Only Got an Oven and Stove

Ok so here is my conundrum. I'm trying to fill my apartment with foods that I can eat safely and try and stay healthy and maybe lose some weight. But I only have an oven and stove. No grill and no microwave. I'm a terrible cook, so that goes right out the window. So I'm limited to frozen foods that can be heated up in the oven, and simple stove items like omlet, pasta, and canned goods.

So of the heat up foods and canned goods, does anybody know some good brands to look toward? Low carb and high protein are pluses. Again no microwave, so anything microwave only is right out.

Just in case you were wondering, yes I know not all food has to be hot. I have the fruits, veggies, etc. I've gotten rid of any drink that has more than 0 calories (so mostly just water). And I've emptied my kitchen of snacks, candies, and cookies. Normally these would be fine in moderation, but I have a problem with moderation. Thank you in advance for any help!

Well, canned tuna is easy, high in protein and doesn't need to be heated. You can also make a big pot of chili (veggie or not) using canned goods and heat it on the stove. It's super easy.

Spaghetti with whole grain noodles! You can make your own sauce, or buy some canned stuff. Just watch the sodium content. Add extra lean ground beef for some protein. :)

Canned stuff is iffy, because a lot of it has weird preservatives and lots of salt or added fats.  So if you're going to go the canned way, make sure to read labels, not just for calorie content.

I read "I only have an oven and stove"  and thought to myself "What else is there??"  But I cook...so I can see your troubles.

A great healthy easy meal:  chicken, rice, vegetables.  Take thawed chicken breasts, salt and pepper them and cook them:  You can go stove top and pan fry (non-stick pan, no oil) for 5 mins a side, cut them in half ( at the thickest point) to check that they are done.  Or you can go oven, put them in a baking dish, cover with water and poach for about 30 mins at 350, this way keeps them moist, again, check for donness by cutting in half.  Rice in a pot (directions on the bag).  Take fesh or frozen veg and throw into water for 2 mins, for crisp veggies (that's how I like them) or more time for mushier veg. 

This meal has lots of protein and complex carbs and you can make a few meals at a time and it will keep fine in the fridge for a few days.

I also like frittata type omlette things:  Throw some veg/meat/cheese in a hot pan and pour beaten eggs over, stick in the oven for about 10 mins at about 400.  Voila, dinner omlette!  You can basically put anything in your fridge in this.

BUT, stir frys are really my main event.  Take whatever vegetables you like, cut them small.  Take whatever meats you like, cut them small.  Hot pan, add meat, cook until it looks cooked on the outside, add veg, add a store bought stir fry sauce (or look up a recipe for one online) and cook for a few more minutes.  Keep the heat high and stir lots.  Eat with rice. Easy.

i think one of the most easiest and healthiest meals is any type of chicken, seasoned and baked in the oven and some type of steamed veggie...

I know you only have an oven and microwave... but you can purchase a little electric grill for your kitchen! I did that last year and I have really worn it out (you can tell). Maybe this could be an option for you.

I love grilling chicken on it. It always comes out so juicy.

Just another alternative.

Someone also mentioned steamed veggies. You can even steam them in your microwave with a slightly damp papertowel - that's typically what I do.

Good luck!

The goodwill is FULL of george forman grills for oober cheap. You can also buy one of those flat grills at Ross (marshalls, tj maxx, whatever you have) for 10 bucks that goes on your stove top. I love grilling things.

You can definately oven anything that comes frozen in those boxes too. Most of them have oven instructions on them (of course remove from plastic). South Beach Diet Pizza's are probably my best (put on pan, not ontop of that box). Can't say they are low in carb :) But they are high in protein (about 25gs). Eat up on your eggs.

There are really TONS of things here. I can't really give you a good product line. I guess you're going to have to actually go to the store and start reading backs of boxes and containers.

STIR FRYES ON STOVE TOP WORK GREAT ALL YOU NEED IS NON STICK FRY PAN, CHICKEN OR SHRIMP, SOME VEGGYS, BROWN RICE, OLIVE OIL OR PAM  ETC. USUALLY TAKES LESS THAN 20 MINUTES AND IS HEALTHY.

POUCH COOKING IN OVEN IS ALSO QUICK AND EASY.  GREAT FOR FISH.  USE FOIL OR PARCHMENT PAPER TO MAKE POUCH ADD MEAT, VEG'S, SPICE AND LIQUID TO KEEP MOIST.  ALTON BROWN OF FOODNETWORK DID A SHOW ON POUCH COOKING WHICH WAS HELPFUL.  BEST THINK ABOUT IT IS ITS QUICK AND CLEAN UP IS EASY.

I've found that any fresh (or frozen and defrosted) meat like chicken, salmon, etc. can be thrown in a non-stick pan with a small amount of oil (1 tsp or 1/2 Tbsp), tossed in a little cajun seasoning or seasoning salt, and cooked with aluminum foil over it at medium heat can come out tasting incredibly delicious and juicy.  No cooking skills required.  Frozen veggies are the same....just throw in frozen veggies with a small amount of water until they are cooked.  I buy "instant" brown rice that takes five minutes to cook.  I buy canned beans that just take a little heating up.  I've lived off this stuff for years and hardly ever use my micorwave.  You can even make toast in your oven. 

I totally feel your appliance pain.

I actually own all (most) of the handy dandy bells and whistles, but when I moved to my new (really very old) place I found that I have exactly one (1) electrical outlet in the kitchen, and it's on the back of the stove. Needless to say that is where my coffee maker lives and I will not be removing it. Actually there might be a second plug free behind the fridge. . . but I'd have to move the fridge to get to it, how convenient is that? Anyway, not important.

So you say you're not much of a cook (yet; I expect you'll learn now :-) ) Even people who know how don't always have the time or inclination. Nearly everything that says microwave only can be cooked in a conventional oven, it just takes longer. You'll have to invest in some oven safe cooking containers, foil pans work great and are cheep, best part is if it's really messy you can just toss em. Big ol' roll of aluminum foil can be your friend too, for things like frozen pizza, cheese bread, anything that you want to keep from drying out too much. 

Actually cooking full meals can be a great temptation to overeat, finding a way to use pre measured packaged meals can be an important tool especialy when you are just starting or starting again. If you are otherwise healthy I woulden't be too concerned about the amout of salt in canned goods, It's not great but better to eat too much salt than too much of everything.

If you really are more comfortable with the microwave you should defiantly check out the second hand stores, you could have a "new" one every month for about 15.00 bucks if you wanted, (*ell, that might be easier than cleaning them sometimes)

Good luck

I grew up without a microwave: my parents are old hippies. You can make all the same things without it; it just takes a bit longer, and you have to make a few adjustments. Buy a lot more things fresh rather than packaged for the microwave. For example, instead of microwave-steamed vegetables, put fresh or frozen veggies in a pot with a dash of water at the bottom, put the lid on and they'll steam just fine on a low heat on the stove. And instead of making poached eggs in the microwave for breakfast, boil a few all at once and then keep them in the fridge (they last for up to a week, but it's best not to keep them longer than five days). Sliced egg (or egg whites, but I hate wasting food by throwing out the yolks) is great on toasted wholegrain bread with salt, pepper and ketchup for breakfast. Oatmeal is a pain to make on the stove, and leaves you with a pot to wash. So the easiest is the instant variety that you just add water to. Pasta sauce is the easiest dish to make, because you can gradually make it more complicated. To start with, just fry an onion with garlic, add a tin of chopped tomatoes and some basil, and cook it down for ten minutes. As you get more used to it, you can add other vegetables and meat to the recipe. The rule is, hardest vegetables and onions first, then softer vegetables and cut-up meat, then the tinned tomato and herbs. The more veggies you add, the more filling it is on lower carbs, and once you're including chopped carrots, etc, you'll find you need less pasta to the same amount of sauce and you still end up full. For even lower carbs, you can serve the sauce on spaghetti squash (also fully capable of being boiled on the stove) - but I must admit, I'm dubious taste-wise. A low-calorie, high-protein snack that you can make is a block of tofu, boiled for 2 minutes on the stove (of course it's easier to microwave it for a minute, but y'know...). The taste is a bit bland (and there are other, more complicated ways where it tastes better, like marinating it and then baking it in chunks), but you get used to it. It's good drizzled with soy sauce and chopped spring onions, and it keeps me full for hours.

If you have an oven, it has a grill function in it. That's normally the symbol on the dial like this: vvv (or ^^^ if  the grill is on the bottom of the oven). Place whatever you want to grill on a rack over a baking tray, and grill away as normal. My favourite oven/grill items are fish fingers or crumbed fish fillets, and oven chips. Stick them in a baking tray in the oven, set the timer for 15 or 20 minutes, go watch tv and when the timer goes your supper is ready.

The other thing with ovens and stoves is that it's easier to make meals for two days at the same time. Cook double what you plan to eat that night, and then keep it in the fridge for the next night. When you want to heat it up, just put it back in the oven for ten minutes, or heat it on the stove. My favourite I-don't-feel-like-cooking-this-week meal is lentil and butternut pasta. It's comforting and healthy, and because there's no meat involved it lasts 5 days in the fridge (but normally gets eaten before then). Again, measure it into portions, put in separate tupperwares in the fridge, and heat in a pot on the stove when you're ready to eat it.

In the natural foods sections, you can sometimes find prepared foods that come in pouches that you are supposed to heat in boiling water. The ones I like best are Indian food (Maybe called taste of india?? Not sure.) but you may be able to find others.

One of my favorite easy-yet-healthy foods is fajitas. Just chop up some meat, onion, and green pepper and you have a decent meal. Throw on some salsa, cheese, plain yogurt (instead of sour cream), or beans if you want. Quesadillas are also a great, fast way to eat. Go easy on the cheese, of course, but you can cook a few up in less than 10 minutes without even trying. I usually throw on fat-free refried beans and some salsa to make it more filling.

You can buy grill tops that go on your stove. I live in a studio in Korea and all I have is a toaster oven and a gas stove top... no oven. haha I haven't found much of a problem except cooking baked potatoes. 

You should be able to cook everything. 

Doc-chelle:  Re-read OP's post.  He said he ONLY  has an oven and a stove.  He does NOT have a microwave to use your steamed vegetable suggestion.

Thanks to everyone for the great ideas! The stir fry ideas were especially good. I never even thought about that. Theres almost a limitless selection of delicious, high protein, low cal ideas there.

Count your calories and eat less than what you naturally burn.  This site is great for that.

Easy things to eat:

• Buy whole rotisserie chicken; keep left overs for the next day (great cold too);
• Cans of tuna in water;
• Cans of Chunky Soup are great BUT watch your calories;
• Buy high quality protein bars for lunch or an occasional meal replacement;
• Keep tons of vegetables and eat as much as you want and season with any spices (celery, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, etc.);
• Keep in your freezer any fish, meat, chicken.  Boil it in water and add any amount of vegetable and spices.  Make a huge soup like this and eat as much as you want.  It is fun to do and quite relaxing (smells great too).
• Drink teas without sugar;
• Hard boiled eggs are handy; boil up a few and keep for the next day in the fridge.
• In the oven, broil steaks.  Keep left overs for the next day.

As you can see, you can prepare quite a bit and eat all day long if you want.  Keep an open mind and enjoy the experience.  Plan it out and you will even save time.  Eat for survival. 

Original Post by alibsam:

I live in a studio in Korea and all I have is a toaster oven and a gas stove top... no oven. haha I haven't found much of a problem except cooking baked potatoes.

You could de baked potatoes in a toaster oven...I think you should just be able to set it to 350 and bake like in a normal oven.  I used to do this in residence at university when I had only a microwave, toaster oven, forman grill and an electric kettle. 

Well, mine only has a timer setting... not sure why. I might give it a try this weekend and see how it comes out. 

Okay, I know you said you can't cook and don't want to. And you probably don't have to... yet. But once you get tired of plain boiled everything or stir fried everything and all six healthy frozen dinners in your grocer's freezer, I'd like to suggest you go out and buy How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Here's why:

1. Mark writes a column called "The Minimalist" in the New York Times. His whole philosophy is you don't have to have some commercial kitchen to make great, healthier food. For any recipe he suggests using an appliance like a food processor, he also tells you how to do it by hand.
2. He has oodles of basic recipes in the book and then offers variation suggestions, so you learn what you like and also so you gain the confidence to experiment.
3. It explains how to do things a beginner might not know (e.g., how to carve a roast chicken) but doesn't dumb it down or make you feel dumb.
4. It is full of super easy stuff and some more advanced stuff-- so this is a book you can grow into without it being useless until you learn some basic skills. You can use it immediately and in 5 years.
5. It has traditional and more "foodie" fare. Yes, some recipes will have you hitting an Asian market for an ingredient, but you can just as easily bypass that for something more "American." As a lover of ethnic food, I love the smattering of stuff here that isn't what Mom used to make.

Final plug: I taught myself how to cook mostly using this book starting about 4 years ago. Even though this book isn't a "health" cookbook-- it is a compendium without obsession with calories, etc.-- once you learn how to make food you really like and the process has been demystified, I think that, like me, you'll find that the storebought and even bakery-made high-cal treats just don't stand up to the ones you have made yourself. A case in point for me is muffins. After making my own, I avoid muffins in plastic like the plague. The good news is that making muffins takes just enough time that I don't do it every day and eat all six! :) Much super fattening food is expensive, time consuming and messy if you make it yourself (fried chicken, for example, makes a real mess; real chocolate brownies require butter, eggs, and nice chocolate, none of which is cheap), so when you do take the time and drop the cash, you might savor it more, or share it with friends.

I hope that, even if you aren't sold on Bittman's book, you do learn to cook-- having control over the ingredients of your food is essential to healthy eating.

I would invest in a Forman grill, this thing has been a lifesaver for me. I think i can just throw anything in there and it comes out as a wonderful meal. Chicken goes in and pasta goes on the stove then i got a little chicken with pasta... throw on some store salsa and you got a meal right there.

I recently just started living off omeletts and oatmeal on the stove (Totally tastes better!) I think the last thing i used my microwave for was to heat up old coffee. I would consier this as a great opportunity to gain some cooking expertise. Chicks do dig a guy who can cook...