I’ve mentioned before on here that when I live alone I really don’t care for myself very well. I’ll eat maybe 1 meal a day with some snacks. I don’t cook because I don’t have energy or motivation to unless it’s literally like boiling ravioli and sometimes I can’t even do that. As a result of this my diet is pretty much solely microwave meals/fast food/sometimes pasta. There is no nutrition…I can’t buy any food that expires because I will simply forget I have it and it will rot…this happens 80% of the time I buy any kind of perishable food.
Can anyone give suggestions for very low maintenance food that preferably can be frozen or otherwise does not expire for quite some time? I am worried about becoming malnourished. I got home today (I have my own apartment and also my house with my family where my mom cooks for me) and was absolutely gorging myself to the point where I felt sick because I was starved for nutrients and actual food.
My mom does not understand my issue and just says I’m lazy and start cooking. I need help and don’t know what to do.
Hey anna, me too i eat badly. without meds i even stop eating, idk why…
But i eat heavy food if i eat - potatoes, pasta… that’s why i look so bad too i guess There is no way to buy ready food for you?
sorry, i am not big help on this but i just wanted to show you that some others here are like you but yes, its not a good example. i am fat and i have this unhealthy look wow…
I gained 50 lbs over all of college. It actually didn’t come from when I had access to the dining halls, as when I had access to that I was able to choose healthy foods. I gained the weight when I moved to apartment style housing and did not really have access to dining halls anymore thus was eating all unhealthy food as that was what was available and easy to get. (Also a lot of it was due to medication I was on but still)
Ihave the same prob.
U should eat cans of black beans . Prob wouldn’t even eat that if people didn’t buy it for me.
But I take quality multivitamins daily. This I have no problem doing. It requires virtually no effort, Vitamins are more Important than calories (energy)
Imho Vitamins are necessary. lipids are used when the body has none. The body doesn’t really generate vitamins w out food
I don’t actually have any lipids tho
So idk
I think I eat just enough to not lose muscle, which is what is truly important cuz then you get physically weakened
Yeah I have a crazy long torso so it’s actually pretty hard for me to get fat, luckily. My weight all goes to my boobs and thighs Still I’m not happy with my weight now, and I am trying my best to change my diet but it is so hard with my food accessibility issues. I don’t even eat a lot of food. It’s just that the food I do eat is fattening and unhealthy.
Maybe I’ll go crazy and dump all the food in my apartment and just eat salad
I hav this theory,…
Maybe food like beans, despite the calories are like some how converted completely to less fattening? idk
I swear 400cal of pop tarts totally is dif than 400 beans
Heat the oven to 400. Wash the sweet potatoes and make a few holes with a fork. Put the potatoes on the rack for 30 min. Put the chicken in an oven safe pan and douse it with the salad dressing. Put that in the oven with the sweet potato for another 30 min. (The potato will be in for an hour and the chicken strips for 30 min). This assumes boneless, thawed chicken. Otherwise it may need more time.
Serve the potatoes with butter. Add some salad on the side with the chicken.
For breakfast, get some 6 oz glass bowls, they call them ramekins. Put one egg in the bowl, and scramble it with a fork. Then put it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Scoop it out and put it onto some toast with cheese.
For lunch you have bread and lunchmeat and salad leaves.
Add some cereal, cream of wheat, milk, yogurt and fruit for variety, and you have a pretty OK, not too complicated or expensive diet.
It is very good suggestions and very similar to suggestions my mom made to me. Unfortunately what will happen is I will get all those ingredients, I will then wake up and get overwhelmed thinking about preparing them and say I will make it later when I have more energy, then I’ll eat a microwave meal instead. I will repeat this every day because I will never have the energy until all the food I bought has rotted and has to be tossed.
Meat and vegetables are not complicated to cook. You can even cook meat in the microwave and certain vegetables too. Maybe buy fresh meat and fresh vegetables and put them in the freezer to defrost at your leisure. Some fruits can be frozen and thawed out for later too.
Even if you only cook fresh food two or three times a week it would probably be healthy. Not eating nutritionally will eventually catch up to you as you get older. And here’s a tip for you: There’s these “defrosting plates”. They are about a foot long and 7 inches wide. You set frozen food products on them and they will defrost items in half the time that just setting stuff on your counter would take. I don’t understand the science behind them but they actually work quite well and I think they are only about $10.00 or $15.00 and they will last for years.
You might want to consider taking a multivitamin to make up for what vitamins you are not getting from your current diet. I understand motivation and energy problems but could you take a chunk of meat, stick it on a plate and stick it in the microwave? I think cooking a meal two or three times a week would not only be healthy but it would give you a good feeling of accomplishing something.
Maybe you can buy perishable items and a pad of post-its and make a note about what fresh food needs to be eaten and by when and stick the post-it in plain view on your refrigerator or kitchen wall to remind you. A bowl of apples or bananas or grapes sitting on your counter for snacks would help. Like I said, I understand motivation and energy problems but certain things you may think are difficult are deceptively simple. Even a bowl of one-minute instant oatmeal would be a good step.
I am a master at lazy cooking. A few staples in my house:
Morningstar veggie burgers. They microwave in a minute and are delicious with a slice of cheese on top. Buns are optional, but I never use them. They’re pretty nutritious.
Peanut butter and granola bars. I dip the granola bars in the peanut butter for a super easy protein fix.
Steamable bags of frozen veggies. You just pop them in the microwave for five minutes, and they come out perfectly seasoned or plain, a great quick snack
Bread and cheese. A grilled cheese sandwich takes about five minutes to make. It isn’t the healthiest food, but it will keep you fed and happy.
Eggs. You can scramble eggs on the stovetop of in the microwave, and they’re very healthy. I add cheese to mine, and have them with toast.
English muffins. Just pop them in the toaster and they’re good to go. Cover them in peanut butter.
Nondairy milk. It stays fresh for about a month, instead of going bad in a week like regular milk. I use coconut/almond unsweetened blend from Almond Breeze, but there are tons of choices. They’re fortified with extra calcium and vitamins, so they’re actually healthier than regular milk.
I have a TERRIBLE track record with milk and I didn’t know non dairy lasted longer, thanks for the tip! I had forgotten about steamable veggies.
@77nick77 if it can be tossed in a microwave and be ready to be eaten I can handle it.
General no-no’s for me is anything involving several dishes/utensils…things I’ll have to wash later…things with multiple ingredients…etc. I’ll say “Oh it’ll be no big deal I can do it!” And then it doesn’t happen.
Hunks of fish, chicken, beef, hamburger can all be cooked in a microwave. And you can buy plastic covers that you can put over meat to avoid splattering while cooking in the microwave.
i eat the same stuff everyday so my cooking is pretty easy i have peanut butter and cereal for breakfast than i make chicken breast or steak or salmon in a pan and than put it in the oven and than make rice in the microwave for dinner it is really easy to cook, i got used to cooking everyday but some days i will have a sandwich or something and as snacks i usually have a banana or beef jerky or cereal or a few chips
There is no way to buy ready food for you?
I’m 5’8 and technically only 5 lbs overweight but I just hate how pudgy I feel compared to how I used to be.
Still I’m not happy with my weight now, and I am trying my best to change my diet but it is so hard with my food accessibility issues. I don’t even eat a lot of food. It’s just that the food I do eat is fattening and unhealthy.