[Victoria'smom]

I just bought child friendly connivance food yesterday for my son. Well actually for me because I'm having difficulty waiting the 1-3 min. it takes to microwave. When I'm depressed I don't want to cook. If it's really bad I use connivance food too. I know it's horribly unhealthy but does anyone else do this? How can I make healthier choices when the 2 steps to the microwave is to long?

[venusss]

well in my country there's a thing called "box diet" (you can order healthy meals neatly packed in boxes)... but it's bit pricey. Maybe you have something simmilar where you live?

And yes, microwavable foods are horrible and do horrible things to your body... including whacking up your mood.

The easiest food to prepare for me is meat with potatos/pasta/rice... I mean, put it in over, with some spices sprinkled on it... and then you just take it out. Make some basic veggie salad to go wiht it (chop up some veggies).

Eggs are healthy and nutritious.

Or frozen veggies that you simply fry on pan for few minutes. Easy, and if you prepare them on butter, pretty great.

Yeah, it's not three minutes meals, but I think the effort is worth it.

[faerie_moon_x]

There are easy ways to eat healthier choices that don't requrie cooking or anything.

First off low-fat string cheese and whole grain crackers (like triscuits) is a really good snack. Low-fat cheese is one of the primary low-fat/low-carb snacks that we have people with diabetes eat. Low-fat cheese of all types can be quick food for a lot of things, even when you can cook. Add it to a whole grain bread (check your label, you want 3+ grams of fiber per slice,) and melt it for grilled cheese.

Another good option is low-fat yogurt. You can sprinkle in some Fiber One cereal. (the ones that looks like sticks, not the flakes.) About a 1/8 of a cup of fiber one in yogurt is really good. It's like having a pie, but way better for you. I have this for breakfast a lot. And it takes like 2 seconds to make. You can also sprinkle in some almonds.

Peanut butter is a really good thing. Depending on how old your son is it's also cook-free, and kid safe. (Unless he's allergic to peanuts obviously.) You can either get whole grain bread or you can put it on celery sticks (my favorite) or you can put it on apple slices or even bananas. These are all really healthy. Or you can put it on whole grain crackers, too. Peanut butter is very versitile and it's a healthy fat. You can look for lower sugar options if you like.

All types of nuts are healthy, especially almonds. You can have a handful of almonds and some fruit or veggies.

Buying lots of easy to eat veggies like baby carrots, celery, and even thinks like broccoli and cauliflour or whole sugar/snow peas are good to eat raw. Also have a lot of fruit choices hanging around like apples, bananas, or cuties. My 6 year old loves cuties. They are just his size and they are extremely easy to peel so he can open them himself.

I know it's terrible to cook. I hate cooking! And I especially hate it when I'm depressed and mentally/physically exhausted from work all day. But, you have to feed those kids no matter how bad you feel, so I know right where you're coming from.

[venusss]

I'd warn about some low-fat yogurts though, because they contain gelatine, starch and other fillers (some of them). The 0.1% yogurts have zero nutritional value (still have calories though).

[faerie_moon_x]

Originally Posted by VenusHalley

I'd warn about some low-fat yogurts though, because they contain gelatine, starch and other fillers (some of them). The 0.1% yogurts have zero nutritional value (still have calories though).

It is always important to read your labels, that's true.

I recently tried that "Greek" yogurt that is all fashionable here right now. It was totally not what I was expecting and I didn't like it. I personally like Yoplait yogurt either regular or non-fat because they don't put "fruit" on the bottom (which is more like syrup than fruit, it's gross.)

[Nessa213]

I always keep a few uber convenience foods laying around in the event that I don't want to do any cooking. I can relate.

Saltines, cottage cheese, bananas, blueberries, and cheerios are always a winner with my daughter. And feeding her cottage cheese with raisins twice a day at least makes me feel a little better if I'm in that kind of mood. "I mean it's not like she's ONLY eating cottage cheese." (And to be fair she's only 2 years old so she doesn't know much better.

I'm only slightly ashamed to say that there's been days where I've sat her down with a handful of shredded cheese and handful of blueberries. I mean, what more do you need really?

[cocoabeans]

That's pretty much the only kind of food I eat and junk food snacks. Maybe it's all the preservatives that keep me thin!

[faerie_moon_x]

Originally Posted by Nessa213

I always keep a few uber convenience foods laying around in the event that I don't want to do any cooking. I can relate.

Saltines, cottage cheese, bananas, blueberries, and cheerios are always a winner with my daughter. And feeding her cottage cheese with raisins twice a day at least makes me feel a little better if I'm in that kind of mood. "I mean it's not like she's ONLY eating cottage cheese." (And to be fair she's only 2 years old so she doesn't know much better.

I'm only slightly ashamed to say that there's been days where I've sat her down with a handful of shredded cheese and handful of blueberries. I mean, what more do you need really?

My six year old loves shredded cheese and often a snack for him is shredded cheese with some fruit or carrots. He will go get himself this all by himself out of the fridge. He's extremely picky, so I figure he's getting some protein and nutrients at least. Better than a cupcake or snack cake.

I sometimes use my steamer with broccoli and cauliflower in together. When they're
ready--doesn't take long at all, then I sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on it
with salt and pepper. Pretty good and so easy and fast--just washing and chopping the vegetables take a few minutes, but you feel so good after food like that (in about an hour or two.

I wonder if it's harmful to pop popcorn in a microwave? I'm guilty of that at times.

[faerie_moon_x]

Popcorn is really good for you, actually. It's high fiber. We recommend it to people for snacks. You can eat a lot of it without guilt, unless you put a ton of butter on it. Then that's not so good.

Microwave popcorn is not too bad as long as it's not the buttery kind (if your trying to watch calories, but I love it, haha.) But, air popped popcorn is really good!

[Melmo]

Originally Posted by Nessa213

I always keep a few uber convenience foods laying around in the event that I don't want to do any cooking. I can relate.

Saltines, cottage cheese, bananas, blueberries, and cheerios are always a winner with my daughter. And feeding her cottage cheese with raisins twice a day at least makes me feel a little better if I'm in that kind of mood. "I mean it's not like she's ONLY eating cottage cheese." (And to be fair she's only 2 years old so she doesn't know much better.

I'm only slightly ashamed to say that there's been days where I've sat her down with a handful of shredded cheese and handful of blueberries. I mean, what more do you need really?

Nothing wrong with that! Better than sitting her down with a chocolate bar/box of cookies/snack cakes!

[venusss]

Originally Posted by dark_heart_x

Popcorn is really good for you, actually. It's high fiber. We recommend it to people for snacks. You can eat a lot of it without guilt, unless you put a ton of butter on it. Then that's not so good.

Microwave popcorn is not too bad as long as it's not the buttery kind (if your trying to watch calories, but I love it, haha.) But, air popped popcorn is really good!

so besides calories is there something wrong with the buttery kind?

[faerie_moon_x]

Originally Posted by VenusHalley

so besides calories is there something wrong with the buttery kind?

Just calories really. And if it's real butter it could be cholesterol issue. And if it's margarine it could be a transfat issue. I personally love buttered popcorn, but you know, everyone has their thing.

Popcorn is an amazing food. I love popcorn. It's fun to plug in the air popper and even in this age of technology my kids think it's pretty awesome to watch all the popcorn pop. I remember how fun that was when I was a kid.

[Victoria'smom]

There use to be a "boxed meal" program in my area but the program was closed because of embezzlement and the alternatives have not come to this area yet. I keep looking because that helped us so much before.

Snacks he has all the raw carrots, fruits, Cheese, milk, water, saltens w. peanut butter, boil eggs, air popped popcorn and tortilla chips he wants. But his meals are horrible almost "school-lunch" quality.

So I'll get some veggie steamer things. I feel so bad not having the ability to cook for him right now since he's going through a massive growth spurt.

[BlueInanna]

Just do your best MM. I would be so grateful to have pizza or Chinese food delivery tonight. I would even order salads. No delivery in my area... I can't deal with healthy every night. I do it when I can, but not tonight. So I guess I do my best and wait it out for when I can do better, or come up with a better plan.

[hamster-bamster]

Originally Posted by Miguel'smom

I just bought child friendly connivance food yesterday for my son. Well actually for me because I'm having difficulty waiting the 1-3 min. it takes to microwave. When I'm depressed I don't want to cook. If it's really bad I use connivance food too. I know it's horribly unhealthy but does anyone else do this? How can I make healthier choices when the 2 steps to the microwave is to long?

Hmm.. what do you mean? Steam-in-the-bag microwaveable veggies (not available in Eastern Europe) are about as healthy as you can go.

Broccoli
Broccoli and cauliflower
Broccoli and cauliflower and carrots
Asparagus
Brussels sprouts

NO MESS, 7 minutes and done, and better nutritional value than fresh produce unless fresh produce comes from a farmers' market

ULTIMATE CONVENIENCE and ULTIMATE HEALTH VALUE

I also have a plastic microwave steamer and cook frozen artichokes in it. If you like the idea, I will find it online. I bought it for $7 at a drugstore many years ago.

[faerie_moon_x]

Originally Posted by Miguel'smom

There use to be a "boxed meal" program in my area but the program was closed because of embezzlement and the alternatives have not come to this area yet. I keep looking because that helped us so much before.

Snacks he has all the raw carrots, fruits, Cheese, milk, water, saltens w. peanut butter, boil eggs, air popped popcorn and tortilla chips he wants. But his meals are horrible almost "school-lunch" quality.

So I'll get some veggie steamer things. I feel so bad not having the ability to cook for him right now since he's going through a massive growth spurt.

Really small meals with the foods you list is a healthy way to eat, way healthier than fast food or processed junk in a can. The idea of "big 3 meals a day" is actually a myth. Six smaller meals is better.

Do you own a crock pot? That is a really easy way to cook without cooking. Just throw some veggies and chicken or lean beef or whatever in with a bit of water and let it cook. And ta-da! Stew!

[Kristiemarie]

I need to figure out a way to have ready to eat meals. A lot of food is nasty when warmed up so I need things that I can pop into the oven (or microwave) and have ready without trying.

Baked Mac and Cheese is suppose to be easy like this. Anything with meat though is hard to warm/thaw.

Any suggestions on healthy easy, pre made stuff?

[faerie_moon_x]

Originally Posted by Kristiemarie

I need to figure out a way to have ready to eat meals. A lot of food is nasty when warmed up so I need things that I can pop into the oven (or microwave) and have ready without trying.

Baked Mac and Cheese is suppose to be easy like this. Anything with meat though is hard to warm/thaw.

Any suggestions on healthy easy, pre made stuff?

Things with noodles re-heat really well.

One thing I really like to make (but haven't in a long time,) is what my family calls "poor man's lasagna." So, basically it's elbow noodles cooked, sauce, and shredded cheese. Put into a baking dish and heat to melt the cheese. You can make a big pot of noodles at the beginning of the week, then when hungry, put them into a baking dish with sauce and cheese, and bake. You can pick whole wheat noodles to make it healthier, or other shapes if you prefer.

One of my educators does the same thing with rice. She makes a big thing of rice at the start of the week, then can heat it up and add it to whatever.

It's hard to find ready to eat meals that are pre-made that are actually healthy.

[Victoria'smom]

Maybe we should start a quick re-heat-able recipe thread.

[faerie_moon_x]

Originally Posted by Miguel'smom

Maybe we should start a quick re-heat-able recipe thread.

This is a really good idea

[TheDragon]

This is what I had for dinner last night because I was lazy. It's simple, stupid healthy, and pretty good.

Get a big bowl, and toss in spinach, chickpeas (canned), cucumber slices, red peppers, and olives and added some homemade dressing (dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt/pepper). This takes less time than heating up a microwave meal.

[Anika.]

Dragon, I eat like that often. For lunch or dinner I will throw bunch of kale in a bowl...dragon kale or black kale is my favorite variety, cut some mango, throw in some mushrooms, seeds and nuts, a little mango or raspberry vinagerette..maybe some other veggies.

Kale is such a super food, loads of calcium, vitamin k, minerals ..it's packed with stuff. Maybe some hummus on the side. There you got calcium, protien, fibre, carbs...yum.

Best part is it takes no time, and you don't feel tired or sick, bloated etc after eating it.

[~Christina]

Oooooooh that salad sounds Fantastic Dragon and Anika!

[BlackPup]

My favourite easy meal is boil some pasta while you make a white sauce ( you can use a packet or melt butter add flour and milk and stir till boiling) heat frozen veggies in microwave. Mix it all together with a tin of tuna add shredded cheese to each serve and zap in the microwave until melted. It takes 10- 15 min and it can be frozen. Otherwise sausage sandwiches are a favourite too. I make big batches of spaghetti bolognase and freeze them for later.