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Forgive me, but what satisfies you may not satisfy everyone. Plenty of people, for example men like my husband who spend 8-10 hours every day on their feet, would not find a salad, a piece of fruit, or a stuffed avocado to be a satisfying meal. The rice and beans sound okay but they do have to be precooked, steamed vegetables are last-minute, and who made that great salsa?
I think it's a misconception (not a misnomer) that anyone can whip up a healthy meal that is satisfying to them in a few minutes, and do that day after day without sacrificing taste, nutrition, and variety.
Thank you for the grammar lesson. Seriously. I've been misusing that term for years.
My suggestion was not that any one of those options would satisfy a big appetite, but a combination of those foods would provide sufficient calories and bulk for a nice meal.
When I was still eating meat, I would poach or roast chicken on Sunday, shred it, and add it to pasta, salads, and egg dishes for the rest of the week. In fact, eggs are one of the first things I would suggest to someone who wants to eat healthy, cheap, and fast. Frittatas, omelets, and scrambles are all delicious and satisfying. Add in an apple or other fiber-rich fruit and a piece or two of whole wheat toast, and you're golden.
I won't disagree that cooking from scratch is effort intensive, and I was the one who brought up the difference between the amount of food prep the average housewife performed daily in the thirties compared with how much time the modern cook spends today. It's 5:1, and that's very dramatic; however, it's just not true that one cannot eat healthy, satisfying foods without spending outrageous amounts of money at the grocery store and hours in the kitchen. That said, some of the foods you consume need to be in their natural state and/or prepared ahead of time to reduce the expense and effort.
Also, our craving for novelty can do us in. It's neither necessary nor frugal to eat a totally different meal every day, which you called out in your post. Making extra of a roast/stew/grain/casserole and eating it multiple times during the week saves both effort and time. I have about ten different dishes I rotate through each season based on the ingredients that are fresh and available, and I coordinate them carefully to take advantage of the time I do have in the kitchen. This is not easy for beginner cooks, but it becomes second nature with experience.
Last edited by randomparent; 12-26-2015 at 11:23 AM..
Another poster talked about how chains can only last if the public buys the products, which reminded me of two of my favorite chains; Bruegger's Bagels and Baja Fresh. They had really good fresh foods, but they did not last.
We still have Bruegger's in Pittsburgh. I can walk to one if I want, but there's a better bagelry in the same zip code. And it's even closer.
I agree, it saves a lot of time and effort if you can figure out a standard meal routine. I eat the same breakfast (plain yogurt, fresh or frozen fruit, whole wheat toast) and lunch (steamed vegetables) almost every single day and that does help keep prep time and expense down to a minimum. Somebody else might not be able to stand that, day in and day out, but there is probably something else they could stand.
For dinner, though, I do crave variety. It would be hard for me if dinner, too, were an endless repetition, even for one week. I also count on that meal to fill in nutritional gaps--for instance, it's obvious that my breakfast & lunch are lacking in protein. After my first two rather spartan meals, I need something hearty (and, most of the year, warm). A salad or scrambled egg just wouldn't do it. Preparing meals is not hard for me personally, as I have time to cook every day, but I imagine it being very depressing for someone to come home from work at the end of the day, open the refrigerator, and look at that same half-eaten casserole still following him around, or at some carrot sticks and peanut butter.
Just my $0.02. And, as has been rightly stated, if what the OP really wants every day is the chicken, quinoa, and broccoli mentioned in the opening post, there is no reason he can't have that, with very little effort, at home instead of a restaurant.
I agree, it saves a lot of time and effort if you can figure out a standard meal routine. I eat the same breakfast (plain yogurt, fresh or frozen fruit, whole wheat toast) and lunch (steamed vegetables) almost every single day and that does help keep prep time and expense down to a minimum. Somebody else might not be able to stand that, day in and day out, but there is probably something else they could stand.
For dinner, though, I do crave variety. It would be hard for me if dinner, too, were an endless repetition, even for one week. I also count on that meal to fill in nutritional gaps--for instance, it's obvious that my breakfast & lunch are lacking in protein. After my first two rather spartan meals, I need something hearty (and, most of the year, warm). A salad or scrambled egg just wouldn't do it. Preparing meals is not hard for me personally, as I have time to cook every day, but I imagine it being very depressing for someone to come home from work at the end of the day, open the refrigerator, and look at that same half-eaten casserole still following him around, or at some carrot sticks and peanut butter.
Just my $0.02. And, as has been rightly stated, if what the OP really wants every day is the chicken, quinoa, and broccoli mentioned in the opening post, there is no reason he can't have that, with very little effort, at home instead of a restaurant.
Very true, and that's an incredibly simple and quick meal. A ten-dollar rice cooker from Target takes care of the quiñoa and broccoli, while a chicken breast is easy to poach, bake, or pan-fry in twenty minutes. Voila! Dinner is served.
Last edited by randomparent; 12-26-2015 at 01:32 PM..
Very true, and that's an incredibly simple and quick meal. A ten-dollar rice cooker from Target takes care of the quiñoa and broccoli, while a chicken breast is easy to poach, roast, or pan-fry in twenty minutes. Voila! Dinner is served.
And quinoa, like brown rice, is the kind of thing you CAN prepare a lot of at once, keep in the refrigerator/freezer, and use for days afterwards. I wouldn't want this meal more than once in three weeks or so, but to each his own!
(And I'm really not a grammar/spelling Nazi as it probably seems, but I've never seen quinoa written with a tilde ~. Is that the correct Spanish spelling?)
And quinoa, like brown rice, is the kind of thing you CAN prepare a lot of at once, keep in the refrigerator/freezer, and use for days afterwards. I wouldn't want this meal more than once in three weeks or so, but to each his own!
(And I'm really not a grammar/spelling Nazi as it probably seems, but I've never seen quinoa written with a tilde ~. Is that the correct Spanish spelling?)
That's a good question. I've always spelled it that way, because of the Spanish pronunciation (the seed is from the Andes), but a little Googling reveals that it's spelled without the ñ. The tilde seems to be reserved for the surname Quiñoa. Another TIL (today I learned) moment for me.
I tend to make grains and beans in large quantities and store them in fridge or freezer, because they make an appearance at nearly every meal served in this house. Right now, I have cooked garbanzo beans, black beans, pin oats, rice, and quinoa in the fridge, along with a variety of home-made sauces for jazzing up grain bowls, bean dishes, pasta, steamed vegetables, and salads. I also make it a habit to spend some time after coming home from the grocery cutting up produce and shredding cheese to make weekday meals easier. A bunch of pre-chopped broccoli florets, shredded chicken, an onion, a bit of cheddar cheese, milk, and half a carton of eggs becomes a delicious crustless quiche in a hour, and most of that time it's in the oven. Toss a prewashed box of salad with vinaigrette, add some chopped fruit and toasted nuts, and you've got dinner. On nights when even that is too much effort, a hearty stew (for us, it's almost always three-bean chili) that you've made earlier in the week and stashed in the fridge can come to the rescue.
I've been known to snap at people who suggest that if every Sunday was spent prepping for the week that meals would take care of themselves, because that's not realistic for every person or family, but there's a kernel of truth to what many toss off so blithely. Planning and preparation make a tremendous difference in the expense and effort needed to put dinner on the table. What we forget is how hard fought the knowledge that experienced home cooks take for granted actually is. And let's not forget that the ingredients needed to get those meals on the table is incredibly time-consuming. It can take me a half-day to scan the pantry and fridge for foods that need to be used up, plan a menu, go to the grocery, get everything put away, and prep ingredients for the twenty or so meals my family consumes each week. By that time, the last thing I want to do is cook. That's probably why grocery day is also the night we eat out!
In other words, I have sympathy for those who struggle to get nutritious, satisfying, and frugal meals on the table, but the fact is that we all have to eat, and cooking at home with unprocessed, whole foods is the single best way to stay healthy in both body and finances. We can complain all we want, but eventually we have to suck it up and get into the kitchen unless we have endless pots of money to throw around.
Last edited by randomparent; 12-26-2015 at 02:00 PM..
there is no such thing as "healthy" CONVENIENCE food! if you want good food you need to cook it yourself from good fresh, local if possible, ingredients. its not hard and its not rocket science.
And this is what the OP's complaint is. Why can't there be a place you can drive up to the window and get some lean protein, whole grain, and non-starchy vegetables to take home and eat?
With all the unhealthy people (obesity is only one symptom of that IMHO) in this country and all the people who claim they want to eat healthily, why aren't there convenience food outlets providing that? Why do they all continue to serve processed foods?
Personally, I think that even with all the talk of healthy foods, most of us aren't truly educated about what healthy is. I'm appalled at some of the menus posted on other sections of City Data where the poster thinks they're eating healthily because they have vegetables on the menu, but they add fat and sugar to glaze those veggies (and often the meat too).
So those fast food places can get away with taking partially hydrogenated fats out of their cooking oil and convincing consumers that fries are now healthy. Or putting a couple ground up wheat flakes in their bread and claiming it's a whole grain food. Of course they now have to add more sugar to cover up the wheat flavor, but they don't tell us that because we really don't want to know. At least a large part of the population doesn't.
You're right, it's not hard to cook your own, it's not rocket science. But it does take time to shop, cook, and clean up after it. And after a long day at work, we want to drive up to a window like unhealthy people do, except we want to buy healthy food. What's wrong with that?
That's a good question. I've always spelled it that way, because of the Spanish pronunciation (the seed is from the Andes), but a little Googling reveals that it's spelled without the ñ. Another TIL (today I learned) moment for me.
If it took the tilde, it would be pronounced KEEN-yah instead of KEEN-wah. And there'd be no "o."
And this is what the OP's complaint is. Why can't there be a place you can drive up to the window and get some lean protein, whole grain, and non-starchy vegetables to take home and eat?
With all the unhealthy people (obesity is only one symptom of that IMHO) in this country and all the people who claim they want to eat healthily, why aren't there convenience food outlets providing that? Why do they all continue to serve processed foods?
Personally, I think that even with all the talk of healthy foods, most of us aren't truly educated about what healthy is. I'm appalled at some of the menus posted on other sections of City Data where the poster thinks they're eating healthily because they have vegetables on the menu, but they add fat and sugar to glaze those veggies (and often the meat too).
So those fast food places can get away with taking partially hydrogenated fats out of their cooking oil and convincing consumers that fries are now healthy. Or putting a couple ground up wheat flakes in their bread and claiming it's a whole grain food. Of course they now have to add more sugar to cover up the wheat flavor, but they don't tell us that because we really don't want to know. At least a large part of the population doesn't.
You're right, it's not hard to cook your own, it's not rocket science. But it does take time to shop, cook, and clean up after it. And after a long day at work, we want to drive up to a window like unhealthy people do, except we want to buy healthy food. What's wrong with that?
Nothing is wrong with it. I feel very fortunate to have several options for meals just like that from fast casual restaurants within a mile of my house, but those who don't have that option must eventually come to terms with the situation and cook for themselves. In my experience, a lot of the stress comes from waiting until the last darn second to think about what's for dinner. The best thing I ever did for my family's health and well-being was to know exactly what I was going to serve for dinner and what needed to be done to make it happen before I went to bed on the night prior. When the brain fog set in after a long day of...whatever...and the last thing I wanted to do was be creative, I could go into the kitchen on autopilot and get something on the table quickly and efficiently.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jay5835
If it took the tilde, it would be pronounced KEEN-yah instead of KEEN-wah. And there'd be no "o."
That makes sense. I don't know where I got the idea that it required a tilde. My high school Spanish teacher is probably rolling over in her grave.
Last edited by randomparent; 12-26-2015 at 01:37 PM..
there is no such thing as "healthy" CONVENIENCE food! if you want good food you need to cook it yourself from good fresh, local if possible, ingredients. its not hard and its not rocket science.
I disagree. There is healthy convenience food. There is, however, a difference in what is considered healthy by different people. I eat non organic vegetables and salads, and I think these are healthy. I eat low carb, without regard for fat or calories. Others have different definitions.
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