I'm in a rut with food -- sick of things I've been eating, but not sure where to begin with finding other things that I'll like, are healthy, and will agree with my stomach.

I'm cleared for all foods as long as my stomach agrees with them, but I'm trying to avoid white carbs like pasta, rice, and bread (though I will do 100% whole wheat toast now, since it no longer makes me sick, and I've been using FlatOut Light wraps ocassionally). Haven't tried 100%WW pasta yet, because pasta was one of my go-to foods for overeating before, so I'm trying to avoid it as long as I can (though I'm craving it something fierce).

The main problem is that I'm a picky eater. Always have been.

Things I like (among others): chicken, bacon, sausage, turkey, ground beef, ham, tuna, catfish, most fruit, many veggies, corn, potatoes, pasta, sweets (also avoiding other than SF stuff like pudding or protein cheesecakes)

Things I don't (the part that makes this difficult): eggs, steak, most other fish/seafood, mushrooms, onions (I don't mind them if they're cooked in something), peppers, peas

Another problem is money/food waste. I'm on a tight budget, so I'm hesitant to make something new and end up not liking it, thereby wasting money and ingredients on it. I also don't want to make huge batches of things; our deep freezer is already jam-packed full (of mostly things I can't eat -- I live with my mother and sister, who don't eat healthily at all), so I don't really have a lot of room to freeze/save extras. It's also a pain to put a ton of time and effort into making something elaborate when I can only eat a tiny bit of it (though I would do it if it was something I wanted badly enough), especially if it's not something that is good leftover.

As it is, I've been eating a lot of chicken prepared various ways and relying on protein shakes/drinks/bars to get in a good chunk of my protein, which I know is far from ideal.

Any suggestions for recipes that only make a little bit (or are easily scaleable), are fairly easy and inexpensive, and don't rely on eggs? I can eat up to 3/4 of a cup at this stage (in theory, though usually it's closer to 1/2 cup).

Edited April 9, 20188 yr by istytehcrawk

We're right about the same stage (my surgery was Feb. 15), and pretty close to each other, location-wise. (I'm an hour northeast of STL).

I like your ideas for the teriyaki and pizza. So far, my best/most satisfying meal has been mini crustless Hawaiian pizzas with roasted veggies and a clementine -- variety of textures and tastes, so it hits all my buttons for a good meal.

20 hours ago, nuhtoshuhh said:

This post is my life. I just have literally no space to store anything in my freezer but I was also realllly bored with my food. Here’s what I’ve been digging lately:

Ground turkey taco meat with reduced fat cheese and light sour cream — I can get 6 little meals out of one pack of turkey so I’ll eat that for two or three days. (Maybe my favorite meal right now)

Teriyaki chicken and broccoli stir fry, easy peasy and I used .75lbs of chicken. Made six little meals again but that’s easily doable before it goes bad in the refrigerator.

Turkey and bean chili, like 120 calories per serving and sooo Protein dense and filling. This one did make a lot. I ended up making room to freeze about half but I just threw out some Halo top ice cream that I didn’t ACTUALLY need.

I keep thin sliced deli meat and have that often with a reduced fat cheese stick or pickles or sometimes both depending on my mood. This is a go to for me that’s easy, takes up minimal space, and you can buy as little or as much meat as you’d like at the deli.

Chicken crust pizza is also my jam. I think I probably make this once a week. It does have an egg mixed into the crust but it’s incredibly protein dense and soooo yummy. One pizza makes three meals for me and I love it hot or cold. If you don’t mind eggs mixed in, I definitely recommend! (10.5 oz canned chicken, 1 egg, 1 oz Parmesan cheese for the crust and then whatever toppings you love)

I find that I was the most frustrated when I was just tired of boring/bland food so I went to multiple grocery stores, looked at sauces and spices available that were relatively low in carbs/fat/calories and then bought a slew of them to spice up what would otherwise be fairly boring food.

I am still constantly working towards my perfect foods. I have definitely wasted my fair share of money as I moved away from liquids to solid food trying to figure it all out but these are the things that have worked best for me so far! You’ll see, I don’t eat a lot of veggies just yet but I’m eight weeks (almost nine) out and I just find that I don’t have the room for them when I could eat something with protein to get me closer to my daily goal!

Check out my Instagram at “my_tiny_healthy_plate”.

On 4/9/2018 at 2:05 PM, Lisa1965 said:

I just saw a recipe today. That looked good. Take chicken tenders with a sliver of cheese and wrap in a slice of bacon. Bake at 350 for 13/14 minutes. Can also use a Tomato based dipping sauce if desired.

I pass on fried or breaded if at all possible. I’ve had a bite or two of chicken strips or nuggets but for the most part I eat boneless skinless or legs & thighs with skin on. Rotisserie hot wing size wings & drums are good to with or without dipping sauce.

Edited April 15, 20188 yr by Seahawks Fan

7 hours ago, istytehcrawk said:

We're right about the same stage (my surgery was Feb. 15), and pretty close to each other, location-wise. (I'm an hour northeast of STL).

I like your ideas for the teriyaki and pizza. So far, my best/most satisfying meal has been mini crustless Hawaiian pizzas with roasted veggies and a clementine -- variety of textures and tastes, so it hits all my buttons for a good meal.

Oh yeah! I had my surgery two days before you! Give it a try, it’s been pretty yummy. From one picky eater to another, I understand the struggle!

Tyson has a variety of chicken nugget sized pieces with no breading. Tomkitten and I have eaten them, just taste like grilled? chicken breast.?

I do the chicken crust pizza but no egg...1 pound ground chicken, 1/2c Parmesan cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, oregano, garlic, roll thin, bake 20min. on parchment paper at 450, add sauce ( I use canned Contadina pizza sauce) & toppings bake another 10 min. This is great!

Out to lunch with friends, got cup of chili and brought 1/2 home for later.

Check out Kayln's Kitchen on Facebook or

https://kalynskitchen.com/

Love her keto recipes!

I tried this recipe last night and it was delicious. I substituted the bread crumbs for almond meal, and I used SF BBQ sauce.

http://www.skinnykitchen.com/recipes/skinny-meatloaf-muffins-with-barbecue-sauce/

I suggest you add a few food sites to your instagram for a regular feed of ideas. I like Whole Sisters, Whole30, nomnompaleo, etc. I also added "my tiny healthy plate"!

On 4/9/2018 at 4:05 PM, FluffyChix said:

Hahahaha! I get ya! I get ya! I definitely had to keep home girl down on the farm this weekend cuz I was "having ideas" and "notions." LOL

So ok, if I can't wrangle those ideas. I have plans for them!

Mac n cheese (old)>>sub with cauliflower mac n cheese. For cheese sauce, I cheat (cuz again, we're talking 1/2c totes vol.) and use Tostitos Queso in a jar or anything that is around 2-3g carbs and less than 50 cals per 2-4 tbsp serving. I also can deal with the Classico Lite Asiago Romano Alfredo and use grated parmesan to make an "Italian" version of that.

pizza (old)>>carb balance or carb sense flour tortilla nuked on a paper towel until very crisp. Top with grated part skim mozz or red fat Sargento's Italian blend and your fave pizza topping. Put under toaster oven until brown and bubbly. Cut into 1/4s and enjoy a whole 1/4 slice ( LOL )

Quesarito (old) Now you're talking real ass work here girl! - So I'd do this only when you have appropriate leftovers: ground taco meat and cooked and seasoned cauli rice. Then I would just make a quesadilla using the carb sense tortilla and fill it with your favorite stuff from the TB version and use the Tostito's Queso and get some TB Hot Sauce from the store. Done! Boom baby! Craving extinguished. Enjoy both bites. hahahahahaaha!

Grilled Cheese Sandwich (old) Use Sarah Lee red carb/cal bread of some other kind. Not really sure what they are since it's been years since I've had them. OR you can use parm, Pork rinds, and almond flour to bread slices of zucchini. Spray with olive oil spray. Bake until golden on each side. Top half with part skim mozz and let it melt. Top with the second slice. And serve with a side of the lowest carb/cal marinara! Here's my Fluffy Chix Cook link: http://fluffychixcook.com/crunchy-low-carb-fried-zucchini-grilled-cheese-gluten-free/

Brownies, go to the recipe section and see all the molten choco cake recipes using Protein Powder, coco, egg whites and Greek yogurt. They nuke in about 40 seconds.

Those sound awesome, thanks!

On 4/9/2018 at 4:08 PM, istytehcrawk said:

Those are some great ideas, @FluffyChix!

How do you link to a profile like that?