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Home > How do I do it? Really?

How do I do it? Really?

November 30th, 2006 at 04:13 am

Ok, as I think I mentioned in an earlier post, I am getting tired of my habit of eating frozen dinners (i.e. Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, etc.) and am really wanting to do more from scratch.

But . . . I'll use today at lunch as an example. I came home from work and was really hungry. I was out of cheese (because I foolishly left it out on the counter yesterday!) So, making a veggie turkey sandwich w/o cheese just didn't sound appealing. Neither did having a Boca burger plain. So, I ate my last Hot Pocket (broc & cheese).

I've got dried beans and dried lentils and vege burger mixes in my pantry. I've got tons of oatmeal, and a good amount of flour and cornmeal. I've got lots of different frozen veggies in my freezer. I also have a good number of canned soups and veggie chili. Not to mention my numerous frozen Morningstar/Boca products.

I'd like to try once-a-month cooking, or even twice a month. But the majority of the recipies I find for that (or for crockpot cooking) are either 1: Meat oriented or 2: Really cheesey or 3: High in sodium or some combination of the 3.

A blogger mentioned something about freezing their oatmeal??? That would be great for breakfast in the morning - but how exactly do you do it?

I'm really trying to eat more healthfully and am working on losing weight (34lbs gone so far since May!) I'm also really wanting to keep my grocery expenses low.

For awhile there I was eating a lot of Yoplait Yogurt, but then I read the label and figured out why I had finally found a yogurt I liked - the sugar content and that ingredient Dr. Oz on Oprah warns about in foods (Hydro something or other). I eat a banana for breakfast pretty much everyday, and have 2 servings of veggies for dinner most nights.

I'm really coming up on a blank. Apparentally the computer program Mastercook also comes up on a blank when trying to figure out recipies using my pantry list. Arghh!!

I refuse to buy any more boxed meals (with the exception of Morningstar/Boca etc.) ! For awhile when Healthy Choice had a $1/4 coupon I was buying 4-8 boxes of their Manicotti w/broccoli each week. I just finished the last box of that a few days ago.

I want to reduce the amount of trash I produce.

So . . . anyone? Suggestions/advice please???

Condensed points:
1. Want to stop buying premade frozen meals.

2. Want to reduce amount of trash.

3. Want to have foods that are easy to pop in the microwave for a quick lunch/dinner/breakfast.

4. Want foods that are meatless (cheese,eggs, milk, butter, ok.)

5. Want foods that are low in sodium and not *too* high in fat.

6. Want foods that are not difficult or overly time consuming to prepare - or to make enough to freeze.

7. Want to keep my grocery bill low.

_________
Spending report:
Tuesday - none
Wednesday: $32.11 (Cable Bill x 2 -- am planning on canceling this at the end of December - same time my Tivo 1-yr gift sub runs out. Just can't see paying $16+/mo for Tivo + 13/mo for cable. Just not necessary.)

8 Responses to “How do I do it? Really?”

  1. LuckyRobin Says:
    1164862429

    Try this one:

    http://www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/oamc/vegweek.html

    This one may not be quite as helpful but its something.

    http://www.stretcher.com/stories/980702d.cfm

  2. Carolina Bound Says:
    1164884768

    Most recipes make enough for four servings, at least. If you're single, that means you have three to freeze. You don't have to do once-a-month cooking, just do scratch meals when you have the time and then use your homemade frozen meals when you don't!

  3. MsSuperSaver Says:
    1164895041

    Here's a couple of easy recipes that I use (often)...
    --plain yogurt (ingredients are milk and pectin with live cultures which are good for your digestive tract). Anyway, to this yogurt you can add fresh fruit, granola, or make a smoothie (put yogurt, ice, fruit, fruit juice and a little milk in a blender). Also, you can take a strainer, put a paper coffee filter in it then add a cup or two of yogurt. Let the liquid drain out overnight and you can use the "yogurt cheese" like sour cream (for baked potatoes, dips, as a sandwich spread, etc)
    --Super Fast Chili: one can diced tomatoes, 1 can pinto beans rinsed, half a chopped onion, a couple cloves of minced garlic then season with salt, pepper, and chili powder. It takes about 5 minutes to put into a pan and when you get home from work. Heat on medium for about a half hour and instant chili! I like mine over rice Smile --Granola: Mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup maple syrup (the real kind), 1/4 cup vegetable oil and 3/4 tsp salt. Add to this mixture 4 cups of rolled oats (not the instant kind) and 1 cup of nuts (put them in a ziploc bag then use a hammer to crush them into tiny pieces) and stir well. Bake granola in a sheet pan at 250 degrees for about an hour stirring every 15 minutes.
    --Multi Use Bean Dip: In a pie plate layer a can of refried beans and grated cheese. Microwave on high til heated. Add chopped onions, chopped tomatoes and salsa. Can be use as a dip for tortilla chips, rolled in a tortilla, etc.

    You can also check out the health food section of a good grocery store. Many evenings I eat a pre-packaged salad and a bowl of organic soup. Simple.

  4. mjrube94 Says:
    1164898805

    Soup, soup, soup...Healthy, freezes well, really versatile, and easy to do vegetarian. I've made kicking onion soup, butternut squash soup, minestrone, clam chowder, etc. Of course, you live in Texas, so it may be a little hot for soup, but I could eat it year round...

  5. koppur Says:
    1164907088

    I don't freeze my oatmeal but I do do this...I buy the big box at Sams that has 2 4.5 lb bags in it..then I make up about 5 c of it at a time. I seperate it into single servings of 1 c each and then stick them in the fridge. then each morning i take one out, and nuke it in the microwave with a small apple cut up and a splenda packet. i'm on ww and this is a very healthy, low fat, yummy breakfast. Smile

  6. fern Says:
    1164908379

    If you're looking for interesting recipes that use specific foods/vegetables, you can try recipezaar.com; i believe they have a vegetarian section, and you can also just type in tuna fish, for instance, and get a ton of recipes with tuna fish in them and they're all rated by other viewers.

    I get some great oatmeal at Trader Joe's, but it takes 30 minutes to cook. You could cook it night while you're doing your dinner, then stick it in the fridge and in the a.m. you can just zap it in the microwave.

  7. frugaltexan75 Says:
    1164922159

    Thanks everyone for your responses. I will def. check out the various websites and keep them in mind. Thanks for the recipie ideas as well!

  8. boomeyers Says:
    1164946019

    Have you ever tried allreceipes.com? It's a fav of mine!

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