Grocery shop for me....

[livelaughlovep]

I'm on a diet. Weight watchers, to be exact. I need to eat healthy food. I'm not good at cooking healthy food. I am so sick of EVERYTHING. I don't want any of it anymore. I need some help thinking up new things to eat because I just cannot keep going on three basic meals

Comments

[subarashiine]

Ack I know what you mean in terms of prices... where do you live? Is there a Trader Joe's anywhere near you? I bring it up because there is no 'middle man' at Trader Joe's so all the food is cheaper

[livelaughlovep]

There's one a pretty far distance away. I thought they were kinda pricy when I went in there, with all the specialty stuff.

I'd want to eat more morning farms stuff or boca products, but even that at 4.00 for what equates to a meal or two is expensive.

Super super tight budget. We're moving in just over a month and its really killing us, two people a lizard & a cat on one person's paycheck is brutal.

I love indian food, we've been eating tandoori flavored turkey burgers with lentils several times this week, except when i found some leftover coconut milk and made a potato curry to go with it. That was different and good.

I can't stand hamburger helper at this point, its all the ex ever ate. I'm just saying how stupid this country is because cheap food is bad food, and good food is astronomic, no wonder everyone is obese and no one eats their vegetables :(

[subarashiine]

*nods* Sigh.. I have very little respect for America :P Can't wait to go to my dream country (Japan) ^_^

Well I really hope things shape up :) Hey for extra money, you could always sell some stuff on Ebay LOL ;)

[livelaughlovep]

I'd like to be anywhere but here but I don't think I qualify in any way for export, so I'm stuck. Its really, really awful! I just hope that I can get a place when we move that allows me to garden. That will help a lot. I hope duplexes let me tear up the lawn! LOL.

I'd sell stuff on ebay if I had anything left to sell! I've sold everything I own, pretty much.

[seitvonzu]

i find i'm most satisfied with "healthy" eating when i cook faithfully from cooking light magazine. i used to make about 3 meals a week from there, and then somehow stopped (i started working and cooking less). i've only ever made one BAD thing from CL in about 7 years. it's not weight watchers, but it's does make you concious about what your putting in your body.

good luck!

[livelaughlovep]

I'm going to ask for a subscrip to cooking light for xmas I think. I picked up one, and it was pretty good, a lot of the meals were super fancy but they were in such a way that the fanciness was superficial and the meals could be deconstructed to somthing managable.

I miss just throwing things together. I miss cheap food, I miss not having to weigh count measure and analyze everything I eat. I just don't know what to do. I'm at my wit's end.

[mint_dill]

you don't even have to subscribe to their magazine, their website is amazing!! and i agree with seitvonzu i've never made anything bad. even if you find yourself leaning to more vegetarian meals, they have a lot to choose from that are very flavorful ... and i've found works well with WW too!! :D

[krasota]

I buy meat on sale. If chicken boneless/skinless thighs are on sale, that's what I get. If whole chickens are on sale, I get a whole chicken, brine it, roast it, and use the carcass to make/freeze broth. If ground beef is on sale, we have meatloaf or tacos or various kinds of croquettes.

Look up recipes for coq au vin and chicken marsala. It need not be complex. Experiment with different herbs, if you have them. A typical quick meal for us is chicken with wine, brown rice, and steamed/roasted veggie of the day

[livelaughlovep]

all good advice. I don't mind peeling - I kind of freak people out because I religiously use a paring knife and don't even own a 'peeler'. I think you waste too much veggie..

maybe I can experiment with various purrees, soups and things in the winter. I'm really horrible at soups though. :/

[griffen]

Soups take time and patience, but they can be learned. Start with something simple like a chowder: broth, milk, meat, some veggies, spices. I make a chicken corn chowder that's to die for. There are several good cookbooks dealing specifically with soups, too.

[sacralplexus]

When I'm being good and following the WW points stuff I make tofu tacos. I buy the lite extra firm tofu and then cube and fry it up with taco seasoning and then eat it with black beans, onion, cilantro and avocado on corn tortillas. Super good and low in points.

Also fried rice with brown rice.

I also bought some weight watchers cook bookms which have helped too.

[livelaughlovep]

I've never liked the weight watchers cookbook, they go out of their way to make american classics diet friendly and in my opinon do it horribly, or they are meat/vegetable/starch(or grain) which I could do... I dunno. Maybe I keep getting the bad cookbooks.

I should get more tofu. The boy hates it though. I'd eat it just fine, but him...

[jess_faraday]

A lot of grocery stores carry Morningstar Farms veg sausage links, patties, ground "meat", etc. in the freezer section. It's a lot lower in fat than pork sausage, and I rather like the taste. It is still processed, but at least it's not terrible for you.

Good luck!

[morningapproach]

That does sound fantastic - I am starting WW right now, so I am going to have to store that aside :)

[brienze]

First I just wanted to tell you I completely sympathize. Cooking and diets and budget can be really depressing and discouraging (my problem is a husband who likes the exact opposite foods, so I'm stuck eating things that are bad for me or else making two meals for two people).

I just shopped for a traditional TX bbq -- brisket, ingredients for some starchy sides, and a whole lot of veggies. I was surprised that the entire party for 10 people only cost $100 -- veggies can be cheap

[livelaughlovep]

Its funny, asian and indian is the one thing that is cheap. We have huge communities of both around here and the amount of ethnic shops catering to them is astounding. Needless to say we've been doing a ton of that

[griffen]

Different ideas to make pork palatable:
- Dijon mustard and onions
- Worcestershire sauce and onions
- Cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves when roasting

Pork is a "sweet" meat; it goes well with anything that brings out its sweetness. Sweet potatoes, carrots, other sweeter veggies - those all bring out its best side. Savory dishes with pork are harder to pull off; save those for chicken.

[livelaughlovep]

Wow, you've given me a sense of devine intervention. I don't know why I didn't think about that.... but you have an excellent point. ONe of my favorite recipes for it is a mustard sauce with sweet onions and apples.