healthy foods i can make in big batches

[kurosh]

So far I have two staples I make in huge batches and eat over a few days.

Vegetable soup:
vegetable stock, tomato puree, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, corn, garlic, green beans, red peppers, basil, onions and whatever other random vegetables I see. 4:1 or 5:1 stock to puree ratio. Turns out very tasty and healthy. All the vegetables are fresh and prep time is about 30 minutes + 1 hour cook time. You might be able to add chicken to it too.

Chicken stirfry: chicken, olive oil, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, soy sauce, eggs in big pot. Cook for a few minutes. Add vegetables and cook for a while longer.

I'm going to add these smoothies to my staple foods
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[Blarg]

Well, I haven't heard of using puree in a soup before. You can just use canned tomatoes if you like a tomato-based broth.

Also, try adding some lean sausage to the mix. You don't need much to add a ton of flavor -- in fact too much can overwhelm the other flavors. Or on reheating, some shredded chicken or turkey. Especially with the chicken or turkey, you still keep an extremely low-fat, ridiculously healthy meal. Also, a good way to start a soup is by simmering chicken thighs in veggies. Take the chicken out when cooked, throw away the bones and return the chicken to the pot. You'll have that great chicken flavor going, and again some real protein to munch on. Sometimes I add some rice or potatoes to fill out a soup, too.

I also like to cook up a big batch of chicken breasts or drumsticks at a time, keep a big container of them in the fridge, and have a couple pieces for breakfast, or any time I want a snack. Freeze any extra.

And as long as you don't put any lettuce or creamy-type dressings in it, you can make a big salad base that you either eat plain or that you add to a plate/bowl with more spoilable things like lettuce in it that can last a week in the fridge. And again, you can add chicken or turkey to it if the mood strikes you.

It's a very good idea to always have healthy snacks around. Better to reach for a piece of skinless cold chicken than a cookie or some crackers or whatever. And a bowl of a light soup or a salad with lemon juice or rice vinegar dressing is about as low calorie yet nutritious as anything you can eat.

Those are my favorite low-cal things to make big batches up. For what eventually winds up as higher calorie meals, chili or pasta sauce are great to make huge quantities of.

[XXXNoahXXX]

Chili with ground turkey:

Two big jars of pasta sauce
Two cans of red beans
Two cans of black beans
Two onions
1 Zucchini
Tablespoon cumin, teaspoon cayenee
Package of ground turkey


Turn heat on under pot, put a little oil in the pot. Stick in the turkey and let it cook to brown, add the onions, let them cook for a minute. Dump in everything else. Let it get up then reduce to simmer for an hour.

Great for leftovers. You can adjust the recipe pretty easily to include how much you want. Serve with cornbread, tortilla chips, or spoon.

[AZK]

eggs
chicken/meat
nuts
fruit/veggies

all of these can be "made" or "kept" in big batches... can't think of anything else you really need when you have these.

[Wolfram]

This is what I make from time to time. I'm wondering how healthy it is. It's extremely simple tho.

-400g Ground Beef (18% fat is the best I've found so far, is that lean enough?).
-1 can of ready made tomato pasta sauce
-Some pasta (I use normal but whole wheat is probably better)

Brown the beef in a saucepan with olive oil. Drain after browning, then put back in pan, add tomato sauce and let simmer at low/medium. Add dry spices to taste (oregano, cayene, black pepper).

Cook the pasta. When pasta is done, mix with sauce in bowl and eat half for dinner, store half in fridge for lunch the next day.

Makes 2 servings.

[cbloom]

I like to make a big roast like once a week. The meat's really cheap and good when you buy a big cut, and you can eat the leftovers cold as lunchmeat or whatever if you want really easy meals. Also it's super easy you just toss it in the oven for a few hours.

Like a roast beef that's $10/lb as lunchmeat will be $2/lb as a roast and you can buy like 5 lb cut that lasts all week.

[Blarg]

I like doing that with a big slab of London Broil(which is actually any of a number of cheap cuts) sometimes. Cook it once, nice and slow at low heat so the fat renders out and keeps the meat moist, and eat it for a good while in sandwiches, sliced into salads, over rice, tossed into chili or spaghetti, whatever.

[AZK]

Other than the pasta, it's healthy.

[goodguy_1]

tunafish-short shelf life thu maybe 3 days maximum but still worth it, beef stew w/ veggies, cut up a whole melon like honeydee or watermelon for snacks over 2-3 days, brown rice, plain pasta add the sauce/meat/veggies as needed, buy a good set of tupperware def. worth it.

also I always make a batch of salad dressing for salads, veggies sometimes fish: mix balsalmic vinegar, water, extra virgin olive oil with a Good Seasonings packet, throw in a crushed glove of garlic- very good to have on hand -gets funky thu after about 2 weeks-so use it up. Also a good subsitute like mustard for mayonaisse.

[Blarg]

Re tuna having a short shelf life, I make it from those 4 pound cans and it lasts 5 days easy, often more.