Evening Meals

Hi Everyone

I was just wondering what meals most of you have in the evenings...and do you make sure they add up to 600 calories??

Mel x

A good way of making sure you're getting the right amount of calories (and right amount of portions!) is to get a weight watchers, or supermarket own brand, slimmers meal. They are really nice too. Or you can have lean grilled meat and salad/veggies. I love having grilled chicken with a nice salad. But there is a lot of food out there that is low fat and low in carolies, not just the diet/light choice stuff. Sometime I'll have a soup and piece of bread for dinner too, that's always nice.

Hi again Mel

I agree with Stirky, if you want to make sure you're counting the calories spot on then get a ready meal. I like to have pasta some nights and I just weigh it out before I have it.. I usually have about 75g which is about 270 cals. Then I add green beans and chopped up tomatos and sprinkle a little cheese on top. It comes to about 350 cals (i dont bother counting the veg) and so then I can have a little dessert after it (yoghurt or Weight Watchers frozen treats ) Sounds really plain, but actually does taste nice!

I also like having 'normal' foods too.. you can do as long as you have smaller poritons. Like I'll have half a pizza and some potato wedges. As long as you weigh out EVERYTHING you'll be able to keep perfect track. The pizza I get from tesco is 400 cals for a half and then I have 100g of mccains potato wedges which is 150 cals. And then I just fill up my plate with salad and have maybe a tablespoon of extra light mayo.

Another idea is to have tinned cans of macaroni or ravioli.. its much cheaper than buying ready meals (which I find extremely expensive) and I'll have again McCains wedges or curly fries on the side with a little salad.

You don't have to have up to the max 600 cals every night, you can save the calories for later in the evening for a little snack or not bother having them at all if you're not hungry.

Hope that helped - if you need anymore meal ideas just give me a shout

hi hun, must say i'm lazy to the core which is why i chose sf in the first place he he. i've got 3 kids, 2 will eat the same, the other has decided she's going veggie and then my hubby and then me so after cooking for all them i buy tesco or ww ready meals and bulk them out with salad or veg. i make certain its up to the full 600 cals though so i don't pick later. when i get to my target weight then i will have to think about more homecooking but till then.....

Thanks for the replies.
I am not a big fan of ready meals, I prefer to cook as much as possible and also have 3 children...well one is only 10wks old. The baby is the reason I have chosen to do SF as I am not finding time to make healthy meals throughout the day. I also prefer to cook for the rest of us in one go, I can't be bothered making all different meals.

I made us all spaghetti bolognese tonight, but didn't bother to add up the calories.....saying that, it was only mince, veg, passata, pasta, and a ton of herbs etc......so couldn't be too many!! I suppose I should start working out how many calories are in the meals, if I write it down then I can make the lower calorie meals more often than the ones with more calories?

Mel x

Hey Redmel,

It is a really good idea to write down how many calories are in the meals you are eating and then you can look back and see what has 600cals in. What i do is if i have had an extra snack during the day then i have a 500cal dinner but if i have one less snack i have a 700cal dinner. Or if i know the dinner i will be having is 700cals then i will have a less snack during the day, and verse visa.

I too am lazy and cook for convenience, i just bung some spicy chicken/fish portion and chips in the oven, also i am so impatient i have a bath whilst i wait the 25-30mins for it to cook lol.

Goodluck and keep me posted,

MrsMe xXx

i lost a lot of weight last time i used sf. Hence why i've decided to start again lol. And i always used to have weight watcher / slimming meals with a slice of bread (also counted). Also beans on toast and big soups. The last time i tried to do sf i cooked the meals myself but didn't get the results because i found i couldn't count the cals the same way. So take 3 and i'm back to basics. I've decided that i'm going to cool for the family but have a calcounted meal myself. It does work though so is worth it. I lost 5st last time after having my daughter and got into my size 8's very quickly and kept it off until i got pregnant again. After my son I tried other healthy eating diets because i didn't think it was that heathy to do again long term, but i just haven't gotten the results.

Thanks for all your views, very interesting.

I think I will try to cook us all the same for the first couple of weeks, but if I don't see great results I will try making myself something different and will even get some ready meals in - if that's what it takes

Mel x

I have a piece of paper stuck to the side of the fridge (round the corner, out of view of parents & visitors) and on that I jot things down.

Spaghetti - read the packet and some of them say 70g = XXcals but didn't know if that was cooked or uncooked, then found another packet that said 70g uncooked = roughly XXg cooked so I wrote that down on the list, same for macaroni, baked potato, over chips etc etc.

That way I have a "quick guide" as to how much I can have of the "staples"

I can then just work out roughly in my head what's what - when I buy my mince in from Tesco I buy in a big pack and split it into 2 or 3 portions and I have that noted down as well. Then I just 1/4 that amount for me - DH usually has bigger portion than me or the kids but if I 1/4 it then I can't be going wrong and same for any sauces / cheese sauce / etc etc.

May not be "exact" but I want to eat the same as the family and don't like ready meals all the time as they, for me, are a waste of money and if Im cooking for everyone else (we all eat the same) then why should I miss out.

M
xx

MandyJ72 said:

I have a piece of paper stuck to the side of the fridge (round the corner, out of view of parents & visitors) and on that I jot things down.

Spaghetti - read the packet and some of them say 70g = XXcals but didn't know if that was cooked or uncooked, then found another packet that said 70g uncooked = roughly XXg cooked so I wrote that down on the list, same for macaroni, baked potato, over chips etc etc.

That way I have a "quick guide" as to how much I can have of the "staples"

I can then just work out roughly in my head what's what - when I buy my mince in from Tesco I buy in a big pack and split it into 2 or 3 portions and I have that noted down as well. Then I just 1/4 that amount for me - DH usually has bigger portion than me or the kids but if I 1/4 it then I can't be going wrong and same for any sauces / cheese sauce / etc etc.

May not be "exact" but I want to eat the same as the family and don't like ready meals all the time as they, for me, are a waste of money and if Im cooking for everyone else (we all eat the same) then why should I miss out.

M
xx

Click to expand...

This sounds like a good plan, I don't really want it on view, but need it handy so I can just grab it and check while I am cooking.

I do the same with mince...most recipes say 500g for 4 servings! Well I always split it in half so am only using 250g for 4 servings. I have been known to split it into thirds, because I always bulk out the meals with loads of veg/lentils anyway.

I will stick with the plan of eating the same meals as the family first and hopefully it will work out ok

Mel x

RedMel - stick it on the inside of a cupboard door next to where you cook - like the cupboard that has your pasta / cooking sauces etc in it - on at eye level that you would go into when cooking, then no-one else will see it and it's handy as well.

M
xx

I've been waffling on about this on the calorie counting thread (I usually lurk round there but because I also sneak in a few slimfast products I've been lurking here for some time too...), but I love the BBC good food site (Recipes - 5000 tried and tested recipes... - BBC Good Food) because all the recipes are calorie counted and you can sort by calorie count too. I'm working my way through the soups at the moment...

Thanks for that fatgirlslim.....I will definately have a look at that site later

Mel x

Can you have any meal that is 600 cal, as my mum is just starting this.

Hey,

That is a good idea, i do it for each meal rather than servings as we pretty much have the same each week anyways.

I don't know for sure if you can eat whatever as long as it's under 600cals but i do that anyway. Same with snacks i jsut eat anything as long as i keep under my 300cals perday allowance. was just naughty and have already eaten half that on a few squares of choccy :sigh:.

Good luck everyone and keep me posted

MrsMe xXx

As for calorie allowance with meals and snacks, yes obviously low fat (3-4% and under) is best, but as long as you stay within your calorie allowance you'll do fine. I sometimes have a cereal bar for a snack, as as low fat as most other things, but 92 cals so fits into plan fine. I always do try and stick with low fat things, but I don't think it's necessary all the time as long as it's not really high in fat that is.

Hi redmel

I'm lazy when it comes to counting calories etc which is why I chose to do slimfast To make my life easier, today I have done some batch cooking. I have made chilli and rice, spag bol, lasagne and salmon and broccoli bake and worked out every calorie in each dish.I have then split each dish into 500 calorie portions (ie the chilli and rice added upto 3300 cals so I split it into 6 portions with a small portion left for DS) so that I can then add 100 cals worth of side dish and froze them. Same principle with ease of a ready meal but homemade full of good stuff and the right calories I need for the diet!