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Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef
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Hi ladies,
I'm new to the ST forum but have been lurking for a little while. I was hoping that someone out there would have some advice for me and my diet (or lack thereof).

I HATE to cook-I don't enjoy it and I'm no good at it. My husband loves it, but has completely different nutritional needs from me. So on the nights that we don't go out to eat I find myself making a sandwich or something equally simple. The problem is that now that I am entering the build phase of my season I can feel the need for better food. The problem is that I don't crave it. I want to eat dessert, cream sauce on my pasta, and I'm not big on fruits and veggies.

I'm not trying to lose weight, although a couple of pounds of fat would not be missed, I just need to find the easiest method possible to eat healthier. Is there a book out there on nutrition for endurance athletes that says more than %carbs/protein/fat for kg bodyweight? Or should I just start making fruit smoothies my snacks during the day?

Any advice is greatly apprecitated.
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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So you never cook? Are you totally adverse to it?

Throwing stuff in a pot with some water and making soup is easy. They make decent soup kits -- just add water -- with lentils, etc. Or making a stir fry with cooked brown rice and whatever lean protein is easy. But is that too much "cooking"? I am not quite clear.
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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Hi Sister,

I hate cooking too (and I suck at it... I burn toast and slice n bake cookies... really). Do you have a Foreman grill? I pre-cook a lot of chicken breasts or turkey burgers on there for the week. Quick, and couldn't be easier.

Jen
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [squesen] [ In reply to ]
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No, that's definitely not too much cooking, but those are the kind of suggestions I am looking for. Just imagine someone barely familiar with their kitchen and that's me. Believe it or not, I didn't know there were healthy soup mixes with things like lentils. I'm going to search them out next time I'm at the grocery store.

I really just need tips on quick and easy things that even I can make at home, and the more "just add water" type things the better. Or are there some websites with recipes? A couple of dishes I can make on Sundays and divide them up into individual servings for the rest of the week?
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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Pre-cooking on the weekends is a great idea. That way when you come home for dinner all you have to do is re-heat and eat. As for the cravings, what works for me is having a pre-made snack like smoothie/protein shake or protein bar before an evening workout or on the drive home from work that way you aren't starving when you get home. Also eat frequently throughout the day and that will help you feel full. When I get extremely hungery that's when I will go for the junk food.

Like you said before a fruit smoothie would help you get more fruit in your diet. I also like to juice, so that's another easy way to increase fruits. As for getting more veggies you just have to bite the bullet and eat them. I like the Ziploc steam and seal bags. I can cook fresh broccoli in about 5 minutes, nothing easier than that. Just keep working at it and if you fall off the wagon, just start fresh the next meal. Good luck, after a while it will become habit and all the junk food will look disgusting to you.


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I have failed at many things, but never in my desire to try again.
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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I don't cook at all. Ever. Pasta is even too much effort for me. Just ask PirateGirl about my experience with salad making while in Kona :D hehe

I'm big on sandwiches, but do occasionally make pasta too.


______________________________________
I know I'm promiscuous, but in a classy way
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [D!] [ In reply to ]
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I don't like cooking. By the time whatever I've cooked is done, I've lost interest.

Does making scrambled eggs count as cooking? I do those a lot - and french toast. Dinner tonight: a ww bagel with nutella and apple on it; a thick piece of banana bread, and 2 BIG handfuls M+Ms. LOL. I think I have PMS... and this is what happens when I skip lunch :P

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
Last edited by: tigerchik: Jan 22, 09 15:14
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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Scrambled eggs totally counts. They're next on my list of things to add to my diet... just been too lazy to so far hehe. I'm big on toasted ww bagels too now w/ light vegetable cream cheese.


______________________________________
I know I'm promiscuous, but in a classy way
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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as someone else said, things like chicken, pasta, stir fry, etc, are all very very easy to store for a few days at a time, and take almost no time at all to make.

a good and very quick meal (see 20 min or less):

start some pasta or rice (i prefer wild or white rice, but anything works here)

thinly slice chicken breast, dip both sides in flour.

throw in a hot pan (med-high to high) with olive oil, cook each side until golden brown.

pull out, serve over rice with veggi of choice (green beans or snow/sugarsnap peas are awesome here).



very simply stir fry:
chop up whatever you like in there best, onions, beans, carrots, peppers, brocoli, mushrooms, whatever, any one/all of those work.
if you want a protein in there pick whichever meat or your substitute, and cut into either small pieces or thiny slice.

throw the meat into a bowl with, between a bit of brown sugar (tbsp or so if making a few servings worth), a bit of crushed garlic, soy sauce, mix in just a bit of flour and mix well (the flour will thicken in a min)

throw vegies in a HOT pan for a few min, add meat as its almost done, stir and cook until meat is done. this will keep in the fridge all week and is awesome cold.



cutting up onions, a bit of garlic, and zuchinni and throwing it in a hot pan for about 10 min, pour over pasta with a bit of olive oil is great and very fast (can cook un less time than pasta takes to biol and get done).

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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [newbz] [ In reply to ]
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Wow, thanks for those quickie recipies. I will definitely try them out.

And thanks to everyone who submitted tips and support. When I compare myself to some of the women I train with I feel like I'm the only one who doesn't cook and therefore doesn't eat right either. It helps to know someone else is having french toast for dinner too!
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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Go to Trader Joe's and get their pre-made frozen meals. There are some healthy options, they taste great and are super easy to prepare. I don't mind cooking but just don't have the time with a baby. I rely heavily on making casseroles. Once a month or so I will take an afternoon and make five or six casseroles and freeze them and pull them out over the next couple of months. It really helps to keep me sane. The other staple of our diet is salmon. We buy the vacuum sealed ones with the sauce and all you do is cut open the packet and put them in the oven. They even have a little thing that pops when the salmon is done. Combine that with some of the kashi rice you do in the microwave and you've got a super easy meal.
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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not a problem,

if there are other food types you like better, let me know and i'll find some stuff that fits better.

i grew up in a family of chefs (mom, dad, aunt), and have been cooking sense before i can really remember, so a lot of this comes 2nd nature to me, but because of that its really really easy to find things that are fast, easy, require little time to make/not a lot of parts needed (hey i am young, which means lazy sometimes:-) )

let me know if there is something you like/ and we'll find a quick way to get things made

____________________________________________________________
Link to my photography
http://davidsavoiephotography.blogspot.com/
http://davidsavoiesports.blogspot.com/
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [newbz] [ In reply to ]
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A lot of times, I find myself craving comfort foods and pasta dishes...and of course, dessert.

I realize that pasta is easy enough to boil up, but if I just make a simple spaghetti then the meal is not nutritionally balanced (right?). I am trying to think of specific examples of comfort foods right now aside from mashed potatoes and I can't think of anything. But you know what I mean, those foods that release seratonin in your brain when you bite into them.

The whole dessert thing is a constant battle for me. If there's creme brulee on the menu, it is on. I am trying to keep bite sized candies in the house and those work sometimes, and then sometimes I eat lots of bites. If you have any ideas of something healthier that I could do there, that would be awesome too.
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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Chuck some chicken breast into the pasta. I've got frozen pre-cooked skinless/boneless chicken breast chunks that I just throw into the pasta sauce while it's warming up. Helps out with balance you were talking about.


______________________________________
I know I'm promiscuous, but in a classy way
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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one word...crockpot...or is that 2 words....
so easy, throw stuff in turn it on and when you come home from work or workout or...
dinner is ready...good crockpot cookbooks out there...once you get use to using it, you get
creative...my favorite is "clean the fridge out" soup.....throw in all the veggies that you wouldn't
eat in salad, but too good to throw out, add lentils, or beans and lean chunks of beef or chicken or tufu,
low sodium chick or beef broth lots of spices and yummy soup!!
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [triandtri again] [ In reply to ]
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I agree crockpots are great for cooking.

Every Thursday I make a big pot of some soup and put it in the fridge overnight. Friday AM I put it in the crockpot and set it to low for 8 hours. Friday night I have dinner, then I eat some version of it Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday a couple times. I put the rest in tuperware containers and put most in the freezer and 1 in the fridge. I find some of the last 2 weeks soups in teh freezer and put them in the fridge. Microwave or reheat on the stove and you're good to go.

I'll make brown rice and put the soup over it one night. Or have soup and a salad the next day. Soup and a sandwhich another time. Most of the soups I make are broth based, loaded with veggies, and have a lean meat in them.

recently I've had:

Black bean and turkey chili
Lentil soup
Ciopino
Chicken and wild rice
Salmon stew
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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Hi, here is an easy way to remember to get the veg servings you need. Obviously we already know about the bagged pre-washed salad mixes. Those, IMO are worth the extra money b/c you don't waste anything. But lettuce doesn't have much nutritional value.

I use those bagged mixes but supplement them with fresh veggies of my own. A few times a week I peel up some carrots and grate them and keep them in a container. Also keep cherry tomatoes around. Those are easy to rinse and eat - no slicing necessary. Canned corn, frozen peas, and chick peas are also good ingredients to round out a salad. So if you keep those things around and tortillas you basically have the makings of an impressive salad wrap on hand at all times. HTH
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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I buy the big bags of frozen chicken breasts and cook a bunch of them up on the weekend, then you can use them during the week. You can cut up the chicken and throw in a salad, make a burrito or wrap, sandwich, or just eat plain.

I also take yams and cut them into single servings and bake them and have them in the refrigerator ready to go.

clm

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [newbz] [ In reply to ]
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Okay, I was "cooking" up a storm this Sunday and aside from getting a little bit of boiling water on my hand, it wasn't a complete disaster. I made up some ground turkery spaghetti with squash and the chicken and rice and stir-fry recipes from newbz (Thanks!). We'll see how everything ends up tasting.

I also grabbed smoothie making stuff so I can hopefully get in some fruits.

Hooray for:
steam in the bag frozen veggies
uncle ben's 1 min rice
frozen bags of fruit
ladies on ST for some advice
my hubby for saying he was proud of me instead of laughing at me (which I probably would have done)

I'll keep everyone updated.
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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Hey Sister,
Maybe a cook book will help you get interested in cooking. This book: http://www.amazon.com/...232990104&sr=1-1 has great recipes, simple ingredients and easy to make. I love this cook book - I love to cook and am one of those people that prepares larger meals on a Sunday to re-heat for lunch/supper during the week. Check it out and happy cooking!

Ditto on the slow cooker as well - I have 2.
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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If you have training partners/friends they might be interested in getting together some sunday afternoon (after your morning ride/run of course!) and you can have a meal swap/cooking party...kinda like a potluck but you can cook together (or bring something in the crockpot, usually the host would make something early in the day in the crock pot) I used to do this when I lived in another town...we'd make all healthy stuff like turkey chili, beans, chop stuff for stir fries/salads during the week, brown rice salads, etc and then take home some of each in tupperware..bonus is maybe you can pick up some tips from your friends. Its social, makes the chopping, bagging etc fun, and you get a wide variety of good stuff for the week.
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Re: Nutritional Advice for the Non-chef [Sister] [ In reply to ]
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something like this,
http://www.amazon.com/...ooking/dp/1843097133
There are a number of four-ingredient cookbooks out there, check your friendly local library as well. Most of these emphasize simple unprocessed ingredients so it's automatically good nutrition.
If you've never cooked much, I hate to get all Betty Crocker on it, but really "The Joy of Cooking" is a great reference and worth having in the kitchen. Remember that food is love..
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