Easy meal ideas?

[Tiffanie]

I've been working on eating healthier, and not buying as much junk but have been stumped an good tasty and easy meal ideas.. mainly for breakfast and lunch. I've never been a huge breakfast eater but know I shouldn't just skip that meal of the day. I've been thinking smoothies, more than likely for breakfast since that's a easy toss in the blender and call it good meal but would like some more easy to grab/make meals.

[SunsetRunner]

Good for you for stepping it up! 

Breakfast...definately don't skip...you're 'breaking' the fast from having last eat 8ish hours ago.  Smoothie can be a great way to get a quick, easy, nutrient dense meal in a small package. 

You can pretty much go in any direction and not go wrong.  My smoothies almost always start with kale, then you can top it up with random fruit (banana, strawberries, etc.) that are either in season in your area, or you can get good big-box frozen organic from your warehouse store.  Bit of milk (almond for me!).  Can toss in some nuts or chia or flax for protein and omega-3s, some ice. and blend it up.  The fruit dominates the taste.

Or for wintry days, I go with the breakfast bowl...

oatmeal,

steel cut oats,

cinnamon to taste

peanut butter for protein

fruit or raisins -- whatever is handy

splash of milk...done pretty quick, tasty, broad nutrition, and warming..sticks with you too so you can stave off hunger later on....

[SunsetRunner]

spices will become your friend as you venture into the land of unprocessed, pre-made stuff.  Go bold.  Experiment.  If you had some fav meals I can help healthy them up....just name them!

[HelenaFitbit]

Oatmeal, greek yogurt, frozen muffins or bisquits you can make ahead of time. They usually don't take long and you'll need to pop one in the microwave for a minute or so and you're done!

[Lisawith3dogs]

Oatmeal for breakfast.  Not the instant, or flavoured high sugar variety, but steel cut oats that require cooking for 20 minutes, and don't have all the good stuff taken out of them by processing.  I make a large pot at the beginning of the week, and I toss in lots of berries as it is cooking.  Once it is done, I put it in individual serving sized containers in the fridge.  I always make enough for 4 or 5 days.  It's super quick and easy to re-heat on workdays.

[smhermione]

I really like a hard boiled egg and a piece of toast for breakfast. It has the carbs for quick energy to get you going in the morning and the protein to keep you feeling full longer.

[alyss05]

I normally go with a good bowl of bran/cornflakes as nothing gets much quicker or simpler than that. It's got the carbs to keep me going too without any snacking.

Or if im prepared, a ready made fruit salad (which i may add low fat yoghurt to, depending on my mood  )

[SunsetRunner20]

I lift weights early in the morning so I have a protein shake within 30 minutes of finishing along with...wait for it...15 gummy bears.  (The dextrose in them immediately go to your muscles to replace lost glycogen, helping to repair muscles.)  Then I eat scrambled eggs white or an omelet about 45 minutes after that.  Fridays and Saturdays are my high-carb days so I'll add one or two pieces of whole grain toast.

[HelenaFitbit]

@SunsetRunner20 I just imagined you with a dumbbell on one hand and a gummy bear on the other  

It's really amazing to know members who know the precise rhythm their bodies have, really impressive. 

[alyssa02]

@SunsetRunner20 What is the average calories of your shake after working out? And, how do you go about making your shake? I generally use yogurt...sometimes greek, sometimes fat free, as the base....

[Tiffanie]

I'm not sure if there's a local warehouse store, at least not one that I've spotted. There's many local staight up produce only stores/vendors not far from me.. I may have to check those out to try and get better deals, and have it last longer than what I've been buying. Our fridge/freezer is smaller here, so buying lots of frozen fruits can be hard.. though I still tend to do it over half my freezer is full of different frozen fruits from smoothies and other recipes.