Healthy meals?

[jenwriter]

So far I've made a pasta salad, had a small portion of pasta and more veg. But I'm getting bored of that. I make a lot of stir fries. But I find I'm getting tired of eating rice and noodles and pasta. I made a jacket potato today but (using myfitnesspal) I went over my calories, I only had a tbsp of butter and had white fish with 1/2 tin of mixed pulses (I actually do like pulses, I usually buy butter beans but I bought a tin of mixed after work today and I love them). That may have been because of all the cups of tea I've had today though! Not usual in work but I was tired and ... no more excuses. 

So.. I'm kinda stuck. When I'm was not counting calories I pretty much had the same foods but I have smaller portions now. But I ate a lot of potato based meals. I do like sweet potato though but still potato, veg and meat can also get boring. I'd have breaded meat, or breast steaks, or iceland SFC drumsticks. Fish fingers. 

I don't know whether I am generally stuck in a food rut and that I had this problem before I decided it was time to lose weight of if it's just now.

I can see why people stick to a diet plan. I've been hunting for recipes but I prefer simple things, like a stir fry recipe where you have the basics and can add to if you want. I dread meal time sometimes as I just don't know what to have. Especially if I have to cook for two as my other half isn't calorie counting though it supportive.

Breakfast and mid day snack is fine, it's just the main meal. I also am running out of ideas of healthy packed lunch I sometimes work 10-8 or 10-7 and other than rice or pasta with a lot of veg and some meat I'm not sure what to take that I can cook the night before and then heat up when I get to work. 

oh, and healthy snacks, I struggle with... I have rice cakes (apparently they have arsenic in them!) and love them. I'm going to get oat cakes. I have fruit (but a banana always says I'm having too many carbs and sugar). Crackers I love but they're not healthy. 

Any advice etc much appreciated thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope it makes sense as I'm quite tired at the moment 

Hope you're healthy eating is going well and you're staying motivated

[csharman81]

bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/col...

I find this site to be good for quick healthy meals, you can eat most meals just about cooking from scratch I have limited Time so tend to make batches of sauces in one go and freeze them, omelettes packed with veg is healthy, snack wise I struggle too rice cakes I love especially the caramel ones feel is like a real treat lol xx

[DartmoorDumpling]

Lots of folks have recommended the Hairy Dieters recipes from their cookery book.  You can use occasional ready meals too for a change such as Tesco's Healthy Living range.  Oven-roasted veg are lovely too (done with minimum amount of olive oil and flavoured with paprika).  Maybe try some more fish dishes - salmon oven baked with oven roast veg is lovely.  Google baked stuffed butternut squash or Aubergine...the internet has a lot of inspiration.  Best of luck!

[Hidden]

Reading your post set me thinking....is there really any such thing as a "healthy snack"? Obviously fruit is healthier than chocolate, but I think that we would all do ourselves a favour if we get away from the idea of snacking. We should be eating enough at meal times not to need to snack.

I think that the way people eat now, constantly nibbling through the day, is a lot to do with why there is so much obesity about, and even slim people are relatively fatter than previous geneations. Snacking means that your digestion is never "off duty". Gaps between meals, and, yes, getting hungry, are good for you!

[jenwriter in reply to Hidden]

I agree. When I say healthy snacks I mean for when I finish work in the evenings or for when I'm hungry between meals 

[feelgood41 in reply to Hidden]

Your reply MEBXYZ really struck a cord with me. It brought to mind an ex nurse who worked in our building at work and who often dropped in on her way to the post room. We had noticed she had lost weight and asked her why eventually. She said, "Three meals a day and nothing in between". Must do something about that, should have done then!

[IndigoBlue61]

Hello

There is a thread on here about recipes so have a look there 😊 Also lots of people like the Hairy Dieters book, it's on offer in Asda 😊 And is proper satisfying meals 

I cook the same meal for me and hubby and he is a big potatoe fan 😊 I just portion control, I usually have one third and he has two thirds if you follow 😊 Shepherds pie is a favourite, or hot pot 😊 You can put extra veggies in with meat or on the side 😊 I also do a type of moussaka which is layers of savoury tomato mince with sliced potatoes and baked in the oven 😊 Perfect for these cold April days. 

Good luck!

[Claire2stone in reply to IndigoBlue61]

Yummy 😀 what times dinner? Ha,ha x

[Venusflytrap]

Hi jenwriter,

If you are working 10 hour days, plus travel time, it is likely you are just not eating enough.  Thinking about a lunch.  What is wrong with a sandwich?  If you have no off switch for the bread, consider having a sliced low kcal loaf like Nimble or Weight Watchers and making yourself 2 sandwiches absolutely packed with low fat protein (ham, chicken, beef, tuna, boiled eggs, low fat cheese) plus a lot of salad veg (leaves, tomato, cucumber, grated carrot etc).  How about soup and a roll?  A can of your lovely beans would make a fine soup with a couple of cans of chopped tomatoes plus a chopped onion and any veg you fancy all in a couple of litres of water with 2 stock cubes added. Simmer for at least 20 mins.  You can add a little chilli or curry paste, or herbs, if you fancy changing the flavours.  Or there are loads of reasonable soups on the supermarket shelves.  Just look at the nutritional info.  There are loads of other bread alternative to give you variety: wraps, thins, various rolls etc.  I like a homemade potato salad or coleslaw with peanuts, or cheese etc added.  

I think you might well need to add a snack at tea breaks.  How about a banana, for the afternoon, as that should take you through to dinner time?  And maybe some grapes or an apple in the morning, if you need it.  

There are lots of dinners that can give you a whole series of meals.  Think of a Sunday roast.  Say it was chicken, you could have it roast with all the veg on Sunday, cold with bubble and squeak on Monday, and there should be enough left to give you some chicken for your lunch or something like fajitas or a Chinese stir fry on Tuesday.  Then you simmer the carcass in water for a couple of hours, to give you a lovely chicken stock, as the base for a soup.  Only throw away the bones, the rest can be eaten.  If you got 500/600g of low fat mince (5% fat).  You can make up a large pan of it with teaspoons of oil, onion, carrot and garlic. Then put it into batches.  One with 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (can include herbs) makes a bolognaise sauce or the meat part of a lasagne or mousakka.  Add some curry paste and your favourite veg, and you have a curry.  I am sure you are getting the idea.  Of course you may not want to eat mince 3 days in a row.  That is what freezers are for.  Batch some meals up, well labelled, so that you can have them instead of a takeaway.   

There are loads of recipes on this site, if you check.  There are loads of low cal recipes in the web, if you google.  Two of my favourite sites for great recipes that fit into healthy eating are the BBC Food site and Jamie Oliver's.  Others have mentioned the Hairy Bikers.  I used to have a cooking session on Saturday or Sunday and batch up some meals or starter meals for the week.  I even used to freeze some sandwiches for quick getaways.  But that meant I had to leave out the salad, as it doesn't freeze well.

Hope this gives you lots of ideas.  And remember there is nothing wrong with bacon, egg and beans, as a meal for slimmers or others.  

Venus

[jenwriter in reply to Venusflytrap]

Thanks. I've tried having a sandwich but I get hungry a few hours later. I'd rather make a tidy size meal as I don't like eating big meals in the night.

[Venusflytrap]

How about more than one sandwich with two proteins in?  Like cheese plus ham.  And you could start with a soup and finish with a sugarfree jelly, set with fruit plus a yoghurt.  Need to take a picnic basket!