Which happens to be my last week of law school classes EVER!!!! I wish I could explain how happy this makes me, but you're just gonna have to take my word for it.
Those of you who have followed the blog for a while have read about my ongoing battle with my weight... For those of you who are new - I set out to lose 30 pounds in January of 2009. I lost as much as 20 at one point, gained about 10 of it back, and have been hovering at around 15 pounds lost for the last 4 months or so. I am a workout machine... I do 60 minutes of cardio at least 5 days a week and try to lift weights 2 or 3 times a week (although I'm not always so good about lifting). My problem is eating... I eat like every meal is my last. I eat out all the time. I love cheeseburgers. I love to drink. So - the fact that I've had a hard time losing
In addition to all these calories I'm consuming eating out all the time, I'm also spending a shit ton of money. Money that I don't really have to be spending out (uhhh yeah, I should be using my paychecks to pay my credit card bill, not eat cheeseburgers and guzzle pitchers of beer).
SO - this week I'm going to try something new. Something that a lot of you do all the time, but I don't. I'm gonna menu plan, then I'm going to go to the grocery store and buy the things I need for the week. And I'm going to pack my lunch. And the only spending I'm gonna do this week is Starbuck's if I feel like I need a little pick me up.
So those of you who are regular menu planners - give me your tips. What do you always keep around the house?. What is your go-to easy meal for after a busy day? And I ESPECIALLY want to hear from you single girl menu planners - What is your best recipe to cook for one person?! (I have no shame and will go to the meat counter at Whole Foods and purchase 1 steak, so this is not an issue, ha).
Obviously I can make a regular meal and feed my roommate or take the leftovers for my lunch, but I want suggestions for 1 person meals that are something other than a chicken breast or a can of soup. Ha.
Help a sister out!
My go to meal, whether it's for myself or for guests, is always my lemon-butter chicken. It's only around 250 calories per serving, 3 g fat and 4 g sugar. Preheat oven to 350. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in the microwave and pour into a casserole dish. Add 1 cup of fat free Italian dressing, 2 tbsp of lemon juice (or 1 lemon), 3 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce. Place chicken tenders (generally come in a package of 8 or 10) in the dish and add lemon pepper, garlic salt, and onion powder to taste. Flip and repeat. Bake for 25 min. REALLY easy to make and leftovers are great for the rest of the week. I eat it with quinoa and broccoli usually. However, it goes great over thin spaghetti. A little goes a long way with the sauce.
ReplyDeleteSoup is so easy bc you can make it and then it keeps all week and this one is sooo filling. i use low sodium/no added salt everything so I dont retain water or anything. I made this recipe yesterday and it was really good but I added organic tomatoes and some cayenne pepper...http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1924699&adsqs=
ReplyDeleteAs we all know, I've been "single" since August, and have tried to cook regularly the whole time. One of my favorite meals is turkey burgers (on a sandwich thin, only 100 calories) and sweet potato fries. Sweet potatoes are really hard to cut up, so they look more like sweet potato chunks, but they're delicious and way better for you than french fries. It's such an easy and delicious meal.
ReplyDeleteI also cook a lot of fish, usually either salmon or tilapia. If you like salmon let me know, I have a delicious, and super easy recipe. Fish cooks so fast, so I'll usually pair it with some brown rice and steamed veggies and it's delicious and low calorie, and so quick and easy.
For nights I'm just too tired to cook, or want something really low calorie since it's late, I go to oatmeal. I buy the real kind, not instant, microwave it for 4 1/2 minutes, then stir in some frozen blueberries (any frozen fruit would work) and then cook for another minutes. Stir it all up, put in some splenda, and it's delicious, and light (right around 200 calories). I never feel guilty for eating this and then going to bed shortly after.
I could go on and on, but these are my favorites. I am so not a leftover person, so I have to make things that I can make in just 1 serving.
chicken casseroles are always good.. just whack in chicken breast, some tinned tomatoes, veggies/mixed beans. and lots of herbs and spices to your taste!
ReplyDeleteI always keep low carb pasta and cheese on hand to make low carb mac & cheese. It takes 20 minutes and is super delicious.
ReplyDeleteBut you're not doing atkins.
Honestly, before atkins, I did a lot of smoothies, because they're super filling and healthy. They're easy to do with frozen fruit, yogurt, milk, and some OJ.
I also keep chicken breasts in the freezer and frozen vegetables. Keep garlic salt and other generic enough spices on hand too.
I don't like to spend a ton of time cooking, and I've found that these are good choices. You can do whole wheat pasta with olive oil too, throw in some vegetables and it's good.
Hope that helps!
I usually make a big chopped salad every few days and eat it with different combinations -- pesto chicken, salsa and skirt steak, etc for lunch at work. For dinners, I have either a lean cuisine, more salad with baked fish or chicken, or pasta. I like to cook a big meal once a week and freeze it into individual portions, so I don't end up eating the same thing all week and get some variety as time goes on.
ReplyDeleteWell I normally go for Bethenny Frankel's Brown rice breakfast in the morning and it's also good to take in a lunch box. All it is is brown rice, raisins, cinnamon, honey/maple syrup and soya milk cooked on the hob for 5 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI have started making a few meals that I break into three or four portions and freeze them... then I have a nice little stash of meals in the freezer for any day when I don't have time to cook.
ReplyDeleteI am going to get off my butt and post a bourbon chicken recipe sometimes this week... delicious and pretty easy, too.
You CAN do it - it's just a matter of having items on hand and having a few go-to recipes!
You go girl!!
Whole grain pasta with veggies. Honestly I would go with frozen veggies since they 1) retain more nutrients and 2) last forever. A steamer is a godsend. As is a crockpot. If you have one.
ReplyDeleteBut really easy and healthy meals are ones that are bean based. Low fat plus super fiber filled makes it easy. If you want a list of super easy meals email me and I'll be more than happy to help.
Not that I've been overly successful, but lately I've been trying to stick to the following items: a turkey breast or ham sandwich with lite mayo and whole grain/lite bread (I know lame, but it gets the job done plus it keeps my sugar numbers low); lots of fruit and veggies...bananas, grapes, apples (w/peanut butter cup individual servings), the individual frozen veggies with sauce in them (sorry...can't think of the name of them but 2-3 mins in the microwave and voila!), sometimes I add a serving of pretzels, dorittos or something crunchy.
ReplyDeleteI think the hardest part is planning and being prepared. Once it is there and ready to go it is much easier.
As for dinner, I have the munchkin and the aunt that I also have to take into account for dinner and she usually does the cooking since I'm in class. But it is usually a pork chop or chicken breast made with oven-fry (yummy!!), mashed potatoes or rice or pasta, and a veggie of some sort.
Boring, but it does seem to get the job done when I follow the "plan".
Good luck LF! :)
As a single girl (vegetarian) law student- love to eat salad as an entree, with lettuce and spinach leaves and a hard boiled egg or two, with assorted veggies and some balsamic, EVOO and S&P.
ReplyDeleteAlso good: those microwaveable bags of rice + can of refried beans + corn tortillas, with veggies, cheese and sour cream.
Love to scramble eggs too-with spinach, red and green peppers, black beans and mushrooms. Just add some toast and its delicious.
Good luck!
I always have extra spaghetti and sauce on hand. I also buy frozen bean burgers and try to keep an extra package in the freezer (and buns) that way, when I am low on food and think, oh let's go out tonight, I can say, no, I should have bean burgers or spaghetti which only takes about 15 minutes and are both pretty healthy. And that way I don't break the budget. = )
ReplyDeleteI'm also a student & a mom (and a vegetarian), so I like things that are quick!
you go! See I am the opposite. I am on day 5 of the good eating with no problem. It is the working out that gets me....I despise it!
ReplyDeleteHealthy orange chicken - cut up and brown a chicken breast, saute diced onion, red peppers then add chicken back to the pan. Mix together low sodium soy sauce and orange marmalade and put it over the top and mix it all together. Serve over 1/2 cup of brown rice and top with green onion or scallions. SOOOOO good and totally kills any greasy Chinese craving you're having.
ReplyDeleteAlso, cream cheese, goat cheese, spinach and garlic in a food processor and toss with whole grain cooked pasta.
ReplyDeleteI keep several Amy's Organic Bowls in the freezer for my dinner when I just don't feel like cooking. The Brown Rice and Vegetable one is great and all things considered, isn't all that expensive (especially when on sale).
ReplyDeleteJust started reading your blog and am loving it! I'm getting ready to graduate from law school too, and am trying to lose some weight. I always meal plan (even if I'm not trying to diet). Here are some of my favorites:
ReplyDelete- self.com has some awesome healthy recipes posted, with the calories already counted. I'm trying this recipe tonight, mmm, cheese... http://www.self.com/fooddiet/recipes/2005/04/mediterranean-vegetable-cheese-pie
- another favorite - black bean burgers from a friend's blog. great with hummus or ketchup and a 100-cal sandwich thin http://www.fannetasticfood.com/recipes/black-bean-spinach-burgers/
- if you like oatmeal, try old fashioned (not quick) oats, cooked on the stove with water and a veggie (diced carrot, celery, asparagus, whatever). Then add soy sauce. Weird, I know, but awesome.
- a really great lentil soup, great for leftovers, low cal, and filling. I nix the chicken, add extra spinach and carrots, and sometimes add diced potatoes http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/lentil_chicken_stew.html
Tonight I made tostadas for my fiance and I. I just bought tostadas shells at jewel. Refried beans, turkey with taco seasoning(instead of ground beef), greek yogurt instead of sour cream and then whatever toppings you would normally put on a taco. Took about 10 minutes to make!
ReplyDeleteI've commented before, but the EASIEST and FASTEST way to lose weight is to cut animal products out of your life! I've kept 25 lbs off since Christmas and I eat a ton of whatever I want, as long as it's vegan. Oreos, Twizzlers, chips and salsa and french fries are some of the highlights! :)
ReplyDeleteCheck out my blog... good luck... but just know that it is seriously the most effective "diet" I've tried. I've done them all - low carb, all fresh fruit and veg, low fat, low sodium, EVERYTHING! Listem to me and start losing lbs :)
i always have a package of precooked chicken strips (tysons does a bunch of different flavors) and uncle ben's 90 second microwavable rice at the house. if i have a few minutes, i'll add asparagus, red/yellow pepper and some mushrooms.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest tip is choose three recipes and make two servings each. By the end of the week when you don't want to cook any more, your meals have already been completely cooked or at least preped. It is also a lot easier to shop for slightly larger quanities.
ReplyDeleteMy easiest meal is a black bean burger with guac.
Wow, these comments all rock. I've starred this on my google reader so I can keep coming back to read more meal ideas. You have some savvy readers.
ReplyDeleteYAY FOR LAST WEEK OF LAW SCHOOL EVER!!!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing to do for meals is to roast a chicken on Sunday. Eat a little bit of it with lots of veggies and fruit and some bread, then save the rest. For the next few days you can have chicken sandwiches, chicken caesar salad, chicken salad, etc. The carcass will make a great soup when you've picked it clean. For me the worst part about leftovers is that they end up tasting the same over and over, which is why I stick with chicken. Yum. Taco leftovers work well too for quesadillas and nachos. The main thing is to stick with lots of sides to change it up and keep the meals interesting.
I am incapable of cooking for less than a family of 4 that wants leftovers. I find it easier and more efficient to do a big cooking expedition Sunday night and use that as dinner for the rest of the week and then do sandwiches with whole grain potato bread, low fat cheese, whatever deli meat was on sale, and this new mayo that is made from olive oil.
ReplyDeleteThis Sunday's meal was Annie Chuang lo mein mix. I saute my own veggies (onion, red pepper, garlic/ginger, mushroom, snow peas) and shrimp to make a complete meal. I also made my own egg drop soup (thickened by adding mushrooms/spinach to the broth). I used a combo of recipes on foodnetwork and my dad's addition of sherry.
Enjoy
Good for you!!! I recently saw a cookbook about cooking for one in the bookstore. You could start there.
ReplyDeleteMy go to meal is Lemon Chicken Pasta Toss, which is great leftover! I often make it when hubs is away for dinner and pack the rest for my lunch!
When I was single though I used to do one chicken cutlet in a store bought marinade with boil in bag rice, which is good for portion control. Goodluck!!!
I'm a college girl (soon to be law student) who does all of her cooking at home. I love pitas (super low in fat, and lots of fiber) with veggies or sliced chicken. Also, I am OBSESSED with the weight watchers ice cream bars (they're only 2 points and yummy, so it's a great snack!) I make a lot of veggies too - zuchinni or asparagus, grilled with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Delish!
ReplyDeleteI love love love mexican food! With that being said I always have the following in my cabinet: canned tomatoes (sliced, diced, chopped, stewed - doesn't matter), beans (chili, black, kidney will all do), taco seasoning (store brand is just fine), and dried onions.
ReplyDeleteThe recipe: start with ground something (beef, turkey, venison, whatev) and brown meat. Add taco seasoning, can of tomatoes, can of beans, and a few good shakes of dried onions. This is where you can be creative based on what you like and what you have. Sometimes I add the following or any combo of it:
corn, green peppers, shredded cheese, sour cream
pour over rice or pasta
wrap in flour tortilla
eat like chili in a bowl
It's the best more versatile meal ever!