Newbie with Diabetes- start date August 17

[Cathy Critt]

I am a little slow posting my introduction since I started yesterday. I am flying solo and would love to find more flyers to join the journey.  If you have any suggestions on how to reduce the amount of cooking including how to eat out and where, I would looove to hear from you!!

 

 

[MeadowLily]

My stock answer is to cook more and don't eat out unless it is an absolute emergency...for 30 days.  There are too many unknowns in most restaurant food to ever really know if it's compliant.  You have to fly by the seat of your pants there.

 

After 30 days, you'll want to continue on with your good new habits and that's going to involve cooking. There are many non-cooking Whole 30's going on.  The foods are all compliant.   Fruits, nuts, nut butters, coconut cream, dried fruits, more nuts and fruit and nutty bars.  This non-cooking version usually gives them a messed up complexion and less than stellar results. After a non-cooking Whole 30, they're usually a repeat customer pledging that this time they will cook and all of those tiddly wink items are history.

 

I suggest cooking.  If you want Grab N Go, you'll have to buy compliant tuna, kippers and salmon.  Don't use nuts as your primary source of fat.  Find some quality compliant oils - EVOO, macadamia nut oil, avocado, bacon fat, etc.  Nuts eaten by the handfuls are not the way to go.

 

You can buy lots of vege and there might be compliant salad mixed greens in the bag.  I don't buy those, you'll have to check.  They tend to have that chlorine bleach taste.  You'll want to roast every vegetable under the sun on a roasting pan. Throw it all on, slather on your compliant fat, kick the door shut and walk away.   Place these into individual serving bags for Grab N Go.  

[ladyshanny]

Hey Cathy, often it's the notion of those "grab & go" or "meals out" that got us into the position we're in.  Those slimy marketing buggers will have you believe that you need everything to be instant and immediate and supra-normally flavourful.  

 

As far as reducing cooking, you sort of can.  Here's my rundown on how to make enough food to last you most of the week.  In 2 hours.  Others have equally as awesome methods, hopefully they will share:

 

Put 2 dozen boneless skinless chicken thighs on a cookie sheet, brush with fat and sprinkle with seasoning (garlic powder, S&P and paprika is nice).  Bake at 435 for 35-40 minutes.  Throw 6 sweet potatoes on another smaller cookie sheet and slide that alongside your tray of chicken and let it all bake.  While the oven is busy, get a pot going with water and hard or soft boil a dozen eggs.  Get out some baby potato, carrot, brocoli, red onion and green beans.  Chop enough for two cookie sheets and toss it in fat.  Put on cookie sheets and it's ready to go in the oven at the next opportunity.  Put two large frying pans on the stove.  Fill one with 2# ground beef/turkey/chicken/pork and fill the other with 2# of another ground meat.  Cook them both until done (about 15 minutes).  Now about 45 minutes has passed, remove the chicken and sweet potatoes from the oven and put your two sheets of chopped veggies in.  While that's baking, make homemade mayo and a batch of sunshine sauce.  Chop up 6 bell peppers a sweet onion and some mushrooms.  Do the dishes.  Ding!  Time's up, all done.

 

In two hours or less you got:

1 dozen boiled eggs

2 dozen baked chicken thighs

2# ground beef

2# ground turkey

6 baked sweet potatoes

2 huge trays roasted veggies

diced peppers, onion, mushrooms ready to go

mayo

sunshine sauce

 

If you now add a bag of spinach from Costco or the like, some canned fishes (salmon, tuna, herring etc), some frozen veggies and a few servings of fruit, you are ALL SET for a week of healthy eating.  In two hours or less on the weekend and 10-20 minutes each day!  

[Cathy Critt]

Thanks for the ideas!  My first big challenge is going to be Friday night football.  I usually get home about 6pm from work.  HS football game starts at 7pm.  I don't think I can gulp down veggies quickly.  Should I pack food and take to the game?  What would be portable and finger food friendly? 

 

[MeGA"gardener"]

Yes please pack your food. You'll be happy you did

[jmcbn]

Thanks for the ideas!  My first big challenge is going to be Friday night football.  I usually get home about 6pm from work.  HS football game starts at 7pm.  I don't think I can gulp down veggies quickly.  Should I pack food and take to the game?  What would be portable and finger food friendly? 

Chicken thighs or drumsticks, meatballs, chopped raw veg (carrots, celery, cucumber, sliced peppers etc) with mayo or guac for dipping, olives, hard boiled eggs....

[ShannonM816]

Thanks for the ideas!  My first big challenge is going to be Friday night football.  I usually get home about 6pm from work.  HS football game starts at 7pm.  I don't think I can gulp down veggies quickly.  Should I pack food and take to the game?  What would be portable and finger food friendly? 

 

I don't know where you are or what the weather's like, but when it's cold out there at those football games, you can take a thermos of soup as part of your vegetables. Try this one, or this one -- they're creamy and blended and you could easily drink them.

[JenX]

One of my go-to grab-n-go meals is chicken salad (diced chicken, tons of diced crunch veggies mixed with mayo, mustard, hot sauce s/p. You can make it up ahead of time as the flavors meld the longer it sits in the fridge. Before you leave, throw it on top of a bed of greens in a big Tupperware container and bring a fork, you're good to go. It's really tasty and nice for outdoor venues, especially if it's hot out.