What are yout three go-to meals?

[Guest]

On Day 1, we were encouraged to list 3 meals, that we could cook using pantry ingredients, in 15 minutes. I am stumped.

My copy of It Starts With Food has not yet arrived, so I may be a bit limited. We are cooking with fresh veggies and fresh meat, but the shopping, prep, and clean-up are very time consuming.

Help me broaden my horizons by sharing your three fast, pantry meals.

Thanks!

Nico

[Tom Denham]

You may need to redefine fast. There are no microwave-speed meals unless you are heating leftovers. Fast to me is 15 minutes from starting of cooking to eating.

My fast standard meals are 1) scrambled eggs and chopped onions with a side of cold sauerkraut, 2) salmon salad over canned artichoke hearts, and 3) calves liver and onions with diced tomatoes. My other standard meal is wilted greens and onions with slow cooker roast beef. Slow cooker roast beef takes a little over 8 hours to prepare, but I keep roast in the refrigerator most of the week and pull what I need to mix with freshly wilted greens as I go. I can cook all my standards faster now than I did when I started because practice helps.

[Guest]

Thanks for the ideas! The Day 1 daily e-mail said "think of three meals you could make in 15 minutes or less, with ingredients you'll always have on hand". Maybe I'm looking at 15 minutes wrong. I usually cook most of our meals anyway, but the adjustment phase has been a touch overwhelming. Once I become comfortable with a few of the tweaks that Whole30 will require, I'll be telling others what my go-to meals are. Plus, we're starting to have leftovers that we can repurpose for breakfast and lunch and we didn't have that yesterday.

I'm going to need to keep some protein around that isn't frozen and this will be easier as with your roast. As we know, there are also eggs and I am off to buy more and maybe some canned salmon for a cake made with eggs and canned pumpkin! Looks like I am on my way to two stand-by menus!

[Susan W]

Nico, I take that as things you make once a week and always have on hand. Here are my go to ready in a flash meals. Tuna salad, egg salad (both made with home made mayo), roast tri tip, roast chicken (usually two a week). I make chicken veggie soup and chicken salad when I tire of the roast chicken. I also have HB eggs on hand. I always have steam sauteed veggies on hand to throw in a pan with ghee or coconut milk when I am ready for them.

[mrsm14]

I don't know what your cooking style is, but I prefer to make large batches of food to have left overs around for days rather than making lots of '15 minute meals'. I find if I dedicate a 1-2 hour block a couple of times a week (usually Sunday and Wednesday) to cooking it's easier for me to make good choices.

My philosophy for a big cooking session is- "1 meal in the crock pot, 1 in the oven, 1-2 on the stove". We eat a lot of meat, so I make sure each dish has 2 lbs of meat (4-6 servings per dish= 12-16 total servings per cooking session)

What this might look like is-

1. Beef roast in the crockpot sitting on carrots & sweet potatoes & can of diced tomatoes

2. Pot of chili on the stove

3. Roasted or broiled chicken in the oven, roasted veggies too possibly- although I have an electric steamer that is my best friend so I'll steam cauliflower or broccoli too

You might want to purchase the paleo cookbook "Well Fed", which has a number of stir fry options that would probably fit this 15-20 min timeframe that are basically just meat, veggies, and seasoning all layed out for you.

[Guest]

Thanks to each of you!

The idea came from the Daily Whole30 email for Day 1. I simply couldn't think of things that I have, that are always thawed, and ready to cook in an instant. The idea, though, is to be prepared in case one has to work late or simply bonks and can't figure out what to eat. The quick, pantry meal is waiting.

But, we are definitely leftover folks here and have several proteins at-the-ready right now with fresh and frozen veggies lined up. I did just grab a can of salmon and I have steamed eggs (they peel more easily than boiled), and I think I had one other meal idea in my head. I'll have to write them down. My blood sugar does get low occasionally, so preparation is key and I love the challenges the e-mails are bringing to me.

Thanks again!

Nico

[Martha]

I think the preparing ahead of time is key. I did a big batch cooking session this morning because I had a surprise day off. Took everything out of the fridge and freezer and cooked. We have

- ground turkey with spices

- sauteed chicken/stir-fry strips

- hard-boiled eggs

- mashed cauliflower

- beet salad

- steamed carrots and beet greens

- baked sweet potatoes

We (I) can use this for any meal, all day long.

For 15-min. go-to-meals, I'd say:

1. Fried eggs, spinach, avocado, salsa, sweet potato (baked previously)

2. Tuna on a bed of spinach or salad greens, nuts/seeds, berries (big salad)

3. Leftovers!

[joanne]

my current three go-to meals (not necessarily pantry items though..) when i'm short on time:

1. egg scrambles with whatever meat / veggies i have on hand -- sausage, bacon, chorizo, leftover ground beef, etc. broccoli, red pepper, spinach, shallots/onions. season to taste with salt & pepper (and any other spices). serve with a side of diced avocado.
   
2. taco-less salad -- ground beef and onions cooked in coconut oil with cumin/chili/spices, serve over a bed of romaine/lettuce, cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, and salsa.
   
3. pan-seared fresh fish (cooks fast) with diced mango, avocados, tomatoes, served with a side salad or wilted greens
   

like others have said, even quicker are meals that you make over the weekend to last throughout the week! i like to roast a tray of chicken thighs and make a big batch of cauliflower rice or mashed butternut squash so that i can have those as options to bring to work for lunch or if i'm too tired to cook.

good luck!

[JWLS]

My go to meals are as follows.

B

Stir fry up some onions, garlic, brocolli, bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms and kalamata olives and then throw 3 eggs on the top and scramble it all up with a mini sweet potato on the side. I use whatever veggies I have on hand to mix my scrambles up a bit.

L

Huge salad with spring greens, lots of raw veggies, 2 eggs and some protein (Chicken, steak, ground beef, fish...whatever fits my fancy).

Roasted veggies (I like to layer veggies is a big 13x9x2 pan) I make about 1.5 gallons on Sunday and have them during the week with my lunch and dinner)

small piece of fruit

D

Chicken, steak, fish,etc. either baked or fried up in some olive oil with some nice seasonings

medium sweet potato

Roasted veggies

Workout snack: banana and handful of cashews (is this an approved snack?). I hope so because it's delicious.

This is a lot of food. I am very active. I run 30 minutes and day and strength train using heavy weight 4 times a week.

[JWLS]

I also add coconut oil to my sweet potato! Yummo!

[lindyj]

I like to have some sort of protein in the fridge and ready to go for an emergency salad. . . or fry an egg and the protein and leftover veggies become a hash. Mostly, I always try to put a serving of whatever I make in bulk in the freezer so I can do a quick re-heat on my crazy days!

[Wynne Jones]

I love this - Aidell's sausage, an onion, and a sweet potato, cut up in chunks, slathered in ghee (I would prefer evoo, but I guess that's not as good for cooking) then sprinkled with Kosher salt and Italian seasoning. Roast 15 min. So simple and SO GOOD! Serve with a salad for a yummy meal.

[ApproachingMars]

1. Steak.

2. Eggs.

3. Shrimp.