i eat well but am struggling with diet boredom and expense!

handsomecake

hi guys

basically i noted some of your diet tips in the sticky and got tips off other sites etc and ive been eating reasonably well since.

I DONT EAT ANY
bread, pastries,chocolate ,alchohol,potatos ,rice,crisps ,sweets etc.
i only drink water and pure orange juice which i mix with creatine and whey.

i drink tea with no milk.

I DO EAT
tuna
chicken
salmon
almonds
raspberries
salad
eggs
all fish
turkey
red meat
most fruits
cottage cheese before bed


my problem is two fold
A: im finding it very expensive to sustain this,raspberries are 3.99 for a 500 gram punnet and i spent 40 euro on raspberries last week( its outrageous) and im still hungry!! i bought ten punnets over the week because while the missus is eating in front of the telly i am eating fruit etc.
B:im getting bored with trying to eat the foods mentioned above.i think ive gone overboard with the diet thing.i consider all sauces evil and trust no pre packed processed food.my dinners are tasteless and im running out of ideas. does any one have any cheap or other healthy options to add.

maybe we should have a thread with good brands etc(or is that forbidden?)

Birdsong

OP, when people say healthy eating is expeniseive it always gets me going !

I think you need to get know food better, learn to eat whats in season, you mention raspberries, they are not in season now hense the expense ( and won't be till July) they also are bland because they have come half way round the world . If you eat a lot of fruit, rubabarb is in season now, just stew some rubarb ( with a little sugar if you need) and have this for your snack. Maybe consider frozen fruit. I often have stewed apple and mixed berries for my work break and its delish.

Same thing with vegetables, they are much cheaper when in season. Aubergines shipped half way round the world, your payying for that. I would reccommed going to your local farmers market, even if you don't buy as sometimes they are organic and can be expensive it will give you an idea.

For meat, it is much cheaper to cook full joints, I got a chicken on Monday and roast it, and had meals for 4 days with stock in the freezer for soup now. its just a bit of organisation

handsomecake

Birdsong wrote: »

OP, when people say healthy eating is expeniseive it always gets me going !

I think you need to get know food better, learn to eat whats in season, you mention raspberries, they are not in season now hense the expense ( and won't be till July) they also are bland because they have come half way round the world . If you eat a lot of fruit, rubabarb is in season now, just stew some rubarb ( with a little sugar if you need) and have this for your snack. Maybe consider frozen fruit. I often have stewed apple and mixed berries for my work break and its delish.

Same thing with vegetables, they are much cheaper when in season. Aubergines shipped half way round the world, your payying for that. I would reccommed going to your local farmers market, even if you don't buy as sometimes they are organic and can be expensive it will give you an idea.

For meat, it is much cheaper to cook full joints, I got a chicken on Monday and roast it, and had meals for 4 days with stock in the freezer for soup now. its just a bit of organisation

thanks for the info much appreciated

brianthebard

Great post by Birdsong. Just to add you don't have to be so suspicious of sauces and condiments, there are sauces/spices that you can use that don't have too much additives, or just get a recipe book for some ideas, if you make a roast you can easily make some gravy from it afterwards, or stew, etc.

handsomecake

brianthebard wrote: »

Great post by Birdsong. Just to add you don't have to be so suspicious of sauces and condiments, there are sauces/spices that you can use that don't have too much additives, or just get a recipe book for some ideas, if you make a roast you can easily make some gravy from it afterwards, or stew, etc.

while i understand your point about the roasts etc,these are not conducive to my lifestyle/situation.i dont have time to make a roast and it would be wasted seen as i only live with one person.

handsomecake

brianthebard wrote: »

Great post by Birdsong. Just to add you don't have to be so suspicious of sauces and condiments, there are sauces/spices that you can use that don't have too much additives, or just get a recipe book for some ideas, if you make a roast you can easily make some gravy from it afterwards, or stew, etc.

goodfella's massive on meat deep pan pizza 3.69 euro
two tuna steaks from supervalue 8 euro.
healthy eating is dearer to be fair

d'Oracle

handsomecake wrote: »

goodfella's massive on meat deep pan pizza 3.69 euro
two tuna steaks from supervalue 8 euro.
healthy eating is dearer to be fair

Thats a fairly poor comparison, dude.

I mean Tuna is a massively over fished fish and probably at the premium end.
Where as goodfellas pizzas are fairly low end produced en masse with lower costs.

Its a bit apples and oranges.

Further, you reasons for ruling out roasts are a bit crap. Are you really never home for more than 3 hours?
Fair enough if you are, but a roast keeps for a couple of days and can make dinner one day and lunch on the next.

iceage

have you tryed tinned tuna maybe, in brine but well drained.

brianthebard

handsomecake wrote: »

while i understand your point about the roasts etc,these are not conducive to my lifestyle/situation.i dont have time to make a roast and it would be wasted seen as i only live with one person.

Unless you are working so much that you go to work as soon as you get up and go to bed as soon as you get home you have time to make a roast, you just buy some meat (preferably the meat on special), put it in a roasting tin and then get it out of the oven in two-three hours. Its not complicated.

handsomecake wrote: »

goodfella's massive on meat deep pan pizza 3.69 euro
two tuna steaks from supervalue 8 euro.
healthy eating is dearer to be fair

Why eat tuna steak so? And why get it from supervalu instead of aldi/lidl or somewhere else? Have you looked at buying in bulk? If something is too expensive then you simply find an alternative, don't keep buying it.

Todd Gack

I agree with the OP and have a similar problem. Eating healthier is certainly more expensive, worth it but pricier. Processed food alternatives are nearly always cheaper.

Even if the OP did cook a roast and have it 3/4 days in a row it wouldn't appease the boredom he's struggling with. Fresh food always tastes better too. Defrosted food loses a lot of its flavour.

Perhaps the OP likes tuna steak, I have found it to be cheaper than tesco, €4-5 for 2. The likes of Aldi/Lidl aren't always feasible if they're not convenient especially if one doesn't drive.

Berries in general do tend to be a shocking price. Blueberries are abot €4 for a 225g (i think) punnet. Seasonal produce is worth it but when you want a bit of variety there is a huge amount of fruit and veg that doesn't grow in Ireland so it'll always be imported.

I too would be interested in hearing options for healthy sauces etc. to liven food up. I enjoy my food and i'd like it to be healthy, no reason it shouldn't be.

handsomecake

d'Oracle wrote: »

Thats a fairly poor comparison, dude.

I mean Tuna is a massively over fished fish and probably at the premium end.
Where as goodfellas pizzas are fairly low end produced en masse with lower costs.

Its a bit apples and oranges.

Further, you reasons for ruling out roasts are a bit crap. Are you really never home for more than 3 hours?
Fair enough if you are, but a roast keeps for a couple of days and can make dinner one day and lunch on the next.

i do 12 hour night shifts and sleep in the day time.i have a 1 hr minimum commute from the house to work and back in the morning.thats 14 hours.plus 8 hours in the bed.thats 22 hours.
that leaves me with two hours to shop ,wash,cook,get ready for work,converse with herself etc.
im not trying to be a smart arse,i agree that on my days off i can now explore the roast option but its a non runner on the days im in work. i do be absolutely mangled tired.

as for the apples and oranges comment,they are essentially both dinners.thats my point .the pizza would have been my dinner of choice pre-january.now i eat the tuna steaks with salad.dont get me wrong the diet works,im just finding the options are getting bland and im running out of variants. just looking for other fitness benefitting foods......not a lecture

handsomecake

brianthebard wrote: »

Unless you are working so much that you go to work as soon as you get up and go to bed as soon as you get home you have time to make a roast, you just buy some meat (preferably the meat on special), put it in a roasting tin and then get it out of the oven in two-three hours. Its not complicated.



Why eat tuna steak so? And why get it from supervalu instead of aldi/lidl or somewhere else? Have you looked at buying in bulk? If something is too expensive then you simply find an alternative, don't keep buying it.

i eat tuna steak because everyone on here bangs on about how protein rich it is,as opposed to eating a black forest gateaux for instance.i also eat it because(also from the rhetoric on fitness forums) it is healthier then canned tuna.




on the aldi/lidl subject. i dont want to come accross as patronising/arrogant/etc but i wont buy perishables.meat fruit etc from lidl/aldi.i never have,i never will.my uncle is a regional manager for them in england by the way so i dont hold a grudge.im a recognised brand man myself.i buy my dishwashertabs washing powder toothpaste there etc but i wont buy food.thats for another discussion though!!! thanks for the advice so far.i will take it on board

brianthebard

handsomecake wrote: »

i eat tuna steak because everyone on here bangs on about how protein rich it is,as opposed to eating a black forest gateaux for instance.i also eat it because(also from the rhetoric on fitness forums) it is healthier then canned tuna.

I don't know anyone who said that before? I've seen steak tinned advised above chunks though. Tuna is tuna imo though and its going to have the same positives/negatives protein/'health' wise no matter what form it comes in. Have a look at the fitness recipes thread for ideas on sauces.

Red Cortina

Todd Gack wrote: »

I too would be interested in hearing options for healthy sauces etc. to liven food up. I enjoy my food and i'd like it to be healthy, no reason it shouldn't be.

I dress my salads with a mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice and think it is quite tasty! Also last week I roasted some veg which I had coated in olive oil + salt/pepper and that was nice too:)

Todd Gack

Red Cortina wrote: »

I dress my salads with a mixture of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice and think it is quite tasty! Also last week I roasted some veg which I had coated in olive oil + salt/pepper and that was nice too:)

Cheers for the tips, I always splash some balsamic and lemon juice on salad and you're right, it is really nice. Don't roast veg all that often but when i do I like a liberal amount of salt, pepper and herbs.

For stir frys and the like I use tamari but i'd like to branch it out a bit, ie use healthier alternatives to the types of sauce you'd come across in a chinese. Salmon i usually just add a dash of lemon juice and chicken a mixture of spices.

twedledee

I know what you mean about the food getting bland.

I did a stir fry recently with chicken, mushrooms, sugarsnap peas and courgette and just added a splash of soy the flavour was very good, mostly from the mushrooms.

Roast veg is always a winner with me and surprisingly with my non healthy eating hubby.

Just try experimenting with the more flavoursome veg sweet potato is always good to roast (chopped up) and adds good flavour to a dish while still being healthy.

d'Oracle

handsomecake wrote: »

i do 12 hour night shifts and sleep in the day time.i have a 1 hr minimum commute from the house to work and back in the morning.thats 14 hours.plus 8 hours in the bed.thats 22 hours.
that leaves me with two hours to shop ,wash,cook,get ready for work,converse with herself etc.
im not trying to be a smart arse,i agree that on my days off i can now explore the roast option but its a non runner on the days im in work. i do be absolutely mangled tired.

as for the apples and oranges comment,they are essentially both dinners.thats my point .the pizza would have been my dinner of choice pre-january.now i eat the tuna steaks with salad.dont get me wrong the diet works,im just finding the options are getting bland and im running out of variants. just looking for other fitness benefitting foods......not a lecture

Sorry dude, I didn't mean that to come off like a lecture.

You could look into a pressure cooker, It reduces cooking times for stewing meats (often cheaper) massively. I can do a stew which takes 1.5-2 hours in 20-30 min. I wouldn't be without one.

Töpher

handsomecake wrote: »

hi guys
A: im finding it very expensive to sustain this,raspberries are 3.99 for a 500 gram punnet and i spent 40 euro on raspberries last week( its outrageous) and im still hungry!! i bought ten punnets over the week because while the missus is eating in front of the telly i am eating fruit etc.

At the moment Tesco (in Tallaght, anyways) are doing 2x400g frozen raspberries for €4, might be of some use.

PeakOutput

hey op

dont know were you live but assuming its a population center

then

buy your fruit and veg and eggs in aldi or lidl, you can get milk here too

go to a butcher for your meat(some butchers will have fish too)

and only get your sauces in superquinn if you have to and other things that vary in quality like cheese etc

then sit back and watch your shopping bill half

edit; also the butcher can offer advice on cooking ideas

RobAMerc

hey OP,

Just a note that Parsnips, Butternut Squash and Carrots are fantastic done in the oven if you sprinkle them in a bit of balsamic first, it really brings the flavor out. Celery is incredibly tasty too, but not for everyone.

Another trick we found is mashed boiled cauliflower, maybe with a touch of cream and even some cinnamon.

I often peel chop and sprinkle them, throw them in with a few lamb or lean pork chops and in they go for 25 mins or so while I shower etc on return from work.

5 mins prep - relatively cheap and really tasty.

sfag31

Meat has never been cheaper. Large quality chicken breasts are now €2 each from my local butcher. Liver is cheap too.

Vary your fish – hot smoked salmon & trout in various flavours – packeted and ready to eat. – Buy in Lidl. Absolutely delicious.

Add udos or flax oil (expensive but lasts ages) plus salt on veg – it adds a lot of taste.
Buy unflavoured bulk whey, separate flavouring, and fine ground oats from myprotein.co.uk – very cheap. Full breakfast in a couple of gulps.

seeing_ie

d'Oracle wrote: »

Sorry dude, I didn't mean that to come off like a lecture.

You could look into a pressure cooker, It reduces cooking times for stewing meats (often cheaper) massively. I can do a stew which takes 1.5-2 hours in 20-30 min. I wouldn't be without one.

Big +1 on the pressure cooker, it really reduces cooking times for the likes of chick peas.
I cooked a full chicken in mine recently (with veg, olive oil, herbs, garlic, onions, pepper, tin chopped tomatoes) in about 30 mins - after taking the meat off the chicken I put almost everything else in the blender and had loads of soup.

Mellor

sfag31 wrote: »

Meat has never been cheaper. Large quality chicken breasts are now €2 each from my local butcher. Liver is cheap too.

Vary your fish – hot smoked salmon & trout in various flavours – packeted and ready to eat. – Buy in Lidl. Absolutely delicious.

Add udos or flax oil (expensive but lasts ages) plus salt on veg – it adds a lot of taste.
Buy unflavoured bulk whey, separate flavouring, and fine ground oats from myprotein.co.uk – very cheap. Full breakfast in a couple of gulps.

Why are you shouting?

sfag31

Mellor wrote: »

Why are you shouting?

I'm not.
Isn't shouting in forums the use of CAPS.?
My copy n paste made the letters bigger but they not caps.

ash2008

Hi Op,

i agree with you in that i think you have gone too overboard. So many diets fail cos people give themselves too many restrictions which they cant possibly keep up. If you think of your new eating plan as being for life rather than a diet it might help.

firstly, dont rule out sauces. You need to give some flavour to your food. Just be smart about which sauces you do buy eg - stick to tomato based sauces rather than cream or cheese ones. Stock up on some chinese sauces like hoisin, black bean, chilli and garlic sauce - with chinese food you dont have to have the dish swimming in sauce like it often comes from the takeaway, just a tablespoon will do. Also, get some soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil. (i know you might think its expensive to stock up on all this stuff, but they will last for ages).
You then have lots of ingredients to make a wide variety of different dishes, all you need to get is veg and some meat (or fish or tofu).

here is a list of different stir-fry recipes. Ive tried some and they're yummy
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/search.do?keywords=stir-fry

There's nothing wrong with canned fish like tuna, salmon, sardines. Theyre cheap and easy. Get some beans - baked beans for a quick snack, kidney beans to make a chilli, add chickpeas or lentils to curries...that bbc site with all the stir-fries has tons of great recipes for everything - look around. You dont have to always have meat, have a couple of veggie days to save money.

As for berries, as good as they are i dont buy them either cos they are too damn expensive like you said. You could get a carton of smoothie for that price and get even more fruit into you.
For snacks, get a tub of natural yoghurt and sprinkle over some seeds/nuts and honey (i know people might say honey isnt great, but hey if most of your diet is good...)
Get some apples, quarter them and spread on some peanut butter - very filling. (peanut butter also keeps the gi down)

I think from your list, you need to start eating more veg - doesnt have all the sugar fruit does and theyre cheap.