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Deciding on Lunch and Dinner every day

FudgeIt

FudgeIt

Member
Why is this so hard? Me and my wife always asking each other what we're going to cook or make. We're in Florida trying to save some money by not eating out and we're like stuck on groceries. Also, in America, whoever said $80-$120 a week on groceries for 2 people must be batshit crazy. Easily can spend $200….. and we're not 2 people, we're 3.

What do you guys do? Weekly planning for meals?
 
We're shocking for this shit, I usually ring the wife on the way home from work, have you made anything? Nah.. fuck sakes.. what happened to traditional housewives.. I give off about it, she tells me to fuck off.. I go my head's melted I can't think.. she goes Chinese?? I go yeah... Rinse/repeat
 
RJMacready73 said:
We're shocking for this shit, I usually ring the wife on the way home from work, have you made anything? Nah.. fuck sakes.. what happened to traditional housewives.. I give off about it, she tells me to fuck off.. I go my head's melted I can't think.. she goes Chinese?? I go yeah... Rinse/repeat
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Lmao how did I comprehend this but also not comprehend this at the same time?
 
I plan on weekly basis. I'm single, my cooking capabilities are limited and I take good care of my diet, so all that together reduces my options so every Friday or Saturday I buy for the week. Dinners are mostly a mix of fruit and heavy salad. I only change my plans when I'm dining out with friends, dates or family.
 
Just have a few staples you rotate through and then mix it up with a new recipe every few days, takes almost 0 amount of active thinking.
 
Plan your week meals on Sunday and get all groceries in a single run. Stock up so you dont have to go several times. Also, do not be weak, skip the takeout.

For lunch just get bread with either cheese or hagelslag. And a glass of milk.
 
I've been practicing intermittent fasting since before it was popularly called that. I only eat dinner; no breakfast or lunch. Much more efficient, imo, and I've stayed under my "I gotta make some changes" weight for a decade.

Even though I eat until I'm stuffed for that one meal, I end up eating fewer daily calories than when I was eating ~3x a day.
 
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Not dining out is step number one, you really don't need any skills to prepare simple meals and it can be way cheaper. Breakfast and dinner are usually the same stuff on a small rotation. As for lunch we usually plan 1-2 days ahead, simple stuff so it also won't be time-consuming. Sometimes a more fancy dish if we randomly crave for something or there's a sale for the key ingredients in the store. Knowing which cheaper ingredients are equally (or nearly) as good also helps, you don't need to pick them only from the "big brands" and pay extra for them.
 
Usually for me whatever I'm having for dinner I'm having for lunch the next day and just portion it out. I mostly eat chicken or ground turkey so whatever I add to it I just make some extra for lunch. My 2 main go to meals are usually ground turkey,rice, peppers, half avocado and a taco seasoning or chicken with salad, 1/2 avocado, a fried egg and some fruit and for dinner I usually have protein ice cream with the ninja creami. I also eat a lot of quesadillas with chicken and pepper as well it's quick and easy to make and If it's a gym day i may add a little extra carb. I got tired of trying to plan meals so i just picked the two meats I liked and i mix and match with whatever, you can always substitute vegetables and carbs like pasta instead of rice. Eating out has become ridiculous price wise like here it's almost $30 for a pizza like get lost i rather just make something at home and feel better for it and control your budget. Funny my friend went to Mc.Donalds the other day bought a combo meal and it was like $18 (can) and I was like you could have bought your meat and vegetable groceries for that money after he complains about having no money lol.

I don't know if you have places like Costco there but I usually shop there and get my meats and stuff in bulk it's much cheaper. Now I only shop for myself but they have good sales and a break down of groceries for 2 weeks. For me myself I spend between $140-$150 for my 2 weeks of groceries and that includes my protein powder which in itself is $40. I look at what I can maximize for my money like a big bag of potatoes, big bag of rice for carbs usually under $10 and lasts a month. Meat will cost you it's definitely gone up but vegetables are reasonably priced. I don't like meal prepping and I never do it but I also don't want to spend time cooking so if I can't make dinner in 30 min or less forget it lol.

There are lots of options for cheap meals that are good and fast to make:
Cold plate - Boiled potatoes, tuna, salad, egg, cottage cheese
Pasta- buy some ground turkey and make some meatballs with it
Breakfast for dinner - potato, make eggs or omellete
Chicken tenders w/ salad - Cut a piece of chicken into strips and get a small box of cornflakes and mix the chicken in that
Quesadillas - Chicken or beef, peppers, cheese (optional) and whatever other veg
 
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Angry_Megalodon said:
I plan on weekly basis. I'm single, my cooking capabilities are limited and I take good care of my diet, so all that together reduces my options so every Friday or Saturday I buy for the week. Dinners are mostly a mix of fruit and heavy salad. I only change my plans when I'm dining out with friends, dates or family.
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Fruits and heavy salad is interesting. I feel like a protein is much needed like chicken or beef
Grildon Tundy said:
I've been practicing intermittent fasting since before it was popularly called that. I only eat dinner; no breakfast or lunch. Much more efficient, imo, and I've stayed under my "I gotta make some changes" weight for a decade.

Even though I eat until I'm stuffed for that one meal, I end up eating fewer daily calories than when I was eating ~3x a day.
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That's actually interesting. Like skipping lunch or something would be okay in the cards
 
Get your protein, a mix of meast you enjoy. Then your veggies and your carbs. Some spices, olive oil, yoghurt.
Combine these, endless possibilities. Check Youtube channels for inspiration if stuck.
We're cooking almost every day...not always fun but its cheaper than ordering/going out , better/healthier and fresh.
 
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ElFenomeno said:
Get your protein, a mix of meast you enjoy. Then your veggies and your carbs. Some spices, olive oil, yoghurt.
Combine these, endless possibilities. Check Youtube channels for inspiration if stuck.
We're cooking almost every day...not always fun but its cheaper than ordering/going out , better/healthier and fresh.
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I love grilling. I don't mind getting veggies I can grill but I guess I need a basket right?
 
The trick is to do large-scale cooks when you make anything, so you can store the leftovers for later. I do mass cooks on weekends, leaving the rest of the week open for options. Not every dish reheats well, but a lot do just fine. Meat sauce for spaghetti, curry, stews, etc. I store them in a freezer using mason jars. Today, I'm smoking spareribs for the 4th. The leftovers will end up being used for stew.

7oZc7gSzhPh06ZSE.jpg


That's a photo I snapped from a freezer. When it's dinner time, I put a mason jar of food in the microwave oven for one hour (yes really) with the power level setting at 20%. This makes it so the food slowly reheats more evenly by making the microwave operate in intervals at a ratio of 1 out of every 5 seconds. If you try to run the microwave at full power, you will end up with a frozen center and overcooked food on the exterior. My process works really well.

If it's stew or curry or equivalent, I also throw some rice into a dedicated rice cooker with some water, hit "cook" and come back in an hour. If it's spaghetti, I will boil water for the noodles. If I'm feeling lazy, I just bake fries and chicken tenderloins that I buy at wholesale in the oven. Long story short, I rarely eat at a restaurant and I never feel like I'm constantly cooking. There's always something to reheat from the freezer.

Schedule wise, breakfast for me is always greek yogurt with cold brew coffee that I make at home. Lunch is always a sandwich, sometimes ham, sometimes PBJ. Dinner is big time, pig time where I get the bulk of my calories for the day.
 
I just leave what's next to eat in plain view in my fridge. Or if it's dry food just leave it on the counter near the stove to make later.

Just put all the food that needs to be eaten faster before it spoilers in centre view in the fridge. You can bury stuff with long expiration dates at the back of the shelves or drawers.
 
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Breakfast - I don't eat it. (never have, it ruins my day)
Lunch - These days I stick to a salad. I don't have to think about it and it is at least fresh veggies.
Dinner - The real struggle. I keep telling myself I am going to start cooking dinner more. I don't. I end up snacking throughout the evening.
 
reinking said:
Breakfast - I don't eat it. (never have, it ruins my day)
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Im the same. Never grew up on it.

The first time I ever ate a real breakfast was working where sometimes a big morning meeting at 9 am, the host will order everyone coffee and bagels, muffins and fruit cups etc... Since it's there free, I'd grab and eat. By 9:30 or 10 am I feel like shit. I might have a coffee or juice, but my first meal is lunch.

But it all comes down to how someone's body is accustomed to. My body doesnt handle early morning eating well. But aside from that and hating cilantro/ginger/corriandor, I can pig out and eat anything rest of day, midnight, and have never had a deep cavity filling (aside from some small preventative ones) despite eating junk food all my life. Energy drinks have zero effect on me too. I can drink red bulls and trash like that all night and not feel a thing.

But eat a bagel or big muffin in the morning and my gut gets queasy! lol
 
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Meal prep is great because it's always an option. There's so much information and ideas about it, do something you like, next time do a larger serving and freeze it.

My options usually are: Meals I prepped, pick up food from a couple of restaurants in my neighborhood, eating out occasionally or i'll make something on the spot (large enough that there's always leftovers).
 
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It's very simple for me. I eat pretty much the same stuff all the time, so shopping is pretty quick. As a single man, I refuse to cook elaborate stuff that takes 3-4x longer to prepare than to actually eat. That kind of time spent on preparing food is only conceivable if you're cooking for several people, imo. So I can usually have a simple, complete meal prepared in 30 minutes tops, but usually way less than that. I can put rice in a steamer, some form of protein in the oven, set a timer, and enjoy some veggies while the rest cooks itself. Or I'll just put some salad in a bowl, throw in some olives and chicken or tuna, and that's my meal.

I do enjoy a good meal out, but really, ain't nobody got time to chop veggies, make sauces and all that shit. Can't spend an hour making food I'll eat in 10 minutes.
 
Men_in_Boxes said:
I've literally been bugging people around me for the last few years about there needing to be a meal replacement drink you can consume and clean up in 60 seconds. Eating is so annoying.
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More power to you man. I'm about two hours away from downing some slow-smoked spareribs from my grill, couldn't imagine missing out on one of life's simplest pleasures.
 
Meicyn said:
More power to you man. I'm about two hours away from downing some slow-smoked spareribs from my grill, couldn't imagine missing out on one of life's simplest pleasures.
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Some of my ancestors have enjoyed the food. I don't think you're crazy.

But those ribs take 1hr+ to cook, 30 minutes to eat, another 45 minutes to clean up. Give me those bug bars from Snowpiercer any day of the week.
 
FudgeIt said:
Fruits and heavy salad is interesting. I feel like a protein is much needed like chicken or beef


That's actually interesting. Like skipping lunch or something would be okay in the cards
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When I first started, I would get hungry during the day, but it went away in about a week. Now I only get hungry at night. The body adapts to what you train it for.

Like how some people get hangry every hour because they haven't snacked. If you push through that, your body accepts you're not getting the tasty treats and stop sending craving signals.
 
Men_in_Boxes said:
Some of my ancestors have enjoyed the food. I don't think you're crazy.

But those ribs take 1hr+ to cook, 30 minutes to eat, another 45 minutes to clean up. Give me those bug bars from Snowpiercer any day of the week.
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The ribs I make take about 4 hours to slow smoke. But the meat falls right off the bone. I'll take a photo when they're done so you can see what you're missing.

I mean, it's not like I'm actively tending to the smoker the entire duration. It's more waiting than anything else. I'm just goofing around on GAF while I occasionally glance at my wireless thermometer set to make sure the temps stay around 200-225F. I don't own one, but these days you can buy a pellet smoker and borderline automate the smoking process. The prices people pay at BBQ joints is straight up robbery.
 
Meicyn said:
The ribs I make take about 4 hours to slow smoke. But the meat falls right off the bone. I'll take a photo when they're done so you can see what you're missing.

I mean, it's not like I'm actively tending to the smoker the entire duration. It's more waiting than anything else. I'm just goofing around on GAF while I occasionally glance at my wireless thermometer set to make sure the temps stay around 200-225F. I don't own one, but these days you can buy a pellet smoker and borderline automate the smoking process. The prices people pay at BBQ joints is straight up robbery.
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I dont have time to slow cook food. My max is one hour in the oven making chicken.

But my bro does ribs in the oven for 3 hours. He's due for one of his summer BBQs too. Maybe later since they are going away on a trip soon and back in August. He's no fancy chef, but they are still pretty good. Of course, not outdoor Texas style like a pro, but surprisingly good. I forget what he does but I think he wraps the ribs in foil with some seasoning. They in the latter stages puts on sauce and cooks it opened up as a finishing touch. Then he just serves it in the giant pan.
 
It's a running joke between me and my wife being first to ask what should we have for dinner.
 
Grildon Tundy said:
I've been practicing intermittent fasting since before it was popularly called that. I only eat dinner; no breakfast or lunch. Much more efficient, imo, and I've stayed under my "I gotta make some changes" weight for a decade.

Even though I eat until I'm stuffed for that one meal, I end up eating fewer daily calories than when I was eating ~3x a day.
Click to expand...

It worked in my 20s and 30s, but now as I approach my Jurassic period I can no longer go all morning without food. By 11 I could eat a scabby donkey.

I usually go for like a 10:30 meal and then eat a dinner with family around 6.

the key imo it to stop eating after dinner and then no snacking until tomorrow. That way you are 'shutting down' your insulin spikes and metabolism to fast. It gives your body a rest and helps keep the weight off. I use to snack like a motherfucker in my 20s when on base, since the main meals were processed slop that wouldn't fill a dog.
 
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We have dishes in a rotation. A lot of them are instant pot dishes, which acts as an instant pot and a slow cooker. Most of the time is chopping ingredients. I enjoy fresh vegetables, so I'll eat a lot of peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. I enjoy raw vegetables. For lunch I eat leftovers. I'm the kind of guy who would put a raw slice of onion on some toast. We may eat out 2-3 times a year.
 
Discovered crock pot cooking/recipes a few years back and it's been a game changer for me on dinner when not doing the steak, fish, chicken, etc meals. Prep, set, and forget on so much healthy stuff I wouldn't normally eat otherwise from lentils to beans to your common veggies and beyond with surprisingly good flavors. I keep the beef/chicken bouillon companies in business like no other.

Lunch is always a quick fix like sandwiches/salads, snacking through it, or the occasional fast food.
 
Stews, soups, and sauces.

Examples:
  • Beef, potato, vegetable stew, with some tomato sauce being the base for it. Salt and pepper to taste. Make enough for multiple days.
  • Meat sauce: ground beef, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste. Cook up some spaghetti and mix. Make enough for multiple days.
  • Chicken and vegetable noodle soup. Again, make a lot of this. Chicken, veggies, noodles (can even substitute with potatoes), parsley, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and a dash of vinegar (optional).
Serve with bread and butter.
Also, make a lot of pre-mixed salad and keep it in the fridge in a big bowl. Just add dressing the night of.

I usually have a variety of recipes like this to last 3 or 4 days a week and then I only have to plan for and cook on the remaining days.
 
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I usually only eat lunch. I'm not too picky about it. I try to take a walk in the city at lunch time and I tend to grab a sandwich while I'm out.

A lot of the time I eat a salad or sandwich at the bar of the restaurant across the street from my office because the bartender wears yoga pants and I look at her butt when she turns around to pour beers.
 
ReBurn said:
I usually only eat lunch. I'm not too picky about it. I try to take a walk in the city at lunch time and I tend to grab a sandwich while I'm out.

A lot of the time I eat a salad or sandwich at the bar of the restaurant across the street from my office because the bartender wears yoga pants and I look at her butt when she turns around to pour beers.
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You ever consider eating that ass?
 
StreetsofBeige said:
I dont have time to slow cook food. My max is one hour in the oven making chicken.

But my bro does ribs in the oven for 3 hours. He's due for one of his summer BBQs too. Maybe later since they are going away on a trip soon and back in August. He's no fancy chef, but they are still pretty good. Of course, not outdoor Texas style like a pro, but surprisingly good. I forget what he does but I think he wraps the ribs in foil with some seasoning. They in the latter stages puts on sauce and cooks it opened up as a finishing touch. Then he just serves it in the giant pan.
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Yeah, that's a feasible approach to ribs indoors. You can actually get away with brining ribs by adding some liquid smoke into the brine along with the usual salt + herbs so smokey flavor seeps into the meat. Most important part is getting that caramelization at the end with the BBQ sauce by raising temps to around 300F for a bit. Sounds like your brother has that handled.

At any rate, I snapped a photo before I started pigging out:
rKQXz0p8mHYkv4Mc.jpg


Was good eating. I rarely add BBQ sauce directly during a cook unless I know all the food will be eaten fresh. Leftovers went into my pressure cooker, bones and all with some celery, carrots, and onions to make stock and break the meat further down. Gonna end up being transformed into a thick, hearty smokey pork stew with potatoes, mixed veggies, onions, and probably some pearl barley. Based on past sessions, will probably have about 10-12 mason jars worth of food.
 
Streamlining your diet helps. I take black coffee plus an egg or plain yogurt daily. 90% of my lunches consist of cabbage + some form of cheap baked meat. My wife makes and freezes meat sauces, stews, and bread from scratch every few weeks which end up as weeknight dinners. Weekend lunches and dinners are the only meals we really spend time preparing. I feed a family with multiple children for around $800 per month in a city with some of the most expensive groceries on earth ($13 for a pint of Ben and Jerry's). We eat out around once every two weeks.

I don't buy snacks, candy, chips, packaged food, or other things. I don't take soft drinks or visit cafes for anything beyond a basic black coffee or plain tea. Those habits are the real budget killer since they add up over time. Learning how to make things from scratch also helps.
 
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Meicyn said:
Yeah, that's a feasible approach to ribs indoors. You can actually get away with brining ribs by adding some liquid smoke into the brine along with the usual salt + herbs so smokey flavor seeps into the meat. Most important part is getting that caramelization at the end with the BBQ sauce by raising temps to around 300F for a bit. Sounds like your brother has that handled.

At any rate, I snapped a photo before I started pigging out:
rKQXz0p8mHYkv4Mc.jpg


Was good eating. I rarely add BBQ sauce directly during a cook unless I know all the food will be eaten fresh. Leftovers went into my pressure cooker, bones and all with some celery, carrots, and onions to make stock and break the meat further down. Gonna end up being transformed into a thick, hearty smokey pork stew with potatoes, mixed veggies, onions, and probably some pearl barley. Based on past sessions, will probably have about 10-12 mason jars worth of food.
Click to expand...
Shit, that looks awesome. Ya the way my bro makes it, it's tasty enough but never comes out looking like true BBQ like your pic.
 
i HATE having to decide and cook, the entire thing is annoying. i need a food pill that makes me feel full
 
The wife handles it, I don't have any say in the matter, but she usually makes delicious vegetable heavy meals with lentils, chickpeas, tofu, or fish for protein for dinner and of course just steelcut oats and a banana for breakfast, we typically just do a big mixed salad for lunch.
 
You can always spend more. But you have to plan some to spend less.

I cook a couple nights a week depending on practice schedules. I grill too.

Leftovers always stretch a budget too.

A pan of lasagne should be good for 2 to 3 meals. Then you just add various sides each time. Like a salad or bread.
 
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