Tips for eating well

[bhndblueyes88]

A comma I forgot. Tamari is a yummier soy sauce than the usual, garlic is another ingredient.

Ahhhhhhh I see. Mayhaps I'll take a gander for it at the store. Sounds intrestin'

 

[intothewoods]

Lots of good ideas. I would pay attention to what's in season though. Tomatoes in winter are not so tasty -- at least where you live! On the other hand, you can make a great tomato sauce with canned diced tomatoes and then throw in carrots and celery, or eggplant, or mushrooms.

I don't know what you like, so I'm hesitant to throw out recipes. Do you know epicurious.com? You can go to the site before you go grocery shopping and put different veggies in the search field. Look for the recipes that appeal to you. You can narrow it by quick and easy, lowfat, vegetarian, different cuisines, etc.

 

[YourCaptor]

Steam, don’t boil.

Not only does steam contain more heat/energy than boiling water, but it also preserves the vitamin content of the vegetables.

I should really do this one, it’s so easy too. Just fill a frying pan with water, place something that raises the veggies above the water (no contact), pop on a lid and flame on. Yet I don’t do it.

Hmm, I’m seeing a money making idea here. The vacuum cooker. Does the opposite of a pressure cooker, produces more steam faster, and hence theoretically should cook your stuff faster too.

 

[BiBunny]

Steam, don’t boil.

Not only does steam contain more heat/energy than boiling water, but it also preserves the vitamin content of the vegetables.

I should really do this one, it’s so easy too. Just fill a frying pan with water, place something that raises the veggies above the water (no contact), pop on a lid and flame on. Yet I don’t do it.

Hmm, I’m seeing a money making idea here. The vacuum cooker. Does the opposite of a pressure cooker, produces more steam faster, and hence theoretically should cook your stuff faster too.

Yuck. I know steamed veggies are "healthier," but they just don't taste done to me. If I wanted to eat 'em raw, I wouldn't have cooked them in the first place, LOL. Boiled veggies FTW!

 

[ownedsubgal]

i love roasted veggies...gives a deep, rich flavor and is super duper simple. just chop up a bunch of seasonal veggies, add minimal salt and pepper, some herbs if you like, a touch of olive oil, toss and spread out on a half-sheet pan. roast at 425-450...half an hour later, yummy tasty veggies (that make an awesome soup later btw).

 

[rosco rathbone]

Yuck. I know steamed veggies are "healthier," but they just don't taste done to me. If I wanted to eat 'em raw, I wouldn't have cooked them in the first place, LOL. Boiled veggies FTW!

I like to boil them for less than a minute. That way they aren't raw, but they don't get mushy either. If you use a lot of salt, it tastes better too.

 

[seela]

i love roasted veggies...gives a deep, rich flavor and is super duper simple. just chop up a bunch of seasonal veggies, add minimal salt and pepper, some herbs if you like, a touch of olive oil, toss and spread out on a half-sheet pan. roast at 425-450...half an hour later, yummy tasty veggies (that make an awesome soup later btw).

This. Carrots and potatoes roasted with rosemary. Heaven!

 

[ownedsubgal]

This. Carrots and potatoes roasted with rosemary. Heaven!

yes! that is one of my fave combos...especially with the cute little red potatoes.

 

[rosco rathbone]

yes! that is one of my fave combos...especially with the cute little red potatoes.

I put all that under a chicken stuffed with lemons, rosemary and garlics and covered in melted butter and roast it all one time.

 

[ownedsubgal]

I put all that under a chicken stuffed with lemons, rosemary and garlics and covered in melted butter and roast it all one time.

i'm a big chicken roaster too...but very very rarely roast poultry or meat in the same dish as the veggies. no sensible reason, just one of my illogical germ/contamination-phobic quirks.

 

[WriterDom]

Things like corn and carrots steam really well. But yeah, nothing worse than crunchy green beans to most southerners.

 

[midwestyankee]

Don't do this.

 

[Sweetprey]

Honestly

When I was single I would make huge pots of delicious things and they would go into appropriately labeled containers that corresponded with a color coded list on my fridge. Then they would sit there as I despaired about not wanting frozen food. My grandmother intervened, and told me that the church ladies told her to thaw out three meals on Sunday night. When she became a widow she had trouble with dinners, and they told her that was the trick. And I tried it, and it works, because I will eat food from the fridge. Then eventually I got into the habit of pulling out another two or three meals on Friday.

That way I kept rotating foods, and I could always do a quick salad and split an entree. I still do this now to prevent excessive food boredom for the spawn and I.

 

[BiBunny]

Things like corn and carrots steam really well. But yeah, nothing worse than crunchy green beans to most southerners.

God, yes. Nutrients be damned. I like my veggies boiled 'til they're soft. Somewhat different standards apply for roasted, grilled, or sauteed ones, though.

 

[bhndblueyes88]

Some veggies have more nutrients cooked!!

 

[BiBunny]

Some veggies have more nutrients cooked!!

I like you a lot.

 

[Keroin]

My parents almost killed my love of veggies thanks to their British/Scottish habit of "COOK THE SHIT OUT OF IT!"

The first time I discovered steamed broccoli...crunchy broccoli...I nearly fell to my knees and wept.

 

[the captians wench]

My parents almost killed my love of veggies thanks to their British/Scottish habit of "COOK THE SHIT OUT OF IT!"

The first time I discovered steamed broccoli...crunchy broccoli...I nearly fell to my knees and wept.

I hate veggies that are cooked. I like mine slightly cooked, still crunchy.

 

[midwestyankee]

I hate veggies that are cooked. I like mine slightly cooked, still crunchy.

There's hope for you yet.

 

[Lizzie_Borden]

Things like corn and carrots steam really well. But yeah, nothing worse than crunchy green beans to most southerners.

That's why you steam them till they're cooked...

 

[the captians wench]

There's hope for you yet.

It's a texture thing.

Like asparagus for instance. I never liked it when my aunt would bring it to family meals. She used canned. Bleh. It was mushy and looked slimey and gross. But there was a pasta dish I had at some restaurant a few years ago, and they snuck some in there. It was crunchy, just lightly sauted. And I fell in love.

Brocolini is a new discovery. Lightly sauted with a bit of leak, tiny bit of salt, and a smidge of butter for flavor. That's one that's good over pasta the next day too.

I know how to cook good food, I just don't know how to cook for one, and I have to retrain my brain to believe it's just as nice to cook for myself as it is to cook for other people. I need to start taking care of me for once.

 

[rida]

When I was single I would make huge pots of delicious things and they would go into appropriately labeled containers that corresponded with a color coded list on my fridge. Then they would sit there as I despaired about not wanting frozen food. My grandmother intervened, and told me that the church ladies told her to thaw out three meals on Sunday night. When she became a widow she had trouble with dinners, and they told her that was the trick. And I tried it, and it works, because I will eat food from the fridge. Then eventually I got into the habit of pulling out another two or three meals on Friday.

That way I kept rotating foods, and I could always do a quick salad and split an entree. I still do this now to prevent excessive food boredom for the spawn and I.

Very sensitive approach to the sadness of looking at frozen food!

I noticed myself that if I don't take it out in the AM, I rarely feel like nuking it for dinner if I look at it all white and frozen solid, while I'm ready to heat it up when I see it tasty looking in the fridge.

 

[midwestyankee]

It's a texture thing.

Like asparagus for instance. I never liked it when my aunt would bring it to family meals. She used canned. Bleh. It was mushy and looked slimey and gross. But there was a pasta dish I had at some restaurant a few years ago, and they snuck some in there. It was crunchy, just lightly sauted. And I fell in love.

Brocolini is a new discovery. Lightly sauted with a bit of leak, tiny bit of salt, and a smidge of butter for flavor. That's one that's good over pasta the next day too.

I know how to cook good food, I just don't know how to cook for one, and I have to retrain my brain to believe it's just as nice to cook for myself as it is to cook for other people. I need to start taking care of me for once.

Seems to me that this, the bolded part, is your answer. My experience is that setting a goal, acting consistently to reach that goal, and repetition are the primary elements in changing yourself. You're already well informed about what you need to do, so reading more about healthy eating won't move you any closer to changing. You're already persuaded that it's time to change, so more persuasion doesn't seem necessary. Now it's time to commit to the change and to practice it.

My suggestion: set a goal of cooking well for yourself some number of nights per week. If you're scheduled on the closing shift a few nights, then maybe you could commit to cooking well for yourself every night that you eat at home. Even if that's only three nights per week sometimes, the consistency of doing it every time will make the difference.

Another very important thing: reward yourself for success. Track your effort with an X on each calendar day when you cook for yourself. And every week that you complete by cooking for yourself every possible night, reward yourself (preferably with something other than a big honking french fries pizza ). Pick a slightly larger reward for when you complete a full month of meeting your daily and weekly goals.

Let me just add that the act of marking the calendar or writing down some mention of your progress is very, very helpful. In my business skills development course I teach people the technique of debriefing their progress every day. Some will want to keep a diary; others will want to send themselves a brief daily email with remarks on their progress. The form doesn't matter so much as the action.

Put another way: put some BODY in your eating life:

B is for Big Picture. This is the mental image of a healthier you, created by improving your eating/cooking habits.

O is for Objectives (or goals). Set your goals and promise yourself that you will work to achieve them.

D is for Debrief. Every day, write down a brief mention of how well you did in working toward your goals.

Y is for YES!! Reward yourself for achieving your goals.

 

[MsDeanne]

Super easy meal

Ichyban (raman noodles)..
.frozen California veg mix

just make the soup as package says and when noodle are just starting to soften add veggies....cook until tender ( I like mine crunchie)
and you can eat just like that or drain and add some chicken and black bean sauce and viola..Chinese noodles..

 

[Netzach]

I really like veggies from raw to completely overcooked depending on context.