Cooking Ahead

[shaunawa]

Many times I have heard people say they prepare on the weekend what they are going to eat for the week.

Exactly what is that? What should you have on hand to prepare yourself? Hard boiled eggs are the only thing that come to my mind. There has to be more.

[fetch]

Re: Cooking Ahead

One example is I bake up Linda's cauliflower hash browns on the weekend. It makes six servings, so there is my breakfast along with a couple strips of bacon and my tea w/cream. Takes a minute thirty to nuke the bacon and 23 seconds to reheat the hash.

Another example is making a batch of pork carnitas on the weekend. I can eat that in a romaine salad with tomato, cucumber, shredded cheese, sour cream and an avocado dressing (made on the weekend as well). I can wash and shred the romaine (I can't justify to myself buying the packaged stuff) and shred the cheese (ditto) ahead of time. Takes about five minutes to finish prepping and pack the salad components in the morning since I don't like my tomato getting watery overnight.

A final example is I can marinate and grill up 2-3 lbs of flank steak satay on the weekend and reheat & eat it with steamed broccoli and daikon radish gratin (that I made on the weekend as well). The time required to make supper is the 20-25 minutes it takes for the broccoli to steam (although you could make 2 or 3 days worth at a time to avoid soggy broc)

The key to being successful at cooking on the weekend for the week is you don't mind eating the same thing for 5-6 days in a row.

[mission to lose]

Re: Cooking Ahead

One example is I bake up Linda's cauliflower hash browns on the weekend. It makes six servings, so there is my breakfast along with a couple strips of bacon and my tea w/cream. Takes a minute thirty to nuke the bacon and 23 seconds to reheat the hash.

Another example is making a batch of pork carnitas on the weekend. I can eat that in a romaine salad with tomato, cucumber, shredded cheese, sour cream and an avocado dressing (made on the weekend as well). I can wash and shred the romaine (I can't justify to myself buying the packaged stuff) and shred the cheese (ditto) ahead of time. Takes about five minutes to finish prepping and pack the salad components in the morning since I don't like my tomato getting watery overnight.

A final example is I can marinate and grill up 2-3 lbs of flank steak satay on the weekend and reheat & eat it with steamed broccoli and daikon radish gratin (that I made on the weekend as well). The time required to make supper is the 20-25 minutes it takes for the broccoli to steam (although you could make 2 or 3 days worth at a time to avoid soggy broc)

The key to being successful at cooking on the weekend for the week is you don't mind eating the same thing for 5-6 days in a row.

Hey there Fetch,

You don't have to eat the same thing 5-6 days in a row if you add in some things you can freeze. Linda's Taco Bake makes 8 servings and freezes well. Just top it off with some sour cream and green onion tops after you micro it. Another is Linda's Spinach Lasagna. Makes 6 servings. If you find enough recipes you can freeze, make 1 or 2 each week, and you can build up quite a supply and still have variety.


Shaunawa-
"Exactly what is that? What should you have on hand to prepare yourself? Hard boiled eggs are the only thing that come to my mind. There has to be more. "

Just go over the list of accepted foods and be a little creative. And study all the low carb recipe websites. Also investigate the best turkey deli meat from the Deli--They are not all created equal---ask the deli person and/or read the labels looking for no sugar, low added junk.
Also research the ham and get ham slices, or thick sclices and cube them.
And back to the "make ahead stuff"...not sure about quiche being frozen, but that is something you can eat for any meal of the day.


Hope this helps.

[mission to lose]

Re: Cooking Ahead

Another recipe is the Cauliflower Bisque Soup.

There is a recipe site here on the ADBB--Go to the Forum, and then Atkins Food and Recipes

and Linda's site is www.genaw.com/lowcarb/index.html.

[fetch]

Re: Cooking Ahead

Hey there Fetch,

You don't have to eat the same thing 5-6 days in a row if you add in some things you can freeze.

An excellent idea.

I personally don't since I am cooking for one and purposely don't try to scale down most recipes as I want enough to eat off of for 5-6 days. If I cook something I find I really enjoy, I have no problems eating the same thing for a week. Shoot, I've even been known to make things like my carnitas for consecutive weeks because I adore it so much.

And the consistency makes working with FitDay a joy since you have to enter individual components for a recipe and then figure out serving size and then do the math to get the nutrition information for a single serving and then you have to create a food and then...

[soon2bslim]

Re: Cooking Ahead

u can make crustless quiche in muffun tins and then once they're cooled- wrap separately. i sometimes take one out in yhe am and it's defrosted early lunchtime, if u want to eat it rightaway then nuke it in the m.wave for maybe 30 sec or so.

[chinadoll]

Re: Cooking Ahead

I will precook chicken breasts and then make different sauces or dishes with them through the week. I roast chickens as well and then use the cooked meats in other things and the carcass for soup.

[d33na]

Re: Cooking Ahead

u can make crustless quiche in muffun tins and then once they're cooled- wrap separately. i sometimes take one out in yhe am and it's defrosted early lunchtime, if u want to eat it rightaway then nuke it in the m.wave for maybe 30 sec or so.

I did just that today....they were excellent.....froze them in one per freezer bag....

I just know there are days I dont want to cook....always have a few options in the freezer

[shaunawa]

Re: Cooking Ahead

Thank you so much for the wonderful ideas. This will give me some thing to work on this weekend. Gotta get going on this, but I always seem to run out of stuff in the fridge to eat .. and then I find the kids junk.
I am going to do this over the weekend.
Thanks again.

[Skeptika23]

Re: Cooking Ahead

I pre-prep veggies for the week - get my broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, broccoflower, orange cauliflower, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, onions, white cabbage and/or red cabbage pre-cut, rinsed, weighed, and baggied.

That way I can just pull one out and start eating/cooking as desired - I've premeasured so I can easily enter into Fitday.

[JulieB]

Re: Cooking Ahead

I make stuff on the week-end and freeze alot. Since both my hubby and I are on this WOE, and I bring dinner "leftovers" for lunch the next day, a 4-serving recipe lasts 1 day. If the recipe makes 6 or 8, I freeze the extras. So any given week, I usually have a couple meals in the freezer, then I make a couple recipes. I also make & freeze quiche & MUPs for breakfasts (I'd rather sleep in than cook in the morning)

I mostly live off of recipes from Linda's site - she always states if the recipe freezes well, which I find really helpful.

As far as planning goes, I plan all of my meals a week at a time. Then I go shopping for the ingredients & pre-cook some things on the week-end. I find that way I really have no excuse to cheat. I also always have a few "emergency" meals in the freezer in case I need them.

[bckyrdbbqr]

Re: Cooking Ahead

Did anyone say chicken wings...i cook up a 5 lb package and store them in the fridge for a quick snack .....put hot sauce on em and some blue cheese on the side. i also cook up a couple lbs of bacon at a time.

[Skeptika23]

Re: Cooking Ahead

i also cook up a couple lbs of bacon at a time.

We do this, and keep it in a baggie in the freezer - pull out a couple of strips and nuke 'em on demand!

[paminmd]

Re: Cooking Ahead

An excellent idea.

I personally don't since I am cooking for one and purposely don't try to scale down most recipes as I want enough to eat off of for 5-6 days. If I cook something I find I really enjoy, I have no problems eating the same thing for a week. Shoot, I've even been known to make things like my carnitas for consecutive weeks because I adore it so much.

And the consistency makes working with FitDay a joy since you have to enter individual components for a recipe and then figure out serving size and then do the math to get the nutrition information for a single serving and then you have to create a food and then...

How do you make your pork carnitas? I would love to have a recipe.
Thanks
Pam

[JulieB]

Re: Cooking Ahead

Re: Cooked Bacon in the freezer

We do this, and keep it in a baggie in the freezer - pull out a couple of strips and nuke 'em on demand!

So do we it is so fast & easy this way! It makes a good snack too