Prepared Meals ?

[chibelly]

I am at 22 pounds down and this week i stalled out. Sunday will be 4 weeks for me total. At this point i am getting really tired of cooking 3 or 4 times a day. And trying to cook enough meat for the whole day at once leaves it dry and not very good. In a normal situation i could probably do it but im so sick of meat that it has to be perfect or i cant eat it.

I go to the grocery store and its eggs - meat - cheese - tomatoes - frozen veggies - water. Any precooked "lunch" meat is loaded with carbs. I used to be able to treat myself with a rotisserie chicken but now i get no pleasure from them.

Is there a specific brand of frozen dinners or some sort of meal service you can sign up for that has atkins legal meals that can be popped in the microwave?

I am working out of town and living in a guest house so its a pain to deal with cooking and cleaning the kitchen every meal. Thanks.

[ziggy]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

ya i agree cooking meat all the time can get hard why don't you try more egg and vegetable recipes? try fresh broccoli instead of frozen cause the frozen broccoli sucks its mostly just stems

also egg shakes are quick and easy to make also scrambled eggs are nice

for my cooked broccoli and scrambled eggs i add unsalted butter and feta cheese to it it makes it taste good

[pagliaccia]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

Have you tried making soups or quiches? Those tend to yield a lot of servings and store well.

[liv]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

I wish there was. But a secret to good health is to prepare our own food and to use good clean ingredients. Pre made food is loaded with chemicals, sugars and salt. It is absolutely discusting to read the ingredient lists on some of those things some times. And I think our obesity problem is due to the fact that we rely on this kind of convenience.
So you have to work out something else. Do you have a freezer? A crock pot?

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

>>I used to be able to treat myself with a rotisserie chicken>>

That was no "treat" ... most are plumped with a sugar solution, and many have flour on the skin to make it look good.

>> really tired of cooking 3 or 4 times a day. >>

Hmm ... my husband makes breakfast now. Before he retired, I used to make egg casseroles, then we could have a chunk for breakfast. Just microwave.

Lunch can be leftovers (no cooking).

Dinner is generally cooked from scratch ... and sometimes I make enough for two nights.

You can plan leftovers ... or perpare food and freeze it. Make your own prepared foods.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

>>try fresh broccoli instead of frozen cause the frozen broccoli sucks its mostly just stems>>

You can buy frozen broccoli florets.

[mizski]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

>>try fresh broccoli instead of frozen cause the frozen broccoli sucks its mostly just stems>>

You can buy frozen broccoli florets.

I often buy Broccoli Wokly by Mann's (in the produce department). You can just pop the entire bag in the microwave. I then eat it as a veg side, mix some in other dishes and eat it cold with a mayo/dressing dip.

[mizski]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

Is there a specific brand of frozen dinners or some sort of meal service you can sign up for that has atkins legal meals that can be popped in the microwave?

There are a few meal delivery services that deliver freshly prepared meals via FedEx. They are expensive ($200+/wk) and you have to order on a particular day and be around for delivery. Diet To Go low carb meals are based on the Atkins Induction fat/protein/carb ratios rather than following the Induction food lists. They may be more suitable for OWL however, the calorie count is very low (~1200/day). They also contain a lot of soy ingredients and the sodium was way too high IMO.

Cooking your own is still the best (and healthiest) way. There are a lot of products (like the Broccoli Wokly) to make veg prep easy and easy proteins in small/individual portions. Zip n Steam bags also make meal prep easy. HTH

[chibelly]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

Without quoting everyone i will try to respond to all.

I have not tried making soups because even the broth at the grocery store has carbs in it. I am not a good enough cook to try making soup without a box or can of broth to start me off .

I do have a freezer but not a crock pot. Another issue is i am sharing the guest house with 2 people who are on staff here at the clients home. They havent said anything to me directly but they are getting tired of me being in the kitchen and keeping the house smelling like food all day long.

I have been getting rotisserie chickens from Whole Foods Market and i peel as much of the skin off as i can. Its usually too salty/spicy for me. I had no idea that rotisserie chickens had sugar solutions injected into them.

As for the brocolio. I always buy the baby florets. I dont care for the stalks or the huge florets.

$200 a week is more than i can spend on food. Thats my budget for the month .

I went to whole foods today and dug around in the lunch meat section and found a ham and a turkey that said zero carbs zero sugar and the ingredients didnt look suspect. Nothing with the word "lose" (sugar) in it and nothing like "other flavorings" or "natural flavorings". They also say they are not cured but they are cooked. So at least i have an option from frying/baking chicken or steak. I also picked up sliced Montery Jack & Sharp Cheddar cheese. They were the only 2 cheeses there that said zero for carbs. I have been picking up the bricks of cheese and slicing them myself. Maybe the convenience of slices will make life easier.

The last 2 days have been rough.. I was really close to hitting McDonalds for a soda and some french fries. Even at whole foods i was eyeballing the soup station and this big tray of mac-n-cheese at the hotbar. I really dont want McDonalds and the mac-n-cheese isn't very good. I could go for a good bowl of soup and a turkey sandwich The good news is that now im much more picky then before. I would have went to McDonalds and ordered whatever and not really liked it and regretted eating it. Now i wont stop there because i keep telling myself that if im going to blow my diet it will be for something good like a bag of pistachios or a couple pieces of fruit.

Ahhh!! I wish i could go back to the first 2 weeks and stay there .

[poobears1972]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

My advice is go to WM or somewhere, pick up some of the divided storage dishes. They are small so won't take up much room in the freezer. Cook up whatever you want for the next few days and put it in your dishes and pop them in the freezer. That is pretty darn close to delivered service. When you want to eat you just take out a dish and put it in the microwave. I use to do that when I was working. The portion sizes are just right unless you are a big eater and you can easily add a salad or whatever you want to them when you eat.

[liv]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

I like to cook up a lot of burger patties and freeze then for quick meals. I also make Linda's whitcastle pie sometimes for a change. It freezes very well and I can quickly microwave those. I like the ideas about steamed veggies. Veggies you can also cut up in advance and keep in the fridge so that it is easy to make a quick stir fry with them (I love sauteed veggies)

[mission to lose]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

They havent said anything to me directly but they are getting tired of me being in the kitchen and keeping the house smelling like food all day long.

Hi.
If they haven't said anything to you, how do you know they are tired of you being in the kitchen? And what is the kitchen for, if not for cooking?
Maybe if you make a yummy recipe to share with them, you will not feel as bad...


***If you are on a $200 monthly food budget, stay out of Whole Foods!!!LOL.

There are many recipes here that can be prepared, portioned and frozen. For Example: Linda's Taco Bake...Make it once, yields 8 SERVINGS.

Or make a huge batch of this, from Sheila's website...will last for days:


Crispy Fried Chicken Nuggets
I coat the chicken with either a little cream or 1egg.


Sugar Free Sheila's Atkins Low Carb Induction Friendly Recipes!




MORE Recipes

Linda's Low Carb Menus & Recipes - Home

The Lighter Side of Low-Carb


Atkins Food and Recipes - Atkins Diet

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/atkins-diet-14-day-induction/58513-never-ending-induction-recipes.html

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...pes-added.html

[dyjack]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

Chibelly - are you looking just for foods with zero carbs? That's not the point of Atkins. My cheese has carbs as does my chicken broth. The key though is that the cheese is legal and the broth has all legal ingredients.

Depending on your phase of Atkins you are limited to a certain number of net carbs (carb grams minus fiber grams).

I'll look later but the broth I buy comes either from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. There are also other broths. One of my favorites is Mushroom Broth. Used in the right quantities, it can be perfectly legal for induction. I also buy that at Whole Foods.

[atkinsgal08]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

>> I have not tried making soups because even the broth at the grocery store has carbs in it.>>

You're not looking for "no carb" ... the carbs in store broth are minor.

>>I am not a good enough cook to try making soup without a box or can of broth to start me off>>

Then get started with store bought broth.

>> I have been getting rotisserie chickens from Whole Foods Market and i peel as much of the skin off as i can.>>

This might be one place where the rotisserie chicken isn't adulterated. However, since it's too spicy/salty for you, buy a chicken and roast it yourself.

And if money is an issue, why are you shopping at Whole Foods?

>>I could go for a good bowl of soup and a turkey sandwich>>

Make some soup and make a turkey sandwich with lettuce as the "bread".

>>I wish i could go back to the first 2 weeks and stay there>>

You can choose to do anything you want. Wouldn't progress be a better choice though?

[Georgiana]

Re: Prepared Meals ?

I am not a good enough cook to try making soup without a box or can of broth to start me off

You really don't need to be a good cook to slowly boil chicken parts.