OT Easy And Quick Meals

[quitthedrama]

Off campus! That sounds delicious! Yeah before I started looking into healthier things I was eating a lot of pasta/hamburger helper/pizza/Chinese takeout. It all tastes good but I noticed myself feeling lethargic and puffy(thanks to all the carbs). My dad's side of the family has a slew of health problems- high cholesterol, obesity, heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, you name it they probably have it. That coupled with just wanting to feel better I decided to try and be healthier! But as a full time student and working 25+ hours a week, it's hard to find meals that I don't dread making knowing they'll take forever.

Sorry that was a long rant/explanation haha but thank you for the grilling idea!

DH has the same type family history. He has dropped almost 60 pounds since June, so what he is doing is working! No sauces as well as cutting out carbs and sugar helps tremendously. I only eat the same dinner as he does, but even just keeping that one meal healthy I feel a lot better!

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

Off campus! That sounds delicious! Yeah before I started looking into healthier things I was eating a lot of pasta/hamburger helper/pizza/Chinese takeout. It all tastes good but I noticed myself feeling lethargic and puffy(thanks to all the carbs). My dad's side of the family has a slew of health problems- high cholesterol, obesity, heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, you name it they probably have it. That coupled with just wanting to feel better I decided to try and be healthier! But as a full time student and working 25+ hours a week, it's hard to find meals that I don't dread making knowing they'll take forever.

Sorry that was a long rant/explanation haha but thank you for the grilling idea!

Cooking all your meals for the week on one day reallyyyyyyyyy helps when you're busy. If you can find an hour or two in the week to just cook and prep healthy meals then eating healthier will be much more easy to do. Like if I'm going to cook a healthy meal for myself, I usually just double or triple the recipe so I have tons of leftovers.

Cook once, eat for 5 meals. It's a huge time saver!

 

[Ems]

Cooking all your meals for the week on one day reallyyyyyyyyy helps when you're busy. If you can find an hour or two in the week to just cook and prep healthy meals then eating healthier will be much more easy to do. Like if I'm going to cook a healthy meal for myself, I usually just double or triple the recipe so I have tons of leftovers.

Cook once, eat for 5 meals. It's a huge time saver!

I second this! When I know I have a busy schedule I'll cook like 5 chicken breasts and once and a bunch of rice so I can just reheat what I want later in some sauce or seasonings and I'm not waiting forever for rice to cook or make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through.

 

[astaley22]

I second this! When I know I have a busy schedule I'll cook like 5 chicken breasts and once and a bunch of rice so I can just reheat what I want later in some sauce or seasonings and I'm not waiting forever for rice to cook or make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through.

I was just about to say that meal prepping sounds like a good idea but that I'd get bored of the food. Making it plain and adding sauce makes so much more sense haha. I could even slice/shred the chicken for wraps and other things. This thread is turning out to me so much more helpful than I thought!

What are some of everyone's favorite healthy or healthyish sauces/dips/marinades?

 

[Ems]

I was just about to say that meal prepping sounds like a good idea but that I'd get bored of the food. Making it plain and adding sauce makes so much more sense haha. I could even slice/shred the chicken for wraps and other things. This thread is turning out to me so much more helpful than I thought!

What are some of everyone's favorite healthy or healthyish sauces/dips/marinades?

The last week I did that, I think I cooked like 4 chicken breasts. One I put on a sandwich the next day for lunch. Another I cut up and put on a flatbread with pesto and cheese, kinda like a pizza. I drizzled a little olive oil on one and crusted it with herbs (an Italian seasoning mixture) and put it on a hot skillet to heat it up. And the last one I just cut up and threw into some pasta; luckily my mom had some of her homemade spaghetti sauce frozen, so I just threw in a block of it.
But you could also put some chicken on whatever salads you like or in wraps, quesadillas, etc. I have a homemade taco seasoning mixture I use, and that's really nice to throw in a skillet with some onions, green chiles, and shredded chicken then you instantly have killer chicken tacos.

 

[Emily]

I was just about to say that meal prepping sounds like a good idea but that I'd get bored of the food. Making it plain and adding sauce makes so much more sense haha. I could even slice/shred the chicken for wraps and other things. This thread is turning out to me so much more helpful than I thought!

What are some of everyone's favorite healthy or healthyish sauces/dips/marinades?

You could also cook more on the weekends and then freeze some portions for later (works really well with chili and most stews). When you do that for a few weeks you have a nice variety of meals in your freezer and you don't have to eat the same thing for days. Or you could do some prep work and freeze the prepared meals for later. Look up "once a month cooking" (oamc) or "freezer cooking" and you'll find tons of ideas.

 

[purplecheer]

I make my version of 2 minute noodles.

Boil a kettle and put some vermicelli into a bowl, and cook it with hot water.

With the same boiled kettle, get some frozen peas and corn in a different bowl and pour the water on them to defreeze.

Then add the peas and corn into the noodles and finish with a dash of stock. You can make your stock by using a small amount of hot water and dissolving the stock cube, or using ready-made. I generally use chicken stock, just because I don't like veggie stock haha.

This takes about 5 minutes and is perfect for my in between school and sports time. Some days I have 50 min/2hr 5 min/2hr 35 min/35min in between, but I have to walk home, eat, change and travel to sport. On the longer days, I have an actual dinner.

DON'T cook the peas and corn in the same bowl as the noodles though, or the cold coming out of them will make your broth cold.

 

[purplecheer]

Sometimes on Sunday I will make a really big salad and eat it on Monday as well.

 

[calikaitlyn_]

Does anyone have any simple meals for vegetarians? I've been vegetarian for over a year now and don't find it hard at all, although I really envy how many easy meals are chicken based. I'm trying to get in super good shape for showcase in a few weeks and what I've been eating just won't cut it

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

Does anyone have any simple meals for vegetarians? I've been vegetarian for over a year now and don't find it hard at all, although I really envy how many easy meals are chicken based. I'm trying to get in super good shape for showcase in a few weeks and what I've been eating just won't cut it

Are you a vegetarian that eats seafood or fish?

I find that there are many Asian dishes that use other sources of protein in lieu of meat. Beans, tofu, etc. Looking through those recipes sometimes will give you lots of ideas. I'll try to post a few of my favs later but they are a good place to start

 

[Persephone]

Does anyone have any simple meals for vegetarians? I've been vegetarian for over a year now and don't find it hard at all, although I really envy how many easy meals are chicken based. I'm trying to get in super good shape for showcase in a few weeks and what I've been eating just won't cut it

In some recipes you can easily switch the chicken with tofu or similar. Just creative .
CP and I (not vegetarians anymore but trying ) often throw salad, tomatos, cucumber, bell pepper, celery or whatever we have in the fridge into a tortilla wrap. Then add salsa or dressing or plain greek yoghurt (+spices and or chutney) and cheese if you like. For the protein part you can add tofu or tempeh or lentils or chickpeas or anything you like.
I often cook variations of curries and chilis and a drained small portion with rice or quinoa or couscous in a wrap with salad and veggies make an easy preparable meal for the next long day. There are numerous recipes for chilis and curry for vegetarians - just pick your favourites. We eat another heated portions when we get home. So it feeds us 2-3 times usually (and I usually throw the ingredients into my crockpot the evening before).
For "on the go" I like the wraps because if properly rolled and packed you don´t need cutlery, just a napkin and you´re good to go .
College-CP prefers just a portion to heat in the microwave at work - no too much salad for him and no wrap pls .
Senior-CP says she will definitely get the yearbook entry for "yummiest lunchbox" - because a lot of her friends are begging at lunchtime (and because the typical German just takes a "Butterbrot" to school or work... bread, butter, cheese or ham or salami on it - nothing else).

 

[TealShades]

Does anyone have any simple meals for vegetarians? I've been vegetarian for over a year now and don't find it hard at all, although I really envy how many easy meals are chicken based. I'm trying to get in super good shape for showcase in a few weeks and what I've been eating just won't cut it

Cooking light web site has quick and easy vegetarian meals that might appeal to you. I have the cooking light cook book. It's huge lol kind of intimidating. But they have nice recipes.

ETA: do you eat cheese?

 

[MOPSMommy1]

When I know that I am going to have a crazy week I will buy a couple of rotisserie chickens from Costco or wherever and cut them up for a couple meals during the week. There are multiple websites that have recipes that start with a rotisserie chicken.

Also, a go to meal in our house is a rotisserie chicken fresh from the store, baby potatoes/fingerling potatoes (microwaved) and whatever vegetable is available. It's on the table in approximately 15 minutes and is better than the drive thru!

 

[cheeryjust]

Does anyone have any simple meals for vegetarians? I've been vegetarian for over a year now and don't find it hard at all, although I really envy how many easy meals are chicken based. I'm trying to get in super good shape for showcase in a few weeks and what I've been eating just won't cut it

Do you have quorn in America? It's neat substitute- there's chicken, sausages, all sorts and its soo good! I often have chicken curry as it takes literally no time to cook in the slow cookers (croc pot) if you do have it I highly recommend trying it- the 'meat' still tastes like how it would if it was actually meat and I actually prefer the sausages to pork ones- they're way more flavourful!

 

[astaley22]

If you like pasta with pesto but want it more healthy replace the pasta wilt zucchini. I use a potato/vegetable peeler to peel the zucchini into thin ribbons. You can buy one of those "as seen on TV" vegetable slicers. The one that shreds it into spaghetti. I wouldn't recommend it because it wastes too much product. Plus I like the way the ribbons tastes more.

2 zucchini (yellow or green)
Pesto

Boil water in a medium pot (half full). Use the veggie peeler to peel or slice the zucchini into long thin ribbons. If it gets hard to peel it at the end just take a knife to cut the rest. Put the zucchini in boiling water for 30 seconds to a minute (no longer) the drain. You want the zucchini still crunchy not soggy. Mix the zucchini with the pesto (as much you like) in bowl.

ETA: while I was typing pasta with pe..one of the suggestions on my phone was people. Lol my phone is a cannible I guess.

I'm trying this tonight! Any other tips than just cooking it quickly?