Hi
sorry to read this bit
I've been instructed by my cardiologist to start eating "heart healthy"
so, I hate "diets" (not least because in a biologists view the word diet simply means what you usually eat).
I believe "diets" fail because they are fads (ephemeral) and you go back to what you usually do. I'll call this life-style (as opposed to "
lifestyle" (that one usually has pushed in magazines or advertisments)
I go (or used to go) camping a lot; accordingly meal preparation is important (especially on multi day expiditions when its very cold. Whats important is:
- good nutrition
- ease of preparation
- ease of clean up
So for decades I've lived by the idea of "camping cooking at home" as a "style in which I live my life", especially when I became single (and couldn't justify ornate or complex meals to sit down by my self).
To me what is needed is simple: no highly processed foods (pre-made meals) and a focus on reducing sugars and salts (common cheap preservatives).
My solution (at home) is to combine vegetables that are snap-frozen (reducing spoilage and decreasing prep time) to add into meals. Many of these are available as mixes entitled something like "Asian mix" for stir frys. I often 'thaw' a portion these in the fry pan with (for instance) a steak that I'm cooking, or a 'burger' patty (which I make myself simply by buying mince in the 1kg size and pressing into a patty and freezing.
I totally eschew microwaves and prefer to that "naturally" and never need them to "reheat" which is seldom needed in my way.
I like to make use of mince also in pasta, so I can thaw one of the mince patties in a pan with a small amount of water (on a low heat) and an "ice cube" of tomato paste. This keeps the mince from "cooking in a lump" (if you give it a little attention) and makes exactly the right amount of meat sauce for a pasta meal. I can then tip that into a bowl (when its cooked to my desire, refil the pot with sufficient water and a serve of pasta, cook, drain and put into the bowl and stir. Bonus points awarded in this making cleaning the pot easier...
Seasonally I'll have more salads in Summer and more Veges in Winter.
Some "outside the box" ideas (to give this some pictures) quick pan fry of shredded carrot and cabbage and a mashed with a fork (boiled one potato), "burger" and an interesting sausage found commonly in Finland that's mostly made from "seed meal" and lingon berry (also good vitamin source)
substitute rice for (plain rolled) oats (not quick oats) in a fish and vegetable "risotto"
bake some salmon with herbs, add salad or vegetables as per some of the above
If you want the benefits to stick, you have to be willing to change your lifestyle and your ideas. Its a simple rule: the less processing / preservation it has the better.
Enjoy
