Does anyone eat the same thing every day?
 

Basically I'm looking for some food ideas that are healthy (not low calorie/diet foods) that I can use for a staple fall back on food every day... something I can make a batch of on Sunday, pre-measure serving sizes, and grab when I'm hungry. Honestly I am happy eating the same thing every meal for every day... I just need to know that all the nutrients are coming in, and it needs to be ready prepared one or two days a week. I need simple ingredients. I am just tired... I need energy food. I cut caffeine out a few days ago and I know that is still wearing off but

What are your best go-to meals that you can cook in advance and portion out? We are low income and I'm looking for something with simple ingredients that are easy to come by and will fill me up and have lots of nutrients/vitamins. I want to aim for around 1500 calories a day right now I think and see where that takes me.

My go-to, easy repeat meals are always chicken breast and salad.

When chicken breasts are a good price, I buy as much as I can. I split them up into 2 or 3 servings (If they are particularly large breasts, I'll slice them in half) and freeze in ziploc bags. Then I get all the veggies I like in salad. (Pretty basic, varying combinations of: Spinach, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes, mushrooms, snap peas, sweet peppers and radishes) As soon as the rest of the groceries are put away, I start slicing and dicing! I dice peppers, julienne carrots etc etc.

You can cook your chicken breasts a day or two in advance if you need too. I have a little indoor grill that I often use in the winter to cook up chicken quick. Summer time means real BBQ-ing!

Also, I regularly buy whole rotisserie chickens. We have it for dinner with a salad the first night. Then I shred the rest up, with a whole bunch of grated carrots and some BBQ sauce and we have that with spinach and cheese on a bun or a wrap. One chicken can be up to 5 servings (there are two of us)

Other make a bunch at a time meals I like are

Chili - You can make so much, do it so many ways and it always good. I fill my freezer with it regularly.

Soup - My personal favorite is a broccoli cheddar chowder. Filling and delicious. I also like to keep this on hand whenever possible Home-made heat and eat can't be beat ;)

Do you have a slow cooker? If so that can open a whole new world of ready to eat meals for you too. Google freezer dump meals!

I'm a batch cooker/freezer, just for this reason. I grocery shop based on about 8 dishes, cook them all, freeze them in individual portions and I'm all set for about 2-3 weeks.

Soup, chili, and stew are the easiest to cook and freeze in portions. It's how I grab and go everyday for breakfast and lunch.

Other one pot meals like noodles/veggies/meat or rice/veggies can be cooked and put into single servings.

Casseroles are super easy if you freeze them for a few hours until semi frozen, then cut into squares and freeze in a large baggie, side by side. The possibilities are endless, but I like things like noodle-less lasagna, layered enchiladas (bean, chicken, corn, etc between corn tortilla layers), chicken divan, shepherd's pie, etc.

Frozen burritos are really easy and they can be either breakfast burritos or any other kind with your choice of fillings. Just cook the fillings, put them into high fiber tortillas with a bit of cheese, roll, and freeze onto a sheet pan seam side down. Once frozen just baggie them into a freezer bag.

I also like to make things into individual servings like meatloaf, mini lasagnas, frittatas/crustless quiche in muffin tins (or even mini muffin tins!). You can freeze them too.

I also make things like meatballs, chicken nuggets, and cheese sauce to freeze for my little one - they're all 50% veggies :)

ETA I have exact recipes if you're interested. I'll post a link to where I posted it before.

Munchy, I'd love to see any recipes you have posted. If I can spend a day preparing food and be set for 2-3 weeks aside from the fresh salads and veggiesand chicken that Silverfire mentioned. That sounds like the kind of cooking I am interested in! If you have your recipes or shopping list posted anywhere I would love to see what your go-tos are. I really need some inspiration and a simple start to get on the ball here. Also your veggie chicken nuggets sound like a great idea for my toddler. She has her on and off days with veggies but would love a quick thing that I could freeze and reheat for her if we are in a rush.

I'm happy to share! I posted it here before, so I'll just link to the post.

My go-to foods vary, but there are always at least 2 big pots of soup in a cooking weekend, always meatballs and chicken nuggets, marinara and cheese sauce if I don't have any on hand (I cook big batches maybe every 6-8 weeks). I try to have some kind of burger (veggie or turkey/veggie), a chili variation, and a bean (dal with cauliflower, puerto rican or cuban style beans), and I usually have frozen rice on hand too so I can take some rice and scoop it onto my saucy bean dish.

Before I was gluten free, I would just throw together one pot meals with pasta, with or without meat and cheese, plenty of veggies, etc. Rice or grains work well for that too, and you can freeze them into portions. Lasagna rolls or stuffed shells freeze wonderfully on a cookie sheet - If I didn't explain it, the reason why you use the cookie sheet is so that the food freezes individually instead of being stuck together, and you can take out what you need at a time.

It really saves me so much money and time. I spend around $90 for 2-3 weeks of food for a family of 3!

THANK YOU! I am going to read this list with a pen and paper in hand and jot some notes. Hoping to go grocery shopping tomorrow to stock some different foods that I can work with here...

And we have about 100lb of yellow squash in the freezer still from garden season (narrowed down from about 200lb) which I need to use up before June when they start ripening again! Can't wait to try that idea for chicken nuggets. I think my daughter will love them.

You're welcome! When I make my grocery list, I basically just jot down my dishes on the top, then list the ingredients on the bottom that I'm missing. Then I add in the things I always need (milk, eggs, etc).

To use up the squash, I'll suggest squash fritters and cream of squash soup (you can usethis recipe and swap out the zucchini).

Let me know how your little one likes the nuggets! Mine devours them - as does my boyfriend haha!

I have some things that I tend to eat over and over again:

Rotisserie chicken - I cut pieces off and then take about 2 ounces and some fat free shredded cheese and put in a tortilla (whole grain) and fold it over and melt the cheese to make a quesadilla. I put sriracha sauce in it also.

I like a lot flavors so I make a meal of the following combined in a bowl - The exact items and proportions vary depending on how many calories I have available - roasted chicken or turkey breast (cut up in pieces - usually about 2 ounces, but sometimes none at all), 1/2 cup to 1 cup berries, 2 to 6 triscuits, WW jalapeno cheese stick (cut up), 1/2 ounce of chopped walnuts or almonds (omit if I don't have many calories left).

Pizza - I buy a very then whole wheat crust, spread with laughing cow lite cheese, thin layer of pizza sauce, some cooked chicken, some cut up veggies, maybe some fat free feta. Again I can vary this depending on what I have on hand.

Tuna Salad - tuna in pouch packed in water, a little bit of Reduced fat olive oil mayo, 1 chopped up egg, sugar free relish (just a little). If in a hurry, omit the egg

Burrito - 1 egg, 2 egg whites scrambled with some chopped veggies, and maybe a little chopped turkey or chicken (or not), sriracha sauce, wrap up in a whole wheat tortilla

DH for breakfast makes oatmeal with fat free Greek yogurt and fresh berries.

I don't do a ton of batch cooking, but a bit. Can I suggest looking up the cookbook "Well Fed"? Phenomenal recipes focused on just the thing you're wanting, not low calorie or low fat but highly nourishing and delicious. Melissa did a great job.

I eat the same things over and over. I'm perfectly happy doing it. But I don't cook, so I'm not that much help to you.

Beans and veggies in a tortilla with guacamole and sriracha is my go-to meal. And lots of big salads.

Whatever is handy stuffed into a whole wheat pita pocket is also a big go-to.

I love finding a few foods I like and eating them repeatedly for weeks on end. Some of my past go-to's have included: Fage Greek yogurt with honey, nectarines, apples, pears, peaches, luna bars, chobani coconut yogurt, cheddar cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs, veggie burger with honey mustard, onion, and spinach in a wheat wrap, Ezekiel toast with sliced avacado and hot sauce or honey, spinach and arugala salad with dried cranberries, goat cheese, pecans, and onions. I also like a whole wheat English muffin with tomato sauce topped with cheese and veggies.

Lately I'm into the whole foods 360 individual sized vegan pizzas-150 calories!

I eat the same exact lunch every day (at least every weekday): turkey sandwich on multigrain bread with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green pepper, sprouts, and hot sauce. The guys who make the sandwiches at my office cafeteria start making it when they see me coming. I have eaten this same thing for lunch every day for something like four years. Amazingly I am not tired of it - actually it remains a highlight of my day! I sometimes eat turkey sandwiches on the weekends too. I just don't tire of them.

I am also a big batch cooker - I do nearly all my cooking on weekends, and occasionally supplement by chopping up a quick salad or cooking up an extra veggie during the week. Stews are great for this. I often make a big pot of dal which lasts me into the week. Or, pan-sear up a bunch of fish fillets rubbed with spices. Roast a big tray of vegetables. Make a big chopped salad (salads without lettuce keep better than salads with lettuce). Chicken curries sometimes too. I have adapted a Moroccan recipe so that it is now basically drop a whole chicken in a Dutch oven with some spices and cook it for a little while, then shred the meat off the chicken and mix it in with the gravy formed in the pan. I can try to offer more specific recipes if you like, later today, but these are the basic ideas.

I eat a lot of the same meals but not always the same. I also do some batch cooking such that there is always a container of a grain and a bean dish in the fridge.

I also eat a lot of avocados so I keep avocados handy plus I like wraps for lunch so I keep wraps in the fridge. I also bake my own bread so a loaf of bread is in the fridge as well as hummus. My favorite wrap for lunch is hummus, sprouts (if I have them) and avocado :) A favorite breakfast of mine is bread with hummus and tomato slices. Hummus is pretty good all around and fairly easy to make.

Also, we eat a lot of green veggies so I buy a variety of greens.

If I want a lazy meal, I will put some cooked rice, diced firm tofu (not previously cooked), chopped greens and some chili garlic sauce in a bowl and heat it in the microwave.

I'm like silverfire! I prep salads a couple of times a week. One thing that helps is I buy those large bags of whole romaine hearts. On Sunday I usually wash and clean all the salad leaves and then chop and spin dry. Then I place them in a large tupperwear container lined with paper towels and I have the bulk of my salad ready all week. I keep chopped peppers, cucumbers, canned beans, etc ready and on hand to throw into the salad.

Supermarkets make wonderful rotisserie chickens and I throw some in there too. Or frozen shrimp, easily defrost and sautee.

I have go-to breakfasts, mostly yogurt or hard boiled eggs. I have a protein bar that I take with me if I'm in a rush.

I keep portioned out frozen soups like lentil. I also keep several quarts of home made stock which can easily be turned into a yummy soup for lunch.

I've been hopping around trying different types of diets lately. I'm now back to whole foods vegan. I bake up a batch of potatoes at the beginning of the week. Nothing is easier than a cold potato with mustard on it, with veggies on the side.

I try to vary things a little bit, even if it's how I arrange it on the plate, so I don't get too bored with food and return to eating the bad fast food stuff.
But I repeat A LOT anyway. Because I don't like to cook.

I don't do much batch cooking- but I do often eat the same things every day.

Breakfast for me 99% of the time is oatmeal (VERY inexpensive, quick, and easy!!) with a tablespoon of sunflower butter and banana or some other fruit.

Lunch for me is almost always crackers with cheese and some raw veggies & a V8.

I used to do 1/2c rice with some veggies- heat, then crack an egg over it and stir it in- toss back in the microwave a min if not hot enough to cook the egg through.

As has been said- chili & soups are awesome for this. As is a big batch of chicken and rice & veggies.

OMG, I would love that! Never thought to add an egg. I would probably use brown rice, and maybe use egg substititute instead of a whole egg.

Food and cooking is such a pleasure for me and I always say you get 2000 calories a day and they can be different every day! While I, too, love chicken breasts there is a wide world beyond them.

With that said we all fall to favorites. I eat oatmeal often, too and make the steel cut 4 servings at a time adding various dried fruit while cooking (blueberries, cherries, golden raisins) and topping with toasted almonds. I do various toasted nuts in small batches and store in little jars to top on salads, too.

I love arugula. I put a handful on almost an plate even if I don't really make a salad with slices of red onion, halved grape tomatoes, a few shavings of Asiago or Romano or whatever cheese I have, fresh lemon squeezed, generous salt and pepper and a tiny bit of olive oil. Yum.

Another great combo over salad greens is ruby grapefruit and avocado. I use lime plus squeeze of the remaining grapefruit juice after segmenting it, a but of honey, olive oil, the toasted almonds and often chicken. Very good!

I love to cook so I peruse the Epicurious app and search on healthy dinners and add them to my saved list for easy reference before I go shopping, pick out a few and shop for them. I've been doing stir fries this year, got a nice wok and almost anything can be quick prepared.

I have been doing some Thai cooking with the lite coconut milk make up a quick broth with lime and jalapeño over simple sautéed fish or coconut chicken soup. (From epicurious recipes)

If I decide what I want to cook in the morning and just set the ingredients out or chop a few things, it makes dinner prep autopilot that helps me, too.

I eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch everyday during the week. I make sure I have the stuff and just throw it together out of habit now.

I make instant steel cut oats in the microwave with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and poach an egg.

While the water is egg is poaching, I put together my salad for lunch. I have a square Rubbermaid container, I fill it up with spring mix, add some sprouts, put in a tablespoon of Italian dressing and a table spoon of balsamic vinegar. I bring along either a pouch of salmon, a tin of smoked oysters or an avocado and add that when I'm ready to eat lunch. I take along a couple of pieces of fruit for a snack.

The key for me is having my supplies on hand, my lunch bag and container for salad clean, so in the morning I can make a cup of coffee, throw my stuff together without a lot of fuss and bother, nothing throws me off track like not having stuff prepared.

I have also made the big batch of soup with quinoa, broccoli, etc. and taken a container, again, no problem with eating the same thing for days in a row.

One thing I do as well is when I have a new container, I'll measure out something and put it in to see what that measurement looks like in the container so I don't have to measure everyday. Like with my soup container I measure out cup of water and put it in so I could see where a cup came to in the container, I put a couple tablespoon measuring spoons in the same spot in the drawer and use those to measure out my dressing and coffee creamer...wow am I anal....oh well, it's working :D

best of luck to you :sunny: got some great new ideas from this thread, thanks!

kelijpa, I'm the same as you! I use a couple old medicine cups, like for Nyquil, and use those for my creamer and salad dressing.

I must have my food prepared before I leave for work each day. I never did this before, until a few years ago! It's so worth it to make my salad that morning then I either grab a frozen meal or some frozen, cooked chicken, a yogurt, fruit, and I keep my FF/ LF dressings at work in the fridge.

I for sure eat terribly worse if I don't take my lunch and leave to pick up food. I also keep a few frozen Lean Cuisines/ Smart Ones in the work freezer for days when I don't bring lunch. But without taking lunch, I'll eat Wendy's or Schlotzsky's! Don't need to do that at all.

I'm another one that typically doesn't like to cook and is very happy eating a fairly limited variety. Most mornings, if I have breakfast, it's a light yogurt and a cup of tea or hot cocoa. Lunch at work is some combination of sandwich or Lean Cuisine with yogurt or string cheese, a fruit or veggie, and sometimes a sweet treat like a Fiber One bar. Dinners are my most varied meal, but only because my husband HATES having the same things over and over. After a long day at work, I'm very happy to subsist off of a combo of soup, salad, sandwich, and cereal. (and I do on the days he comes home late!)

I noticed the OP says she grows her own yellow squash. Perhaps you grow zucchini, too? I just purchased a spiral veggie slicer on Amazon and it's the BEST thing! Since I got it, I have veggie "zoodles" (zucchini noodles - would work with yellow squash, too) every day!

I just use the tool to 'spiralize' the zucchini into noodles, put them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap and zap in the microwave for about 2 minutes. I then drain them a bit and put some cold spaghetti sauce (made with ground turkey and no sugar tomato sauce) on them, cover again and put back in the microwave. The sauce gets warmed, the "noodles" are cooked, and it's wonderful! If not for the trace of green in them, I would think I'm eating pasta. You can even swirl it on a fork! I can imagine that kids would love it, and it would be so cheap for you this summer with a bountiful garden. The tool cost me about $30 (I watched for it to go on sale), but to me it has turned out to be priceless in how quickly I can achieve a low calorie, low carb, comforting and hot meal.

I also take the raw zoodles with me in a baggie to work along with a cup of sauce. In the office kitchen, I put things together just like I would at home. YUM!

Canned fish.

Oats.

Eggs.

Salad.

I eat a lot of the same things too....no sugar added hot cocoa, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, pickles, tuna salad, egg salad, squash and zucchini, low sugar mochas, salmon patties, chicken etc....dinner for me is whatever I make for the family and try to avoid most of the carbs/starches