Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with meals

Help me wrap and present delicious but frozen food.

anderjen — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:24:16 -0800

This Christmas, I'm giving everyone the gift of delicious and healthy home-cooked meals, but I'm blanking on how to wrap and/or present them at the Christmas Eve festivities. Everything will be pre-frozen, which probably rules out putting them by the tree with the other gifts, and the only other solution I can think of is leaving them in my car and letting everyone take theirs on the way home, which is lame. There must be a better way. As I'm picturing it, everything will be frozen and packaged into reusable Gladware-type containers. Once frozen, are there any cheap ways of keeping them cold and dry to the point where I could actually wrap them and set them under the tree for a few hours until we get to the gift opening, and then again until people can get them home? I don't want anything to defrost too much, obviously.

The one thing I really do not want to do is buy each recipient a mini-cooler and ice packs because that kind of defeats the purpose of a low-cost/all-consumable present in my mind, and also there are 10 people, which would blow my budget.

If I do have to leave them in the car (which is a viable option, as I live in Minnesota), any cool ideas on what I could use or make to represent the meals for maximum effect? The rest of the gift will consist of other homemade treats and snacks, so there will be something open for sure, but the main meal is kind of the piece de resistance, so I'd like to make sure it doesn't get missed in a pile of wrapping paper.

I am certainly open to better ideas and suggestions if you have any. Thanks, all!

How do I get out of social food situations?

Anonymous — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:56:12 -0800

How can I avoid social meals gracefully when I have an eating disorder? I have an eating disorder (not eating enough food and not eating a wide range of foods) which really prevents me from engaging in social meals. I like socializing and I'm really outgoing, but when food is involved I feel self-conscious because I know I can't or won't eat much or any of it. When invited out for drinks I go almost every time, but for meals I make up an excuse or simply avoid the person for a short period.

I feel bad because I can't enjoy something which is normal for most people, but I feel worse because I can never give a straight answer to people who invite me for meals. I'm sure they think I hate them, and would like a good way of excusing myself from meals/food situations. I really want to be able to say, "I can't do this, so don't invite me, but also please don't pry into my problem." How can I say this in a way that is clear but polite?

I'm female, late 20s, and I live with some of the people who ask me out for meals. I've never been diagnosed with a problem, and am not seeing anybody about it. However, I am making good but slow progress and think I will be capable of dealing with these situations in a few years. I don't need help in that way.

Vegetarian cookbook recommendations sought!

Phire — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:22:19 -0800

Give me your favourite vegetarian cookbook that has illustrations of simple but delicious meals, and offers the nutritional information for each meal. I'm starting to cook by recipe, rather than throwing anything I have in the kitchen into a pot and improvising. At the same time, I'm trying to decrease on the amount of meat I have on my diet. Though there are lots of awesome websites with an abundance of information on cooking veggies, I find the wealth of information makes it hard to find one starting point. So I'm asking for your recommendations for a vegetarian cookbook with the following criteria:

Simple meals: I really like the concept of the Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourment, which restricts each meal to 5 ingredients or less. I'm not terribly fussy about an absolute limitation on number of ingredients, but simple to make would be good - I'm pretty pressed for time. Michael Smith's Best of Chef at Home is a good standard for how simple I'd like the instructions and prep to be.

Nutritional information: Rather than laboriously looking up every ingredient online myself and then calculating the portions, I would prefer if the book listed these for me. This is totally essential.

Illustrations: These are more or less optional, but pretty pictures totally motivate me to cook.

Optional: This is totally nitpicky, but if that book only focused on cooking actual meals rather than desserts/drinks, that'd be great, too. I drink water and eat fruit, and having a book that spends 1/5 of its real estate on smoothies and cakes that I won't be making seems like a bit of a waste.

Does my dream cookbook exist? Thanks in advance for any help!

How do we share camping meal assigments

ms_rasclark — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:31:17 -0800

Our group of 5 families, a total of 24 people, is going camping over Labor Day weekend. We are trying to figure out the best way to organize/share meal planning. We get there Friday afternoon and leave after breakfast on Monday. Any suggestions?

Help a health-conscious snacker bake!

schmoo — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 08:28:08 -0800

Please suggest me some snacks, light or portable dishes that are both healthy and involve baking or cooking. I love to cook. I especially love to cook recipes that involve lots of chopping, stiring, mixing, frying or baking. I don't like recipes that are just an assembly of ingredients, or which only take 2 minutes. I like to be in the kitchen! That said, I'm not looking to spend hours in the kitchen, so something that takes 3 days isn't really an option!

I cook a lot of meals like this in the evenings, but I'm looking for snacks that I can bake or cook. - Things that I can take to work in my lunchbox, snack on after work, or leave in the fridge and graze on for a few days.

However, I'm also pretty health-conscious and trying to, if not lose a few pounds, definately not put any on. This rules out the normal things that I think I would find fun cooking - cookies, cupcakes, muffins, quiche, samosas, breads, etc. That list seems biased towards sweet things, but savoury are just as welcome, if not more.

The kinds of things that I am looking for, and have experimented with already are: falafels (baked, not fried), healthy lo-cal dips (would welcome more of these!) and glazed nuts (not the most low-fat of snack but at least has health benefits). I would love any and all suggestions for things along these lines. I would also welcome low-calorie versions of the things that I don't bake - cookies, cakes, etc.

So - give me your recipes for low-fat, low-cal or just plain healthy snacks and light dishes which involve cooking or baking.

I have searched previous posts, and while there are many on health snack ideas, none that meet my particular criteria! Thanks in advance!

Satisfy my salty-sweet tooth!

rachaelfaith — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:40:30 -0800

What are your favorite salty/sweet food combinations? While I generally crave salty things like chips, pretzels and crackers and rarely crave sugary snacks, I sometimes like to aim for a salty/sweet happy medium.

I love the taste of kettle corn, and I have recently begun to explore the deliciousness of sprinkling sea salt on baked goods. [Sea salt on homemade caramels? YUM.]

What else works? I'm looking for any food, not just snacks.

What's for dinner?

coppermoss — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:59:46 -0800

PlanMyMealFilter: I've had a fairly miserable couple of days and feel like cooking something soothing/comforting/delicious tonight, but am tired of my usual fallback, mac-n-cheese. What are your recipes for your favorite comfort foods? Nothing tooooo complex (it's getting late, after all) but I wouldn't mind concentrating for a while on something that isn't super-depressing. Only dietary restriction is no soy or cumin.

How to Eat off of $25 a week

oviedo — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:50:32 -0800

Eating on $25 a week, suggestions? I'm doing an experiment after a food studies class this past semester, and eating off of $25 for a week. I would like to look at multiple options for this trial, such as fast food vs. grocery store, food stamps vs. no food stamps, vegitarian vs. omnivore, etc. Has anyone in the Hive done this before? Do any of you have suggestions?

Much Thanks!

Go Small And Go Home

scrump — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:05:19 -0800

Help us cook a holiday feast for just the three of us. What are your favorite recipes for the holidays for small families? We love us some Cooks Illustrated, but it's proving to be a little...challenging to scale a recipe that's meant to serve 12-14 back for 2 adults and a 4-year-old.

So suggest away: we'd love to hear what tried-and-tested favorites you've made for your four-people-or-fewer families for the holidays.

Tasty, nutritious and healthy frozen food wanted

reenum — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 06:56:47 -0800

Need recommendations as to tasty prepared frozen meals available in the U.S. Work has gotten out of hand, so my time to cook has been severely limited.

I need recommendations as to frozen meals (TV dinners) or other foods that are healthy and somewhat nutritious, but that also don't taste like cardboard. I've been subsisting on some passable Lean Cuisines for a week, and need to branch out into other brands.

Suggestions as to things that can be cooked quickly (e.g. 20-30 minutes) and frozen are also welcome.

Thanks!

Food ready to order

ObscureReferenceMan — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:19:58 -0800

Asking for a friend... What is the (famous?) company that sells pre-cooked meals? Not simply TV dinners, but fancier than that. She tells me they offer entire meals (for multiple people), or individual servings. Food is completely cooked, and just has to be re-heated. They also carry desserts. She believes they are as well-known as Omaha Steaks. And, they specialize in holiday meals. Any ideas?
(Sorry for the scant description. I'll try to pass more info along, as well as field any questions from the group.)

What is a good no-effort online weekly meal planner?

cprompt — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:30:21 -0800

I am looking for a meal planner online, or downloadable (preferably for Mac or iPhone) that will give me an aggregated shopping list and recipes for the week. Hi folks. I am trying to get in the habit of cooking my own meals, so I can be more healthy and save money. My cooking repertoire is somewhat limited, but I can follow directions.

I am looking for a meal planner online, or downloadable (preferably for Mac or iPhone) that will give me an aggregated shopping list and recipes for the week. I saw one on Google a while ago that sort of accomplished that, but it was a subscription service and was not customizable at all. The more effort involved, the less likely I am to do this.

A book that accomplishes the same might also be helpful. However, I'm a big guy, and a book based around a 2000 calorie diet would probably be dangerous for me at first.

Thanks!

Cooking on the cheap

odi.et.amo — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:21:42 -0800

Cheap home-made food for a group of people? What sorts of inexpensive meals could my friends and I make that are also reasonably healthy? This would be for 5-8 people. We've already done a big batch of scrambled eggs and toast one day, spaghetti and home-made meat sauce another.

I'm considering a stirfry and rice next time. What other cheap meals can we make that can either be prepared in advance or won't take a lot of time to make that night?

Difficulty: It should also be filling (no ramen...). We do have access to Costco and Super H Mart as well as Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and normal grocery stores.

Meal planning for dummies?

CrayDrygu — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:15:17 -0800

I need help learning to plan meals, both to improve nutrition and cut down on costs. I don't want general advice or strategies so much as specific guides and menus. What's out there? My boyfriend and I eat rather crappily. We don't plan ahead very much, and so typically have very little on hand. We waste money on near-daily trips to the grocery store, we purchase too many pre-made meals, and we eat at restaurants way too often. We also frequently miss out on vegetables and grains, for lack of easy and tasty ways to incorporate them.

I'll admit a large part of this is due to laziness, but there's also a general lack of inspiration that comes into play. So, I'm looking for a source -- either web-based or print -- that'll give us pre-made menus for a week or so at a time.

I picked up a copy of Saving Dinner, which is an awesome concept -- a full menu for every week, complete with grocery lists! But the boyfriend doesn't eat fish, and there's at least one fish recipe every week -- which turns an easy pre-made grocery list into a chore of eliminating unnecessary ingredients -- made more difficult by the fact that some ingredients are shared between multiple recipes. This can be dealt with (I customized one of these lists once, it was a pain), but it'd be so much nicer to just grab a list and go shopping.

So what other resources are out there like that book? Something where I can pull up a full week worth of dinner ideas (a little customizability, like "no fish", wouldn't hurt) and just go shopping?

Lists of super easy meals?

jesirose — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 00:24:02 -0800

Any lists of super simple meals? I suddenly find myself with no money and rising food prices. I am not a chef, and I either eat out or eat frozen meals. I know, I know. Anyway I am looking for lists of dinners / entrees with 2-4 ingredients so I can save money. Bonus points if they can use store-brand items.

Example:
Fettuccine Alfredo (the grownup Mac & Cheese!) (Got 4 meals out of $3, whereas the frozen one I used to buy cost $6 for one meal)
Peanut Butter & Jelly, obvious staple for lunch
Taco - Tortillas, ground beef, cheese.

I found a lot of websites with "simple" recipes which have more than 6 items and lots of steps to do with them. I made cookies the other day and it cost $15 and took 2 hours. I need to save money and time and eat on the mediocre side for a while.

Thanks for any suggestions or lists! I never did the poor college student thing so I have no idea what to buy. So I am hoping somewhere out there is a list of cheap & easy meals that really are cheap and easy, and not $20 worth of ingredients and 1 hour to make.

Vegetarian Meals for a Steak-and-Potatoes kind of guy?

Alabaster — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:28:57 -0800

Vegetarian meals for a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy? I'm an unabashed carnivore but--for philosophical and nutritional reasons--I'd like to eventually go vegetarian (or at least to make meat much less prominent in my diet). I'm looking for vegetarian meals and snacks that can be as filling and savory (and proteinlicious) as a steak dinner or burger...

Meat substitutes are ok (I actually like some of the Gardenburger and Boca brands), but I'm more interested in "legit" vegetarian meals that don't involve tricking myself into thinking I'm eating meat.

P.S. I hate mushrooms with a passion and I have already dismissed the "try a portabello mushroom, it's almost like steak" suggestion, so feel free to skip over that one.

What do you call your meals?

gttommy — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 00:09:05 -0800

For those who have 4, 5, 6 or more meals a day, what do you call your meals? Do you simply say, '4th meal' or '2nd dinner'? This question probably applies most to athletes. Meals, not snacks.

Cheeseburger for breakfast, cereal for lunch

lubujackson — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:57:53 -0800

Why do we eat "breakfast foods"? When did this originate and why? So eating my pancakes this morning, I started to wonder about the strangeness that is breakfast. There are foods for breakfast that you don't eat at other points of the day, while you don't eat most other dishes for breakfast. It hasn't always been this way. Why the cultural shift?

Please help me balance a busy schedule, heavy exercise, and dietary constraints by suggesting the perfect meal.

sequential — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:29:45 -0800

Please help me balance a busy schedule, heavy exercise, and dietary constraints by suggesting the perfect meal. First, I am operating under the assumption that meal replacement bars can not replace all meals. Though I have been through many days while traveling with just South Beach Meal Replacement bars, which contain 0g sugars, 5g fiber, 19g protein, 6g fat, and a smattering of 23 vitamins and minerals all for the low price of 210 calories per bar, I get the distinct impression this is not as healthy as I can be.

Second, I exercise at least six days a week, burning a minimum of 700 calories per day. My diet is 1400 net calories, which generally means 2100 total calories. Though the meal replacement bars are tasty, they are also filling. I can't eat 10 a day. When I am home, I eat better, but still rely on bars to get my caloric intake at its appropriate level.

Furthermore, I have food allergies (tomatoes, chief and most dangerous among them), intolerances (lactose is ok in small doses), and an over active set of taste buds (few veggies, no alcohol). This severely limits my food choices.

What I'm looking for is a meal that I can prepare in advance that can entirely replace of the traditional American meal. Such a perfect meal should be roughly between 200 and 300 calories. The meal should be nutritionally balanced when multiplied out to a 2,000 calorie diet, though I am not opposed to supplementing my diet with vitamins. Such a meal should use relatively easy to find ingredients at drug stores, grocery stores, or retail locations like WalMart or Target. (In other words, no specialty stores.) Such a meal should be low in sugars (close to 0g), relatively high in fiber (5g or higher), protein heavy (20g or higher), low in sodium, fat, and cholesterol.

Bonus points for preparation that can be done in a hotel room with no kitchen or whilst otherwise ill prepared. That said, if I can find a couple of perfect meals, I'll happily prepare meals well in advance.

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions.

Quick and easy organic low carb?

krisjohn — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 23:20:00 -0800

Does anyone have any suggestions for quick and easy organic low carb meals, where "quick and easy" takes into account washing up time? I want to go low carb to lose weight. I'm currently avoiding artificial additives as much as possible due to a suspected (unconfirmed, but looking increasingly likely) allergy. Also because it's a good idea. I got "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Quick and Easy Low-Carb Meals", but it fails on two counts; It ignores the preservatives typically found in most (if not all) packaged, sliced meat and it makes a lot of things (kitchen utensils, bowls, saucepans, various electric cookers) messy such that cleaning up afterwards is likely to take as long as the original preparation.

So, I'm looking for low carb ideas that are actually quick and easy, and don't rely on (heavily) processed foods.

Bonus round: Both tuna and crab are also on my potential allergy list. And I'm trying to cut down on dairy products (mostly due, though, to the junk cows are pumped full of, so I can always use organic milk).

Late meal diabetes risk?

stavrosthewonderchicken — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 05:43:58 -0800

Is there any connection between eating meals close to bedtime and elevated risk of developing diabetes? My wife has been convinced by Korean health TV shows that there's some kind of enormous increase in diabetes onset risk if you eat sooner than several hours before bedtime. I've searched like nuts for any research backup to this, to no avail. I am aware that there is increased diabetes risk for people of Asian descent (amongst other ethnicities), but I'm not in any of the high-risk groups, at least through descent. Any factual help?

Six-pack abs

objdoc — Sun, 27 May 2007 06:45:56 -0800

If you have kept yourself lean, with a flat stomach and possibly visible abs, for some time - what is it that you eat every day? Especially if you are over thirty.

I'm hoping for some example practices of those who actually manage to do this, not so much what someone thinks might work.

I'm someone who exercises, lifting at least three days a week, eats reasonably well, but can't seem to go from average to looking like someone who, well, works out.

What to eat before a half marathon?

bigcheesegump — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 00:06:34 -0800

I am running my first half marathon in April and I don't know what to eat. What should I eat the night/morning of? I have been training for a half marathon for about 6 months now and feel pretty confident stamina and muscle wise. The one concern I have is what to eat.

I have tried a variety of things but nothing seems to settle well. I don't like Power Bars or Gu, so I would rather have a traditional type breakfast. If I have eggs or cereal it feels heavy while running.

Also, the night before there is a carbo load dinner which I will be attending but the only thing I am afraid of is eating too much! (Italians can't resist pasta) How much and what should I eat?

Low carb, low cholesterol, low time. What to eat?

gnomeloaf — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:00:00 -0800

One person has high cholesterol. The other has type 2 diabetes. Both have no more than 30 minutes to cook and eat together. What do you recommend for breakfast, lunch, or dinner? I should add that one hates fish, and both like spiciness/heat.

Yes, I intend to continue looking through the vast landscape of cookbooks, recipe databases and health communities. But AskMe food threads rarely disappoint, and I'm hoping you all will have some inspiring ideas, even in the face of this juxtaposition.

What should I put in my hot water?

Aghast. — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 14:50:23 -0800

My watercooler at work has a hot water feature which I would like to take advantage of. What are the best healthy substantial "meals" that require me only to add hot water? (Relevant info: At a cafe I used to frequent, there were packets of Bear Naked blueberry oatmeal that were outstanding. Now, Bear Naked's site doesn't list this as one of their products. Does this product still exist? I don't like Quaker Oats.)