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Weekly dinner options?
Do you usually cook dinner for you and your fam most nights of the week? If so, what are some of the kinds of things you usually make? Like what is in your rotation of dinner meals?
I really need some ideas, especially healthy ones. DH wants to lose weight (and so do I), but unless we have a menu planned, we both find it hard to think of what to make for dinner.
I know the healthy thing is 4 oz of lean meat, a small fist-size portion of carbs, and half a plateful of veggies, but ugh, the idea of eating that almost every night makes me want to kill myself. There must be a way of getting the same healthy proportions of protein, carbs, etc., without it being so boring! I guess especially because I only have about 3 ideas for the vegetables that I usually use: steamed, roasted with olive oil, s&p and garlic, or olive oil and lemon juice.
Any ideas would be appreciated!
Re: Weekly dinner options?
Umm... this is kinda long, but here are my go-to's!
Tacos with low-carb tortillas: I use lean meat for the tacos and mix in a can of black beans (to get more protein and fiber while eating less meat). Serve with sides like rice, beans or salad (either lettuce-based or mix up some corn/beans/onions/peppers/cilantro, etc).
Chicken Enchiladas: Shredded chicken, black beans and rice for the filling. So good! Serve with a salad, maybe with some crunchy toppings, since the enchiladas are kind of soft-textured.
Spaghetti: Look for a low-fat sauce - surprisingly, the Hunts canned sauces are REALLY low in calories and you can mix other things in for flavor and chunkiness. If you want to add meat, choose a lean meat or only use half the recommended amount (1/2lb instead of a full pound). I use ground turkey or sometimes turkey sausage. You just have to be careful how much pasta you use! Find something high in fiber and stick to the suggested serving size.
Turkey Chili: If you make it right, chili can be really low in fat and high in fiber. Very easy to prepare! You can mix it up overnight and heat it the next day. I posted my recipe for HulaLove a while back; if you're interested I might be able to find the old post.
I grill everything - fish, boneless skinless chicken breasts, turkey burgers, boca burgers, boneless pork chops and steak from time to time. I use a variety of different marinades - bottled and homemade.
I also grill my veggies and rotate the seasonings on them. I tend to stay away from carbs - the protein and veggies is usually plenty for me. If MH wants rice or something, I'll make it for him.
Other than that I scour the internet for ideas and rely on my WW cookbooks. The What's Cooking board on TN has some great links in siggys to people's blogs.
What I would do is make my usual dishes but put in a lot more veggies. For example, when I make jap chae, I use a CHOCK full of spinach--in the beginning, it looks like it's gonna overflow the pan but then when it cooks, it shrinks down by a lot. I also do the same for my other dishes, like pad see ew (I'll pile on the shrimp, chicken, and broccoli) so that the ratio of protein/veggies to noodles is greater.
For veggies, I also do veggies + oyster sauce and tempura veggies (esp broccoli). When I deep-fry, I wait until the oil is thoroughly hot and I only fry a few pieces at a time, so they're cooked super quickly so I don't leave it frying in the oil for a long time (because I once read somewhere that deep-frying isn't as bad as we think as long as you don't leave it frying in the oil for a long time). Another thing I do with veggies is curry (I like to make with cauliflower).
Things I do with meat/fish usually includes grilling with Korean BBQ marinade, baking (teriyaki, other marinades), etc. I also like making Taiwanese popcorn chicken, chicken katsu, and tempura shrimp.
Other times, I'll make pasta, but same with other noodle dishes, I put a CHOCK full of tomatoes (I make the sauce from scratch) and meat and less noodles. I'm big on cheese too so I usually use that to add flavor and creaminess in lieu of butter. I'll make mac & cheese too, but with tons of cheese, nonfat milk, no butter, and add a bunch of broccoli in it
DH does most of the cooking in our household...I do the shopping and the cleaning! LOL!
Our meals are fairly simple...and in line with what's making you want to kill yourself, lol!
4-6 oz. of grilled chicken, turkey or lean beef...a green veggie (steamed broccoli, green beans, asparagus, sauteed spinach, zucchini/squash, brussel sprouts or a garden salad, etc.) and a higher fiber carb like brown rice, quinoa, pasta (brown rice or quinoa), or sometimes a small baked potato or sweet potato oven fries. We'll mix it up by using different marinade or simmer sauces (like curry, marsala, etc. - we do try to keep an eye on anything with a ton of sodium though) or cooking fish or shrimp for the protein. Sometimes we'll do boneless pork chops, but rarely.
Other items in the rotation are a three bean turkey chili, Italian Wedding Soup with Turkey meatballs, spaghetti (recipes in my blog)...sometimes we do eggs for dinner...like a veggie frittata (with mushrooms and spinach or broccoli). We eat out maybe once a week and it can range from burritos to sushi to pizza (there's a place here that makes a wheat thin crust hawaiian pizza that is SO delish!). We mainly eat at home though.
TTC/PG Blog | Mommy Blog
I like to make pureed veggie soups like carrot-ginger-yam, broccoli-cauliflower-potato, squash, black bean, lentils, etc.
A lot of nesties on the What's Cooking boards discuss weekly menus and have amazing cooking blogs. I lurk over there a lot and have gotten some great ideas. GL!
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
Alyson & Phil | Planning Bio | Married Bio!
Dates & Quinces Blog
Let's see - it's been a bit different lately because I've been nauseated by practically everything, but in a normal week...
Something Mexican (usually burritos), a vegetarian pasta bake or pasta with pesto and veggies on the side and some kind of baked or grilled chicken with salad or veggies. I know I haven't listed many things, but something like a pasta bake will usually last 2 nights, so we'll often only cook 3-4 meals per week and then have leftovers for a couple of nights as well (what can I say - we're cheap lol!).
In the winter, I'm also a big fan of crock pot meals - I have a killer beef stew recipe that's sooooo good on a cold night!