food as a bachelor

[silverpig]

I would caution you against making a huge pot of something. While it is good to do, make sure the pot of whatever isn't so big that you have to eat it every day for 2 weeks to get rid of it. I made a big cassoulet a while back and while it was good, the 10th lunch in a row was a bit much.

Lasagna keeps well.

Soup is good.

Oh, make a big roast beef and mashed potatoes on the weekend, then re-heat slices for dinner. You can also make beef dip with just some buns and broth. Prime rib roast makes the best beef dip ever.

 

[CraigRT]

I struggle with this too, but I rarely get takeout which is my goal.
One of my favorite things to make is Mexican food. Get some ground beef, some taco seasoning, tortillas and your favorite stuff for them, and within 15 mins you have delicious fresh tacos or burritos, etc.

I also have a lot of chicken in the freezer for a simple cookup with some corn or some other super easy side. Corn takes 5 mins in boiling water and its delicious (frozen, not canned, IMO)

 

[Juddog]

Stick with the staples. Breakfast: Old-fashioned oatmeal (or get the steel-cut oatmeal that you have to cook and leave in your fridge overnight). Add whatever you like, for me even though I'm not a bachelor it's just plain cinnamon. I've slowly tried to work myself off of a sugar craving, and a good bowl of oatmeal with a sprinkle of cinnamon is a great way to start the day. Fills you up, fairly low calorie, and good for you.

Lunch: Prepare stuff ahead of time and bring it into work. When my wife is too busy to make lunch, it's easy to whip up some sandwiches the night before, throw in some mixed nuts, and a protein bar, and you're set. I also like to get the more healthy "Amy's" brand burritoes from the local BJ's store in a 6 pack. At work they have a toaster oven, so I'll microwave it for a minute, then toss it in the toaster oven for 3 minutes, gives the outside a nice texture and evens the heat on the inside.

For dinner, invest in a rice cooker as the base staple. On top of the rice you can toss some frozen veggies, or go to the local farmer's market, and steam the veggies and put them on top of the rice. Low calorie and good food. Mix in a snack at some point and you're set.

 

[ichy]

I'm a big fan of lentil soup and vegetarian chili. I'll make enormous pots of them, split most of it into individual serving size Gladware containers and freeze it. That'll provide me with lots and lots of reasonably healthy work lunches.

 

[SP33Demon]

crockpot, throw a ton of fresh veggies and meat and eat off it for days. Rinse/repeat.

Other go to's: egg cooker for hard boiling 7 at a time (good for low carb diets), sardines in olive oil, box o' organic salad (and celery) for easy munching, protein shakes w/ organic milk, organic apples, and make a fcktonne of burgers from ground meat from a big package that will last the week (4-8 lbs worth). All easy as hell to do and healthy.

 

[blinky8225]

Just broil/grill a bunch of meat and undercook it slightly without any spices. Right before you reheat add spices. You can prepare a bunch of dry rubs in advance as well. This way, you won't get tired of the same flavors, and the meat won't dry out.

 

[gorb]

The horrible food catches up to you. I've been on a mostly fast food diet for the last seven years or so, and I've gained about 15 lbs in the last few, despite my ultra-fast metabolism. I'm now 145 lbs (5'10"). Still eating the fast food, but in recent times I've been trying to eat more chicken instead of burgers and more canned soup and sandwiches or whatever is reasonably healthy and tasty at home.

 

[CraKaJaX]

I'm in the same boat, except I love to cook and do it quite often... with or without the crockpot. Here's some examples:

Buy a huge pack of chicken breasts/thighs/whatever you like. Take a few, marinate in your favorite sauce (I like trying different marinades). Or marinate in two different sauces (split them up). Take the rest and freeze them. The next day or so, take them out and throw them on the stove. While doing this, cook some white rice and boil some frozen veggies (corn, peas, chinese mix, japanese mix, whatever). Make more than enough so you can have it for lunch/dinner the next day or two. I usually change it up and make different veggies with the leftover chicken.

Another dish I commonly make is pasta with a variety of different things (depending what I have) - artichoke hearts, peppers (sweet, hot), zucchini, eggplant, leftover chicken, roasted red peppers, pepperonchinis, capers, spinach, etc. I usually mix everything together with some pesto. With a little bit of parm/romano cheese on top.... you're good to go! You can make a bunch of it and eat this for the next couple days as well.

It takes 30 minutes of your time at night to eat homemade meals for the next couple of days.... way better than any fast food joint. Hopefully you get some ideas.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Types of bachelor chow? (Food you can prepare, usually in one pot, divvy up into tupperware, stick in the freezer, and eat all week.)

- Rice & Lentils. (I use taco seasoning.)

- Chili (Yum!) I make mine with extra vegetables, a brick of frozen spinach, and a couple very, very thinly sliced habanero peppers. *drool*

- Soups and Stews (Get a crock pot and a recipe book.)

- Meat of your choice & Mixed Vegetables (Prep the meat, pop individual servings in tupperware, fill the rest of the container with frozen vegetables, put back in freezer.)

- Rice'n'sauce. (I was cooking, got drunk, and made this by accident. Now it's a staple. Basically homemade tomato sauce with a lot of chunky tomatoes, red peppers, meat, and a crapload of mushrooms, then pour in some cooked rice and let it absorb all the fluid. You end up with something that tastes and smells a lot better than it looks.)

Casseroles and Pasta dishes also work from an "easy prep" standpoint, but pasta doesn't freeze well, imo. Neither does lettuce, so be careful making too many salads at once.

I'll usually stick a few pieces of fruit, (avacados, bananas, apples, and grapefruit) or a small bag of baby carrots in my backpack, so I have stuff to munch on over the course of the day.

You'll save a lot of money. If you get good at prep work, you'll probably have to spend about 90 minutes, at most, cooking every week.

Also consider a breadmaker. Set it and forget it. Three hours later you'll have fresh baked bread. Women like this for some reason, and it may help you not be a bachelor anymore.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

One other thing; thermos + coffee maker + timer. Best thing I ever did. I a horrible morning person and never am motivated enough to make coffee. Setting it up the night before is awesome and I immediately was saving like $50 a month.

 

[thegimp03]

I use to stick to sandwiches (freeze the portion of bread that you don't think you're going to eat that week and then defrost in the microwave the following weeks) and buy quarter or half pounds of turkey, ham, etc., chicken/steaks (grill up 2-3 chicken breasts or steaks on a Sunday night and then throw in the fridge for leftovers later). I also use to pick up frozen meals from Trader Joe's...I like the Chicken Tikka Masala which is like $2-3 and not a huge amount of calories. As others have said, crock pots work too, just throw in a bunch of stuff in the morning before work and it's good to go that evening.

 

[ichy]

Go easy on the meat as well, I'm no vegetarian but I try to stick to the rule that food should be mostly plants.

 

[Sixguns]

Go overboard on the meat as well, I'm no vegetarian but I try to stick to the rule that food should mostly eat plants.

FTFY

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Chipotle? How can you eat that crap so often? I'd rather have Taco Bell than Chipotle.

Chipotle has gotten "sorta" better with having brown rice now. (health wise, their food still needs to be drowned in hot sauce for flavor)

And god damn, with how much money you spend a week in fast food that's a month of groceries.

 

[TecHNooB]

Chipotle has gotten "sorta" better with having brown rice now. (health wise, their food still needs to be drowned in hot sauce for flavor)

And god damn, with how much money you spend a week in fast food that's a month of groceries.

i spent almost 30 a day while in college 1 semester. every meal was literally subway, chipotle, starbucks, or random campus food.

 

[JoeKing]

Get a foreman grill. Cooks chicken tits pretty well. Buy some of those steamer frozen bags of veggies. Get a rice cooker.

 

[Matthiasa]

Why would you want to drain away all the good stuff?

 

[MisterJackson]

If you get a 'good' rice cooker you don't have to cook.

Like your Asian wife?

 

[alkemyst]

Like your Asian wife?

My wife still boils her own rice. I was a bachelor before I met her.

She actually will skip the main dinner she prepared and just have rice and some seaweed in it. I joke she's putting arsenic in the food I eat.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

i spent almost 30 a day while in college 1 semester. every meal was literally subway, chipotle, starbucks, or random campus food.

Yea I did too until I realized how crazy that is, especially if you count my weekend bar tabs.

You can make all the coffee you want for $6 that would last about a month or more. Same with sandwiches etc.

 

[bononos]

..... i know how to cook - that's not an issue. my issue comes in meal sizes, storage, buying food that sits for too long.

what are some things that i can make, freeze/store for lunch at work, save for a meal later in the week, etc, without worry about spoiling or the like? any recommendations?

You're doing the right thing. Eating out all the time is unhealthy and/or expensive for average people.
You just have to get efficient at it. Plan ahead and cook 3-4 things at a time instead of cooking just 1 recipe to save time, and then freeze up the lot into convenient sized containers after the food has cooled down- that should set you up for a week.
Slow cookers are getting popular nowadays for busy people. You can set it up and let it cook overnight or while you are at work. edit = why are you worried about food spoiling once its frozen? What sort of things do you cook that spoils so easily?

 

[Harrod]

I get alot of chicken breasts and rice and cook it with indian food spice packets, never really gets very boring, and for the most part, it's probably better than eating out all the time.

 

[Sureshot324]

I've got the same problem. I'll be watching this thread for more ideas.