The hell with procrastination...

T

TLaude

New member
Time to get my head out of my ass and get started changing my lifestyle. It's getting ridiculous...

The biggest thing I'm having a problem with is figuring out a meal plan. Not so much a plan either... just knowing what foods to buy, recipes to make, and things like that.

I've really watch what I buy and try to keep it healthier.. ie whole wheat bread, pasta, and tortilla's. veggies. fruits.

My issue is not knowing what kinds of meals to make. Instead of just cooking a chicken breast or two and eating just that, I'd like to start preparing more actual meals.

Any tips?

If anyone can point me in a direction to building a better meal "plan", etc.. I would appreciate it.

-Tyler
 
I am learning too so my answer isn't expert. What I'm doing (and its working) is filling up on fruit and veg and reducing the bad stuff.

I'm making sure I don't skip meals and if I'm hungry between meals then I'm having fruit. How much you need to eat depends on how much you weigh. There are calculators on here that work out how much you currently weigh and how many calories you need to consume to maintain that level. By reducing the calorie intake you will lose weight.

For me a normal day would start with porridge in the morning made with skimmed milk and a chopped banana. For lunch I have an interesting salad like chopped peppers, spring onions, tomatoes, lambs lettuce, celery etc and a small amount of ham or tuna with a yoghurt. Dinner is normally a jacket potato with beans.

I've kept it simple and swapped the white bread, rice, pasta for wholemeal as its slow release and gets you full for longer.

I hope this helps a little. No doubt someone more clued up will be along soon.
 
Well, it starts at the grocery store... I've been known to have an issue with procrastination, and I've learned that buying a bunch of stuff frozen and then defrosting it on a schedule can help.

Things I get: Lean ground meat, pork tenderloin, flank steak, chicken breasts, sometimes sirloin, frozen tilapia loins.

Tilapia loins are my "I didn't prep anything" meal. You can nuke them, or bake in the oven - which takes an extra 15 minutes. Basically just sprinkle with lemon pepper and maybe spray some butter flavored PAM or something on them and bake or nuke. If I'm baking I like to roast some veggies as well. Either fresh asparagus or... frozen, without defrosting.

Ground meat I can defrost in an hour or so, putting it in a bowl of cool water. That's the next option if I don't have anything defrosted. Mix with spices, veggies, beans and maybe a bit of cheese. It's like chili! And cooks pretty fast. I normally use frozen onions that are pre-diced. Sensing a trend here ;) Adding in some salsa verde also gives it a really nice tang!

The pork tenderloin & flank steak I usually marinate for at least an hour first. So they're the longest I have to plan in advance. Apple cider vinegar + soy sauce, or malt vinegar + soy sauce and maybe some garlic & onion powder. Then I sear in an oven safe pan, and cook in the oven. Got the idea from Alton Brown's steak episode :p

Tuna is another 'in a pinch' food. It's actually quite good mixed with greek yogurt and avocado instead of mayo, although the original recipe for tuna salad is hard to beat.

I do watch Food Network for some ideas and browse online for ingredients I have.

Lessee, on the planning part - as you may have guessed I start with the meats and the veggies. Then I may add the extras. I keep some Barilla Plus pasta around for when I want it, plus some quinoa for rice like dishes (and also some instant brown rice). Sweet potato... also frozen fruit, frozen sweet cherries in greek yogurt is remarkably good. Romaine lettuce for salads... well, you get the picture.

But if you start with getting some good proteins and vegetables you can build from there.
 
If you're the kind of guy that has no clue whatsoever, and you'd really like to learn how to cook basics, I'd recommend The Joy of Cooking. It's got a basic recipe for just about anything you can think of. Google works pretty well, too.

I'd also recommend starting with sauces. If you know how to throw a chicken in the oven or on the grill, all you need is a sauce to cover it and you're good. Can you make salsa or guac? If not, start there, they go great on everything, from eggs to meats. Learn a basic marinara for pasta, maybe a basic curry to go with rice.

Ok, I've said too much. Salsa and guac. Go.
 
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