need help menu planning

[bandedshopgirl 0]

I need everyone's help! To start with, I am a horrible cook and own my own business (so not a lot of time) so we eat out ALOT!!!...which is what has helped pack the lbs on both hubby and me. I have NEVER planned menus for dinner...so that I would go to the grocery store and buy what was planned for that week. Can some of you give me examples of what you fix for dinner that you can eat after banding (I was banded Dec 2005 and have had major problems with 1st bite syndrome)...so I am trying to start fresh...I want to fix healthy quick meals...I get home at 6:30pm with everyone starving and I need to stop eating out and start cooking but I don't know where to start....PLEASE HELP!:help: . Instead of my health improving after surgery...I have headed in the other direction and I MUST get the weight off!

[missy4gordon 0]

I need everyone's help! To start with, I am a horrible cook and own my own business (so not a lot of time) so we eat out ALOT!!!...which is what has helped pack the lbs on both hubby and me. I have NEVER planned menus for dinner...so that I would go to the grocery store and buy what was planned for that week. Can some of you give me examples of what you fix for dinner that you can eat after banding (I was banded Dec 2005 and have had major problems with 1st bite syndrome)...so I am trying to start fresh...I want to fix healthy quick meals...I get home at 6:30pm with everyone starving and I need to stop eating out and start cooking but I don't know where to start....PLEASE HELP!:help: . Instead of my health improving after surgery...I have headed in the other direction and I MUST get the weight off!

I am the same way!! I feel like I wrote this thread!! (Except for the owning your own business) I work everyday until 5, by the time I get home everyone is starving!!

I don't know how to cook healthy, we eat out way too much, I need help too!! I had my surgery in August of 2005 and have failed miserably with this. I am almost a year out and am still in the same position. I will be watching this thread for ideas also.

[missnikki 0]

One of my favorite meals is baked fish:hungry: . I season my fish with very little sea salt and lemon pepper seasoning and lemon slices and bake in the oven. I usually eat steamed broccoli or spinach with it. Another thing that is good is homemade Soups with lots of vegatables, it is a one pot meal, I add meat for the rest of the family but I may eat a couple of small bites of it. In case I don't really eat the meat I add unflavored Protein powder.:clap2:

[Carlene 12]

I use my slow cooker a lot - just throw some stuff in it and you can leave the house for hours while it cooks. I make chili in it, different types of gumbo, stews, Soups, etc. I brown pork tenderloin and then put it in the slow cooker with a little Water and a can of Soup (cream of anything). When we get home it is ready to eat and wonderfully tender and moist. This also works with round steak, although I have to chop mine up before I can eat it.

You can cook a whole chicken all night (or all day) in a slow cooker and it is wonderful. Eat it just like it comes out of the pot, or de-bone and use for other dishes. Be sure and chill the broth, skim off the fat, and then save it in the 'fridge.

You can also make tacos very quickly (I don't eat the shells). Add some low-fat refried Beans and homemade guacamole on the side. YUM!

Do we have a recipe thread on here? If not, we should start one.

[mousecrazy 2]

If you are not used to cooking, a good place to start is some quick and easy recipes...I subscribe to a magazine that used to be called Quick Cooking, but it just recently changed its name to Simple and Delicious. Check them out online, or go to the library and look at some back issues. Very easy, small list of ingredients.

Another idea is to see if you have a Super Suppers or dinner Station in your area. They've done all the prep work, and you just go there and assemble the meals. They also have some of the meals prepared and frozen already. You do the finish (bake, cook) at home.

I also work full-time, and spend two hours commuting, so don't have much time to cook...we grill/bake/slow cook on the weekends, and use that as the base for quick meals on week nights. If I have to go out to eat on week nights, I go for places I can get something decent, like Wendy's chili, or somewhere with Soup. It is possible to go out to eat if you are very careful about Portion Control.< /p>

It's tough out there in "busy world", I understand. Check out the magazines and recipes above, and see if they are helpful!

Good luck!

Cindy

[sbmorgaine 0]

There are these 2 cook books, both by the same woman, and they are the absolute best for meal planning and quick meals. I am not normally a cook book person, but they are so simple and step by step (sometimes overly so. there is a recipe for how to cook a baked potato in the microwave) that they are wonderful. Almost everything takes less than 20 minutes, and they are all tasty. They are wonderful books for people who don't know how to cook. Plus, they have shopping lists and menu help for people. It is all around a great book.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0962916013/sr=8-1/qid=1154614242/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2664382-2297500?ie=UTF8]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0962916013/sr=8-1/qid=1154614242/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-2664382-2297500?ie=UTF8[/ame]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0962916005/sr=8-2/qid=1154614242/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-2664382-2297500?ie=UTF8]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0962916005/sr=8-2/qid=1154614242/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-2664382-2297500?ie=UTF8[/ame]

[clovermeg 2]

Rachel Ray also has a 30 minute healthy cookbook. I love her and I really do cook her meals in 30 minutes or less!

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400082536/sr=1-2/qid=1154615449/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-6712749-2823020?ie=UTF8&s=books]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400082536/sr=1-2/qid=1154615449/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-6712749-2823020?ie=UTF8&s=books[/ame]

[Kell 0]

I hear ya! No time to cook! I usually cook when I have time and make a casserole or two and freeze it in those Glad 1/2 cup containers. (Yesterday I did italian meatballs in BBQ Sauce in the crockpot and then froze lots of them--but I love making casseroles with meat, veggies, etc) Then I can throw something in the fridge in the morning and then microwave it when it's time for dinner. This works for me though because I am a single mom, so that amount is good for all of us! :confused:

Kell

[Alicia521 0]

Pampered chef has some easy meals as well. You may want to check into that. I am busy as well. get home between 5:30-7:00 depending on what day it is and I have a 15 month old son and a hungry husband. We eat out some and I just try to eat the light/low-fat choices. Some things we do as well - bake a casserole on the weekend and freeze it until ready to eat. Steamed veggies - they don't take much time to cook. Soups that you can refrigerate and reheat when ready to eat. Good luck to you!

[Yoda 0]

What is also really good is the pre-cooked chicken strips. You can season them to whatever flavour you like and heat them up (we usually stir fry ours...no oil or anything) from frozen in mere minutes and then serve them a ton of different ways: for example:

in a quesdilla (sp?)

in a wrap

in a salad (including ceasar salad)

cup up any ol' way actually......

[deckedout 0]

Bandedshopgirl,

Here we have the perfect answer, maybe they have something like it where you are? It is called "Dinners on" there is another one, but I don't remember the name of that one. YOu go one night, pay like 150-200 depending on how many meals you want to make, they have all the materials to make good healthy meals for a whole month. YOu take them home, put them in the freezer, then each night you just take out what you want and heat it up. I have never done it cause my DH is a meat and potatoes guy, but the meals look really good, a friend at work did it and brought the left overs the next day. Maybe try a web search and see if they have something like it where you are?

My friend said it was a lot of fun putting the meals together, but you can also just order the meals already made if you don't want to do it yourself.:hungry:

Jane

[Lana Ruth 1]

Hi Bandedshopgirl:hungry:

Sorry to here your having problems. I think most of the sugestions have been made. But if you have weekends free it might be good to experiment. If you develop a health love of preparing nutrious meals you be more incline to cook.:grouphug:

I would also agree a slow cooker and preparing meals and freezing them into protions is great idea. Plus if you like salad it that takes 5 mins to prepare and fish can be prepared in about 2 mins in the microwave.

Good Luck :confused:

Lana:biggrin1:

[Road Queen 0]

I have always like to cook but am a slug after work. So I crock pot alot and use Sundays to plan foods. Usually, I set up something that will work for a few meals. Last week, I cooked up a batch of black Beans. I have made black bean Soup, nachos, and black bean burgers with them this week. And froze some for next week.

Another thing that works for me is having things ready to go into a recipe. For example, today, I will take some bread and make it into croutons and put some in the food processor (for bread crumbs). I am also thinking of cooking some bacon for bacon bits. I also have frozen containers of cooked ground burger and crockpot shredded chicken to add to a quick casserole.

I have to quit this thread for now. I'm making myself head hungry.

[NewBeginnings2018 81]

Also check and see if you have a dreamdinners in your area. www.dreamdinners.com. All the food is prepped for you, and you go in two hours assemble 6-12 meals, take them home, freeze them, and then cook them as you need them. The food is actually very, very good, and all of their meals have nutritional information. Now I'm not banded yet, buy my good friend is, and she has no problem eating the meals. It has made my life so much easier. On Sunday I'll take a few meals out of the freezer, so they are thawed when I need them during the week. It's been great for me!

[bandedshopgirl 0]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions! I still struggle with making myself sit down and write a grocery list based on having a menu planned for the week. To be such an anal planner I am so opposite when it comes to menu planning! I will try to do better and keep you guys posted