cooking and shopping for two?
Saturday, July 31st, 2010 5:01 am | Healthy Cooking For Twoi’m having a really hard time keeping my fiance and i on a healthy diet…
we go grocery shopping, get fresh veggies, fruits, lean meats, etc. but we can’t seem to buy small enough quantities of a lot of it to eat it before it goes bad…
even just one pepper or onion will go bad because i don’t eat them so we only use a half to a quarter and by the time we want to use it again it’s gone bad…we have vacuum seal bags and they work for some things, but others (like mushrooms) go bad even faster in them!
my fiance works one 24 hour shift (6A to 6A thursday into friday) and a 12 hr shift (6P to 6A saturday night into sunday) and often picks up overtime – sometimes over night sometimes during the day…
what are some things i can make
a. using the same fresh ingredients in different meals so they don’t go bad
b. stuff that is good as leftovers
c. stuff that my fiance can bring to work (he has a heavy duty giant lunch box & usually mini-fridge access)
we’re getting married in 2 months so i’d love for us to both be as healthy as possible on that day & i really don’t want him to fall into the same track so many other paramedics have (so many of our emergency medical professionals are overweight because of the life style they lead…it’s sad)
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I know where you’re coming from because I used to have the same problem when I worked a job that had very long hours and shift patterns.
The best way I found to get around the problem was to cook double portions of everything and then freeze the extra meals so that I could just grab a container from the freezer to take to work for lunch because it would defrost during the morning and I could just bung it in the microwave at lunch time; or pull a couple of portions out in the evening for dinner if I was getting in too late to cook.
I also used to make loads of vegetable soups using up all the bits and pieces of veg that I had hanging around – healthy, low fat, cheap and tasty,
Peppers and onions that will be used in a cooked dish can be frozen. Meats can be repackaged into smaller portions and frozen as well.
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Fresh Veggie Bagel Sandwich
1 bagel, sliced in half
1 tablespoon coarse-grain brown mustard
1 leaf romaine lettuce
2 (1/4 inch thick) rings green bell pepper
4 slices cucumber
2 slices tomato
salt and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
2 slices red onion
1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts
Directions:
1. Spread mustard onto the cut sides of the bagel. Layer the lettuce, green pepper, cucumber, and tomato on one half. Season the tomato with salt and pepper. Top with onion and alfalfa sprouts, then cover with the other half of the bagel.
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Garden Pasta Salad
1 (16 ounce) package uncooked tri-color spiral pasta
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 (16 ounce) bottles Italian-style salad dressing
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling water until al dente. Rinse under cold water, and drain.
2. Mix chopped carrots, celery, cucumber, green pepper, tomatoes, and onion together in large bowl.
3. Combine cooled pasta and vegetables together in large bowl. Pour Italian dressing over mixture, add Parmesan cheese and mix well.
4. Chill for one hour before serving.
5. Keeps well in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Mediterranean Wraps
1 red onion, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 eggplant, sliced
1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and ground black pepper to taste
4 whole grain tortillas
1/4 cup goat cheese
1/4 cup basil pesto
1 large avocado, sliced
Directions:
1. Place the onion, zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, and bell pepper into a large container with a tight fitting lid. Drizzle the olive oil over the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Close the lid and shake to coat.
2. Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Place the seasoned vegetables on the preheated pan, stir and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
3. Spread each tortilla with 1 tablespoon goat cheese and 1 tablespoon pesto. Divide the sliced avocado among the tortillas and top with the mixed veggies. Fold in the bottom of each tortilla and roll each up into a snug wrap.
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