I LOVE my instant pot!! I can cook a pot of Beans in 55 minutes!! We took a tough Steak and added celery, onions, carrots and 1 small potato Put in for around 45 to 50 minutes. The tough meat just fell apart. It was yummy. Did I say I LOVED my instant pot!! I also have the air fryer which I really don't care for. I think it is because I haven't taken the time to use it. You can't beat those Instant Pot.
I see you are pre-op so that's a "whole 'nother world" from post WLS. Because, you still have the monkey on your back for portions and addiction to the foods that made us all fat, especially when it comes to eating easy, crap food that tastes delicious and packs a sh*t ton of fat/carb calories with them and the drive thru is a tempting, evil siren. My advice if THIS above scenario is actually your issue, then we all just have to suck it up buttercup and change the way we deal with food.
Now, if I'm wrong and instead it's because you have lost your appetite and desire for food as you move toward the WLS outcome, then I sincerely apologize and will help you brainstorm.
I second what everyone said about the crockpot and storebought rotisserie chicken especially post WLS, because crockpots are awesome for cooking things in moist heat so they will go down your new tummy better. But if even a crockpot sounds too gruesome for words with work, then you can think of many other pre-made foods from the grocery. I personally think some of them are full of hidden sugars/salts, but there are some jewels that work really well.
I tend to eat the same 2-3 things for Breakfast and lunch every day. It's easy. It's easy to track in MFP. And I'm not bored by them cuz they are just "expendable meals." I'm busy with work and other daily chores so am not counting on them to speak to my soul, just fuel my body and keep me from going off the deep end with hunger.
Breakfast:
1. omelet or egg scramble with Hillshire Farms Black Forest Ham or pre-cooked turkey sausage crumbles from Jimmy Dean, baby organic spinach/super greens trio, mushrooms, salsa.
2. Cottage Cheese/Greek Yogurt mixture (to keep the carbs down and get probiotics), frozen blueberries, 5g Fiber One Cereal
3. Green smoothie: scoop of banana cream Protein Powder, 1.5oz frozen chopped spinach, 1oz frozen blueberries, 5g whole psyllium husks, 12oz Water, 4-5 ice cubes=blend and drink. (Sometimes I add 6g vitacost Peanut Butter Slim Powder.)
Lunch:
1. salad + grilled or unbreaded Protein (you can get at any drive thru or make your own)
2. Lunch Wrap: Hillshire Farms deli meat, low fat mayo, organic spinach or chopped cabbage, low cal dressing, low carb tortilla
3. Green soup: 2c water, 1 1/2 tsp Better Than Bouillon, 100g chopped frozen greens-your choice, 2 mushrooms sliced, frozen squash or cauliflower (optional), 2oz diced protein (any kind), spices of your choice, hot pepper vinegar.
4. Sardines, mustard, pork skins and grape tomatoes
Dinner:
You can do anything, but essentially I grill/broil/pan saute a whole package of chicken on the weekend. I cook a lb or 2 of ground meat (turkey, chicken, lean beef, or pork), and usually make a pork loin cuz they are so dayum cheap. Once that is done, I can portion and freeze or leave in the fridge since there's 2 of us. So that's the meat. Once in awhile I will make a pot of chili, meat sauce for "spaghetti," and special Soups or stewps then portion and freeze for rainy, non-cooking meals.
I keep frozen veggies (broccoli and green beans), fresh veggies: salad stuff, grape tomatoes, avocados, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, onions, asparagus, etc cuz it takes 5 minutes to whip up a couple of servings of veggies at dinner.
I keeps sauces either made or bought to add to meat to jazz it up. I keep shiritaki rice and noodles to sub for Pasta.
Then beyond that I keep string cheese, cheddar, mozzarella, Parmesan on hand along with cottage cheese, yogurt, hard boiled eggs. I keep packets of chicken, tuna, and salmon in the pantry. With all of that stuff, I'm able to get meals together in 10 minutes or less. That keeps me on the weight loss trail and living the dream as I work toward surgery. If you don't want to cook meat, look in the frozen foods at all the grilled basics like: fajita beef, grilled chicken, brisket, pulled pork--just read the labels for added sugar, carbs, and calories.
Hope this helps you!
Lots of good ideas, there, FluffyChix! I'd also suggest purchasing an InstantPot -- it can do everything a crockpot does (and more), but in an hour. If you like cooking, Sous Vide is a great way to prepare fish, shrimp, chicken breasts.
So, at church, we have this part of the Sunday Service called "Candles of Community" where people share their joys and concerns in life. I announced that on Tuesday, I'm going to be going under the (laprascopic) knife but I didn't specify why, which is why everyone was swarming me to ask why I'm having surgery. But at least something good happened with that: the members of the church in my town are going to organize to help me with the chores I can't do immediately after surgery.
