Yes, for sixteen years I’ve totally been faking my way through it, but this crisis has made me realize I’m not going to be able to hide it anymore.
I can’t cook.
I don’t know if you’ve suspected. I can, of course, throw meals together thanks to prepackaging and directions on the labels, but healthy, well-rounded, yummy dinners? Not so much.
Love, your wife, (who’s hoping you won’t think about my inability to cook at the same time you’re thinking of my inability to clean and put laundry away and remember to take the trash out and…you know what? Never mind.)
So hey! If anybody has any simple but delicious low-fat/low-cholesteral recipes for finicky meat-and-potatoes types which don’t contain onions, peppers, seafood or mushrooms (or they can be left out), I’d REALLY REALLY appreciate them. Or recs for a non-fancy cookbook? (Non-fancy as in Mom & Pop Diner, not a needs-reservation restaurant type)
Bonus points for crockpot recipes! (Okay, there aren’t really points. It’s just an expression.) Low fat, low cholesterol meals in the crockpot would rock!
Comment
One of our faves is the chicken breast/stuffing/soup recipe on the back of the Pepperidge Farm stuffing package. Use the Campbell’s Healthy Request cream of chicken soup as a base. Is salt an issue or no?
Do a turkey. Or just the breast. (Yes, it’s easy.)
Boneless pork loin is good (do you do Sam’s Club? They usually have them in great big pieces for around 2 bucks a pound, you can cut it up into smaller roasts and freeze what you don’t use right away. Stick in pan, sprinkle with garlic powder and lemon peper, cook for an hour at 350.
Roast chicken — whole chicken, flavor with onion and garlic powder, pepper and a tablespoon of soy sauce (low sodium is fine). Four pound chicken takes about 2 hours at 350. Serve with rice and a veg.
Let me think on this, I may have more stuff. I CAN cook, but I also have a boatload of fast-and-easy stuff under my belt, too. :nod:
Comment
Here’s an easy one I made last night, then used the leftovers tonight with chopped fresh veggies for stir fry.
Four boneless skinless chicken breasts, cook from frozen variety (I get ’em in huge bags from Costco)
1 cup whole grain rice, 2 cups water (or whatever the instructions on your rice package say, bug make it whole grain and not white if you’re trying to lower somebody’s cholesterol)
Put rice and water in bottom of crockpot. Chicken next. Lightly coat chicken with BBQ sauce. Put lid on and cook. 2-4 hours later depending on your crock, dinner is served. I steamed veggies in the microwave to serve on the side. (Again, the huge freezer bag from Costco)
To recycle leftovers as stirfry, chop the chicken. Chop onions, zucchini, yellow squash, open can of waterchestnuts or whatever veggies your guys will eat. Stir fry veggies in pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. When veggies turn brighter color, they are al dente. Add soy sauce and a sprinkle of ginger to taste, toss in the chopped leftover chicken and rice, stir through, serve.
Comment
Most of their stuff is a giant commercial, but I love the Kraft website (www.kraftfoods.com), which has tons of recipes. You can subscribe to their free magazine (it’s What’s Cooking here in Canada, I think it’s something else in the US), which is a full-colour glossy mag chockfull of really easy recipes. Some may not be the healthiest, but they do have sections specifically for weight loss.
Several of their dessert recipes have been very, very successful at family dinners. (The chocolate truffle loaf is to die for.)
And most of their recipes have only three steps for those of us who aren’t so talented in the kitchen. *grin*
Comment
My favorite website for quick, easy recipes that can be substituted out is kraftfoods.com. They have a whole slew of 10-30 minute meal ideas that don’t require a ton of prep work. Like Bruschetta Chicken which is just a can of crushed, spiced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, chicken breast and Stovetop. Takes about 30 mins in the oven (about 5 mins to throw together) and tastes super yummy.
I practically live at that website, b/c I have an hour commute from work every day and don’t healthy stuff for the fam but don’t want to spend hours cooking it. Good luck!
Comment
http://www.savingdinner.com/
I have tried dozens of meals from this site. I even did a subscription thing for the freezer chicken meals. All very simple and VERY easy (dh is the main cook – but I’ve impressed him with some of these and the picky girls even like a lot of them). She also has very basic/simple cookbooks full of great meals – you might try your library. I will pull a few of our favorties and post!
Comment
im so happy to hear alls well at casa stacey. we experienced a similiar medical condition in our home and i found alot of info at http://www.americanheart.org
there is a ton of info, including cookbooks, sample recipes, and good common sense.
Comment
My favorite thing to do in the crock pot is something I made up . We love ‘hot wing’ tasting chicken, but this is a no-fry, no butter way I that I do it. I put four chicken breast in the crock pot (I punch holes with a fork, because usually I put them in half frozen), I put a little cajun seasoning (or season all would be fine) and I mix ½ cup of Worcestershire sauce and about 1/3 to ½ cup of hot sauce together and pour over the chicken. I put it on in the morning on low and it usually cooks about six to seven hours (but it might be ready sooner). I do slice an onion and put under it, but I have done it without and it works the same.
This is our favorite way to do pork chops. Maybe not the lowest in fat out there, considering there is butter, but the good thing about these books is it gives you the break down for each meal. It is very easy and good. I think there is a whole crock pot cookbook by Leanne Ely too.
Pork Chops Diane, Pg 68, Saving Dinner The Low CarbWay
4 boneless loin pork chops (about 1lb total)
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced parsley (optional)
Sprinkle chops with lemon pepper, heat butter in heavy skillet over medium-high heat; cook chops 3-4 min on each side, or until cooked through. Remove from skillet and keep warm.
To the skillet, add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard. Cook, stirring up the browned bits with a wire whisk and mixing with pan juices, until heated through. Pour sauce over chops, sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Per serving: 191 cal, 11g total fat, 25g protein, 2g dietary fiber, 2g Carbs, 71mg cholesterol, 332mg sodium.
Comment
If your guy likes Meixcan, here’s our favorite low-fat beef and bean burrito slow cooker recipe (link removed, no longer working). For a simplified coq au vin in the crock pot, try this one for chicken (link removed, no longer working) (I use turkey bacon instead of the regular kind, and it works just as well.
Comment
Unfortunately, I don’t have any recipes, but I do have a few tips. Start using olive oil whenever possible. Use the broiler or oven instead of the frying pan. Trim as much fat from the meat as you possibly can. Spices instead of salt. Fresh or frozen vegetables without sauce. You probably know all of this.
Hopefully, your DH is making a speedy recovery. You’ll know he’s getting better when he starts to get on your nerves! LOL! Hugs to all.
Comment
You’ll know he’s getting better when he starts to get on your nerves!
:noevil:
Thanks for all the tips! I’m jotting them all down and will be checking out all the links when I get a free minute!
Comment
My mom got me the best cookbook evah for the crockpot. It’s Fix-It and Forget-It 5-ingredient favorites. Comforting Slow-Cooker Recipes. Phyllis Pellman Good is the author. She bought it on QVC. I have finicky eatters too and on days when I’m writing, it’s cool to throw everything in the crockpot and let it go. I want another one for the non-meat items. Scalloped Potatoes rock in the Crock Pot. Srsly. If you can’t find it, I’ll scan some pages in for you instead of typing them all out with my couple of fingers. :tomato:
Comment
Go here http://www.simplefamilysupper.com. Talk about easy, no brainer, tons of crockpot recipes. Not the fancy restaurant stuff, but good, home cooking. Enjoy.
Comment
I’ll be thinking more about this, but one of my favorites is so simple it probably doesn’t even count as a recipe. Unfortunately I can’t tell how low-fat or low-chloresterol it is, but I suppose your choice of gravy and cut of meat will impact some of that.
I buy beef stew meat and toss it in crock pot with a jar of gravy. (usually heinz beef gravy, but they have a low-fat variety). After a few hours I’ll cut up some carrots and potatoes and in another hour or so (depending on setting) it’ll be stew. I serve it over rice. As somone above me said, use brown instead of white to increase “healthiness” of the recipe.
I’m sure you can google this stuff to your hearts desire, but aren’t certain foods–orange juice, oatmeal, cheerios etc supposed to help naturally lower chloresterol? (or help blood pressure or…other stuff?)
Comment
Check out the skinnychef website. http://skinnychef.com/ There’s an emphasis on healthy receipes/eating over there without 10 million expensive ingredients or a lot of fuss/work. I just found her site a couple of days ago by following a link for a heathy version of chicken enchiladas. I’m also dying to try her twice baked sweet-potatoes plus several other things.
Comment
1) I recommend 365crockpot.blogspot.com (or maybe it’s crockpot365.blogspot.com). Not always low-fat but generally healthy or adaptable to healthiness.
2) My fave crockpot thing: chicken breasts or pork loin or boneless pork chops or small boneless steak things in the crock. Pour in some (maybe a cup) of suitable broth (I like the boxed chicken, beef and/or veg broths), a can of plain diced tomatoes and a handful or two of olives. Salt and pepper to taste (or not). I cook this on low all day at work and come home to it and rice that the rice cooker has graciously prepared. Very simple, but nice. I do add onion to mine but it’s not necessary, I just like onion. Capers can sub for the olives with chicken, or you can throw in a jar of drained artichoke hearts. For the pork and beef you can put in some small yukon gold potatoes or red potatoes (not floury ones – they’ll get too mushy – you want waxy spuds with this). Peas are also nice with the pork and beef, less so with chicken. Frozen green beans work, too.
3) I love my Southern Living cookbook – the one that is the “mega” cookbook, not the smaller, more-focused publications. It has everything from basic to fancy and every recipe works exactly as promised. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Comment
I know y’all are picky eaters and meat and potato types. The key thing is that you can still do meat….just buy ground sirloin instead of ground beef and when you cook a ground beef meal be sure to always pour off the fat. Buy the leaner cuts of meat and make sure to cut off all visible fat. And don’t eat red meat as often. Subsitute chicken or turkey or fish. It’s easy to throw a chicken in the oven and roast it, either whole or in parts. Baking potatoes in the microwave take minutes. Using fresh or frozen vegetables are easier than canned. Frozen veggies from the freezer section at the grocery store retain their nutrients better than canned and are lower in salt. There are butter alternatives out there. You just have to be smarter when you grocery shop.
And the American Heart Association cookbook is great. I own it and it has awesome healthy recipes that taste good.