Weekly menu ideas for one

Hi,

I'm just starting my diet and I am the only one in the house that needs to loose weight. Any weekly menu ideas for someone that is only shopping and cooking for one?

Also any ideas on how to not eat fattening foods that are in the house? My father-in-law has to gain weight so there are fattening meals all day. It's not too bad cause I'm mainly at work so it's only in the evenings which is the worst time to eat anything bad.

I need recipes that are fast and easy to make.  Any help.

Thanks

There's the green salad, which is pretty much standard.

Broth or water-based soups are great.  (I can eat a lot of soup so this might be enough for 2 meals for you): 2.5 cups of cold water, 1/2 cup each chopped onion, carrot, and celery, 4 ounces of chicken breast.  Put the water and vegetables in a small pot and put on medium-high until it's at a gentle boil.  Cut up the chicken and add to the water.  Poach the chicken for about 10 minutes (I'm paranoid about raw chicken.)  Remove from heat and add salt and pepper to taste.

Simple egg drop soup via Rachael Ray: bring 2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth to a simmer.  Beat 2 egg whites slightly and drizzle in to form little rags.  Add parsley and a little grated parmesan.  (You can add a side of bread and/or salad to this too.)

You can also keep your favorite recipes but alter them by using leaner cuts of meat (or even tofu), increasing the amount of vegetables you use, and decreasing the amount of fat you use.  Instead of pan-frying, poach.  (But you won't get a nice, brown crispiness.) 

If your willpower gets stretched to the max, try flavored teas or sugar-free gum to keep your mouth busy.

Here is what i had for dinner tonight

2 chicken breast tenders seared in 1 tbsp olive oil until browned and nearly cooked through.(Spice to your taste,I used garlic,salt,pepper,and a bit of lemon zest.)

Add

5 apraragrus spears,1/2 cup mushrooms,1/4 of a med green pepper,1/2 cup snow peas and 1/2 of a med tomato chopped.Simmer untill chicken is cooked and veggies are tender crisp. Serve over 1 oz cooked whole wheat thin spaghetti.

366 calories and very filling.I had it with a mug of cranberry pomegrantate green tea and I couldn't finish it all.Very tasty as well.My first experiment with whole wheat pasta and I have to admit I really like it better then white pasta!

i made myself a veggie egg white omlet for dinner tonight

Sautee onions, mushrooms, green & red peppers etc.. in pam, set with egg whites (i buy pure egg white liquid in the carton, it's by the whole eggs and egg beaters), salt pepper to taste

Pair with a light multi grain english muffin with butter spray for a high protien, high fiber, low fat dinner. i sometimes have a few links of turkey sausage with it.  YUM!

What do you mean by "nearly cooked through"? Shouldn't one cook chicken all the way through? x 2?

I eat a variety of things.  I eat lots of steamed or stir-fried veggies and chicken.  When you buy meats, separate them before you freeze them so that they are individually frozen to begin with.  I also make lots of baked potatoes (really good stuffed with broccoli, or black beans and cheese!  Yummy!)  Also, homemade soups (which can also be frozen in individual containers), and salads.  

rebecca - the recipe said to cook until almost done, then add ingredients and continue cooking until the chicken is fully cooked.

My best defense against the tempting foods is to make sure I snack throughout the day - I eat 5-6 times a day, so I'm never starving.  When I get home, if my boyfriend has chips or other tempting snacks in the house, it's easier for me to resist them if I'm not hungry.  

My boyfriend always has cookies, cheese, crackers, and candy lying around, so I make sure that I'm not starving when I come home in the evenings.  He can eat anything, so what I do is one night I'll cook for him and eat my leftovers from the previous night.  The next night I'll cook for me and warm up leftovers for him.  That way I'm never cooking two different meals, and we both get to eat how we'd like.  So far, so good...

Thank you all for your ideas.  I will give them all a try. 

Good Luck to you All!!!

I usually cook in bulk every few days.. broil an entire bag of frozen chicken and keep it in the refrigerator in tupperware. I cook.. a LOT of chicken.. different spices always help me to not get sick of it (ie.. garlic salt and pepper, cajun seasoning, Carribean jerk seasoning, lemon pepper, etc.) I get the steam in the bag veggies which lasts a couple of days a piece, etc etc.

It all depends on how much actual cooking you like to do. I'm pretty low maintenance cooking wise, so I like things I can just throw together on a whim. Here are some things I use.

Low carb tortillas and Chi-Chi's shredded taco chicken (pretty low fat low cal) with some green peppers and salsa. (There are great options for salsa out there if you aren't into making your own. pretty low cal. (you could always add a slice of fat free american cheese if you like.)

A medium pizza crust (I can't remember the brand, but the whole crust is like 140 calories).. reduced fat mozzerella (1/4 cup) and fat free ricotta (1/4 cup) .. chopped green, red, and/or yellow peppers, spinach if you like it, 4 oz cooked chicken or lean turkey kielbasa sausage, and there's a squeeze pizza sauce that I can't remember the name of that is like.. another 30 calories. *cook the peppers and meat together until peppers are a bit softer, set aside. Cook spinach until wilted slightly and set aside. blend cheese together over heat until melted together. Shove all that on the crust atop the pizza sauce.* The whole pizza is like 420 calories.. if you split it between two meals.. even better with some veggies on the side, maybe? Super easy to make and WAY tasty.

If you have a grill.. one word : kabobs. It's amazing how much flavor is added to something merely by burning it a bit. SO good.

Enjoy! =)

I live by myself, so here are some additional suggestions: Turkey burgers (sooooo yummy), ground turkey for spaghetti or tacos, frozen fish and chicken with brown rice and veggies, or chicken quesadillas using whole wheat tortillas and low fat cheese, pizza made with pita bread and low fat cheese, soup, grilled sandwiches.  Just some of the things I do.  Hope this gave you a few more ideas!

Hi

I shop and fix food only for myself. I keep lots of frozen fruit on hand because its easy to throw together a smoothie and also to measure out a snack.

I also buy chicken breasts and make a few simple maranades and freeze the individual breasts in baggies with marinade. Then I take 1 or 2 out a day and keep in fridge to thaw. With the chicken I usually have a big salad.

I use the George Foreman grill and make grilled veggies and chicken, or turkey burger or salmon and asparagus. healthly, filling and it takes 5 min. for grill to warm up and 5 min. to cook so its fast and easy.

I also just found a vegan rice bread ( I am allergic to eggs, cow milk and wheat) and have had a nice lunch of 1/2 tuna fish sandwich with vegan mayo and the rest of the tuna like a side tuna salad with celery and a small pickle and a few kettle chips. Then a cup of green tea. The total was about 352 but I know they make lower calorie and low fat reguar stuff so if you dont have allergies you could probably get it quite a bit lower.  Also ou could skip my 150 cal. per serving of chips lol. That would bring it down to a 202 cals.

I'm cooking for one as well.  The way I deal with it is to either prepare things in advance, divide them into servings and freeze, or cook just one serving.  Breakfast and lunch  are no problem because you can always fix oatmeal or an egg for one breakfast, and a sandwich and salad for lunch.

For dinner, some of my favorite fast meals are 3/4 cups of cooked beans or chickpeas, 1/2 cup of salsa, chopped peppers and onions, all stewed together.  The salsa is spicy enough that you don't even need to season.  If you get some frozen chopped onions and peppers, all you do is throw everything into a pan and heat it up.

Another one is a boneless, skinless chicken breast or fish fillet, brushed with a teaspoon of olive oil and well seasoned, under the broiler until just cooked.  I have it with steamed veggies and a half a cup of brown rice (cooked in advance and heated up).

If you have things ready to cook, it will be a lot easier. 

I am crazy about my george forman grill.  I cook a lot of dinners with it.  Like a chicken breast or salmon fillet then some steamed veggies with some skim milk and I am all full for the night.  Only takes about 10 mins and the only dirty things are the forman and my plate, easy clean-up

rebeccakm, Just an fyi for you, when cooking chicken and pork especially because of the risks of salmonella, cooking these meats thoroughly is important, but cooking it to leather is not necessary. By searing the chicken and/or pork at high temp to begin with, (seals the meat) then finish at lower temp you will always have a juicy, well cooked piece of meat, cooking completely is not as important as the temperature of the food. As long as it reaches 165 degrees you have killed any bacteria that would be dangerous. This also means that your meat can and sometimes will have a slight pinkness to it but that doesn't mean it is not done, that just means it has a lot of flavor still in it and it has not cooked all of the natural juices out of it. By allowing your meat to rest for a few minutes after removing it from the heat the juices will redistribute inside and it will also continue to cook from the heat it has inside it.(carry over cooking) usually 5-10 degrees more AFTER taking off the heat. If you have any questions about my response or anything else, feel free to ask. Bon appetit !

I cook for just myself every day but I also cook 3 meals a day for the non-dieting members of the family which is a real killer for me. The way that I combat the temptation is to plan out absolutely everything I'm going to eat that day in advance. I log everything into cc (giving myself a cushion for the extra calories I know are going to sneak in despite my best efforts) and then measure everything and put it into baggies. For example, if I want chips and have decided to do mini rice cakes instead I bag up a serving and I know that's how many I can have that day, the rest go back into the back of the cupboard. I cook for myself in bulk, like others have suggested and then my meals are fast and easy to put together, not too much of an extra hassle.

Here's one I made for lunch yesterday that I am now obsessed with. I cooked black beans up with big chunks of onion, some cumin, and a little chili power and served it with brown rice I prepared in bulk a couple days ago cooked in chicken broth. It was so delicious as a change to my norm. Probably high in sodium though, everything I eat is.