Food ideas--need motivation

[Cruncholi]

Educated Crowd:

Normally I love to cook and am very creative and inventive in the kitchen. HOWEVER, I am in a terrible slump lately, don't feel like cooking, can't come up with new healthy ideas (even when I read Shape, Fitness, Prevention, Energy, Oxygen, and Cooking Light which are all packed with recipies). It just feels like too much of an effort lately. Especially the cleaning up the dishes part.

Has anybody else experienced this? If so, how did you resolve the problem? HELP!

I will offer this one healthy meal that I seem to make over and over again:

Sprinkle 2 quarter-pound salmon fillets with a mixture of chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper. Bake for 15 minutes on 375.

Serve over a bed of spinach leaves (raw or steamed) with a baked sweet potato or regular potato.

That's all I have to offer right now, but I'm desparately seeking new ideas on how to get out of this slump.

Thanks!
Linda aka Cruncholi

 

[michnola]

I am not sure if I can be of much help. My husband does all my dishes so I get to do the cooking part which I love and then sit on the sofa.

When I get in a cooking funk, I go to the library and check out about 5 healthy cookbooks and then just browse them for ideas while listening to music or watching TV. I almost always find something I want to try and something new helps break me out of the slump.

My simplest meal:
Tortilla pizzas - I buy whole-wheat low fat tortillas and use them as a crust for pizza. No red sauce, just crushed garlic and olive oil then some low-fat cheese. Then I load it up with veggies (red onion, green pepper, mushrooms, tomato slices).

Throw in the 375 oven until tortilla gets crispy. About 10 minutes.

Bonus - only cutting board and baking pan need to be cleaned afterward. Caution - can get fat heavy if you are not careful in what tortillas you buy and how much olive oil you use.

Michelle

 

[mogambo]

I don't know if you want to sink this low, but I hate to cook, so I do cook once or twice a week and the other days I eat Morningstar farms or Annie's frozen meals, or eggs and toast or Boca burgers.

 

[BayouGal]

Hi Linda,

This would be a more expensive option, but there are a couple of cookbooks that come to mind that I have that I use from time to time. The one thing that I will say is that I tend to do more "homestyle comfort cooking" for my family and try to lighten it up. I do find that since I have been trying to eat more mini-meals with more protein, I don't use these cookbooks as much. Holly Clegg has written a cookbook called "Trim and Terrific Favorites" that I just ordered from Amazon. I also have a pretty good cookbook called "Looneyspoons" (also from Amazon) that was written by two sisters (can't remember their names). It's a cute cookbook with funny names for the recipes. They also have lots of healthy eating tips in the margin of the book. Perhaps you could ask for these as holiday gifts.

I read all of the magazines that you mentioned. The only one that I did not see that I'm not sure is available in your area is one put out by "Taste of Home" called "Light & Tasty". They also put out a magazine called Quick Cooking, and I do a lot of recipes from this magazine, and try to use lighter ingredients, if applicable. Hope this helps some... Sandra

 

[jboyd]

I tend to be kind of a nut about finding new recipes to try.
I am not sure what your taste are or exactly what you are looking for. However, I would be happy to e-mail you some recipes that I have. I always type up one's that I like so that I can e-mail them to friends and family to try. If you are interested just let me know. My e-mail is [email protected].

 

[MsDee]

Shrimp Tortilla Soup

Here's one of our new favorites:
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Shrimp Tortilla Soup

1/2 c. chopped onion
1 [28 oz.] can of whole tomatoes, undrained and blended (use regular or hand blender) OR chopped or diced tomatoes
1/2 jalepeno pepper, seeds removed and diced finely
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1 can of fat free tomato soup
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of Green Giants Nibblets of corn, drained
1 tsp. dried cilantro
1 tsp. chili powder or ChiliQuik
1 [14 oz.] can of fat free vegetable broth
3 c. cooked shrimp
1 1/2 c. Kraft fat free shredded cheddar cheese
24 Baked Tostidos chips

Spray a stock pot with olive oil non-stick spray. Heat onions and garlic until translucent, about four-five minutes over low/medium heat. Add tomatoes, cumin, worcestershire sauce, tomato soup, garlic, corn, cilantro, chili powder, broth, and shrimp. Bring all to a boil then reduce heat cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

To serve pour one serving into a bowl sprinkle 3 T. of cheese on top and crumble 3 chips over the top.

Makes 8 servings.
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This is low fat and about 24 gr protein / carbs per serving but don't have exact amounts.

dee c.

 

[Cruncholi]

Thank you for the responses everyone! I am going to reveiw some of the cookbooks I currently have and try to lighten things up. I do have some light cookbooks, so I'll try those too. I wish DH did the dishes!

The Shrimp Tortilla Soup recipie looks awesome! And I will try the tortilla pizzas. Mogambo--I use Boca burgers regularly--that's not sinking low--it's a good way to get protein and soy. I have not seen "Taste of Home" magazine around here, but I will make a point to look next time. And Jboyd, I will e-mail you for some recipies.

Thank you!

Linda