The simplest delicious nutritious meals?

[lisab]

If I just put the stockpot out of the slow cooker I think it does worse than putting everything in tupperware and excluding as much air as possible - now off to build an argon positive pressure clean box in the fridge...

...yeah I was just going to suggest that...

 

[jim mcnamara]

Turbo - how do you stop home made veg soup going grey after a day?

Pete -
Your problem is likely the boullion cubes and possibly that you need some acid - like fresh or canned tomatoes, vinegar or whatever you like...

Consider using low-sodium canned broth. You can always add salt at the table.

Food colors (especially vegetables) degrade when cooked in the presence of Cl- ions.
Some chefs use other sources than table salt for Na - Baking soda is one - to help keep veggies green or orange, or whatever color they started out being.

Try boiling a one or two asparagus briefly. But make two batches - one in salty water, one in pure water. Note the color difference after the two samples sit for 30 minutes.
Or use fresh green beans, since apsaragus are expensive

And Turbo is right - vegetable soup does get a LOT better as it sits. And it doesn't become cadaverous, either.

 

[Astronuc]

I've never seen grey soup, although split pea and potato soups and bisques are rather opaque.

Your problem is likely the boullion cubes and possibly that you need some acid - like fresh or canned tomatoes, vinegar or whatever you like...

A slightly acidic pH will help preserve the soup.

Consider using low-sodium canned broth. You can always add salt at the table.

Let others add salt to taste. One should minimize salt, unless one has low blood pressure.

Food colors (especially vegetables) degrade when cooked in the presence of Cl- ions.
Some chefs use other sources than table salt for Na - Baking soda is one - to help keep veggies green or orange, or whatever color they started out being.

Garlic is a good seasoning.

Try boiling a one or two asparagus briefly. But make two batches - one in salty water, one in pure water. Note the color difference after the two samples sit for 30 minutes.
Or use fresh green beans, since apsaragus are expensive

For asparagus, the best way is to bring the water to boil, and then drop in the asparagus for ~30 - 60 seconds, depending on how soft one wants the spears.

And Turbo is right - vegetable soup does get a LOT better as it sits. And it doesn't become cadaverous, either.

Generally, I find soups and stews taste better the next day and after because the flavors blend.

My favorite soup is hot and sour with hot peppers.

 

[turbo]

I make nice veggie soup ( onions/carrots/peas/potatoes - a cople of veg stock cubes)
put the left over in the fridge and next day all the colour has leached out of the veg and the liquid is an unapplealing grey colour instead of the clear of canned veggie soup.

Keeping the air out helps but I wondered if I just didn't boil it for long enough (I ussually use a slow cooker) or if there is some chemical added to canned soup to stop this.

Instead of using a slow-cooker, try making your soups in a stock pot. I like to make sure that my soups boil for a while before turning the burner down to simmer. That makes sure that any micro-organisms present on the vegetables are killed. Sometimes my soups have canned or fresh tomatoes in them, and that lowers the pH, which probably also helps. If I'm not using tomatoes, I usually add perhaps 1/4 cup of cider vinegar to the stock while simmering. I also like to use an inexpensive red wine like Carlo Rossi Burgundy to perk up the broth.

It's probably best to avoid commercial vegetable stock entirely - lots of salt you don't need, and monosodium glutamate under at least one or two of its many aliases (modified food starch, autolyzed yeast, hydrolized vegetable protein, etc). Whenever you boil or steam vegetables, save the juices, and if you cook a chicken, don't toss out the carcass when you've picked the meat off. Instead, cut the large bones with poultry shears and boil the entire carcass to make chicken stock. You can combine these juices and freeze them until you are ready to make a batch of soup - there are LOTS of nutrients and flavors in these home-made stocks.

 

[mgb_phys]

Thanks everyone (I'm feeling hungry now!)
I can make my own stock - just chop up the first set of vegetables as small as possible and boil to a liquid.
The cider vinegar is a good idea.
Another suggestion I read was to par-boil potatoes separately to get rid of some of the starch which discolours the soup.

 

[Astronuc]

I also like to use an inexpensive red wine like Carlo Rossi Burgundy to perk up the broth.

I've cooked steaks and roast in red wine. It makes a nice gravy.

 

[Evo]

Salt added during cooking brings out the flavors of most foods. There is a difference in flavor between foods which are salted during cooking and salt added after cooking. Salting after cooking results in a blander, but saltier tasting food. How noticible it is depends on how sensitive you are to taste, I'm quite sensitive to flavors.

On the other hand, salting beens during cooking supposedly makes them tougher. Since I always salt during cooking, I wouldn't know if I'd recognize the difference.

 

[turbo]

I've cooked steaks and roast in red wine. It makes a nice gravy.

Whenever I make a New England boiled dinner, I sear the roast on all sides with sea salt or kosher salt and black pepper, then add maybe a cup of burgundy to help lift the browned juices off the pot, add enough water to cover the roast, and simmer for hours before adding the vegetables. The gravy made from these juices when the stuff is all cooked is wonderful.

 

[tribdog]

The simplest nutritious meal that is also delicious I can think of is mix a variety of breads in an instant soup mix. The result is a porriage like mix with different flavours depending on the soup. I can imagine adding some salami or what not into this mix.
Only preparation involved is to chop the bread and add bioling water.

What can you think of?

Have you ever been to jail? this recipie is eaten every night. All you need to do is add a bag of habenero potato chips which have been crushed to dust for flavor.

 

[tgt]

Have you ever been to jail? this recipie is eaten every night. All you need to do is add a bag of habenero potato chips which have been crushed to dust for flavor.

No, have you? Do they eat the exact same thing as I described? The chips would be a luxury, I haven't added it.

 

[Moonbear]

I was referring to the latter part of your previous post - your social awareness. I actually know how to cook but just too lazy to do it. Although I am more inspired to do so now.

I still don't see how instant soup can damage my health. I am actually looking to lose some weight at the moment so these plain meals will do me good?

There is NOTHING healthy in instant soup; canned soup isn't great, but better than instant. ESPECIALLY if you want to lose weight, you should focus on nutritious food so you don't end up with a nutrient deficiency. You just want to cut back calories, not eat an unbalanced diet. A bowl of salty bread sounds like a good way to GAIN weight, not lose it.

If you're going to be lazy, choose something other than your food to be lazy about. Really, it's quite easy to cook up soup that's healthy and have it for a whole week, or freeze it for months. All you need to do is put one day of effort into it (and most of that time you aren't doing anything but letting it simmer on the stove while you can be as lazy as you want) and then you can be lazy just reheating it the whole rest of the week.

 

[lisab]

My Mom's Hamburger Soup

Chop onion, garlic, celery, carrots, green beans, and any other veggie you like in soup.

Brown the ground beef. Add the onion, celery, garlic at the end. Cook a little while.

Add the rest of the veggies. Cook a little bit, not too much (you don't want the veggies too cooked).

Add a can of diced tomatoes with the liquid.

Add beef stock (canned if you don't have any homemade).

Let simmer a little while, maybe a half hour.

Add some sort of pasta (I like egg noodles or elbow macaroni).

It's ready when the noodles are done.

 

[tgt]

What do you people think about cereal+milk?

The only complaint is that it takes too much of a toll on the teeth. It's also not very filling.

 

[lisab]

I love granola, if it's not too sweet. And with a banana, even better.

 

[tgt]

There is NOTHING healthy in instant soup; canned soup isn't great, but better than instant. ESPECIALLY if you want to lose weight, you should focus on nutritious food so you don't end up with a nutrient deficiency. You just want to cut back calories, not eat an unbalanced diet. A bowl of salty bread sounds like a good way to GAIN weight, not lose it.

If you're going to be lazy, choose something other than your food to be lazy about. Really, it's quite easy to cook up soup that's healthy and have it for a whole week, or freeze it for months. All you need to do is put one day of effort into it (and most of that time you aren't doing anything but letting it simmer on the stove while you can be as lazy as you want) and then you can be lazy just reheating it the whole rest of the week.

Why is canned soup better than instant?

The instant soup I use is at least 97% fat free. The bread is wholemeal with no spreading on them. Can't see how I can gain weight from that unless if I feel unsatisfied with the meal and snack on other fatty foods. Or eat a huge meal outside but that is not going to happen. The only unhealthy aspect seems to be the salt in the soup. What can that lead to?

 

[chroot]

tgt,

You've got to be kidding me. Instant soup with bread? Noodles with egg and soy sauce? Those are probably two of the WORST dishes anyone could ever invent!

You need to focus on two things: good, high-quality protein, and good, high-quality fruits and vegetables. You should have fruit or veggies with every meal. You should have protein with virtually every meal. Those the are "quality" macronutrients. Carbs will fill up the rest of your calorie needs.

Consider the following daily meal plan:

Breakfast: a toasted whole-weat bagel topped with peanut butter, a piece of fruit, and a glass of milk.

Mid-morning snack: a handful of mixed nuts and some cucumber or carrots.

Lunch: Healthy reasonably-sized sandwich, without the oil and mayo and other garbage.

Afternoon snack: a protein shake.

Dinner: baked chicken, grilled salmon, or other good-quality protein, served with steamed brocolli or asparagus and brown rice.

THAT is a healthy day's diet. The easiest ways to examine your diet are to look for color, fiber content, and processing. If your diet is high in colorful fruits and vegetables, high in items like nuts and whole grains which provide fiber, and low in processed, packaged, commercialized foods, you're probably eating pretty well.

- Warren

 

[tgt]

I love granola, if it's not too sweet. And with a banana, even better.

I find that the magnitude of the sweetness of cereal is greater then the magnitude of the saltiness of the soup.

What's worse too sugary or too salty

 

[chroot]

What do you people think about cereal+milk?

The only complaint is that it takes too much of a toll on the teeth. It's also not very filling.

Depending upon the cereal, it can be quite healthy. I don't understand what makes you think it takes a "toll on the teeth." Are you teeth very unhealthy or something? You can eat something similar like steel-cut oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins if you want something that's less crunchy, but still very tasty.

- Warren

 

[tgt]

tgt,

You've got to be kidding me. Instant soup with bread? Noodles with egg and soy sauce? Those are probably two of the WORST dishes anyone could ever invent!

I was looking for the simplest dishes that fills one up without making one obese.

 

[Evo]

I find that the magnitude of the sweetness of cereal is greater then the magnitude of the saltiness of the soup.

What's worse too sugary or too salty

Granola is not a very healthy choice, too high in fat and sugar. There are plenty of unsweetened cereals.

If you are serious, take chroot's advice, it's excellent.

 

[chroot]

I was looking for the simplest dishes that fills one up without making one obese.

The simplest meals are the ones that involve raw or natural ingredients that you simply put into your mouth and swallow. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, protein shakes, whole-weat bagels, healthy sandwiches, etc. require essentially no preparation.

I can't imagine that anything I put on my list is in any sense "hard to prepare."

- Warren

 

[Moonbear]

Why is canned soup better than instant?

The instant soup I use is at least 97% fat free.

Yeah, not hard to be 97% fat free when there's nothing but salt and artificial flavoring in it, maybe some dried noodles.

The bread is wholemeal with no spreading on them. Can't see how I can gain weight from that unless if I feel unsatisfied with the meal and snack on other fatty foods. Or eat a huge meal outside but that is not going to happen. The only unhealthy aspect seems to be the salt in the soup. What can that lead to?

The unhealthy aspect is it is NOT a balanced diet AT ALL. Read the dang nutrition label on the soup packet and see how little of anything nutritious is in it. This isn't that difficult.

 

[chroot]

Also, if you're trying to lose weight, one cannot overemphasize the important of regular exercise. From the sound of it, you eat like a Ukranian prisoner, and you haven't mentioned your exercise habits at all.

- Warren

 

[tgt]

The unhealthy aspect is it is NOT a balanced diet AT ALL. Read the dang nutrition label on the soup packet and see how little of anything nutritious is in it. This isn't that difficult.

As mentioned, the soup is there to make the meal interesting. Otherwise, it would be 6 slices of plain wholemeal bread, which can take an hour to eat. WIth a nice soup mix, less then 10 minutes.

I don't mind if the soup dosen't do any good, as long as it dosen't do any bad.

 

[tgt]

Also, if you're trying to lose weight, one cannot overemphasize the important of regular exercise. From the sound of it, you eat like a Ukranian prisoner, and you haven't mentioned your exercise habits at all.

- Warren

It's not just to lose weight, convinence is right up there. I do no planned excercises. It's all input, output. I rather control the input to match the low output. So I don't mind eating harshly. You can see why I don't want to make too delicious meals because then I would over eat.

 

[chroot]

It's not just to lose weight, convinence is right up there. I do no planned excercises. It's all input, output. I rather control the input to match the low output. So I don't mind eating harshly. You can see why I don't want to make too delicious meals because then I would over eat.

Sounds like your soup-and-bread idea hasn't been workin' too well in the past, so maybe you should consider seeking the advice of people who know more than you... say, the people who have responded in this thread. Several people have pointed out how poor your nutrition is, and how unlikely it is to help you lose weight or maintain basic health. It's lacking in fiber, protein, and all manner of vitamins. You have no idea how to eat properly, and your lack of exercise is appalling. If you really think the diet I described is any harder to prepare than (gasp!) six slices of bread, you're lacking more than just nutrition...

- Warren

 

[tgt]

Sounds like your soup-and-bread idea hasn't been workin' too well in the past, so maybe you should consider seeking the advice of people who know more than you... say, the people who have responded in this thread. Several people have pointed out how poor your nutrition is, and how unlikely it is to help you lose weight or maintain basic health. It's lacking in fiber, protein, and all manner of vitamins. You have no idea how to eat properly, and your lack of exercise is appalling. If you really think the diet I described is any harder to prepare than (gasp!) six slices of bread, you're lacking more than just nutrition...

- Warren

I've only started this soup based meal and it's working well, as in I am losing weight.

I am feeling fine so why bother about lack of nutrition? What are the physical effects of being nutrition deficient? I don't feel hungry most of the time so that's a plus.

I do eat one proper meal a day which has veges and meat but with more veges then meat. I also eat apples and bananas on the side for snack or dessert.

 

[scorpa]

A really really fast and easy meal is a stirfry, just throw in whatever fresh veggies you have and some sort of meat like chicken or pork and you have a great meal.

 

[tgt]

A really really fast and easy meal is a stirfry, just throw in whatever fresh veggies you have and some sort of meat like chicken or pork and you have a great meal.

That's true although it still takes work and you get a bad smell after cooking.

 

[scorpa]

That's true although it still takes work and you get a bad smell after cooking.

Chopping some vegetables and meat and putting them in a frying pan really isn't that much work, and if your stirfrys smell bad you are doing something very wrong, they are pretty darn hard to screw up.

 

[K.J.Healey]

I tried as well to come up with some alternatives, here's what I remember that was worth eating:
EggBeater Breakfast Burrito
-Southwest style EggBeater (its a egg white only substitute if you don't know)
-Super Lean Turkey Sausage
-Chopped Onions and peppers
-A little bit of reduced/very low fat cheese
-Some hot sauce
The nice thing is the sausage, onions and peppers, once cooked can sit in a container in your fridge for a few days, so you don't have to prepare it everyday. Just cook some eggbeater (really really fast cook time) and toss it into a tortilla. Low calorie, has SOME nutritional value. (Add some more veggies if you need, maybe some mushrooms).

Lunch:
Again a tortilla, lots of lettuce(I use mixed greens), some almond chips, chopped tomatoes, raw mushrooms, very thinly sliced carrots, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar (NOT Vinaigrette, that has oil). I like to pack in the veggies, or you'll be hungry within an hour. Very low cal, tasty and nutritious. Usually I eat it with a handful of carrots.

Dinner:
I'm usually fairly hungry by dinner, so its a simple stirfry (why dirty more than one pan that's cleaned easily?)
Peppers(multiple types), onions, green onions, mushrooms are all easy to stirfry with some chicken. I use a little low sodium ginger-soy and the freshly minced garlic that comes in a jar. Once again something that I make then eat for 3 days after. Served with side salad (balsamic vinegar again) and carrots or broccoli.
I also steamed peas and carrots, asparagus, broccoli, etc.

The biggest problem with eating healthy on a tight schedule is keeping the things in your fridge fresh. I don't have time at night to go pick up another bag of onions or some more chicken.

The key to the stirfry is to make sure not to burn whatever sauce you use. If you do it'll usually smell bad. That and over spicing. DONT OVER SPICE. Simple combos like garlic/ginger, salt/pepper, lemon, etc. Don't use 8 different jars from the cupboard thinking itll taste good.

 

[tgt]

Chopping some vegetables and meat and putting them in a frying pan really isn't that much work, and if your stirfrys smell bad you are doing something very wrong, they are pretty darn hard to screw up.

I just don't like the oily smell on the clothes, that's all. btw I'm a master of fried rices. I did one and a picky eater said it tastes just like the one bought in the shops.

 

[turbo]

tgt, it is becoming evident that you are trolling and do not want to have anything to do with the very good advice that you have been given here. Why?

 

[tgt]

tgt, it is becoming evident that you are trolling and do not want to have anything to do with the very good advice that you have been given here. Why?

Everything is working at the moment so I'm satisfied as it is. However, this thread has given me some new ideas. I still eat one proper meal a day which is bought. I am thinking of cooking that one myself in the future. I can also imagine cooking a large portion a day and splitting it into three meals for the day. The only forseeable problem is that I might make it too delicious and as a result eat the whole thing in one go.

I can see that the more cooking one does, the better one gets good at it and dishes that seem complicated become second nature. Ultimately, it would be best to cook three independent dishes.

Currently, as a result of this thread and maybe also boredom, I have cut the bread soup meal from two to once a day and have cereal for breakfast instead.

 

[cristo]

tgt, how old are you? Are you living on your own? It seems strange how you firstly lack the basic knowledge of what is good for you and what isn't and, secondly, how you seem to be too lazy to chop a few vegetables!

If you live in shared flat (say, at university or something) then you can always share the cooking by taking it in turns with the other residents. That way, you don't have to cook every day, and you can cook things in bulk (which is easier, anyway!).