Looking for healthy easy to cook meals

[z1ggy]

Currently, I have been eating the same meals, day in and day out. I am not a creative or good cook. I really want some new ideas for dinner because what I currently make is getting boring and old. As of right now, my dinner consists of 2 chicken legs, maybe 10-12 sticks of asparagus, covered in a bit of olive oil and some home made salsa.

I'm looking for things that don't require much skill to make. I just put some foil in a glass pan, toss all that food in it, then put it in the oven at 400F for 45 mins, and it's done. I'd like something along those lines again, although I don't mind putting in a little bit of effort if the taste is worth it.

Some ideas I'm thinking of would be maybe some shrimp with fresh garlic and onion, toss some spinach on top. Also, maybe some pork ribs or a pork shoulder? I like salmon, but I can't eat it everyday. One to two times a week max.

And lastly, I'm currently cutting, so I only generally have carbs like potato, pasta, etc on my leg day. Otherwise, I limit them to fruits and veggies. So, I'm also looking for low carb meals if possible, or at least the carb portion being able to be separated out easily.

 

[MiniDoom]

http://www.reddit.com/r/ketorecipes

 

[blackdogdeek]

Do you have a crockpot?

Some easy to make meals with crockpot:

chili
brisket
pernil (roast pork)

Make a whole bunch on Sunday and reheat through the week.

Do you have a grill?

We grill a bunch of steaks (skirt/hanger/ribeye) on the weekend and eat the leftovers through the week. We sometimes do the same with chicken. You can also grill veggies (grilled asparagus is awesome).

The easiest meal I make is baked chicken thighs. Put them on a baking sheet, sprinkle them with garlic salt and bake them in an oven preheated to 350F for 70 minutes. I usually have them with white rice and some steamed broccoli. These don't heat up as well (the skin is crispy only fresh from the oven).

 

[smackababy]

^I almost never eat chicken with skin on it. =)

Grilling is probably the second easiest thing you can do. Crock pot is the first.

Buy a crock pot, buy a nice sized boston butt, cut up some onion into rings and line the bottom of the crock pot. Rub the pork down with your favorite seasonings. Cook on high for an hour, turn to low for another 6 or so. Enjoy.

You could grill up a bunch of chicken breasts on the weekend, and simply portion it out in different dishes through the week as well.


Also, while not healthy or particularly cheap, roasting a duck is pretty much a win.

 

[Kaido]

^ what blackdogdeek said. Slow cooker, grilling, baking, etc. Check out Crockpot 365 for ideas:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

If you're interested in bulk cooking, I have a thread on making homemade TV dinners - you can cook a bunch of food at once & split it up into freezable containers:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2336038

If you don't want to do cooking in bulk, but would rather have fast meals on a daily basis, check out the Wok Star kit:

http://eleanorhoh.com/

Basically just meat & veggies, very easy to do low-carb. Can you do any fats? I have some good cookie recipes:

http://www.texanerin.com/2012/04/grain-free-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-bites.html

http://catch42.pbworks.com/w/page/78284306/Chocolate Chip Cookies

Anyway, you basically have 3 options:

1. Keep doing what you're doing
2. Cook more food
3. Pay someone to cook food for you

This is a recurring issue I've seen with health & bodybuilding - "I want better results, but I don't want to have to change" haha. But very few people (including myself) want to actually go through the effort of doing bulk cooking or cooking on a regular basis because it's a lot of effort with everything else going on in your life. There are plenty of places that will sell you pre-made healthy food (Jenny Craig et. all), but that costs a lot of money, so you have to choose where to make your sacrifice: do nothing & keep it the same, make an effort & have better food, or lose money but not have to cook or eat the same thing all the time. It's a trade-off, and it's a pain anyway you choose to do it

 

[z1ggy]

^ what blackdogdeek said. Slow cooker, grilling, baking, etc. Check out Crockpot 365 for ideas:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

If you're interested in bulk cooking, I have a thread on making homemade TV dinners - you can cook a bunch of food at once & split it up into freezable containers:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2336038

If you don't want to do cooking in bulk, but would rather have fast meals on a daily basis, check out the Wok Star kit:

http://eleanorhoh.com/

Basically just meat & veggies, very easy to do low-carb. Can you do any fats? I have some good cookie recipes:

http://www.texanerin.com/2012/04/grain-free-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-bites.html

http://catch42.pbworks.com/w/page/78284306/Chocolate Chip Cookies

Anyway, you basically have 3 options:

1. Keep doing what you're doing
2. Cook more food
3. Pay someone to cook food for you

This is a recurring issue I've seen with health & bodybuilding - "I want better results, but I don't want to have to change" haha. But very few people (including myself) want to actually go through the effort of doing bulk cooking or cooking on a regular basis because it's a lot of effort with everything else going on in your life. There are plenty of places that will sell you pre-made healthy food (Jenny Craig et. all), but that costs a lot of money, so you have to choose where to make your sacrifice: do nothing & keep it the same, make an effort & have better food, or lose money but not have to cook or eat the same thing all the time. It's a trade-off, and it's a pain anyway you choose to do it

I knew you'd chime in here

I am opposed to doing large cooks on sunday, then eating during the week. I have done this in the past and my experience was by thurs/fri, my meats were just... kind of gross. I don't how else to explain it. The meat was kind of chewy and the flavor was gone.

A few buddies threw in the crock pot idea, so I think I will go that route. Would it be possible to just cook on medium low, for say 10 hours?? It's not really possible to do it the way you mentioned above.

I will check those websites out. I am currently trying to stick to around 2100-2300 cals a day, 200g protein, and <75g carbs, except on leg day, I will have at least 150g, and maaaybe back and chest day, I'll be okay with the 75-100g range, but weekends, shoulder and arm day, I try to have as little as possible. Fats are okay, I eat a ton of almonds and use olive oil in all my meat/veggie cooking.

I like my current set up, I'm just bored of chicken legs everrryy sinnngllleee niightttt. I want some different meat and flavors, even if it's just 1-2 times a week. I think I'll have to start getting into pork, even though I'm not a huge fan. I like ribs... but I need tons of BBQ sauce usually on it (think baby back ribs). I like just taking meat, veggies and some seasoning, putting that into my foil covered pan, putting it in the oven and walking away. haha.

 

[Auric]

Costco semi-bulk... NZ leg o' lamb: sear and slow cook in water, shred, put back with remaining water stock and freeze portions. Or likewise stew (bison is good too). Mahi-mahi bake or grill. Pre-make and freeze burritos: to refried beans add sautéed bell pepper and onion, garlic, hot sauce, grated cheese; serve with greek yogurt, tomatoes, perhaps sustitute quinoa for rice else just have greens like kale.

 

[blackdogdeek]

Here is a paleo crockpot recipe website. I chose the paleo site because it should help you minimize carbs and you can always add them in at your discretion. The crock pot pernil recipe will definitely help you get into pork. And your house will smell incredible. I would have linked the recipe directly but it's blocked at work.

http://hollywouldifshecould.net/2011/11/a-month-of-paleo-crockpot-recipes/

All decent crockpots will have a 10 hour setting. And after any of the settings they switch to "Keep Warm" setting so it's not like you have to rush home.

 

[z1ggy]

How much can I expect to pay for a crock pot? Heading to Walmart after work.

That pernil is blocked here, too I'll check it out when I am home, but I found a few on the crockpot365 website that I am going to try out. I think Ill try to find a pork loin today at the store and do one of the bbq or apple cinnamon cooks.

 

[pauldun170]

Currently, I have been eating the same meals, day in and day out. I am not a creative or good cook. I really want some new ideas for dinner because what I currently make is getting boring and old. As of right now, my dinner consists of 2 chicken legs, maybe 10-12 sticks of asparagus, covered in a bit of olive oil and some home made salsa.

I'm looking for things that don't require much skill to make. I just put some foil in a glass pan, toss all that food in it, then put it in the oven at 400F for 45 mins, and it's done. I'd like something along those lines again, although I don't mind putting in a little bit of effort if the taste is worth it.

Some ideas I'm thinking of would be maybe some shrimp with fresh garlic and onion, toss some spinach on top. Also, maybe some pork ribs or a pork shoulder? I like salmon, but I can't eat it everyday. One to two times a week max.

And lastly, I'm currently cutting, so I only generally have carbs like potato, pasta, etc on my leg day. Otherwise, I limit them to fruits and veggies. So, I'm also looking for low carb meals if possible, or at least the carb portion being able to be separated out easily.

25 min quick and easy chicken
Garlic (powder or fresh)
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Boneless chicken thighs (I get them from BJ's)
Season chicken with balsamic vinegar + olive oil + garlic in a bowl (I don't measure) and mix by hand.
Heat non-stick pan on medium.
Toss chicken in pan, cover and cook on the stove top for 20-25 minutes.
Flip chicken when the top is no longer red (about 7-8 minutes into cook time). Flip again 7 mins later. Drain most of the excess fluid after the chicken has been cooking for 18 minutes total (leave a little in). Flip as needed until Chicken is done cooking.
Serve with whatever vegetable you are in the mood for.

If you are allowing rice, the timeing works out perfect as (Rice and Chicken same cook time.

 

[smackababy]

Like $20-30 bucks. They aren't expensive, if you get a cheap one.

If you are going to slow cook chicken, be careful. Whole chickens work, but the skin ends up rather nasty (rubbery, floppy texture) and it just falls apart so the bones end up scattered everywhere.

If you're doing pork, I'd try to get one without huge pieces of fat (I just did pork shoulder, not the good shoulder like Boston Butt, but the trash shoulder) and it turned into soup. So much of the fat melted off, lol.

Generally what I do with my slow cooker is prep everything the night before, put it in the fridge then turn it on when I wake up (on high) and when I leave, turn it to low for the rest of the day.

 

[pauldun170]

How much can I expect to pay for a crock pot? Heading to Walmart after work.

That pernil is blocked here, too I'll check it out when I am home, but I found a few on the crockpot365 website that I am going to try out. I think Ill try to find a pork loin today at the store and do one of the bbq or apple cinnamon cooks.

They are fairly cheap. We've gone through a few and at this point we've given up on the modern offerings lasting a significant amount of time (No matter how well they are cared for, the porcelain cracks eventually). I'd buy any name brand that has a timer function and a hi-lo setting.
Anywhere from $30-$50

 

[blackdogdeek]

How much can I expect to pay for a crock pot? Heading to Walmart after work.

That pernil is blocked here, too I'll check it out when I am home, but I found a few on the crockpot365 website that I am going to try out. I think Ill try to find a pork loin today at the store and do one of the bbq or apple cinnamon cooks.

Yeah, the pernil recipe is already pretty much low-carb so it's not like you need to follow the one I linked specifically.

It's basically:

buy 4+lbs of pork shoulder/butt/picnic
stab it a bunch of times with a knife
coat it with a mixture of salt, garlic, pepper and olive oil making sure some of it gets into the stabholes
let it sit for a while
cook it

 

[z1ggy]

I got a slow cooker from Walmart for $25 last night. I put in 3 chicken breats, 1.5 cups of apple sauce, a touch of cinnamon spice, pepper, salt, garlic and crushed red pepper in the cooker this morning and set it to "warm" for 10 hours. I don't plan on eating it until around 7:30 tonight, and I turned it on at 6am, so I thought cooking it even on "low" might have been too much. I figure I'll check on it when I get home around 5:30pm today and if it needs more heating, I can adjust it accordingly.

I had protein pancakes last night for dinner, holy F were those good. I did 2 scoops of Dymatize Gourmet protein mix into 1 serving of pancake mix, adding the olive oil, egg and skim milk and went to town!!. I may have added in some choc chips for kicks.....

 

[smackababy]

Low generally is around a simmer. I believe warm won't be enough.

 

[z1ggy]

That's fine. When I get home, I can turn it up to high for a few hours if I need to. The chicken was already unthawed this morning, and the recipe said "3-5 hours on high or 6-8 on low" with respect to a frozen piece of meat.

I'm super pumped up. I think after work today I'll grab some pork loin and some onion and try out a slow cook with that

Also today is leg day which means I can have some rice with it, too. Awwww yeeeeeahhh.

 

[Kaido]

I knew you'd chime in here

I am opposed to doing large cooks on sunday, then eating during the week. I have done this in the past and my experience was by thurs/fri, my meats were just... kind of gross. I don't how else to explain it. The meat was kind of chewy and the flavor was gone.

A few buddies threw in the crock pot idea, so I think I will go that route. Would it be possible to just cook on medium low, for say 10 hours?? It's not really possible to do it the way you mentioned above.

I will check those websites out. I am currently trying to stick to around 2100-2300 cals a day, 200g protein, and <75g carbs, except on leg day, I will have at least 150g, and maaaybe back and chest day, I'll be okay with the 75-100g range, but weekends, shoulder and arm day, I try to have as little as possible. Fats are okay, I eat a ton of almonds and use olive oil in all my meat/veggie cooking.

I like my current set up, I'm just bored of chicken legs everrryy sinnngllleee niightttt. I want some different meat and flavors, even if it's just 1-2 times a week. I think I'll have to start getting into pork, even though I'm not a huge fan. I like ribs... but I need tons of BBQ sauce usually on it (think baby back ribs). I like just taking meat, veggies and some seasoning, putting that into my foil covered pan, putting it in the oven and walking away. haha.

The meat gets weird in the fridge, or in the freezer? I definitely wouldn't leave them in the fridge all week, they'd just get old & nasty (and probably slimy). I've left some (sealed) meats in my freezer for months without any issues, however. That's why I like those TV dinner trays - fill 'em up & freeze 'em. Comes out like a Swanson TV dinner!

Yeah, you can cook stuff in the crockpot on super-low for a long time, just do a search for "all day crockpot recipes". Some of them can go as long as 10-12 hours.

As far as getting bored of chicken, just shake it up: you can do chicken soup, grilled chicken, baked chicken, stir-fried chicken, etc. Bubba Gump it up! Some sauces, spices, and varied cooking methods are all you need to make it diverse enough to not get too bored of it on a daily basis.

 

[thatsright]

Here's a thought. How about some non-fat Greek plain yogurt. Not sure if you would be interested as you mention just things you cook. But I have this for breakfast and dinner. I take 16oz of the yogurt, 3 splenda and a tablespoon of natural peanut butter. Very filling and tasty and only 450 calories. Perfection. Though it may be a tad too high in carbs for you. I think its about ~25 or so. But about 50g of protein.

 

[blackdogdeek]

How was it?

 

[z1ggy]

How was it?

Sex. In. My. Mouth.

I did some chicken legs (left the skin.. prob will remove it next time) and did it again with the applesauce, cinnamon and spices. Holy tits batman, was that good.

I think I'm going to try a homemade BBQ sauce one, and a beef stew one next week as well. Beef one should be pretty healthy as it's just beef, broth and veggies.

 

[blackdogdeek]

Sounds good. What is in it and how much of each?

When you make the beef stew, I'd consider cutting off excessive fatty bits. While I typically maximize beef fat consumption, the rendered fat liquid at the top of the stew even turned me off. After the first night in the fridge, however, I was able to just scrape off that layer.

 

[z1ggy]

The chicken leg one was 2 large chicken legs, with 1.5 cups of apple sauce, 1/2 tbsp. of garlic salts, a pinch of minced garlic, 1tbsp of cracked peppercorn, pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.

I have yet to try the bbq or other stuff yet. But that one is basically ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and some spices to taste.

Yeah I buy stewing beef at the store so there's really not much fat to cut "off" it per say, the fat is basically already in the beef. Kind of hard to get rid of. I plan to probably discard the sauce after, maybe keep a bit to dip in, but yeah a lot of fat will be in it.

Tonight I'm having the same thing again, but with he chicken breast. Honestly not as good but I suspect that's because the legs have more fat in them, plus the bone adds some flavor.

 

[blackdogdeek]

I'll have to try that one with the legs. I have a package of thighs waiting for me at home so I might try it with those instead. Otherwise, I may try to make a chili with the ground beef I also have waiting for me.

 

[z1ggy]

Yeah I want to do thighs as well. Honestly, ever since I tried legs in general, I like them a lot more. The breasts are just.. bland, even when I season them.

Oh yeah I found a decent chili chicken/pork flavored cook as well. So I have a few for next week.

Actually I am going on vacation from Sat-Tues so I'll report back later next week. There goes my diet :-/