What Are Some Simple Healthy Dinner Meals To Cook?

[nightrider1435]

So I want to clean up my diet but I'm not really sure where to start. Most of the time I just eat out, but that hasn't been to good for me financially so I would like to cut back. It's just to easy to go out and buy food somewhere whenever I get off work, half of the time I'm just lazy and I want something good to eat right then and there without having to cook. 

Whenever I walk into Walmart it's tempting to just buy a bunch of frozen processed foods that I can just throw in the microwave. Been there and done that now, I want to move on to healthier things. Lately I've been eating more fruit, and occasionally I'll make some pasta just because its easy to make and its always been one of my favorites. It's a start I guess, but I want to keep the momentum moving. 

Any recipe suggestions? 

 

 

 

[sweater]

3 hours ago, nightrider1435 said:

So I want to clean up my diet but I'm not really sure where to start. Most of the time I just eat out, but that hasn't been to good for me financially so I would like to cut back. It's just to easy to go out and buy food somewhere whenever I get off work, half of the time I'm just lazy and I want something good to eat right then and there without having to cook. 

Whenever I walk into Walmart it's tempting to just buy a bunch of frozen processed foods that I can just throw in the microwave. Been there and done that now, I want to move on to healthier things. Lately I've been eating more fruit, and occasionally I'll make some pasta just because its easy to make and its always been one of my favorites. It's a start I guess, but I want to keep the momentum moving. 

Any recipe suggestions? 

A easy to make healthy meal that i know of is black beans. 

Main cooking materials needed are: a stock pot and colander or strainer. 

What i do is let the beans soak for 6 - 8 hours vs doing the quick soak method. But you could do either one you like. 

After the 6 - 8 hours pour the beans into new water to start cooking them. I think it best to let them cook on medium heat for about 1 hour or until you think they are soft enough. But before letting them cook there for 1 hour or so i like to put in a whole cut up onion for flavoring (but thats optional). 

After the 1 hour or so your beans should be ready to eat. I also like to add a full avocado cause not only does it taste better (+ with some pink himalayan salt) but its also makes the meal that much healthier. 

@ me or PM if you have any questions. Im also to on the same journey to cleaning up my diet so ill be glad to help. 

[nightrider1435]

@Morrtiz @sweater

I appreciate the feedback guys, will have to give these a try. 

[Emerald]

4 hours ago, nightrider1435 said:

So I want to clean up my diet but I'm not really sure where to start. Most of the time I just eat out, but that hasn't been to good for me financially so I would like to cut back. It's just to easy to go out and buy food somewhere whenever I get off work, half of the time I'm just lazy and I want something good to eat right then and there without having to cook. 

Whenever I walk into Walmart it's tempting to just buy a bunch of frozen processed foods that I can just throw in the microwave. Been there and done that now, I want to move on to healthier things. Lately I've been eating more fruit, and occasionally I'll make some pasta just because its easy to make and its always been one of my favorites. It's a start I guess, but I want to keep the momentum moving. 

Any recipe suggestions? 

Here are some dishes that I like to make. I'm Vegan, so the suggestions are plant-based but can be modified to fit your diet. And I'll give you quick ones too. If you see anything you're interested in, let me know and I'll give you more details.

-Breakfast: 

• Oatmeal with mixed berries (frozen berries are cheaper and surprisingly have a higher nutrient count)
• Smoothies (I make mine with frozen berries and mangos or cherries, one banana, orange juice, Gogi berries, and chia seeds, but I always do one cup of blueberries because of the antioxidants)
• Fruit Salad

-Lunch

• Chick-pea salad (you can do this as a sandwich too)
• Burrito Bowl
• Veggie Wrap

-Dinner

• Rice and beans
• Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips
• Stir-fried frozen veggies with sweetened soy sauce
• Any steamed veggies (Frozen is also good for veggies and very convenient)
• Quinoa (made various ways)

-Pastas

• Marinara Pasta
• Avocado Pesto Pasta
• Pumpkin Coconut Pasta (sounds weird but it's great)

-Soups

• Oven Roasted Creamy Tomato Soup
• Leek and Potato Soup
• Daikon and Cabbage Soup
• Miscellaneous Vegetable Soup

-Salad

• Large salad with 3+ types of greens (Arugula, Spinach, Watercress, Cress, Spring Mix, Chard, Kale, etc.)
  • I try to make mine with every color in it but blue (In the words of George Carlin... There's no blue food  )
  • So, I'll do carrots, heirloom tomatoes, sprouts, and purple cabbage, 

-Snacks

• Mixed nuts (in moderation as they're high in calories. I usually pre-portion these by the ounce)
• Larabars (contains dates, nuts, cocoa powder, and non dairy extra dark (72% or above) chocolate... no extra sugar other than what's in the dark chocolate.)
• Fruit
• Tortilla chips and guacamole or Tortilla chips and hummus
• Carrot and Celery Sticks with hummus

Most of these things can be pre-made days in advance and are convenient just to grab and eat if you're pressed for time. Prep is fairly minimal for most of these. 

[sweater]

@Emerald What are your thoughts on making bananas a large % (about 10 ~ 15 a day) of my food intake but also eating some veggies and fruits here and there? 

[Emerald]

6 minutes ago, sweater said:

@Emerald What are your thoughts on making bananas a large % (about 10 ~ 15 a day) of my food intake but also eating some veggies and fruits here and there? 

I wouldn't eat more than a few bananas a day. Bananas are binding food and can cause constipation as they don't have much fiber. Also, bananas don't have all the nutrients that you need for a well-rounded diet. So, I definitely recommend a lot more variety. Plus, 15 bananas a day is about 1500 calories or more which is about 75% of the average human being's diet. So, that seems like way too much. But I understand that it's tempting because it's relatively cheap to buy bananas and eat them that way. If you don't mind my asking, what is your weekly budget for food. I can strip down to the bare basics so that eating healthy is still doable on your budget.

Edit: Also, bananas only have about 1.5 grams of protein per banana. This would leave you with only 22.5 grams of protein if you ate 15 bananas. As a 125 lb female, I need at least 46 grams of protein to meet the recommended daily needs. If you weigh more, especially if you're male, you'll need even more than this to meet your daily intake needs. So, you'd have to be sure to meet your macronutrient intake too.

Edited June 18, 2017 by Emerald

[sweater]

2 minutes ago, Emerald said:

If you don't mind my asking, what is your weekly budget for food. I can strip down to the bare basics so that eating healthy is still doable on your budget.

Well my aim is to be on a budget of $300 a month which is equivalent to like $10 for food for 1 day. I only really eat 1 meal a day too. Not because i want to but because its just been like that my whole life. But i mean the only real reason i want to eat healthy is so that i could get better skin and stuff but in order to achieve that that means i have to eat more expensive foods like berries, broccoli etc. and those foods dont really have enough calories in them to give me the energy that i would need for the next day so this is where i thought of trying to make bananas a large % of my food intake to take care of the energy part. I also eat spaghetti sometimes too but apparently thats not so healthy so im going to be cutting that off from my choices of foods to eat. 

[Emerald]

15 minutes ago, sweater said:

Well my aim is to be on a budget of $300 a month which is equivalent to like $10 for food for 1 day. I only really eat 1 meal a day too. Not because i want to but because its just been like that my whole life. But i mean the only real reason i want to eat healthy is so that i could get better skin and stuff but in order to achieve that that means i have to eat more expensive foods like berries, broccoli etc. and those foods dont really have enough calories in them to give me the energy that i would need for the next day so this is where i thought of trying to make bananas a large % of my food intake to take care of the energy part. I also eat spaghetti sometimes too but apparently thats not so healthy so im going to be cutting that off from my choices of foods to eat. 

So, that means that you have a budget of about $75 a week for food. If you're the only one eating the food and not going out, then this means that you can eat very well.

Proteins- You need about .36 grams of protein per pound of body weight

If you eat meat, I recommend purchasing a few packages of meat per week. I usually get my husband and children some shrimp or fish, ground turkey, chicken, and maybe one red meat per week. I never end up spending more than $15 on their meat and we always end up with extra in the freezer if I portion them out and freeze them in ziplock bagged portions. This will be really good in getting your protein needs met as one 2-3 oz serving will usually give you 20+ grams of protein. Also, eggs are cheap and are great protein sources. You can pre-boil them if you like hardboiled eggs. If you're going to do dairy, I recommend doing it in the form of yogurt or kefir which has a lot of protein and is easier to digest. But still do this in moderation. 

Here are the prices for meats that I usually buy. But I only buy a few types per week. One pound of meat should be good for two to four meal-sized portions. A lot of nutrition resources say to have about 3 oz of meat per meal. So, if a pound of meat cooks down to 12 oz, then you have 4 meal sized portions. So, I recommend buying a food scale (I got mine for $13) to measure freeze your meal portions in individual packages. Remember to get more than 3 oz per package because meat cooks down.

• Boneless skinless chicken breast - $2 to $4 per pound 
• Ground Turkey- $3 to $4 per pound
• Shrimp- About $6 per pound (more expensive)
• Salmon- About $8 to $10 per pound (more expensive)
• Tilapia-  About $5 per pound
• Steak- I usually buy one steak for my husband that's around $5 or $6. (I cut it in half, so there's two portions)
• You can also look for deals, which will save you a lot of money. 

Dairy

• 32 oz of Greek yogurt - $4.00

Eggs

• A dozen eggs- less that $2.00

If you plan to do more plant based foods, these are some protein rich foods

• Canned beans (less than a dollar a can) or bagged beans (which are the same price but take longer to cook)
• Split Peas (less than a dollar a pound)
• Lentils (less than a dollar a pound)
• Peas (sometimes you can find them for 30 cents a can)
• Tofu (less than $2.00)
• Soy beans (I buy these at the Asian market where I live and they cost less than $3.00 for a whole bag)

Grains- Some good, cheap grains are as follows. If you buy these in bulk you probably won't have to buy them every week.

• Oatmeal (less than $2.00 for a huge container that may last you months)
• Whole Wheat Pasta (if you do wheat) (About a dollar per box)
• Whole grain sugarless cereals (Anywhere from $2 to $4 per box)
• Rice (about a dollar for a 16 oz package)
• Quinoa (a little more expensive but still very cheap for the amount you get) (About $4 or $5 per package)
• Couscous (About $2.00 per package)

Veggie and fruits

• I recommend buying cheap and frozen because frozen fruits and veggies have a higher nutrient content due to being picked at peak ripeness and immediately frozen. They are also cheap and pre-chopped which will save you money and time. You can usually buy a one pound bag of veggies for around $1.
• You can also look for cheap fresh fruits and veggies like bananas, apples, carrots, spinach, spaghetti squash, potatoes, roma tomatoes, and a few other basics. It's best to buy your fresh produce at a fruit stand because you'll pay WAY less and usually get better quality because it's more local. I can buy 3/4 of my family's produce at the local market (which is luckily a minute's walk from my home) and I'll come out with 4 or 5 bags of produce for about $20. 

So, these are some economical options that you can use to piece together a grocery list and meal plan. You should definitely be able to budget and eat a wide variety of foods at the same time. The key is to prep things up as much as you can in advance so that cooking doesn't feel like too much of a chore. 

[sweater]

21 hours ago, Emerald said:

So, that means that you have a budget of about $75 a week for food. If you're the only one eating the food and not going out, then this means that you can eat very well.

Proteins- You need about .36 grams of protein per pound of body weight

If you eat meat, I recommend purchasing a few packages of meat per week. I usually get my husband and children some shrimp or fish, ground turkey, chicken, and maybe one red meat per week. I never end up spending more than $15 on their meat and we always end up with extra in the freezer if I portion them out and freeze them in ziplock bagged portions. This will be really good in getting your protein needs met as one 2-3 oz serving will usually give you 20+ grams of protein. Also, eggs are cheap and are great protein sources. You can pre-boil them if you like hardboiled eggs. If you're going to do dairy, I recommend doing it in the form of yogurt or kefir which has a lot of protein and is easier to digest. But still do this in moderation. 

Here are the prices for meats that I usually buy. But I only buy a few types per week. One pound of meat should be good for two to four meal-sized portions. A lot of nutrition resources say to have about 3 oz of meat per meal. So, if a pound of meat cooks down to 12 oz, then you have 4 meal sized portions. So, I recommend buying a food scale (I got mine for $13) to measure freeze your meal portions in individual packages. Remember to get more than 3 oz per package because meat cooks down.

• Boneless skinless chicken breast - $2 to $4 per pound 
• Ground Turkey- $3 to $4 per pound
• Shrimp- About $6 per pound (more expensive)
• Salmon- About $8 to $10 per pound (more expensive)
• Tilapia-  About $5 per pound
• Steak- I usually buy one steak for my husband that's around $5 or $6. (I cut it in half, so there's two portions)
• You can also look for deals, which will save you a lot of money. 

Dairy

• 32 oz of Greek yogurt - $4.00

Eggs

• A dozen eggs- less that $2.00

If you plan to do more plant based foods, these are some protein rich foods

• Canned beans (less than a dollar a can) or bagged beans (which are the same price but take longer to cook)
• Split Peas (less than a dollar a pound)
• Lentils (less than a dollar a pound)
• Peas (sometimes you can find them for 30 cents a can)
• Tofu (less than $2.00)
• Soy beans (I buy these at the Asian market where I live and they cost less than $3.00 for a whole bag)

Grains- Some good, cheap grains are as follows. If you buy these in bulk you probably won't have to buy them every week.

• Oatmeal (less than $2.00 for a huge container that may last you months)
• Whole Wheat Pasta (if you do wheat) (About a dollar per box)
• Whole grain sugarless cereals (Anywhere from $2 to $4 per box)
• Rice (about a dollar for a 16 oz package)
• Quinoa (a little more expensive but still very cheap for the amount you get) (About $4 or $5 per package)
• Couscous (About $2.00 per package)

Veggie and fruits

• I recommend buying cheap and frozen because frozen fruits and veggies have a higher nutrient content due to being picked at peak ripeness and immediately frozen. They are also cheap and pre-chopped which will save you money and time. You can usually buy a one pound bag of veggies for around $1.
• You can also look for cheap fresh fruits and veggies like bananas, apples, carrots, spinach, spaghetti squash, potatoes, roma tomatoes, and a few other basics. It's best to buy your fresh produce at a fruit stand because you'll pay WAY less and usually get better quality because it's more local. I can buy 3/4 of my family's produce at the local market (which is luckily a minute's walk from my home) and I'll come out with 4 or 5 bags of produce for about $20. 

So, these are some economical options that you can use to piece together a grocery list and meal plan. You should definitely be able to budget and eat a wide variety of foods at the same time. The key is to prep things up as much as you can in advance so that cooking doesn't feel like too much of a chore. 

This is a lot of info to take in. When i get the chance ill read it and reply to it. Thanks for your input though i appreciate it!

[Emerald]

12 hours ago, sweater said:

This is a lot of info to take in. When i get the chance ill read it and reply to it. Thanks for your input though i appreciate it!

That's okay. Don't feel like you need to respond. But you can use it as a reference when you're trying to put together a grocery list within your budget. You can get an idea of what you want to buy before you go so that you can buy a variety of food within your budget. Now, these are U.S. prices that are specifically from my knowledge of shopping in Florida. So, prices may vary. But it will give you a good rule of thumb.

[JustinS]

@sweater https://www.amazon.com/80-10-Diet/dp/1893831248

Check this book out. You can totally do 15 bananas a day but you would have to keep your fat intake low. Either go high carb low fat or high fat low carb.