lasagne or foods with leftovers

Well here's my problem.

I grew up in a family that's a meat and potatoes, lasagne, spaghetti, fill the fridge and freezer with every meal family.

I've had colitis almost 2 years now and have slowly been learning to cook other meals - fish, chicken, veggies etc.

I don't mind eating these things, but I hate that it's another meal to cook everyday.

When I first moved on my own, my mom taught me the survivals. Here's how to cook 3 or 4 BIG meals and here are some containers to freeze them. Needless to say, I love lasagne, spaghetti, macaroni casserol, turkey dinners, stews, chili, pizza or hearty soups.

I find that I am not "supposed to" or "can't" eat some of this now, or at least not as often.

I have substituted ground turkey for beef in my pasta, and even rice pasta on occasion when I'm feeling less good.

My question really is - do you guys still eat that stuff? Any good gut friendly recipes to stock the cupboards. I like big meals and I want to eat big meals, but I don't want to kill myself in the process. I also don't want to cook 14 meals a week. Just 3 or 4 with leftovers would be awesome!

Wintertime is coming...it's time for warm hearty foods - Anyone care to share their favorites?

 

It sounds like you're on the right track already-- because you started to adjust/substitute known favorites with healthier ingredients. In cold weather you can always cook sauces ahead of time to freeze & then make whatever pasta, rice, or potato agrees with you to use them with. You can bake skinless chicken parts with root veggies like parsnips & carrots, or cod fillets with dill & paprika-- if those have leftovers you can easily figure out how to use them for second meals. Also in winter you can slow-cook split peas or beans and puree them in a blender, then use them alone or as a base for multi-ingredient soups that make a quick supper. As Kops2 says in her post, a lot depends on your own body's tolerance of specific foods & the amount you can eat comfortably at mealtime. / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)

Pushingforward said...

My question really is - do you guys still eat that stuff? Any good gut friendly recipes to stock the cupboards. I like big meals and I want to eat big meals, but I don't want to kill myself in the process. I also don't want to cook 14 meals a week. Just 3 or 4 with leftovers would be awesome!

Yes. Most of my meals are vegetarian. When I do eat meat, it's organic chicken or wild salmon.

I know how you feel about cooking. I too have practically no time to cook. I make a pot of Chai, which lasts me a few days. Peets sells really good Chai. It comes in a small tin can and makes quite a few pots.

I'm now in the process of switching from cane sugar to Stevia. So I'm drinking my tea with some Stevia sprinkled in instead of the teaspoon of cane sugar I usually put in it. The first time I did that, I thought it was horrible. So I added less Stevia. I'm starting to get used to it.

I also eat cashew nuts, bananas with sunflower seed butter, carrot sticks, orange slices, and the healthy rice cakes that Whole foods sells. It doesn't take any time to eat raw.

I buy mostly organic frozen food and organic whole-wheat bread. I buy frozen salmon cakes and make toasted sandwiches with them. I make them with a little bit of herb butter, because many of the good oils are only good at room temperature. They turn into bad fat at high temperatures. I also buy a lot of frozen vegetable dishes, especially frozen spinach, pot sticker, and sweet potato dishes.

And then I drink plenty of water.

I rarely eat red meat, white potatoes, or lasagna. I do eat spaghetti, but it's just noodles with a bit of herb butter and salt added. No tomato sauce. No cheese.

If you do have a bit of time to cook something big with leftovers, have you tried making chicken soup--boiling a chicken with herbs and adding noodles or rice?

Post Edited (subdued) : 10/12/2010 11:00:43 PM (GMT-6)

I personally have started the Specific Carb Diet. I cant eat all that stuff you mentioned. Thats what scd's shown me. I cant tolerate beef very well. I cannot eat rice, potatoes (bc they are too filling at the expense of everything else), no pasta for same reasons. I also grew up on those kinds of foods, but UC has really made me have to reevaluate my lifestyle and diet and Im just now in the process of changing habits of a lifetime. Thats what it came to for me. My mom taught me how to bake the most delicious cookies, brownies, cakes, breads, cheesecakes, lasagna, burgers, etc. All that and now as an adult I cant eat most of it. I do cook that stuff for my kids, along with curries and other stuff that is from their dad's british/west indian/jamaican side. I just leave out the starch and rice.... and eat a lot less of it then I used to, lol. Im finding that I dont do so well with big meals either, so I pick at simple stuff all day. The problem for me tho is that I have to cook a lot of stuff from scratch, so Im cooking a LOT. I cant do convenience foods. For my family, maybe, but me, no way. I do try to big pots of soup and live off that all week, but I get bored with it easily... having been spoiled with all that yummy stuff my mom used to make!! But I have to do it!

question- are you cooking just for yourself or your family? i was confused.  If for a family, what i do is if i am making a dinner for the family that i cant eat, i just broil up a piece of salmon, it takes a few minutes and is so easy, and i eat a big salad.

as far as foods to eat, well, i've had uc for 19 years and its only been the last 2 years that i have changed my diet becasue of things bothering me.  Find out  what bothers YOU and then avoid those foods.  i had to give up coffee but others can drink it no problems. 

pick one or two meals you know you are ok with, and make them in bulk, and then keep experimenting with your other favorite dishes

Organic pasture fed meat and chicken are high in the good omega 3 that are used to fight inflamation. I tend to be on the vegatarian side but will occasionally eat that kind of meat-warning it is expensive andhard to find.

Although I am single and only cook for myself, my eating habits have definitely changed over this year as I finally realized (or perhaps got tired of the pain) that dairy will no longer be a part of my life. I love to cook and this ingredient is in many of my favorite recipes. I also am supposed to be following a low-fiber diet.

My recommendation is not an advertisement as I have no affiliation with this website, but I have found so many wonderful recipes on www.food.com They have search features where you can look for recipes that are specifically "free of" certain ingredients. For instance, last week, I wanted to prepare an appetizer that I was taking to my parents house for a family dinner. While I wanted it to be delicious, I also wanted it dairy free.

So I opened the "recipe sifter" on the home page, chose my course...appetizers, chose 'diet' and then 'dairy free'. When the thousands of recipes came up, I sorted by 'most popular' and was able to look through the most favorite recipes that bore all these qualities.

I saw a recipe for sausage balls (the kind with ground pork sausage, bisquick and shredded cheese). I remembered how much I loved these, so I made them with veggie shreds for the cheddar cheese. I thought they were quite tasty!

Here's a marinade I love to use with salmon:

salmon filets
1 & 2/3 TBS olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 & 2/3 TBS ketchup
3/4 cup honey
2-3 garlic cloves, minced (I love garlic and put like 4-5)
salt and pepper

Mix ingredients together with a whisk. Put salmon filets in baking pan. Pour marinade over and let sit in frig for no longer than 30 minutes. Bake in oven for 375 degrees until fish flakes easily with a fork. Time depends on how many filets you are cooking at once. Serve with sauce.

I try to eat a varied diet. I find I can eat almost anything as long as it's in moderation and not a number of days in a row. I would suffer a bit, for instance, eating spaghetti one night followed by lasagna the next and pizza the following - too much tomato, cheese, whatever. So I try to intersperse those things with meals of chicken or... well, we do eat a lot of chicken. I do a "chicken teriyaki" the family likes a lot, it's a standard, easy meal for us. I also like to skin a whole chicken and put it in the crockpot. It becomes fall-apart tender with lovely broth and lasts a few nights - I do something different with it the subsequent nights.

Recipe for my "Chicken teriyaki" - boneless breasts, cut cross-wise thin into smallish pieces. Saute in a little olive oil, and add sauce - soy sauce and water (and sometimes a bit of orange juice) with some sugar and ginger, thickened with a little cornstarch - add that to the chicken after it's cooked, cook till the sauce thickens, serve with rice. Sometimes I cook broccoli separately and sometimes I saute it in the same pan after the chicken is cooked through (basically I'm stir-frying...)

I do fine with beef, the more tender, the better.

I ended up eating lasagna twice yesterday - it was served at a meeting I attended, and there was so much leftover I took some home for dinner - the result was I pooped an extra time this morning, but, ho well. But now I'll stay away from "tomato-based Italian" for a few days. So... I'd do fine with all the things you mentioned in the original post, but I'd stick a few light chicken or fish and rice meals in between.

Thanks everyone - all had some good ideas and I'm sure to give some a try.

Songlady, you think EXACTLY the same way I do in regards to eating foods 2 or 3 days in a row. I almost try to follow that to a tee.

MyUC - I love spicy foods. Before UC, there was nothing better than a good eat and sweat pouring down my face. I still add spices to my food as they help the taste, and I still believe there are health benefits to hot peppers...just not when flaring as it can be a painful ending. I actually have tried some indian food and really liked what I tried....somosas ring a bell?