Once a month cooking

[Daisiefire]

Has anyone here tried to do once a day cooking? If so, what has your experience been like? Is there anything you would not recommend not to cook ahead of time and freeze? Any yummy recipes to share? I want healthy recipes too, since I am trying to lose this blasted 50 lbs I gained while preggos with my daughter. Any insight would be fabulous!!! Thanks in advance

[luvfreestuff]

When I had my personal trainer a few months back I was on a strict eating plan. The only things that were cooked in my diet were chicken and brown rice so I only cooked once a week. The rest of my food was raw, and mainly consisted of veggies.

If you are trying to loose weight you should try eating a heavier meal for lunch and a lighter meal like a salad for dinner, this way your body has more time to burn those calories. Also try eating 6 small meals a day instead of 3.

Portion control is also really key. If you are having a protein it really should only be the size of the palm of your hand, and half your plate should consist of veggies - raw is always better than cooked as they contain more nutrients.

[luvfreestuff]

My favorite meal now is spinach salad. I mix it up everyday so I don't get bored. I also love to make my own soup - it is healthier and you can add whatever you like or have on hand.

I make marinated chicken quite often using recipes I googled on the Internet.

I don't have any recipes to share but if you need any tips on eating healthy I gained tons of knowledge from my personal trainer.

[Daisiefire]

Thanks for the help..I do know what to do to lose weight..this will be the 3rd time in my life i will be losing..the first I had a super awesome roomie..BCSparkyGirl who helped out sooo much and the 2nd time it was mostly from being so busy with school and finding the love of my life that helped the weight loss..but now I have almost double the weight to lose and two more people i have to cook for so I am trying to make it easier for me. But I appreciate your advice, and I will probably ask for more info along the way since you have had a personal trainer ( I would loooove one..lol)..I agree fully with the eat your biggest meals at the beginning of the day..it is just hard to do sometimes..lol.. at least there is one thing..I absolutely refuse to try the so-called easy ways out (etc diet pills..eww I had a friend who took some to lose weight..she would literally poo her pants..no matter how skinny you are, poop stains aren't sexy..lol)

[ariyadhana]

When I was pregnant I tried to do some cooking and freezing in advance. Lasagna freezes really well, you can either cook it in full and freeze it into individual portions for reheating or just prep it in a foil pan and freeze it uncooked - I prefer the latter. Chili, rice dishes, and soups also freeze really well. I don't really eat a lot of cooked food during the summer, but I plan to do some pre-cooking next month so there is stuff in the freezer when I return to work after mat leave is over.

[alwaysdaddysgirl]

I love Quinoia. It has a nutty flavor and is a super food. It is the ONLY food that you have eat. It provides all of the proteins that your needs. I make a big batch at the beginning of the week (takes 15 mins) eat it hot and plain, mix in veggies and meat, serve cold like a pasta salad. The cookbook has been on the best sellers list forever. It comes white, whole wheat, red, mixed. I even have flour, pancake mix and cookie mix. You can buy it in the bulk section. The specialty items I pick up at the Winners/Homesense in Mayfield common.

Another thing I do, is when I buy chicken in bulk I divide it up into meal size portions and freeze it with the marinade. When whatever meat is thawed it is also marinaded. I am not a big fan of cooking and freezing it just doesn't taste as good to me. Those are my tricks.

Good Luck

[ariyadhana]

I LOVE quinoa! It is a complete protein and you can substitute it in place of rice or other grains in recipes. You can buy 3 lbs at Costco for about $7. I think it's more expensive at Save-On in the bulk. I've heard it's at Bulk Barn but not sure of the price. Alwaysdaddysgirl where do you get the coloured quinoa from? I've only seen the regular stuff!

The one thing though I think quinoa might be high in carbs? I think I read that somewhere. I seemed to gain weight when I was eating a lot of it.

[alwaysdaddysgirl]

I lost weight when I started eating it. 25lbs. I don't eat the white stuff though. I prefer the colored. It could be like white bread vs. whole wheat bread. I would eat it everyday with a serving of chicken. Mind you I was also exercising a lot.

You can sometimes get it at Winners or Homesense stores in boxes whenever I see I buy it all (costs more but it is organic as well) and I remember seeing it the bulk bins somewhere and was really surprised as I had never seen it before. I really prefer the taste of the colored.

I am thinking the Superstore on Whitemud & 17th. Not sure though. I know that they don't all have it because I was so surprised to see it. If I didn't have 10 boxes of it I would have bought some. If I come across it in Bulk again I will drop you a note.

[LindaPinda]

...but now I have almost double the weight to lose and two more people i have to cook for so I am trying to make it easier for me.

I have never heard of quinoa so am going to have to look it up and try it!

I too have to cook for 2 other people and it gets crazy around here so I cook on weekends and freeze things for dinners throughout the school year. I have 3 slow cookers and will often get them all going at once on the weekend. Each makes approx 2-3 dinners so I make something different in each.

I will cook roasts in one (without liquid added), then freeze them. I will use a lite gravy mix (made with water and some of the drippings) and freeze the gravy too.

I also will make a crockpot of stew. I buy whatever beef is cheapest and cut it into small cubes after cutting the fat off. I add all sorts of fresh veggies and add 1/2 water and 1/2 low sodium vegetable juice (like Motts or something) to cover all.

Then usually a chicken vegetable casserole/stew and freeze.

When I make pasta I always cook extra and then layer it with sauce and a bit of cheese in a container and freeze that too. It bakes up nicely in the oven later.

My biggest trick for weight loss when feeding everyone the same menu is PORTION CONTROL!!!! You can even find portioned dinner plates (corningware or corel...? sometimes even sectioned plastic plates at the $ store) and it is pretty easy to watch your portion size. Veggies go in the large section, protein and carbs in the smaller sections. Or you can actually purchase portion control plates on ebay.

In the summer we always have salad as a first course...in the winter it is salad, soup, and then the meal. If we have dessert, it is usually fresh fruit salad or jello lite...but we don't really do dessert. If making a more elaborate dessert I try to use the lite version of the ingriedents.

There are a ton of websites on the net for cooking "once a month" and they offer great tips and recipes for all budgets and dietary needs.

Good luck!!!!

[alwaysdaddysgirl]

I couldn't cook for a month as my freezer is so full that it is covered in juice containers to keep it shut. Trying to make room for the free ice cream and Eggos for daughter before they expire at the end of the month!

[LindaPinda]

thanks for reminding me about those coupons

I only have a small chest freezer so it does make things challenging but I use large ziplock freezer bags and make sure the meals are frozen flat. This way I can stack them and they don't take up too much room!

I had purchased a vacuum sealer bag thingy but when I went to seal the bags the liquid from the stew was sucked out with the air and OMG what a mess!!!! I'm going to try it again but will freeze the meals overnight then suck the air out. Crossing fingers.

I also try to cook extra and freeze the leftovers.

[alwaysdaddysgirl]

There are never any leftovers at my house. I will cook enough for two days or my husband will eat it as a snack. Really who eats chicken as a snack? Luckily he will usually just cook himself a can of soup as a snack.

[carmelon]

I did a bunch of recipes from The Big Cook before I had my DD. 6 weeks of meals in the freezer!

[sunny01]

I did a bunch of recipes from The Big Cook before I had my DD. 6 weeks of meals in the freezer!

What did you think of The Big Cook? One of my girlfriends & I bought it & are going to do it in September...

[frugalkitty]

I kind of have always thought it would be cool if a bunch of couponers could rent a church kitchen and cook up some meals to be frozen.

I know there are companies that off that service but it would be so much cooler with couponers the cost per meal would be really low....and we would all have tons of ziplock containers, bags and saran wrap lol.