Meal ideas

[fishuhalik]

Weird, I spend a ton of time on HSO & just noticed this forum! Anyways, after several years of letting myself go, I'd had enough. I went from 6' 2" 185lbs and running marathons to 264lbs and wanting to die after a 1/2 mile jog. 2 months ago I started my weight loss/muscle building regimin & it's been going pretty good but I need some food tips. I work in the oil field and work 15 days on 5 days off, and during my 15 days I'll usually work between 170-220 hours. Needless to say, between all the hours worked and gym time, I don't have an hour or two to cook meals! I'm looking for ideas that I can cook in large quantities, freeze in separate containers and just grab & go when I make my lunch. I'd like to sit down if I ever get a day off and cook, say, 10 different dishes that would be good for at least 10 meals per dish. Thanks for any tips!!

[TR21HP]

Really tough situation fishuhalik. I suppose you don't have the luxury of warmimg something up during the day. If so, something as simple as chicken, turkey or fish and vegetables in a container and microwave it. If not maybe just chicken salad,turkey salad or tuna salad and raw vegetables in a cooler and eat when you can. Throw in some complex fruits such as any berry or maybe add a meal replacement protein shake as a substitute once or twice a day.

[fishuhalik]

We are lucky since we do have microwaves in all our trucks, so that definitely helps me out

[fishersofmen]

Fish are those lb's you are packing on or all that oil money filling up your wallet?

Seriously though that would be a challenge to be able to eat right in that position. Its hard for me just being in the work truck all day. You may be on to something though with preparing several containers of pasta, fruit, veggies, etc ahead of time don't see any other way to do it.

[mrklean]

veggies rice and chicken pretty easy simple meal but i dont think i would eat it for 15 straight days

[fishuhalik]

Ya, it's tough sometimes. I packed on about 20lbs because it's waaaay easier to just pick up gas station food on the way to the shop in the morning. I've been eating a lot of Lean Cuisine, but at $4-$5/meal (Williston prices, I know they're cheaper everywhere else) I'd like to find some cheaper option. Thanks for the tips so far, keep em coming!

[mrklean]

another options since your working such long hours is protein shakes for snacks, very easy and it beats eating that junk food late at night

[fishersofmen]

Definitely do the shakes. Get a couple 5lb jugs and some shaker cups, mix with some water and good to go. Protein bars too. Another good thing to snack on would be nuts. Buy some nuts in bulk and bag them up.

I used to go to the gym with a guy who drove semi and he would bring a bag full of chicken breasts with him in the truck and chew on them all day lol.

[mrklean]

speaking of bars if you havent tried making your own protein bars there are tons and tons of really good recipes out there and easy to make

[nofishfisherman]

If you are looking for ways to improve over eating gas station food then it shouldn't be too hard since almost anything you make should be better. Here are a couple ideas.

Salads - Kind of cliche health food but you can tweak them to your liking. Grill up some chicken breasts and add it to the salads for your protein. Should be easy to make several salads a couple days a head of time.

Soups - You can make a big pot of any kind of soup or stew and freeze indivdual portions in plastic containers. Just grab one and let it sit in the truck all day, by the time you are ready to eat it should have started thawing out.

Chilli - same concept as the soup/stew

Lasagna - my wife and I make several pans of lasagna ahead of time and freeze them in foil pans. Just need to take it out of the freezer and bake it one evening. Then you'll have lasagna for lunch for the next week or more.

Snacks - nuts, dried fruit, jerky

Drinks - stick to water only.

[fishuhalik]

Nff, I'm more looking toward foods that are gonna help me build muscle (protein) & be low-fat & carbs. Guess I shoulda stated that to begin with. I'm curious on making your own protein bars, gonna have to look that one up. I'm already eating tons of jerkey. It's been pretty much my sole snack for the last couple months!

[delcecchi]

Canned tuna. Egg beaters. Brown rice (maybe pilaf style with some veggies for flavor) boneless skinless chicken, put a whole bag on a cookie sheet and bake with seasonings of choice, or poach in simmering water.

Chicken, frozen veg, brown rice, seasoning (cajun, curry powder, soy sauce, anything that looks good in the store) put in plastic container. zap in microwave. Low fat, high protein, good flavor. Change of frozen veg, and seasoning provide variety. or use pork loin or tenderloin instead of chicken.

Cook meat, rice. Put a calculated amount of rice (like a cup or two depending on your calorie requirement), about 1/2 or 1/3 bag frozen veg, seasoning, meat in container and put in freezer. Take out in morning be thawed by lunch. few minutes in microwave, hot tasty nutritious.

[TonkaBass]

I second canned tuna. Cook chicken, beef, pork in advance and maybe make stir frys too to get veggies in there and some variety. Hot sauce brown rice, quinoa, sweet potato fries (I like them cold), Canned low sodium beans (they get old fast but are convenient). I also like hard boiled eggs, I think you can like 6 for 2 bucks and just eat one whole and the whites on the rest. They aren't as good for you as other cooked eggs, but they'll do I have some protien bars on my fb page somewhere, but they should be eaten as a treat...

[delcecchi]

Hard boiling eggs is not hard. Put eggs in appropriate size pan. Add water to cover eggs by one inch. Bring to boil over medium high heat. Cover, remove from heat, let stand 11 minutes. drain, and chill in cold water. I run the water into the pan with the eggs, and sometimes throw a few ice cubes in at the end.

Mark eggs or carton that they are HB.

[fishuhalik]

Solid ideas, thanks tonka & del!!

[delcecchi]

You're welcome. hate to see people paying for things that are dead simple to do yourself. Boiling eggs being one of those things.

[TonkaBass]

My bad Del, I was just thinking if hes in a pinch out in the oil fields is all... If I have a stove to cook my eggs I dont boil them, I poach them or scramble them

[delcecchi]

Never occurred to me that he was not in a position to cook. Good point.

[BLACKJACK]

One thing that nobody has mentioned is good old cold sandwich, some sliced chicken, turkey, or ham, some lettuce, a little Mayo, occaisionally some cheese for variety, pretty easy to make a couple the night before. Add an apple or banana, some yogurt, you're good to go. Stay away from the fatty sausage and lots of slathered on toppings. If you do have cooking facilities, you can cook up a turkey or chicken at night and have sandwich meat for a week.

[TonkaBass]

I will add skip the white bread, and if possible use Ezekiel bread $$$. Also most lunch meat is high in sodium and fat, so maybe use tuna or shred your own chicken ahead of time

[amateurfishing]

former chef on da go here!!

we have a family of 5 and as a former professional chef I personally HATE pre packaged meals. we buy in bulk as much as possible (Costco, 1/2 hog & side beef, etc) and store in garage freezer. In summer (or weather permitting) I usually grill/smoke enough food for 2-3 weeks for family of 5. Brats, whole chix, bone in thighs, 93% lean burgers, steaks, ribs, chops, fresh salmon, fresh tuna, etc. whatever the mrs has bought. I try to watch weather report & if looking good will start to marinate some things on thurs. & others on fri. then grill/smoke all the food sometime on weekend. usually 5 or 6 half sheet pans full.

let all food cool down then store in food containers or freezer Ziploc bags after cooked & cooled. for next 2 weeks food is already done and just come up with veggies/fruit to serve with. cukes, baby carrots, zucchini, melons, etc, anything to keep it simple but satisfying & healthy. marinates can be as simple as dry rubs (dried herbs/spices) or simple lemon/lime juice for quesadillas, brown sugar, vinegar, orange/pinapple juice for sweet/sour chix.

if you have 5 days straight off, I would highly recommend if possible that you spend 1 day of it food shopping/prepping and the next cooking it if possible. then you have the rest of the time for yourself if you have the capacity to buy/cook/store food like this.