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Good Day fellow Divorced Dudes!  As you all may have read in my last post I have been making an effort to bring my weight down and get in better shape (or maybe just a DIFFERENT shape – like something other than an apple would be nice) Anyway; in keeping with that effort I’ve been looking at meals that I can prepare that are relatively cheap, low in fat and quick to prepare.  I’m going to focus on low fat since you have to start somewhere and it just seems to make sense that if you eat less of it you’ll have less to carry.  If you listen to the health gurus they will tell you at one time or another that you can’t eat food with fat, sodium or carbohydrates . . . from reading labels this eliminates just darn near everything other than raw cabbage and boiled beans; a diet of which creates a whole NEW set of problems (primarily social and gastro-intestinal in nature).  Soooo I thought I’d just start with eliminating the fat.

Baked Chicken Breast W/ Mixed Veggies:

Most stores sell boneless, skinless frozen chicken breasts for about 7 – 8 dollars a bag which contains enough meat for three or four meals.  Put one or two of these breasts on a cookie sheet or other baking dish (grease the pan first with a spay oil like PAM – I like the olive oil spray).  sprinkle on your favorite seasoning (BBQ rub, Italian, Caribbean Jerk . . . just watch the salt content) I usually spray them lightly with the olive oil spray since it helps to keep the meat juicy and holds the seasoning on better.  Bake at about 350 for 15 – 20 minutes or until done.  I like to buy the frozen veggies since they taste better than canned.  Fresh are better especially if you steam them but that takes quite a lot more time so I’m going with frozen here.  Just measure the amount of veggies you want, nuke ‘em in the microwave (better steamed but again I’m going for time here as well) and there you go – a good, filling, dinner that is relatively low in fat and doesn’t take long to cook.

Chicken-N-Rice:

This is a recipe for the rice cooker that I reviewed a while back ( http://dudesndivorce.com/2009/06/27/review-of-the-black-decker-rc3406-rice-cooker-and-two-easy-recipes/ ) Once again start out with one of the frozen chicken breasts mentioned above.  Thaw it out completely in the microwave and cut it up into cubes about the size of  one die from a pair of dice.  Nuke those so that they are almost done  (about a minute or so in most microwaves). Put the water and rice in your rice cooker as you normally would for one serving but add about an extra half cup of water.  Throw in a cup of frozen mixed veggies (whatever kind sounds good to you) add the chicken and set the cooker to cooking!  When it’s done – your done and ready to eat.  (this is a meal that is easy to take to work for lunch also).

Grilled Hamburger w/ Corn on the Cob:

No – this isn’t a cruel joke!   Just have to make some adjustments.  First you have to buy the really lean hamburger (90/10 or better) this is a lot more expensive but the overall cost of the meal isn’t bad.  Now lean hamburger isn’t quite a flavorful as the fattier stuff so before you patt it into pattys you need to mix in some seasonings (I mentioned some above) and maybe some A1 Sauce.  Grill as you normally would and dress your bun with condiments that are lower in fat (i.e. no mayo or cheese) a slice of tomato, dill pickle, mustard, ketchup are all fine.  Now on to the corn.  The trick here is to find young, tender ears of the super-sweet varieties.  Boil them as you normally would (I know – not very quick – but easy!)  When they are done eat them withOUT the butter and tons of salt that you might normally use.  I know, I know – shocking suggestion!  It is an adjustment that your taste buds take some time to adjust to, but what you may find is that with a good ear of corn you actually get MORE flavor  without all the butter and salt – you can actually taste the corn.  Try it and you might be pleasantly surprised.  I realize this entry isn’t real quick to prepare but I thought it was good to mention and since you don’t have all the pans to wash it can save enough time on cleanup to make the overall meal fairly reasonable on time requirements.

Sub Sandwich:

A sub is pretty easy and quick to build and very easy to take to lunch or on the go.  If you use lean meats, hold off on the cheese (or if you have to use cheese use white cheese such as mozzarella) and mayo or salad dressing you should be able to build a respectable Dagwood that won’t choke your arteries with fat.  For those of you watching your carbs they make a flatbread (I think it’s called Flat-Out) that is very low in carbs AND fat – and a wrap isn’t too different than a sub. The danger with these of course is that you want to eat them with chips and chips are loaded with fat.  Look at maybe pretzels, nuts or grapes instead of the chips.  No real recipe here as every man knows at an instinctual and genetic level how to build an uber-sandwich – just the above guidelines to make it a bit healthier.  As far as expense this is one where the cost per sandwich isn’t too bad and if you are taking them to work rather than eating out you are going to be saving a lot of money in the long run.

OK – well there are a few meals that shouldn’t break the bank, are relatively quick and easy to make and are low in fat.  As I mentioned above the salt and carbs are another matter but that is up to you to decide how you want to approach your dieting.  Hope you found something of help and good luck on the diet!

Be Well

Bill

Men, I don’t know about you, but for me there are three great sides for most any meal:  Potatoes, Stuffing and RICE.  Of these three rice is probably a bit healthier and I’ll venture to say a bit more versatile.  You can eat it plain or with any of a broad selection of vegetables mixed in (at the end of this post I’ll include a couple easy recipes).  There are also several different varieties available.  The one disadvantage of rice is that – unless you use an instant rice – it’s a bit harder to cook. 

Enter the Rice Cooker!  I’ve had two or three cookers now over the years and this little number – the Black & Decker RC3406 – is hands down the best deal for the money.  I’ve owned it for two years now and probably average at least one batch of rice a week . . . all without problems.  It’s a small cooker intended for one to two people which makes it just the right size for the single divorced “dude”.  The construction is good for the price and you just can’t beat the convenience.  Just throw in your ingredients, push the switch and walk away!  When the rice is done the cooker automatically switches over to the warming function.  The only suggestion I would make is if you are cooking whole grain brown rice you might want to double the water amount as it tends to slightly scorch it otherwise.  As with any appliance you have to learn the idiosyncrasies of your individual unit and adjust accordingly.

I bought mine at Wal-Mart a couple years ago for about $20, I’ve seen them at yard sales and such for as little as $5 – but unsure of working condition.  If you do buy one used make sure the cord is in decent shape and that the teflon coating of the pot isn’t scratched badly.  Amazon sells them new starting at 17.97 and have used ones starting at 15.00 (you can link to them from our site using the search bar on the right).  I imagine Target or other retailers may have them as well.  Now for those recipes!

These are simple side dishes that can be cooked entirely in your rice cooker.  There are many such variations available and even entire recipe books available for rice cooker meals!

Southwestern Beans N Rice:

2 cups whole grain brown rice or Jasmine rice

5 cups water

2 cups Southwestern Blend frozen veggies

teaspoon of butter

(if you like spicy food add some hot peppers to taste)

Put all ingredients in rice cooker, push down button to “cook”

Walk away until unit goes to “warm” setting.

Eat! (you should get two to three meals from this)

(This can be a full meal with the simple addition of a cup or two of chopped ham.  I imagine cooked sausage would be good as well although I’ve never tried it)

Asparagus and Mixed Veggies with Rice:

2 cups whole grain brown rice or jasmine rice

5 cups water

2 cups frozen veggies with asparagus

Put all ingredients in rice cooker, push down button to “cook”

Walk away until unit goes to “warm” setting.

Eat! (you should get two meals from this)

This is great side dish with baked chicken!

So there you are men – a basic review on a rice cooker that I feel is a good bargain for the money and a couple fairly healthy recipes that you can use in your cooker once you buy it.

Hope you enjoy and as always . . . Be Well!

Bill