Want to start eating healthily and cooking from scratch - feeling bit rubbish :(

izzydogsam

Hi everyone

Hope this is right place to post this. I'm in my thirties and live with my partner. I really want to sort our diets out, as we're (well me in particular tbh) not regularly eating 5-a-day or even close on some days.:o

I don't eat healthily at all, and am probably lucky that I'm not more overweight than I am as I'm pretty active. I want to start afresh this week and start eating more fruit and veg, less processed food and junk. But I just feel like I don't know where to start. Can anyone recommend any good websites where I can find some healthy recipes and shopping lists?

I drink diet fizzy drinks as if they are going out of fashion and I feel like I'm making myself ill by eating rubbish. I really want to change, then I forget to make a sandwich to take to work for lunch and end up going to the local shop and buying a pastie/crisps etc then feel annoyed with myself and eat more rubbish - it's a vicious circle.

I'd really appreciate some advice from anyone who's been in the same situation and has managed to turn it around. I'm fed up of feeling tired and headachy, and I'm sure the food and drink I'm consuming isn't helping at all.

I buy fruit and veg with the best of intentions, then don't really know what to do with it, and sometimes it ends up going off. I think I need to really look at menu planning and just buying what we need for specific meals, instead of randomly putting things in my basket :mad:

Please can anyone help me get my act together?!!

misskool

What do you like to eat? Then ask here for meal ideas and a shoppng list to help you make the food.

If you forget to make sandwiches in the morning, make it the night before. I don't really like sandwiches so I make snack type things to take for lunches and in the winter I have soup or leftover dinners (I do have access to a pantry with a microwave thought).

If you love fizzy drinks a good way to wean yourself off them slowly is half fruit juice (any sort) and half sparkling water. Value stuff is fine and it gives you sweetness (natural sugars) and fizzy.

If you're stuck for meal ideas, look for the meal plans thread and see what other people are having and use their ideas. I did that when I started meal planning.

If you're too tired to cook after work, prep things during the weekend. Most meals will be able to be reheated once.

Olliebeak

It's worthwhile, regarding fruit and veg, sorting out what you like and what you don't like - that goes for both of you.

Lots of people think that they don't like veggies, but often their past experience of eating them hasn't been brilliant. I remember my dear old Nan used to boil everything to death - couldn't have been many vitamins/nutrients left in them. These days I love most veg steamed/microwaved - the only things I won't touch are Broad Beans and Asparagus.

Don't forget that 'hidden veg' counts as part of your five-a-day - but I'm pretty sure that potatoes don't.

Having a couple of vegetarian meals a week is good - even if it's only beans on wholemeal/granary toast.

This website looks quite useful: http://www.5aday.nhs.uk/topTips/default.html

Breaking your 'fizzy' habit is something that can be very hard. Could you change to low-sugar (or no added sugar) cordials with fizzy water to start you off?

How about making up a week's sandwiches, already wrapped in clingfilm, at the beginning of each week (or on a Sunday evening) and put them in the freezer - then you have them all ready. Just take one/two out each day and put into your 'butty box' - it will defrost by lunchtime. Don't put any salad stuff in the sandwiches though, not a good idea when it comes to freezing - but nothing to stop you from putting some cherry tomatoes/carrot sticks/celery in the box with the sandwich with maybe a pot of hummous/dip to go with them. If you like the 'Muller Rices' how about doing some stewed cooking apple (no sugar needed!) and keeping it in small amounts in the freezer. Take some out each day and put in a lidded container, add a couple of tablespoons of cold rice pudding to it and put the lid back on. Stewed apple would count towards your five-a-day.

Can do the same with any stewed fruit really AND natural yoghourt.

I'm sure lots of other people will be along with some ideas .

tiny_courageous

I've found one of the easiest ways for me of upping my veg intake is to make up little snack boxes of chopped up carrots/cucumber/peppers/mushrooms/cherry tomatoes and have them instead of crisps or my usual snacks in work. you could take in little pots of hummus, or sachets of mayo, or yoghurt dip too to have with them.

Also forgot to say, I chop up 2/3 days worth of veg at a time, keep them in takeaway boxes in the fridge so all I need to do on a mornng is remember to pick them up!

falady

Hi Izzy,

Just a few words of encouragement from someone that's been in the same place as you.

I started doing Slimming World which is based on healthy eating, fruit veg, meat, dish, rice pasta etc, and I have to say when i follow it, i feel much better physically and about myself too - my self esteem is higher, becuase i know i'm putting healthy things into my body to fuel it properly and give it the energy it needs to 'run' properly.

I'm not saying you should join slimming world, just letting you know that i found healthy eating to be of great benefit and that you'll feel better if you do.

I know it can be a bit daunting if you don't have much experience cooking, but everyone on here is really kind and helpful, so if you let us know the type of things you mght like to eat, we can give you some recipes and tips.

Have fun with it!

Ali xx

toby3000

If you've never really cooked, then I'd say start with simple stuff. For example, make spag. bol, but put in lots of mushrooms and peppers, and you've got 3 right there. Another easy way is having a side salad with your main meal. Stir Fry is also an easy way to pack in veg.

Fruit's a bit easier- try to make sure you always have some in the house, and have it instead of a snack.

I think nuts count towards the 5-a-day? Dried fruit definately does.

I would recommend Delia to anyone! There's no assumption of knowledge, and the recipes work!

izzydogsam

A huge thank you to you all for taking the time to reply and for the very helpful tips and comments - that's one of the things I love about MSE, the way everyone is so generous with their time and advice. :T

falady wrote: »

I started doing Slimming World which is based on healthy eating, fruit veg, meat, dish, rice pasta etc, and I have to say when i follow it, i feel much better physically and about myself too - my self esteem is higher, becuase i know i'm putting healthy things into my body to fuel it properly and give it the energy it needs to 'run' properly.

Ali, you brought a tear to my eye when I read your post. This is just how I feel. When I eat badly, it makes me feel rubbish, and on the few occasions where I've got my act together and eaten healthily, I've felt so much better. I just have so much trouble sustaining it. I worry that my eating unhealthily is getting out of hand and I'm storing a lot of problems up for myself later in life. My self-esteem is also pretty low, but the better I eat and the more active I am, the better I feel. Which makes it all the more surprising I haven't managed to keep on eating healthily when I know it makes me feel better. It's like I get in a rut then can't get out of it sometimes. Since being with my partner I've also got in the habit of eating man-sized portions, and portion control has got waaaay out of hand!

So, I'll try and give some examples of what I do/don't like to eat:

Likes
Chicken, beef, pork, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, chillis, onions, potatoes, cheese, milk, rice, pasta, eggs, carrots, apples, bananas, leeks, pears, broccoli, cauliflower, bread, muesli

Dislikes
Lamb, veal, peas, celery, kidney beans, chick peas, green beans (although I can manage them if they are disguised in a casserole lol!), cabbage

Does that help any?

Thank you all for being so generous with your time & tips. :T I definitely need to start planning ahead to make sure I can cook healthily and take healthier lunches and snacks to work. I like the idea of cooking in batches at the weekend and preparing things the night before. I always end up rushing around and running out of time in a morning and evening, and that's my downfall quite often.:o

CCP

Hm vegetable soup is a pretty good way of upping your veg intake, particularly now the weather's getting colder. It's nice and simple to make and great for lunches - just add a chunk of bread and perhaps a piece of cheese and you're sorted!

If you have a microwave at work you can just take some in in a plastic container and zap it at lunchtime; if you don't, you'll probably need a vacuum flask of some type to keep it warm until you need it.

I'm not sure from your post if you do an office job but, if so, take a couple of pieces of fruit in with you in the morning to eat during the day - I find that, if it's there, I tend to eat it sooner or later!

Oldernotwiser

Although you won't want to eat meat and 2 veg all the time, it's probably the easiest way to start off - no recipes to worry about and no elaborate menu planning.

When you feel more confident about your cooking you can then branch out and try new dishes but grilling a piece of meat or fish and cooking a couple of vegetables to go with it is quick, healthy and simple.

toby3000

Lots of people like smoothies. Personally, while I do like them, they seem like a lot of hassle to make and are very expensive to buy...

Psykicpup

dont try to change the way you eat all in one week - you will fail - then you will feel bad & give up!

if no meals are 'healthy' then just do one day this week or if you say, eat well at the weekends but fall down on week days when you have less time, then maybe add one weekday meal healthier.

ie: if you have a roast on a Sunday you could chuck the leftovers in a slow cooker on Tuesday for a healthy meal & cheap.

after you have got used to doing 1 really healthy day (after a week or 2) add an other day .. & so on until a 'bad food' day is a treat!

remember BABY STEPS! :A