Healthier, Faster, Cheaper Dining
September 14, 2014 11:24 AM Subscribe
On the occasion of recently turning 30 and wanting to arrest my weight gain, I'd like to figure out ways to cook things that are healthier than the stereotypical bachelor chow I've been subsisting on for the last year.
I'm not really into cooking anything elaborate. Usually by the time I get home from work, I'm pretty well on my way to burnt out, and hungry enough that I don't want to go through any elaborate prep routine. Chopping vegetables is about as far as I want to go most nights. I've been eating a lot of pasta, which is doing horrible things to my waistline. Lately I've been trying to sub that out for veggie stirfry with minimal oil, although I need to figure out something to supplement that so I don't lie awake at night hungry and end up eating later to compensate.
I pretty much eat Healthy Choice type meals for lunch at work, which I hope helps, but I can't really see eating more of those as dinners.
I'm looking for things that I can either 1) prepare in a big batch on the weekend and eat all week, or 2) throw together quickly, with minimal effort.
Any suggestions? I prefer savory over sweet, I'm partial to Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, etc cuisine, and I'm pretty amazingly lazy.
Cost is a factor, although I'm open to spending what I need to. Pasta has the benefit of being cheap in the short term, but I imagine the long-term health effects are not at all cheap.
I'm not really into cooking anything elaborate. Usually by the time I get home from work, I'm pretty well on my way to burnt out, and hungry enough that I don't want to go through any elaborate prep routine. Chopping vegetables is about as far as I want to go most nights. I've been eating a lot of pasta, which is doing horrible things to my waistline. Lately I've been trying to sub that out for veggie stirfry with minimal oil, although I need to figure out something to supplement that so I don't lie awake at night hungry and end up eating later to compensate.
I pretty much eat Healthy Choice type meals for lunch at work, which I hope helps, but I can't really see eating more of those as dinners.
I'm looking for things that I can either 1) prepare in a big batch on the weekend and eat all week, or 2) throw together quickly, with minimal effort.
Any suggestions? I prefer savory over sweet, I'm partial to Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, etc cuisine, and I'm pretty amazingly lazy.
Cost is a factor, although I'm open to spending what I need to. Pasta has the benefit of being cheap in the short term, but I imagine the long-term health effects are not at all cheap.
I just got done making two pans of chicken breasts the easy and moist way, which reduces my meal assembly time to just the time to reheat and prepare a vegetable.
I also make multiple pounds of hamburger patties all in one stinky smoky batch (I don't have a grill, so it's a hot skillet for me, though you can also broil) and use them pretty much the same as chicken breasts.
A chicken breast and half a steamer bag of mixed or green vegetables is a perfectly good bachelor chow meal. Not every meal you eat needs to be novel or even interesting, though you can certainly season it in many ways. You don't need a starch, but if you want one make sure you're eating an actual single serving of it and not 4-6 servings. You can make a batch of noodles or rice to portion and serve with each meal. Cooked rice freezes fine, cooked noodles not as much so only cook as much as you can refrigerate.
You can also make batches of veg sides, as well. I make big batches of a sort of palak paneer, and I roast 2 heads of cauliflower (which you can roast whole, see online for recipes/timing, or cut up) for stirring into things and mashing like potatoes. I buy large bags of bagged (un-dressed) broccoli slaw because it keeps longer and goes farther than bag salad, and I just put some dressing on it and call it salad, or when I get tired of that I use the rest of the bag for stir fry.
We also eat a lot of microwaveable vegetables - the aforementioned steamer bags, we'll split a sweet potato or winter squash like acorn now and then. I save most of my fancy roasting and stuff for the weekend or when I have more free time.
Honestly, the best way to eat cheaply and healthily is to eat simply. Save the pad thai and lasagna for special occasions, and make your weekday meals things with 6 ingredients or less.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:43 AM on September 14, 2014 [6 favorites]
I also make multiple pounds of hamburger patties all in one stinky smoky batch (I don't have a grill, so it's a hot skillet for me, though you can also broil) and use them pretty much the same as chicken breasts.
A chicken breast and half a steamer bag of mixed or green vegetables is a perfectly good bachelor chow meal. Not every meal you eat needs to be novel or even interesting, though you can certainly season it in many ways. You don't need a starch, but if you want one make sure you're eating an actual single serving of it and not 4-6 servings. You can make a batch of noodles or rice to portion and serve with each meal. Cooked rice freezes fine, cooked noodles not as much so only cook as much as you can refrigerate.
You can also make batches of veg sides, as well. I make big batches of a sort of palak paneer, and I roast 2 heads of cauliflower (which you can roast whole, see online for recipes/timing, or cut up) for stirring into things and mashing like potatoes. I buy large bags of bagged (un-dressed) broccoli slaw because it keeps longer and goes farther than bag salad, and I just put some dressing on it and call it salad, or when I get tired of that I use the rest of the bag for stir fry.
We also eat a lot of microwaveable vegetables - the aforementioned steamer bags, we'll split a sweet potato or winter squash like acorn now and then. I save most of my fancy roasting and stuff for the weekend or when I have more free time.
Honestly, the best way to eat cheaply and healthily is to eat simply. Save the pad thai and lasagna for special occasions, and make your weekday meals things with 6 ingredients or less.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:43 AM on September 14, 2014 [6 favorites]
Do you have a crock pot? That's the best way to get easy, cheap and tasty meals in large quantities. Any kind of beans, chickpeas or lentils with onions and spices are great in a crock-pot- cheap and very filling. Curry is another good crock pot meal. You can add whatever meat and vegetables you want plus curry paste and chicken broth. A can of coconut milk is optional/delicious.
Eggs are my go-to easy meal on weeknights. Make omelets with plenty of spinach and mushrooms or any other vegetables.
Your vegetable stir fry would be more filling with tofu added or buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and add pieces of that in (bonus: you will have chicken left over for lunch the next day).
posted by entropyiswinning at 11:44 AM on September 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
Eggs are my go-to easy meal on weeknights. Make omelets with plenty of spinach and mushrooms or any other vegetables.
Your vegetable stir fry would be more filling with tofu added or buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and add pieces of that in (bonus: you will have chicken left over for lunch the next day).
posted by entropyiswinning at 11:44 AM on September 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
I love making my own freezer meals- basically, when you make something that makes a lot (like soup or chili or curry (I love this recipe for kidney bean curry), eat it for one or two nights, then freeze a few portions in containers like these GladWare freezer things to defrost later when you need dinner and you're lazy. Healthier than other freezer stuff and just as easy, and you can easily take them for lunch to work. It also breaks the boredom of cooking a ton of food and then feeling obligated to eat it for days because the recipe makes a lot.
posted by MadamM at 11:51 AM on September 14, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by MadamM at 11:51 AM on September 14, 2014 [3 favorites]
Revealing the depths of my laziness starting now... I'm a grad student and I pack my lunch, and I also usually eat dinner while working, so when I cook a large batch of any kind of meat dish, I shred the meat into portions so I won't have to use a knife to eat it later. The less embarrassing upside of this is that it is really easy to turn shredded meat (I usually do pork shoulder or chicken) into meals that are distinct enough to keep me from going crazy while I eat the same thing all week.
For example, here is what I cooked in my slow cooker this weekend:
- 1 package skinless chicken thighs
- A bag of frozen chopped onions
- A bag of frozen baby carrots
- Garlic powder
- About 1 cup of storebought chicken stock
When it's done and cooled, I remove just the chicken onto a plate and shred it with two forks. Next I remove the veggies (liquid drained off) and store them in their own tupperware container. Finally, I pour the broth into its own container.
Now I have the more tedious parts of the prep done for all of these meals:
- Chicken congee: leftover rice (get into the habit of freezing portions of rice in baggies, never throw away rice), liquid from the chicken soup, water, and shredded chicken cooked down in a heavy pot until it's porridgey. Add condiments (Sriracha, soy sauce, etc) if you have 'em.
- Chicken salad: shredded chicken, a spoonful of mayo, mix-ins from my pantry (walnuts, dried cranberries, etc); stir together and serve with crackers.
- Chicken pancake/omelette: mix shredded chicken with egg, shredded cheese, whatever raw veggies I happen to have chopped, and cook in a skillet with oil like a pancake. Also eat like a pancake. It's a chicken pancake.
- Pasta with chicken: Boil pasta, drain, add chicken and a spoonful of jarred pesto.
- Pasta salad with chicken: Leftovers from above, served cold with olives, raw veggies, and some extra oil or mayo or salad dressing.
- As a veggie side for any of the above, I sometimes just microwave the mushy soup veggies, or mash them up with some butter or yogurt to make a kind of yummy puree not-mashed-potatoes kind of situation.
- In case it wasn't obvious, chicken soup, which is all of the original ingredients mixed together in desirable proportions.
So that's this week. Pork shoulder I usually do in a ridiculous approximation of carnitas style that involves cumin, oregano, jalapeno, and lime juice, and then it turns into a similar breakdown of "distinct" meals throughout the week (usually rice with carnitas, not pasta).
Finally, when there is shredded meat left on Thursday-ish and I'm not feeling optimistic about its prospects for the next day, I pack it flat in a freezer bag, and then I have some emergency variety meat for the future.
posted by telegraph at 1:22 PM on September 14, 2014 [8 favorites]
For example, here is what I cooked in my slow cooker this weekend:
- 1 package skinless chicken thighs
- A bag of frozen chopped onions
- A bag of frozen baby carrots
- Garlic powder
- About 1 cup of storebought chicken stock
When it's done and cooled, I remove just the chicken onto a plate and shred it with two forks. Next I remove the veggies (liquid drained off) and store them in their own tupperware container. Finally, I pour the broth into its own container.
Now I have the more tedious parts of the prep done for all of these meals:
- Chicken congee: leftover rice (get into the habit of freezing portions of rice in baggies, never throw away rice), liquid from the chicken soup, water, and shredded chicken cooked down in a heavy pot until it's porridgey. Add condiments (Sriracha, soy sauce, etc) if you have 'em.
- Chicken salad: shredded chicken, a spoonful of mayo, mix-ins from my pantry (walnuts, dried cranberries, etc); stir together and serve with crackers.
- Chicken pancake/omelette: mix shredded chicken with egg, shredded cheese, whatever raw veggies I happen to have chopped, and cook in a skillet with oil like a pancake. Also eat like a pancake. It's a chicken pancake.
- Pasta with chicken: Boil pasta, drain, add chicken and a spoonful of jarred pesto.
- Pasta salad with chicken: Leftovers from above, served cold with olives, raw veggies, and some extra oil or mayo or salad dressing.
- As a veggie side for any of the above, I sometimes just microwave the mushy soup veggies, or mash them up with some butter or yogurt to make a kind of yummy puree not-mashed-potatoes kind of situation.
- In case it wasn't obvious, chicken soup, which is all of the original ingredients mixed together in desirable proportions.
So that's this week. Pork shoulder I usually do in a ridiculous approximation of carnitas style that involves cumin, oregano, jalapeno, and lime juice, and then it turns into a similar breakdown of "distinct" meals throughout the week (usually rice with carnitas, not pasta).
Finally, when there is shredded meat left on Thursday-ish and I'm not feeling optimistic about its prospects for the next day, I pack it flat in a freezer bag, and then I have some emergency variety meat for the future.
posted by telegraph at 1:22 PM on September 14, 2014 [8 favorites]
I can be lazy like this (in fairness I tend to go exercise after work and don't get home until after 8:30 most evenings). I got a rice cooker, mine's a small Zojirushi and it's fantastic - all you do is put in rice, add water until it covers the first joint in your finger more or less, close, hit the cook button. You don't even have to be home or awake to turn it off because it flips over to keep warm when it's done. I'll make a big pot of brown rice - the cooker I have will keep it nicely warm for a couple days. I'll also make a big batch of lentils in the rice cooker using whatever seasonings I feel like and keep that in the fridge. Put some rice + veggies + lentils (or canned beans, or I guess meat of your choice - I don't eat meat) in a bowl, you can bring it to work for a healthy lunch, or have that for dinner. If I ate meat I guess I'd just cook a big hunk of it on the weekend (if extra lazy, get something preseasoned or marinated, or just buy a rotisserie chicken) and chop up pieces of it to add to meals all week.
You could try going to your local Asian market and getting jars of cooking sauces for the different cuisines you like and just using that to stir fry with.. I do that sometimes - like I have a jar of this Thai basil sauce and I'll use that a lot even if the particular veggies I'm cooking with don't particularly belong in Thai dishes. I also eat a lot of frozen veggies because sometimes I don't have the time/energy to chop and cook fresh ones - I find the Whole Foods and Trader Joe's frozen ones are a lot tastier than the regular supermarket brands, and Whole Foods in particular has a pretty good variety and they're not expensive. In general I've found that adding a ton of greens (spinach, chard, kale, bok choy, collards, anything!) to most every dish is a good idea. Like you could throw an entire bag of baby spinach into whatever you're having and it would be really healthy and add hardly any calories. And take it easy on the carbs, instead of a dish that's 90% pasta, make it with only 1/3 pasta, the rest veggies and protein.
posted by citron at 1:32 PM on September 14, 2014 [2 favorites]
You could try going to your local Asian market and getting jars of cooking sauces for the different cuisines you like and just using that to stir fry with.. I do that sometimes - like I have a jar of this Thai basil sauce and I'll use that a lot even if the particular veggies I'm cooking with don't particularly belong in Thai dishes. I also eat a lot of frozen veggies because sometimes I don't have the time/energy to chop and cook fresh ones - I find the Whole Foods and Trader Joe's frozen ones are a lot tastier than the regular supermarket brands, and Whole Foods in particular has a pretty good variety and they're not expensive. In general I've found that adding a ton of greens (spinach, chard, kale, bok choy, collards, anything!) to most every dish is a good idea. Like you could throw an entire bag of baby spinach into whatever you're having and it would be really healthy and add hardly any calories. And take it easy on the carbs, instead of a dish that's 90% pasta, make it with only 1/3 pasta, the rest veggies and protein.
posted by citron at 1:32 PM on September 14, 2014 [2 favorites]
A favorite of mine is quinoa chickpea salad. Cook a cup (two if you can handle eating this 1-2x/day all week) of quinoa, throw a bouillon cube in while it's cooking for extra flavor, once it's cooked add veggies like canned corn, chopped onion (any kind including green), cherry tomatoes, and top with 1-2 cans of chickpeas. You can add goat cheese or feta cheese to make it extra yummy, and spend some time making the dressing: lime juice, maple syrup, cumin, olive oil, there are a ton of recipes online, follow one to the T the first time you make it and then figure out what you like.
Another easy and savory make-ahead is bean and corn mix, make a big batch of black beans or maple-baked beans (or just use canned), buy a "mexican" frozen veggie mix (corn, broccoli, peppers) and add some tomato sauce and spices. Easy wraps all week, just re-heat, fry/bake a few wraps, and top with cheese.
posted by lafemma at 1:43 PM on September 14, 2014 [3 favorites]
Another easy and savory make-ahead is bean and corn mix, make a big batch of black beans or maple-baked beans (or just use canned), buy a "mexican" frozen veggie mix (corn, broccoli, peppers) and add some tomato sauce and spices. Easy wraps all week, just re-heat, fry/bake a few wraps, and top with cheese.
posted by lafemma at 1:43 PM on September 14, 2014 [3 favorites]
If you like pasta, don't over look the healthier types: whole wheat, farro etc, and use less of it with more veggies.
posted by cestmoi15 at 4:42 PM on September 14, 2014
posted by cestmoi15 at 4:42 PM on September 14, 2014
In case it's not clear from the answers above: you need to add protein. Veggie stir-fries are not going to be satisfying without any protein. If meat is too expensive, eggs, beans, lentils, and nuts are all good.
posted by chickenmagazine at 6:57 PM on September 14, 2014
posted by chickenmagazine at 6:57 PM on September 14, 2014
Eat this when you're too busy/lazy to make something fancier.
posted by Jacqueline at 8:03 PM on September 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Jacqueline at 8:03 PM on September 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
This super-simple Chicken and Mushrooms recipe is as delicious as it looks (and in our house makes four servings, which refrigerate well for reheating).
You can use skinless breasts if you prefer, at a little cost in flavor, but it's still good. Otherwise, though, follow the instructions; the flavor of this dish derives from the technique as much as from the ingredients.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 5:20 AM on September 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
You can use skinless breasts if you prefer, at a little cost in flavor, but it's still good. Otherwise, though, follow the instructions; the flavor of this dish derives from the technique as much as from the ingredients.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 5:20 AM on September 15, 2014 [1 favorite]
The One Ingredient Chef is my hero:
http://www.oneingredientchef.com/
posted by hz37 at 2:10 PM on September 15, 2014
http://www.oneingredientchef.com/
posted by hz37 at 2:10 PM on September 15, 2014
As mentioned above, adding tofu to stir-fries will make them filling. The trick to making tofu delicious without much effort is pressing it to drain all the water out. Put a plate on top of it with something heavy, like a glass bowl, on top of that and let it sit for 20 minutes or so. This will remove much of the water so the tofu is ready to soak up other liquids. I will then cube it and marinate it (just in soy sauce is fine, or you can make or buy other marinades) in the refrigerator and throw the cubes into stir-fries, salads, etc. But long marinade times are not necessary; even just pressing it and immediately cooking it with your stir-fry will be good.
posted by metasarah at 5:53 AM on September 16, 2014
posted by metasarah at 5:53 AM on September 16, 2014
I recently bought a huge bucket of curry paste for $5. You put a little curry paste + oil in the pan, then add lots of whatever vegetables you have that are about to expire. Include a protein like beans or lentils and/or nuts, and a starch, such as potatoes, bread or rice. Tada!
This makes tons of leftovers, is healthy, cheap, low effort, and turns boring food into flavorful dining. Basically, curry paste is magic.
posted by aniola at 1:59 PM on September 16, 2014
This makes tons of leftovers, is healthy, cheap, low effort, and turns boring food into flavorful dining. Basically, curry paste is magic.
posted by aniola at 1:59 PM on September 16, 2014
Oh, and on beans: cook in very bulk quantities, then freeze in containers that hold just a few servings. Then just make sure you always have on container thawing in the fridge to use in cooking as needed.
posted by aniola at 2:11 PM on September 16, 2014
posted by aniola at 2:11 PM on September 16, 2014
You can use a spiralizer to make zucchini into "spaghetti" to replace your pasta with more veggie. We have one and it works pretty well during zucchini season... it is reasonably pasta-like, and the prep is pretty quick and easy.
posted by anaelith at 4:46 AM on September 17, 2014
posted by anaelith at 4:46 AM on September 17, 2014
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Sort that sub by top posts and go nuts. There are hundreds of great suggestions with recipes/instructions in the comments.
posted by killdevil at 11:38 AM on September 14, 2014 [1 favorite]