Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with meal

Can you recommend a meal delivery service in Australia?

Jubey — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:02:22 -0800

In a few month's time, I will be recovering from a c-section whilst wrangling a newborn and a toddler. We don't have family here in Sydney so Mr Jubey and I will be coping alone. I'll be freezing meals in advance to help there but our freezer is only small so I'm looking for a meal delivery service for 4 weeks or so til I recover. Endless takeaway doesn't appeal, nor is it healthy long term. I know of Lite & Easy but that's geared towards weight loss and while (hopefully) breast feeding I will need more calories. Can you recommend a good meal delivery service? No special dietary requirements.

All I want for Xmas is airport peace, quiet and wifi

Wordshore — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 13:10:28 -0800

How can one keep sane with a 6 (six) hour layover in Detroit airport during the Xmas travel rush? Arriving late afternoon, a few days before Christmas. Departing late evening on a flight to Europe. Carrying a laptop and an android.

Looking for:
- wifi, either free and/or reliable
- quiet spaces and places
- power socket

Shot-in-the-dark less likely options, but would also be nice:
- light and healthy meal option (no fast food, fries, similar)
- decent tea
- cat petting or viewing place (as will be missing mine)

Do these exist (together) in any specific non-lounge areas? If not, is there is a cheap / cost effective way of getting lounge access? Infrequent flyer (a few times a year).

Thank you.

Food for good moods

LSK — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 13:21:40 -0800

I think my diet is affecting my mood. What should I cook to perk up my mood? I've been feeling a bit down lately (though not depressed) and I think it's because of an unhealthy diet.

I'm looking for dietary advice and food/meal recommendations.

I'm mostly vegetarian and I sometimes cook for friends, one of whom is vegan, so recommendations for vegan recipes would be excellent.

What To Do With Pea Soup Paste?

The Whelk — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:35:43 -0800

Super Concentrated Soup? So I made split pea and pesto with pork soup two nights ago and I made too much. It also sat on low for a bit too long and is now a thick green paste. What do I do with it? Is it still safe to eat? Can i do anything to it besides adding water and making more soup? How best can I use these leftovers? The soup itself was just split peas on low heat with stock and water, lime juice, pesto, and some previously cooked pork cubes. Its in a bowl under tin foil in the fridge.

Help me send food to a sick friend

leahwrenn — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 11:52:27 -0800

Recommendations for meal delivery places for low-fat meals in Anchorage, Alaska? Meals that are especially good for someone suffering from gallstones would be great. I don't even know how to go about finding places (other than pizza places) that do meal delivery, so general suggestions for meal delivery would also be helpful.

Oh, and this is all long-distance.

Dinner is served...3 hours from now

zix — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 07:12:43 -0800

What to make for dinner for 4 - 6 people that can handle with a 3 hour car ride with no cooler? A relative has died and the funeral is Saturday, at a place 3 hours away by car. I found out that one of the things I can do to help is to make dinner for tomorrow (Friday) night.

My main concern is transportation. I can make something today and freeze it but it's been unseasonably warm lately and I don't have a cooler. But mostly thawed chili or stew seems like a much better idea than having something like chilled tuna pasta salad warm up in the car. I could go to a local supermarket and buy sandwich fixings but that feels half-assed. I also don't feel comfortable arriving early and comandeering someone else's kitchen.

Extra factors:
- no lasagna (that's slated for Saturday)
- nonadventurous eaters

So what do I make? How do I get it there without spoiling and giving everyone gastrointestinal distress the day before the funeral? Thanks, MeFi.

Looking for super simple recipes for the crockpot

reenum — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:02:29 -0800

I have a crockpot, need to eat at home more, and am really short on time. Anyone have recipes I could use? What I'm looking for is recipes where there is a very minimal amount of prep or where I can just throw all the ingredients together in the crockpot and come back to a meal at night.

Any ideas? Bonus points for vegetarian recipes.

Thanks!

Are you supposed to feed a babysitter?

handful of rain — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 08:41:45 -0800

What's appropriate for me to do in terms of providing food for the person who provides occasional date-night childcare for my eight-month-old son? My husband and I are new-ish parents to an eight-month-old, and are finally emerging from the new-baby haze. We recently interviewed, hired and booked a babysitter so that we can have an evening out, hooray! However, I'm not sure what I should do in terms of providing for her dinner. She'll be caring for him from 4 pm until probably 9 or 10, so definitely over dinner time. In a situation like this, is it assumed that the person would bring their own food, or otherwise provide for themselves? Or would you expect food to be offered? The sitter is an adult and is making the high end of what seems to be a normal range for this type of childcare.

Many years ago I did a stint of neighborhood babysitting as a middle-schooler, but it was for older kids so I needed to make fixing a meal for all of us part of the evening (often ordering a pizza - as instructed by the parents). Our son is nursing and on limited solids, so his feeding is definitely separate from the sitter's. I'm very comfortable with the phrase "Help yourself to anything in the fridge!", but we don't have many packaged/convenience foods, and I'm not certain that preparing something extensive from scratch would work for her (or, to be honest, something I'd want her doing in my kitchen on the first time we have her over).

I was thinking about picking up a small frozen pizza and making sure we have some canned soup in the cabinet. Does that seem about right? I'm assuming she could also order in food if she wants, and we are an easy stroller walk to a Safeway and a good Mexican takeout place (although the baby tends to go down early, after which she'll obviously need to be in the house for the duration).

I'm basically trying to find a balance between not thinking about this at all (which was apparently my husband's plan) and way way way overthinking this and making it awkward.

What to eat to stay on feet

mhz — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:20:34 -0800

What food and/or drink will provide the most energy while still being gentle? Per Orthodox Jewish custom*, a groom fasts on his wedding until after the chuppah, usually late afternoon. I'm looking for food/drink that is ideal to break the fast on, and food/drink for the rest of the evening. There's about 4-7 hours* of intense dancing starting about an hour* after first breaking the fast, so the food needs to provide a bunch of energy, without weighing the eater down.

I've heard energy drinks (Red Bull etc), sports drinks (Gatorade, etc), water, energy bars (carb heavy), and others.. What would the perfect food be? Carbs? Fats? Proteins? Some combo? Specific foods?

*This is Judaism, of course customs vary!

Give me your tiny noms.

Anonymous — Sat, 07 May 2011 17:16:12 -0800

I want your mealplans - your SMALL mealplans. Bonus points if they're brown bag, weightloss and special snowflake friendly. I'm 5'3", 126 lbs, female, and burn an average of 1650 calories a day (according to my FitBit) - which makes losing the five pounds I've put on in the past 12 months a pain in the (slightly larger) ass.

Metafilter, I want your tiny, delicious and filling meal suggestions. I've got breakfast figured out, but need inspiration for 300-600 calorie meals, lunch or dinner. I'll also take any thoughts from other folks who've managed to work through the psychology of needing to average under 400 calories per meal in order to lose a pound a week, 'cause quite frankly, I'm feeling kind of grumbly about it.

Additional notes:
* I'm an omnivore.
* High fat meals are fine.
* High protein meals are better.
* Carbs aren't explicitly restricted.
* High fiber or gas-encouraging foods disagree with my GI tract... so no legumes, raw veggies, apples, etc.
* Lunchtime meal prep equipment includes a microwave, fridge and hot water heater.
* I dislike sandwiches and will always choose hot lunch over cold.

Recipes for the whole family

trillian — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:30:27 -0800

What are some vegetarian meals that all of us can enjoy -- two adults and a baby? My son is 10 months old, and I want to start moving him beyond jarred baby food. He doesn't have any teeth yet, but he's started eating "chunkier" foods like cut up pasta, puffs, cut-up banana, etc.

I'm looking for recipes that we can all eat -- preferably something that can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen. It can't be too hard to chew, but some texture is perfectly fine.

Conditions: We don't have a slow cooker/crockpot, we don't have tons of time for cooking, and recipes should be vegetarian (lacto-ovo) and not too spicy. I'd prefer recipes that don't require a broiler. My son can eat almost anything, except the doctor said no peanut butter or citrus until 1 year. Eggs are fine; soy is fine. Should be somewhat healthy.

Leveraging Leftovers

xammerboy — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:00:24 -0800

Looking for weekly meal plans that make the most of leftovers. What I am looking for is weekly meal plans that re-use your leftovers in later meals. In theory this should be cheaper and require less cooking than making several meals from scratch. Every time I come up with one of these it's pretty much a variation of what's above, so I'm interested in seeing what meal plans others use.

For instance: Mon: Roasted Chicken with Vegetables, Tue: Roasted Veggie Soup, Wed: Leftover Chicken Enchiladas, Thurs: Tortilla soup, etc.

What is the stew of your life?

Phyltre — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 13:57:40 -0800

What is the most unfathomably good stew-like dish you've ever had, specifically during cold weather? I am looking for the BEST stew-class substance known to man. Meat or vegetarian (Beef? Chicken? Bean? Pork? Barley? Mushrooms? Lentils?), with or without starches (Potatoes? Noodles? Rice? Dumplings?), anything is fair game so long as you have a recipe. Bowl or plate, spoon or fork, healthy or decadent--anything that's some solids in some (eventually) thick liquids with a bit of slow cooking.

I know the internet is covered in stew recipes, but we're entertaining tomorrow night and the wife has suggested a stew--I'm sure there's some incredibly awesome stew recipe lurking out there, but I don't know it and I'd rather not choose at random. Have you ever had a stew so good it's the only thing you remember about a particular evening? So good you fell in love with the chef? So good it became a foundational moment, defining the rest of your life as the fulcrum that steered you to your current place in the world? A stew from which you recoiled--not in horror, but in shock and awe?

Do tell. (...me the recipe.)

Multipliers:
1. <$30 total ingredient cost
2. <2hrs supervised cook time
3. serves ~4
4. good for cold weather
5. works as a complete meal/complete with complementary starch

X-MAS gift of meal delivery for new parents?

wannaknow — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 01:28:13 -0800

x-mas gift idea for parents of toddler, who are having twins next month: "relaxing night in". Gift card for meal delivery service (anyone know a yummier version of omaha steaks?), some great new movie on dvd, CDs of soothing sounds for the babies (white noise, womb sounds, ocean sounds, etc). Trying to keep it under $150. I've heard omaha steaks are gross, so I'm looking for an alternative. Unless I should scrap the whole thing and get them...? they live in a socal suburb, I live too far to babysit. I don't want to get them a gift basket or other food that would be delivered now. I'd rather give them the option of having food delivered once the babies arrive and they're way too exhausted to cook.

What shall we do with a drunken salmon early in the mornin'?

killdevil — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 20:16:43 -0800

What simple, tasty things can I make with a large quantity of canned salmon that I bought at CostCo in a moment of fishy overenthusiasm?

What is a good pre-workout meal for morning strength training, and how long do I have to wait after eating to work out?

metakiwi — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 08:00:59 -0800

What is a good pre-workout meal for morning strength training, and how long do I have to wait after eating to work out? Hi,
I'm a girl who plans on strength training early in the morning (5:30 am). I've been reading that I should wait an HOUR after I eat to work out. I can't really spare an HOUR in the morning as I'm already pressed for time. I'm hoping I can wait 15 minutes after my meal to work out, but I'm curious:

- Is there a reason I should wait an hour to work out if I'm eating a small meal (25 grams of carbs, 10-15 grams of protein- either oatmeal and eggs, or a protein shake)?
- Will my body destroy muscle tissue for energy if I don't wait after I eat?
- What makes a good work out meal, complex (oats) or simple (white bread) carbs if I'm planning to work out close to my meal?

Other info: I'm working out at home with free weights and prefer morning work outs.

Too Much Cornmeal

cuddles.mcsnuggy — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:42:33 -0800

I've recently found myself in possession of 7.5 pounds (five full cartons) of corn meal. What can I do with this great corny bounty? Bonus points for being able to use as much as possible in a single batch of *something.* Projects, crafts, household tips, or recipe suggestions needed. Difficulty: Please NO corn bread or polenta recipes. It's plain old Quaker yellow corn meal, no additives, not self-rising. Fwiw, I'm gluten intolerant if that helps with recipe ideas. I've already seen this thread. Thanks a bunch!

Fancy vegan meal ideas?

jellywerker — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:38:01 -0800

Fancy vegan meal ideas? I'd like to make a dinner to impress my vegan girlfriend. I cook for her pretty frequently but want to make something with a little more wow factor that my typical dishes. Problem is, all the dishes I know that are fancy are non vegan, and attempting to make them conform to vegan standards would probably end poorly.

Cold nights, warm lentils, yes please!

anderjen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:45:59 -0800

While visiting San Antonio last month, I ate at Liberty Bar on Metafilter's recommendation and fell deeply in love with their warm lentil salad. I would love to recreate it at home for a fantastic winter dinner. Please help me do so. The dish was very simple, ingredients-wise, but I need some assistance in figuring out what spices/seasonings to add, and in what order I should cook/assemble everything. I'm pretty sure I tasted cumin, but have no idea what else might have been in it. The menu describes it as "sautéed lentils with spinach, bacon, onion, and garlic."

It doesn't have to be an exact replica of the salad I had; I'm sure anything with the above ingredients would be delicious if you have other ideas on how I might put them to work.

Bonus question: I really wanted to try the warm chickpea salad as well, but could not persuade my dining companion to order it. It's listed as "sautéed chickpeas, carrot, celery, garlic, onion, spinach, and feta cheese." Any idea what spices I could use to recreate this?

Thanks for your help!

Where is a good place to get breakfast near St. Paul's Cathedral in London?

Your Time Machine Sucks — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 05:47:42 -0800

Where is a good place to get breakfast near St. Paul's Cathedral in London? The hotel breakfast is extra and is priced nonsensically, and who knows if it's any good. Breakfast is a bit of a make-or-break thing for the day's mood while sightseeing and it's also something I like to get inside tips on, so I thought I'd ask if any locals or experienced visitors can steer me right.

I like English breakfasts/cooked breakfast with eggs, toast etc, she likes Continental breakfast, but this isn't a super-rigid thing. It doesn't have to be cheap although it definitely doesn't have to be in any way fancy, just good. Thanks!

Fall Food!

ihavepromisestokeep — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:02:49 -0800

Help me plan a vegetarian, autumn-inspired menu! I'm cooking for a lovely group of friends, all hilarious young women, one vegetarian. We cook for each other about once a month and the meals have been getting more and more impressive!

I know I'm going to make a pumpkin pie for dessert because pumpkin pies are awesome! I love them.

And I wouldn't mind a savory apple dish as part of the main course. And if there is some hint of traditionally-Jewish food that would be good, too. I've been looking into making latkes, but frying things . . . well, that is straight-up tricky for this girl. And I've heard the baked ones aren't so scrumptious.

Simplicity is good.

Beyond pumpkin pie, cider and turkey - your favorite autumn party recipes?

librarianamy — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:26:17 -0800

Autumn is almost here where I live! Tell me your favorite autumn party recipes, with some restrictions listed inside. I will be the hostess of a small (less than 15) gathering of friends in a few weeks. By then, autumn will be in full swing here (Western PA in late Oct-early Nov), and I'd like to have a seasonally themed and delicious menu.

Our monthly gatherings usually include one large main dish, a variety of finger-food-esque or salad-ish sides, some snacks, and at least one dessert. And drinks. Both alcoholic and non.

The restrictions are that one of the group has celiac's and at least two others are doing South Beach. So wheat is an issue, though I do have access to a great gluten free bakery, if I had to.

Trouble starting Starting Strength

ayerarcturus — Sun, 17 May 2009 19:13:39 -0800

Ok, so I've read, highlighted and taken notes on Rippetoe's Starting Strength, after half of Metafilter and my gym going friends recommended it. I've run into some trouble with the program, though, since I can't seem to do deadlifts and I can't follow his dietary advice. Before this, I may have been in a weight room about five times in my life. I've always kept physically active (hiking, running, etc) and eaten a somewhat decent diet, but strength has been an outstandingly huge blind spot for me. I've had good luck with keeping somewhat acceptable form with the squat and the bench press, but when the time came around to do a deadlift I couldn't get the damn bar off the ground. Rippetoe suggests 5-10 lb plastic training weights, but I can't seem to find them in my gym. I've looked around for something to prop up the bar to the standard 8 1/2 inches, but I can't seem to find anything usable that's lighter than the two 45 lb weights that I can't lift. Would I kill my back by using the smaller weights and a lower starting position? It struck me as a bad idea at the time. For that matter, are there any other exercises I could do to strengthen my back until I can do a deadlift?

Second problem I've run into is that I have both a dairy allergy and am lactose intolerant, so I think drinking a gallon of milk would probably be my death. My diet has mostly revolved around meat, beans, peanut butter, fruit, and a bunch of different whole grains. It's getting dull, though. If you have high calorie, high protein meal ideas that don't involve any dairy, could you share them?

Met-Rx vs. Slim Fast

edbyford — Fri, 15 May 2009 01:39:03 -0800

Meal Replacement Shakes for weight loss - can I mix and match? I am currently wanting to lose about 10kg before my summer holidays start. I am going on a 5k jog every other day and doing pushups. This post is not about exercise though. I also decided to use a meal replacement shake to help control my calorie intake.

I ordered 3 tubs (12 servings per tub) of Slim Fast powder at a cost of £15. These have 218 calories per serving. Full Nutritional Details [PDF]

I received these and started taking one for breakfast, one for lunch, and then having a 600 calorie evening meal, as suggested by Slim Fast. I then did some more reading, and an article I found suggested that after I had stopped taking the Slim Fast, and gone back to solids, I would gain the weight back very fast.

So I ordered 20 servings of Met-Rx Meal Replacement Shakes at a cost of £20. These have about 250 calories per serving.
more details here.

So, my question comes in two parts:

1. If I just use Slim Fast, which I'd like to do as it's cheaper (even if not as filling as Met-Rx) will I gain the weight back fast after I stop taking the Slim Fast?

2. If so, might it be possible to have a Slim Fast for breakfast, and a Met-Rx for lunch, without any negative effects?

No rest for the weary

levijk — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:41:57 -0800

How serious an offense is it when your employer refuses to give you a meal break? I live in the state of Washington and have reviewed Washington Administrative Code Sections 296-126-002 and 296-126-092. Today a friend of mine told me that he was explicitly denied by his supervisor a meal break during a shift that lasted more than five hours (he not an agricultural worker).
I suggested he follow protocol and take it up the chain of command but he believes his supervisor's superiors will "close ranks" and only make life difficult for him.
What should he do and what are the consequences for breaking the law?

Additionally, several incidents of rudeness and public condescension which began suddenly last month make him suspicious that he has been outed as a homosexual.

He has not asked for my advice but I'd like him to know his options because he is ready to quit. Thanks.