I need new ideas for meals.....

Ok, I'm in a real rut. I've been subsiting on primarily ground beef, beans and cheese for dinner alot more than anyone should. It fits the bill for protein, carbs and fat, but it's getting a little boring. At work I've taken to eat a Chipotle Grill Burrito Bowl consisting of black beans, pulled pork, hot salsa and corn salsa and a little sour cream and cheese. I can stretch one of those for all four of my workday lunches for a little under $6 - but again, it's getting old. I need some ideas for cheap, easy workweek lunches and ideas for my perplexed wife who doesn't know where to start! I've tried chicken about 3 times so far, and with no tolerance for it yet. It seems that with chicken I can only eat about 1oz of it before getting "backed up" and coming down with the frothies. If it's ground chicken I'm fine, also if it's those formed chicken nuggets (anyone remember the Wendy's ads - "fused") I'm ok too. I think it's just the stringy consistancy of white meat chicken. Any ideas would be great!

I tend to take the easy way out for lunch and get frozen dinners. Usually I can get one to last me 2 days or I will eat half at lunch and half much later in the day and skip dinner. I love weigh****chers and lean cuisine they are really good but I do watch the nutrition info and keep it all on the lower side. I usually have a really small dinner during the week. I have had a grilled chicken from Burger King with out the bun and found it to be moist enough to let me eat it but most chicken doesn't agree with me. Other than that my dinner is like cottage cheese or a pudding cup or something really lite. My kids eat alot of pasta at the moment.

I live on turkey chili. Any kind of chili would do. I don't really have a recipe per se, its just a bunch of stuff I throw in a pot, but here goes: 1. Put a little olive oil in the pot and heat it up. Add one small onion chopped up and coo****il the onion gets "glassy" looking (hopefully this makes sense) then I throw in a big spoonful of chopped garlic (the fresh kind you buy in a jar) and cook for another minute. 2. Add 1 lb of ground turkey (just the lean, extra lean is a little too dry), cook thoroughly and then drain. Add back to pot. 3. Back on the range (medium-high heat) add 1 packet of McCormick Tex Mex chili seasoning, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of great northern beans (undrained) 4. Then I throw in a bunch of seasoning: oregano, basil, cilantro, black or white pepper, etc. 5. Wait for it to start bubbling, stirring occasionally. Once it bubbles, turn down the flame and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes. I add some cheese. My family loves this stuff. I have to hide it if I want enough to bring for lunch. It also lasts for a while without going bad. I also make homemade chicken parmesan, but you said that you're having trouble with chicken. The frozen dinners work well. I usually pick out the meat first and throw the rice, noodles, potatoes away. Good luck!

ooooh, I love turkey chili! I'm not much of a cook, so finding something my family will eat is pretty difficult. One place that i look to for recipies is Lowcarbfriends.com. I made thier chicken and brocolli bake, and it was delicious!!!! I heard there were also great recipies on biggestloser.com, but I think you have to become a member. OH should put a recipie forum on here, so that we can all swap our favorites..

Thanks for the ideas - keep em coming. There is a recipe forum on OH, but it's got all stages mixed together, and no nutritional contents usually come with the recipes. I'll try Lowcarbfriends.com - thanks for the link. Jeff

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/recipe/ There is one

Thanks Brandy, your the best!!!!!

Hi Jessica, I tried your turkey chili today....Yummy Thanks for sharing!!

Do you like fish?? I buy an already seasoned Tilapia at Wal-Mart. You can micorwave it or saute it. It goes down really good. I usually eat half of a small fillet and a little bit of veggies. I know what you mean about chicken. Same thing happens to me. Thigh meat goes down a little better.

I am starting to get a bit bored also. I started reading recipes over on www.bariatriceating.com They have all kinds of recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as desserts. I found a really good marinade/dressing for chicken called "Cheesy Fantastico". It is low in fat but packs a lot of flavor. This keeps the chicken very moist and helps it go down. I will cube this chicken with some red bell peppers, onions or whatever sounds good. I then top with skim milk mozzarella cheese. Low fat and very tasty. You can also take this combination and put it on a whole wheat bomboli slice-not the whole 8" and make a mini pizza that is also low in fat and has allowable carbs. My program allows whole wheat now, so I will take one slice of bread cut in half with some canned chicken or tuna or an egg to which I have added fat free mayonnaise and chopped veggies. This makes a quick lunch. I also take serving size portions of fresh fruit all ready to eat. Very satisfying. Hope this all helps. I just read labels like crazy and adjust accordingly. I also got some of the plastic containers at Walmart so I can make more than one batch and all I have to do is grab it, put it in the cooler with my water and go.