatever you can find", and that has to end. The kids are not fond of most things made in the crock pot, my daughter is exceptionally hard to please. I love my electric steamer, and if I pre-prep veggies, can have something steamed in short order. We can only eat so much chicken breast. Any ideas of either made ahead or quick cooking protein sources? I take breakfast and lunch to work and need to keep some variety going there, as well.

I am planning a trip to Costco or Sams shortly, and am more than willing to check their freezer aisle for quick cooking low fat proteins. They used to have some very low fat turkey patties the kids would actually eat.

Thanks,

Dawna

Dawna - good ideas are hbard to come by. Here are things I always have on hand (in random order) - all my dinners are quick and easy.

Freezer: chicken breasts, tilapia fillets, orange roughy, cod, shrimp, Milton's Whole Grain Bread, Thomas' Light Multi-grain English Muffins, chopped onions, peppers
Pantry: Trader Joe's Brushetta (brush 2 tablespoons on each fish fillet or chicekn breast and roast in 400 degree over. Add some Italian herbs, garlic and a teaspoon of panko crumbs), beans, chicken broth and vegetable broth in 1 c cartons and 32 oz cartons, reduced fat whole wheat triscuit, Uncle Ben's Microwave brown rice, artichokes in water, 4 bean salad, different vinegars, olive oil, lots of spices and spice blends.
Refrigerator: chopped garlic in the jar, various mustards, sesame oil (for flavoring only - very strong), grated parmesan cheese, crumbled low fat feta, fresh veggies from Costco - bring home and clean and cut and place in plastic bags with a piece of paper towel (thanks, Racheal Ray), low sodium teriyaki sace, soy sauce, worchesteshire, low fat salad dressings, salad in a bag, shredded carrots, sliced mushrooms, chopped onions, baby carrots, etc

I find foods with high flavor to be more satisfying, so I eat less.

Qiuick meal idea: Spanish style fish or chicken: bring 2 c orange juice, 1/4 c lemon juice, 1/4 c lime juice to boil with 2T chili Powder (yes, 2T) and 2 T chopped garlic. Add 4 fish fillets or chicken breasts - reduce to low 20 minutes for chicken and 10 minutes for fish. Serve in bowl over brown rice. Or, boil a pound of shrimp in this for appetizer at your next pot luck - save the broth for a fish stew later in the week.

Book recommendation: Almost from Scratch by Andrew Schloss. This is an amazing book for busy cooks - use your local grocery store as your prep chef. It has changed my life. The above recipe is adapted (lowered fat mostly) from this book. His deviled chicken, omitting the bacon and cheese is another staple in our home. OK, here it is (my version):

2T spicy brown or Dijon mustard
1T prepared white horseradish
2tsp chinese or Thai chili paste (I use one by Thai Kitchen)
1/2 tsp chopped garlic

mix together - brush over 4 chicken breasts and coat with olive oil spray. Broil 5 minutes per side or bake at 400 for 20 - 25 minutes

Good luck - tell us what works for you!

[edit: 10 minutes for fish, or until it flakes]

Ellen -- those are great ideas!!

I usually try to cook too much of everything when I make a meal to have some left overs for several days... I make a large pot of rice, I will BBQ 3-4 steaks or 3-4 large chicken breasts ... Then for the next few days I will make stir fries with frozen veggies, MrsJim got me onto to the frozen bags of veggies... I'll throw the veggies in a large wok or fry pan with a little olive oil , when they are semi-cooked I will add in some rice and strips of beef or chicken... with soy sauce or other condiments like a little bit of sesame oil... If the kids are fed up of the rice I will make them some oven fries... My D and S prefer to eat raw broccoli so they get alot of that with their chicken or beef ...

I have no real answers as yet. The trip to Costco yielded salmon, extra lean ground beef and boneless pork loin, some apples, broccoli, bread and eggs. A package of chicken breasts roasted with red pepper, celery and onion was dinner for one night and lunch for two days at work. The recent poll about protein powders had me digging out the protein powder, so had that for breakfast today. Also packed some yogurt and frozen berries for a snack at work. All in all, I am already eating better. Not perfectly, but better. Made the kids a meatloaf with roasted potatoes and mushrooms for dinner, along with some steamed broccoli. Actually made menus for the week, and planning is half the battle around here. Stir-fry is on our list for the week. It is a definite family favorite.

Please keep the good ideas coming!

Dawna