turning my diet around

[Brighter1]

I have not been eating well, mostly because I can’t and really don’t like cooking, so learning how to eat healthy food that’s easy to prepare is vital.

[Activity2004 Administrator]

Welcome to the group. Thank you for introducing yourself to everyone. 😀👍

What are your favorite types of food and/or drink?

[Brighter1 in reply to Activity2004]

Thank you for responding. There’s not much I don’t like, but I will always favour the instant savoury or 1 pot dishes if I’m cooking that will last more than 1 day!

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Brighter1]

How about big salads and adding some foods that have protein in them/it?

[Brighter1 in reply to Activity2004]

Thank you, that’s what I’m currently eating, salad with smoked salmon or mackerel. Have you any ideas for hot food because I like warm food as the weather turns colder

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Brighter1]

Do you like beans? You can do Vegetarian chili and/or enchiladas.

[Brighter1 in reply to Activity2004]

Ooh, I don’t know what enchiladas are! I’ll google that, thank you 🙏🏻

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to Brighter1]

You’re welcome! They are really good and can have different fillings with the cheese/beans.😀👍

[samanthananda]

Eating food that you make in your house is more healthy than outside food

[Brighter1]

Thank you, I just googled Indian grocery store and they’re online so I’ll check that out.

I can cook rice but now use those packets, 2 minutes in the microwave! Not good, and thanks for the inspiration, I can easily go back to cooking rice and freezing portions.

No I don’t have diabetes or need to lose weight, but my heart and other organs need some tlc as I get older and they’ve had to deal with too much sugar and junk for decades.

Even as a kid I was brought up on traditional British food with a lot of baking, white bread, full fat milk. Eating healthy can be going against our culture, less so now but junk still dominates I find.

[MrsBHealth]

Hi 👋. For one pot cooking I literally put chicken breasts, chopped fresh veg of any kind and vegetable stock plus red lentils to thicken the sauce and cook in my slow cooker. I also do the same with beef, but brown in a pan first with onions. Another favourite is chicken breasts with tinned tomatoes, fresh cherry tomatoes, chopped ginger, garlic & chilli plus chopped peppers and onions which I serve with steamed rice. I bought a microwave steamer from Lakeland for the rice (I use basmati as lower GI) as the packet rices contain added oil. Hope this helps 😀

[Brighter1 in reply to MrsBHealth]

Thank you, and I assume you put the second recipe in the slow cooker too? I don’t have a slow cooker but I assume both could be done either in a pan or in the oven.

Thank you for responding with helpful tips 🙏🏻

[MrsBHealth in reply to Brighter1]

Hi, yes I cook all those in the slow cooker, but they can be done just the same in the oven.

[Hidden in reply to Brighter1]

It might be worth your while getting a slow cooker as, once everything is in it, you can just forget about it until you are ready to eat. I had a friend who lived on ready meals because he was unable to cook and didn't want to be bothered anyway. Once I had shown him how to put together a one pot meal in the slow cooker he began to make himself some really nice dinners. The way I explained it to him was that it was a bit like having someone in the kitchen doing the cooking for you.

Another thing you could try is a steamer. I use a stainless steel one, the saucepan has two steamer baskets sitting on top of it so I put potatoes in the saucepan part, then veg in the middle basket and a piece of fish in the top basket. My friend found that useful as well. It saves on fuel as well because it only uses one ring on the hob.

Good luck and enjoy whatever you try.

[Brighter1 in reply to Hidden]

That’s serious food for thought! 😉 I’ve thought about a slow cooker before many times so I’ll think again. This is gonna sound really dumb… I have a steamer and cook potatoes and veg as you describe, but I never thought of adding the fish in the top! 🙄 I usually buy hot smoked salmon because it doesn’t need cooking! Thank you for your advice 😀

[Hidden in reply to Brighter1]

If you got a standard size slow cooker you could batch cook as well. Just freeze the extra in portions and it can be reheated quickly in the microwave. This would fit your requirement to avoid a lot of time consuming cooking.

There's nothing 'dumb' about not thinking to put a piece of fish in the top basket of a steamer. None of us, myself included, can think of everything all the time. Using the top basket would give you a chance to cook different types of fresh fish which would be much healthier for you.

Frozen veg can be a godsend if you don't enjoy cooking. There's no prep and no waste. It's just as nutritious as fresh veg, more so in many cases because it is usually frozen within 2 or 3 hours of being harvested. You can get bags of frozen stir fry veg as well. It saves having to prepare a lot of different veg which, again, fits your criteria. Works out cheaper as well - I use it myself to cut down on prep.

So, that's a few ideas for you. I hope I haven't come across as too 'preachy'. It's just that I generally enjoy cooking but also enjoy looking at ways that can make healthy eating a bit more straightforward for those who don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen.

Have a great day.

[Brighter1 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you, nothing preached here, just good and generous advice. I wish I liked cooking. I started hello fresh for a while but didn’t find them that healthy really, and they don’t do meals for one, and I still found them a chore that I didn’t enjoy. I don’t mind cooking if I can walk away once it’s cooking, it’s standing there attending to several things and getting the timing right that I hate. Anyway, thanks again, I’ll look into a slow cooker

[amykp]

Sheet pan cooking is also easy. Buy yourself a large, flat aluminum pan with a small rim (like something you'd bake cookies on.) Then you can put your meat (like chicken drumsticks) veggies (like broccoli) maybe a sliced onion and potato, few cherry tomatoes, squeeze of lemon, sprinkle of favorite spice, s + p, douse it all in olive oil and roast in oven (375 F-ish) until everything is crispy.

I don't know about your grocery but in mine you can buy a lot of fresh veggies already cleaned and cut, and they sell tiny little potatoes that don't need to be cut at all.

Best of all--one pan to clean!

Here's one recipe website to check out, but there are lots: tasteofhome.com/collection/...

[Brighter1 in reply to amykp]

Thank you! I’ve never heard of sheet pan cooking, I’ll check this out for sure, and one pot cooking that is crispy! I like that added variety. Very helpful, thank you for going to the trouble 🙏🏻

[colo60 in reply to amykp]

Good advice !, I always cook that way when away in tourer caravan, it's simple !, put in things that take longest to cook first, I even slice potatoes as they cook quick and save on gas lol, things like onions I fry first and add water or sauces, mushrooms, prawns etc the same, I also use that quorn pieces, ( protein), its amazing how many different meals to be had by alternating sauces, throw some frozen veg in or lentils, - right, am starving after that ! where's me pan : )

[colo60 in reply to colo60]

Sorry meant to add, 1 frying type pan on stove !

[amykp in reply to colo60]

Heh, our grocery sells potatoes that are nearly as small as cherry tomatoes! They're great for roasting w/o a single cut. And because I happen to not care about fat, I add a lot, and that basically takes care of the onion. It sizzles right in the sheet pan.

So maybe you can tell that I am VERY lazy. I don't want to prep or clean a single thing I don't have to. But I do often mix sauces to pour over :o)

[colo60 in reply to amykp]

Well some people live to eat, whilst others eat to live, I take it you're the latter : ) not lazy but functional lol .. enjoy !

[Brighter1 in reply to colo60]

I also eat to live although I enjoy eating. Thank you for the advice, would you have any advice about different sauces that you mention? Beyond a tin of tomatoes I’m done! And not that keen on tomato based food. Thanks again

[Hidden in reply to Brighter1]

Hi Brighter1

Regarding sauces, if you nip across to the Weight Loss Support Community and take a look at 'Topics' on the right of the screen - you will need to scroll down a bit. Then click on 'All topics' you will find one called 'Recipes - sauces and dips'. There are currently 6 threads on sauces and the one called 'Springer's specials' has lots of ideas and recipes for sauces.

It's quite a long thread - 179 replies - and you will need to look through the entire thread to find all the recipes that people have put on it. It's well worth a look though and I don't think you will be disappointed.

Have a good day.

[Brighter1 in reply to Hidden]

WoW! That’s really helpful, thank you, I’ll check that out for sure. And thank you for making it easy for me with the link! 😀

[Hidden in reply to Brighter1]

As a p.s. I thought it would save you time and hassle if I just give you the link to the thread I was referring to.

healthunlocked.com/weight-l...

[amykp in reply to colo60]

Well, I am actually a food snob. I pretty much cook everything from scratch. But that doesn't mean I'm not LAZY. You can be both :o)

[Brighter1 in reply to amykp]

That’s intriguing, all advice from you is welcome! You got the perfect balance! 😀

[Brighter1 in reply to amykp]

I’m with you on the prep and cleaning! Lazy or functional as colo60 says, but also after work I really don’t feel like it, and sometimes I just don’t have the time. I only have myself to think about and that can make motivation even harder… it’s easier to do things for others maybe. Alone it’s easier to get a frozen pizza in the oven! I clearly need all the help I can get! 😂

[colo60 in reply to Brighter1]

Ha ha : ) give up Brighter, leave that pizza in supermarket fridge and eat food of goodness !!

[Brighter1 in reply to colo60]

You’re not wrong there! 😀

[colo60 in reply to Brighter1]

Glad you took it as was meant Brighter, only kidding you along 👍

[HKAnne]

Hi Brighter1,I buy cartons of fresh soup from the supermarket and pour it over some fresh chopped chicken and veg, cook in one pot in the oven. I also soak some dried soup mix (pearl barley, lentils etc.) and cook in one pot with a gammon joint and chopped veg. I put the two pots in the oven together to save on energy. I then divide the portions and freeze for easy dinners later. Hope this helps.

Anne

[Brighter1 in reply to HKAnne]

Wow they’re both really good ideas! I love the fresh soup idea. I have used tins of Campbell’s soup as sauce but I couldn’t find it recently, and not as healthy as fresh soup. I’ll also try the gammon joint idea, I’ve never known what to do with those… stupid question, do you add water, and if so, enough to cover the joint?

[HKAnne in reply to Brighter1]

Glad you found this helpful Always cover the gammon joint with water. I usually pour boiling water over the joint, and boil for a few minutes to remove some of the fat, rinse under the cold tap, then put in casserole pot with with veg, pearl barley etc.

[Brighter1 in reply to HKAnne]

Thank you, I’ll try that

[Hidden]

Good morning Brighter1. I don't know if you like soup but, as we are now heading towards autumn and cooler weather, below is a link to Springers Specials which opened this morning in the weight loss support community. During this month people will be putting their soup recipes on it so worth keeping an eye on. It should fit your wish for hot food ideas.

Soup is very easy to make, it can be done in a large saucepan on the stovetop or in a slow cooker (another reason why you might want to consider investing in one - excellent for winter recipes). I batch cook mine and freeze in portions for convenience when a hot meal is needed quickly. You can gets bags of soup mix vegetables, ready prepared either fresh or frozen so, again, not too much prep. Only other piece of equipment you will need is a stick blender - they can be picked up quite cheaply in supermarkets or Argos.

healthunlocked.com/weight-l...

[Brighter1 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you RofD, another really helpful post. And I notice that Aldi (where I do my shopping) have got slow cookers on special buy this week for £20! It's on my list. I'll check out those soup recipes! Thanks again for your help