Preparing healthy food....

amother

Aqua

Wed, May 06 2015, 12:45 am

is sooooo time consuming.

Lets start with veggies....checking and then chopping and then cooking ....and then "when will that broccoli ever be ready? "

All the extra work is discouraging and is preventing me from eating healthier. I look at healthy recipes and think "Boring and not tasty"

Anybody have some good strategies for healthy cooking that is not time consuming and is Family friendly?

Shopmiami49

Wed, May 06 2015, 12:53 am

amother wrote:

I think that this^^ is your problem, more than the extra work involved. You need to change your mindset to make it work. After all, if it was a decadent dessert, who really looks at the work involved? Wink

amother

Aqua

Wed, May 06 2015, 1:01 am

Shopmiami49 wrote:

I know its a mindset...but decadent tastier foods can be bought ready made....I miss the convenience. I guess what I am looking for is inspiration. Fast healthy recipes that do not take 2 hours to prepare.

chouli

Wed, May 06 2015, 2:54 am

If you don't want to change your menu, but still eat healthier, here's what I sometimes do:
Serve a big fruit or vegetable platter before eating. This way everyone can fill up on healthy stuff, and you can still have a small portion of whatever-you-fancy aferwards.

Jewishmom8

Wed, May 06 2015, 3:06 am

you can boil frozen broccoli of cauliflower and that dosnt take so long
I cut up lots of cucumbers tomatoes sprouts carrots and pickles and thats really yummy too.
I eat a crazy amount of sauteed onions and mushrooms. if I put a ton of that in a small amount of rice or pasta you can have bigger portions.
we can do it!
Applause

November

Wed, May 06 2015, 8:33 am

Yes, it does take time and energy. You can get bags of small carrots and eat them with chumus. Instead of feeling so much pressure, perhaps you can "lighten up" and tell yourself you'll do your best and try to schedule in 10 minutes to cut up fruit/veggies. Start small. It's not all or nothing.

imaima

Wed, May 06 2015, 8:48 am

Slice veggies in a kitchen machine for a fresh salad. Making milkshake out of plain yogurt and frozen berries is healthy and yummy. Avocado with dressing is yummy and filling. Fill half a bell pepper with tuna, put a cheese slice on top and melt them in an oven for 3 minutes - very quick.

morah

Wed, May 06 2015, 8:59 am

It's really not as hard as people make it out to be. Steamed veggies with salt, pepper, and another seasoning of choice is simple and delicious. Throw in some butter or cheese if you need some decadence. If checking is too much for you, get veggies that don't require an intensive checking process, such as cucumbers, carrots, peppers. Leafy greens are great but if you're not going to eat them because you're too lazy to check (I'm totally guilty of this) you can pay extra for prechecked or just skip them and eat other veggies. Same deal with fruit. Also, plenty of fruits are easy to eat whole. There's no easier snack than just biting an apple or popping blueberries into your mouth.

allthingsblue

Wed, May 06 2015, 9:06 am

Quick healthy ideas:
Frozen broccoli or cauliflower: Just steam it! Takes 6 minutes, that's it! (All you need is a pot, a little bit of water and a steamer basket, which, if you don't have, can be purchased for a low cost at any home goods store)
Frozen stir fry vegetables: Just saute them in a little bit (under a Tbsp) of olive oil, and towards the end of cooking add garlic and soy sauce (Takes 10-15 minutes max)
Buy watermelon and slice it the day you get home- keep it in a big bowl in the fridge. Instant snacking.
Purchase frozen mango and strawberries and blueberries, and then take it out of the freezer about half hour before you'll be ready for a snack.
Purchase fresh blueberries, strawberries, peaches and other fruit that only requires washing.
Greek yogurt (no sugar or little sugar added)- you can make your own fruit Greek yogurt by adding fresh fruit to plain greek yogurt.

Are you looking for snacks or dinner ideas?

Iymnok

Wed, May 06 2015, 9:07 am

Try the veggie dishes. Spinach is delicious and versatile. Most can be steamed much faster than boiling or roasting. Add sautéed onions to most things to improve them.
Repeat after me VEGETABLES ARE DELICIOUS
Hashem made vegetables with such variety in color, texture, taste and aroma.

amother

Aqua

Wed, May 06 2015, 12:02 pm

allthingsblue wrote:

OP here,

Do frozen strawberries, mango's and peaches need kosher certification if its only frozen fruit with no added ingredients? ( this sounds like a great idea and possibly cheaper then buying fresh)

I am looking for snack and dinner ideas, I am trying my best to eat more veggies and not be intimidated by them. Smile

thank you!

allthingsblue

Wed, May 06 2015, 12:05 pm

amother wrote:

thank you!

I don't know, I buy Dole, which has an OU

amother

Aqua

Wed, May 06 2015, 12:08 pm

Op here,

thank you everyone for your quick replies!
Steaming vegetables sounds like a quick and great idea! I also will try to modify my thinking and not be "all or nothing" as someone mentioned. Maybe I will stay clear of the Romaine Lettuce for awhile.... and stick to cucumbers for now.

Any dishes with veggies that taste great,please share!

Loving the ideas here!
thank you

iamamother

Wed, May 06 2015, 12:27 pm

I make some sort of roasted vegetables every night.

I use eggplants, zucchinis, mushrooms, onions, peppers. I do a diff mix of those depending on what I have. I toss the chopped veggies with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and sometime so dried herbs like parsley, oregano, basil... I also us the McCormick spice blends, they make so many different types that r very good.

I also roast butternut squash, sweet potatoes and carrots. I either make them into cubes or fries. for these I toss in oilive oil, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, cajon spice... wtvr I am in the mood for...

green/string beans r also great to make, especially if u buy a big bag from costco that r already trimmed

I roast all these things on abt 400-425 degrees until done

oh- I also grill veggies in a grill pan...

these things r deff time consuming, but I know we need to eat healthy so... I try my hardest to do some of the prep work the night before. the lettuce for salads is a killer! I hate washing and checking it and the prechecked here r so expensive! so I do tend to get lazy with that...

November

Wed, May 06 2015, 1:44 pm

We love omelets with veges. You can either saute any of the following: onions, mushrooms, zucchini, peppers and add to eggs, or open a can of black olives and throw some sliced olives in there. Or both! If you eat dairy, you can melt a little cheese on.

Hashem_Yaazor

Wed, May 06 2015, 1:59 pm

You need to ask your local kashrus rabbi about strawberries but we hold that strawberries meant to be blended up do not need to be bodek.

This is what I have eaten today so far.
Breakfast: smoothie that took me 2 minutes to prepare and wash the blender from -- yogurt (I couldn't get full fat greek which is what I wanted on my last shopping trip, so I got full fat non-greek), frozen peaches, strawberries, blueberries, and banana, and some orange juice
It was very filling.
My snack was not the healthiest, but not terrible in the scheme of things: leftover thin mint cookie from shabbos which I made with a mixture of olive oil and coconut oil (not posting the recipe because it didn't work too well and took a lot of adapting so I don't know the measurements, and my family was not too impressed, but I liked it!)
Lunch: 2 minutes to make the following salad -- diced cuke, roma tomato, half a can of chickpeas (see my shortcut vs making dry ones in advance?), crumbled feta chese, drizzled some olive oil, lemon juice, and sprinkled in some salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Extremely filling, high in protein and good fats. Very low carbs as they make me tired, and I'd rather them for supper and go to sleep at night than fall asleep at work.

amother

Aqua

Wed, May 06 2015, 2:01 pm

[quote="iamamother"]I make some sort of roasted vegetables every night.

I use eggplants, zucchinis, mushrooms, onions, peppers. I do a diff mix of those depending on what I have. I toss the chopped veggies with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and sometime so dried herbs like parsley, oregano, basil... I also us the McCormick spice blends, they make so many different types that r very good.

Do you roast in the oven?(the above recipe)....sounds good and minimal checking for bugs!

also the recommendation for Costco string beans and fruit is a big help, I will definately look for the trimmed string beans and frozen fruit!

thanks!

amother

Aqua

Wed, May 06 2015, 2:03 pm

Hashem_Yaazor wrote:

This is great! thank you for sharing!