Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I poach 5 or 6 pieces of chicken, then I have chicken for a few nights already cooked & I use the poaching water for rice. It takes less then half an hour to cook that, so it is quicker for me to do that than go shopping. If I have a pork butt or other lump of pork, I will crock pot it & one night, usually the first we will have it plain like roast pork, then for the next 2 or 3 nights we will make pulled pork or add it to a stir fry at the end. Chop up fruit, & store in a container in a fridge, we nearly always have melon or pineapple on hand.
One thing we do buy, pre made is the bags of pre shredded broccoli stems, it makes great coleslaw, or add to a stirfry. It probably works out cheaper in the bag than messing around with the food processor & raw veg. I also buy pre riced cauliflower at Trader Joes, I think it is cheaper for me to buy it that way as opposed to buying a whole head & messing around with it.
You might not have to go to TJ's--there are all kinds of riced cauliflower options in the frozen veggie section of regular grocery stores.
It's right by my house. The reason I don't go is bc I have to cross the street and bc it's always obnoxiously crowded. I will check my regular grocery store (no crossing street required) in the ff section, though. I don't spend much time there outside the veggie area.
Pasta salads are great. They're easy to vary with the addition of broccoli, cauliflower, or even beans. And different dressings can add variety.
And, yes, the olive bar is a great option. I like to get the Sicilian mix, and use those in egg salad for sandwiches, instead of the usual bottled Spanish olives.
Thanks, Sassybluesy, didn't know that was available...
[/b]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sassybluesy
Rather recently, I've discovered the frozen vegetables that have quinoa in them. I had accidentally bought 2 or 3 bags, and discovered my husband doesn't like frozen vegetables with quinoa added, so a couple of the bags sat in the refrigerator for awhile.
The other day, I had a late appointment, so it was "every man for himself dinner". I get home, and everyone else has eaten, and I'm like "what's fast and easy because I'm hungry". I found one of those bags of vegetables, heated them up, added a little shredded cheese, and some fresh herbs, and it was pretty yummy.
I'm thinking of buying some more of those, and they can be my lunch at work sometimes.
The OP's question was "Your favorite healthy and quick meal extenders...???"
Why does every post question have to turn into a judgmental list of answers telling them that they're living their life wrong?
No answer to the actual question? Don't answer.
Amen Sister! I noticed that people asking for standard (rich/high calorie/fun food) recipes or inquiries get what they ask for with great enthusiasm. Mention "healthy" and a lecture comes with "a better way of doing things right".
Deli chicken (as others suggested) with an assorted salad or coleslaw is a great quick meal. Our deli has smoked salmon that is absolutely awesome. I love getting that with a side of broccoli salad.
For a treat I do fried chicken breasts but take off the majority of skin and leave just a few shreds of fried coating speckled on it (for a fried chicken effect without all the bad stuff). The fried chicken that has the skin removed actually has very little grease if any compared to the baked chicken breasts at the deli I go to. The chicken has to be fresh though. Nothing worse than old dried out fried deli chicken.
60-80 hrs a week??? You do need shortcuts or easy meals. Must have a great thriving business...
Yes I use the salad bar too and buy 1/2 a melon, like you, whole is too much.
I have done the potato chip dinner before too...lol
QUOTE=DawnMTL;49526550]I love your pasta salad shortcut! Fabulous!
I buy a rotisserie chicken when I don't want to bother making it myself. I'll have some that night and the rest I'll use to make chicken salad. YUM to the chicken salad especially!!
For salads, I'll put one together from the cold bar at my grocery store. Always good. Otherwise, to have salad stuff in my fridge, ready to make a salad, I'm a minimalist: fresh spinach, cherry tomatoes, some sharp cheddar (that I crumble up into the salad) or bleu cheese, maybe cucumber, maybe some chickpeas, bottled dressing. Done.
Two of my local grocery stores have ready-made meals (like chicken parm) in the refrigerated section. Some of those meals are healthier than others, but I love the chicken parm in particular. One of the stores marks them down 50% when it's the day before the "best by" date. I buy them then and throw them in my freezer.
I'll often buy already-cut pineapple or melon because those packages don't have a WHOLE pineapple or a WHOLE melon, neither of which I can or will eat before it spoils.
Sometimes I have a "normal" work week (60 hours is pretty normal for me) but I'm self-employed, so sometimes "normal" is 80 or 90 hours. Especially during those 80-90-hour weeks, I love the shortcuts that don't involve ordering something that I know it horribly unhealthy for me just for the sake of convenience. Or, um, scarfing down a whole bag (family size, yo!) of potato chips for dinner. And on top of work, I have other things to do, with cooking not being my topmost priority.[/quote]
I like seeds in salads too...baked chicken is a winner....
love beans-use is so varied...
thanks for posting, silibran
QUOTE=silibran;49526738]I occasionally buy a whole baked chicken and we have 2-3 meals from it.
We both seem to prefer raw veggies now, and we consume lots of them. It is easy to prepare them for eating plain, for lunch. This is easy.
Since I make many salads every week, I have found a few staples to jazz them up. I use fresh ingredients, including fruit, but vary by what I have on hand. But I always have on hand for salads: real bacon bits, shredded cheese or cheese for shredding, and sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Adding these things to a simple salad, make it better. I never use bottled dressings. I almost a
lways use a quick vinegar and olive oil drizzle, or a simple vinaigrette.
I keep a bottle of white and a bottle of red wine for adding flavor as I cook.
I use low sodium chicken broth for cooking liquid, which I buy at Whole Foods.
I use non GMO cold pressed canola oil for cooking.
I keep cans of reduced sodium beans in my pantry. But I also pressure cook dried beans from time to time. Beans are healthy, and can be added to many cooked dishes. I also keep cans of organic tomatoes on hand, but I use canned tomatoes with a light hand.[/quote]
I used to love the olive bar in the States. Miss that.
So here I make up a healthy taco meat recipe that lasts a week and we slap it on a tortilla with cheese and raw onion.
I make my own mayo and a batch of egg-salad for a few quick meals.
Also found I can pre-cook a batch of potatoes, then shred/slice them, but in individual ziplocks in the freezer for quick hash-browns or mashed.
Guy up the street makes pizza dough, so I make a big one and there's a couple more meals....loaded with fresh veggies. We're all about left-overs so don't "cook" more than once or twice a week.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
