It occurs to me that not all of us are foodies, born with an innate desire to cook and try new recipes! Many of us got to the morbidly obese ball by eating fast food from drive thrus, or delivery meals. Still others shop in the frozen pre-made food isle and love Stouffer's Mac n Cheese and Stouffer's Lasagna, and Banquet Fried Chicken entrees! Many of us, have very limited ability (especially in the early days of weight loss) to stand up while preparing food. And, then too--many of us are on either fixed incomes or have very limited money for food--even though we might have been guilty pre-surgery of buying tons of craptastic food from the grocery store.

So shew! Long-winded! Let's use this thread to link to and discuss different options in our stores where we can get healthy pre-cooked meals or meals that are prepared and only need to go into the oven for 20 or so minutes! The cool thing about it is, even in the early days, many of us will get 2-3 servings from a single meal! So we will still be saving $$$$ over the drive through and copious volumes of quick fix crap food!

PLEASE for God's sake!!! Read the previous entries!! We don't want a billion posts about rotisserie chicken! One will suffice! Let's try NOT to duplicate! When possible, link to specific items from your favorite grocery, so people can see what it is your linking to!!!

OK go!!!

As a single male in his mid 20's this thread screams my name. I do very little cooking and my meal prep takes me about 20 mintues for the week. Here's an example of my daily menu.

Breakfast - oikos triple zero yogurt

1st snack - 1oz roasted peanuts

Lunch - 3oz shredded chicken with 1 oz of shredded cheese (I buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it for the week)

2nd snack - 2 hard boiled eggs (usually can only eat the whites)

Dinner - 3oz meatballs with 1oz cheese

3rd snack - 1 individual sized smart pop popcorn bag

I do want to start adding more greens and fiber into this routine but it has worked out well so far.

3 minutes ago, awilli9634 said:

As a single male in his mid 20's this thread screams my name. I do very little cooking and my meal prep takes me about 20 mintues for the week. Here's an example of my daily menu.

Breakfast - oikos triple zero yogurt

1st snack - 1oz roasted peanuts

lunch - 3oz shredded chicken with 1 oz of shredded cheese (I buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it for the week)

2nd snack - 2 hard boiled eggs (usually can only eat the whites)

dinner - 3oz meatballs with 1oz cheese

3rd snack - 1 individual sized smart pop popcorn bag

I do want to start adding more greens and Fiber into this routine but it has worked out well so far.

Oh! This is an awesome example for "non-cooking"!!! It looks delish! So do you melt the cheese on the shredded chicken? Inquiring minds an all, cuz Magic 8Ball says it's in my future!

18 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

Oh! This is an awesome example for "non-cooking"!!! It looks delish! So do you melt the cheese on the shredded chicken? Inquiring minds an all, cuz Magic 8Ball says it's in my future!

I do! I shred the whole chicken on Sunday and put that in a large tupperware. When I pack my lunch in the mornings I will weigh out 3oz chicken in a small tupperware and add the cheese on top. Then its all good to throw in the microwave at work!

5 minutes ago, awilli9634 said:

I do! I shred the whole chicken on Sunday and put that in a large tupperware. When I pack my lunch in the mornings I will weigh out 3oz chicken in a small tupperware and add the cheese on top. Then its all good to throw in the microwave at work!

Super great idea for a quick meal!!! Oh and you could use Jenn's idea of the frozen tri-color fajita veggies too. Just throw in 1 oz on top of the chicken under the cheese! And squirt Taco Bell hot sauce over it for a Mexican version!!

On 2/28/2018 at 9:21 AM, FluffyChix said:

I'm going to look for it on my HEBing odyssey lol! I'm sure they don't carry the Winco brand, but maybe they have their brand? LOVE ceviche!

Winco is a store, so you it's not a brand you will find in HEB. Go to the service deli or seafood section of HEB, and see if they have it available. If HEB doesn't have it, then your local Mexican market will (Do you have Fiestas in your area?)

@jenn1 thanks for the ceviche idea. Easy to find lots of different varieties around here to keep it interesting.

Hope these are low cook enough to qualify for this thread

Trader Joe's Chili Lime Chicken Burger - 4 oz, 150 cal, 19g protein

Trader Joe's Mahi Mahi Burger - 3.2 oz, 110 cal, 15g protein

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Barrilla Protein Plus Pasta - 2 oz dry

Trader Joe's Traditional Marinara Sauce - 1/2 cup

Trader Joe's Turkey Meat Balls - 2

Trader Joes Pecorino & Parmesean Blend - 0.4 oz

This makes 4 servings for me

Per Serving: 92 calories - 7 g Protein - 13 g Carbs

The Tyson grilled chicken, I don't get the strips nut the smaller chunks, put leftovers in small sandwich bags,make great snack for later. ?

Trader Joe's Kettle Cooked Chicken Soup - 110 cal/16g protein/6g carbs

Trader Joe's Jalapeno Chicken Sausage - 100 cals/11g protein/2g carbs

Can of refrained beans. Add some to any of the precooked chicken options maybe some cheese, Greek yogurt , avocado or salsa to liven it up. Easily heated up in a microwave.

I will check out the deli areas of a super market. In addition to sliced sandwich meat you can also usually find single serving (so really like 4) meatloaf/meatballs, precooked chicken breasts, cooked veggies and sometimes appropriate salads/sides. And soup! Sometimes they have soup!

Also hummus. So much hummus.

This is an easy and tasty low cal, high protein meal. It's written for an instapot, but it can be adapted for a slow cooker as well

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/04/pressure-cooker-fast-and-easy-chicken-chile-verde-recipe.html

I made a few changes:

I used Poblano, Hatch & Jalapeno Chilies (left out the Anaheim chilies, based on personal preference)

I used boneless skinless chicken breasts

I added hominy & chicken broth, to make it more like pozole (low carbers, don't add hominy)

I left out the cumin (I wanted to taste the chicken and chilies and find cumin tends to dominate)

It was yummy, easy, and totally healthy, a win, win, win!

Quesadilla

1/2 Tortilla Factory Low Carb Flour Tortilla & 1/2 oz Cheddar Cheese (+oil spray like Pam)

114 calories - 8 g Carbs - 7 g Protein

Edited June 17, 20188 yr by sillykitty

190 cals; 28g protein; 4g net carbs

180 cals; 17g protein; 17g net carbs

190 cals; 23g protein; 11g net carbs

200 cals; 28g protein; 6g net carbs

Here's some more "healthier choice" premade meals for those having trouble cooking or meal planning! https://www.healthychoice.com/complete-meals

Would love to see more quick fix items. I'm in a food rut at the moment.

9 minutes ago, Healthy_life2 said:

Would love to see more quick fix items. I'm in a food rut at the moment.

Me2!! Maybe we'll have a bunch of peeps chime in with their go-tos?