#just throw some rice veggies and meat in there and you got a full meal like 20 minutes later | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

weaselle · 4 years ago

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cooking for people who have no idea what they are doing (or are just, like, real depressed)

Okay, I’m a professional cook, but also, I get depressed. This is the cooking I do when I’m depressed, because I need the simplest path to a whole meal.

This is not for vegetarians, because, while I wholeheartedly support people choosing vegetarianism, and also enjoy cooking for vegetarians, for me, the simplest path to a meal includes meat. Perhaps when I am less depressed I will work on options.

A lot of recipes focus on achieving food that is in some way special, using special techniques, or using a precise list of carefully measured high-end ingredients... and that’s not this, this is all the parts of cooking that are not those things.

First, shopping

Meats Starches Veggies Sauces Breakfast/Snack

For a whole week you’re going to want

3 kinds of meat, with five portions each. So, for example, five chicken breasts, 10 sausage links, and 2-3 pounds of ground beef. Other possibilities include pork chops, salmon, some kind of steak, whatever.

You’re going to want up to 3 starches. Honestly I usually stick to just rice, but you can go with rice, potatoes, and pasta. If you want to use quinoa or polenta or something, thats on you.

And, you’re going to want about 3 types of vegetables, again, about 5 portions each -- and try to stay green. So personally, I usually get 5 medium zucchini, 2 medium heads of broccoli, and then either yellow squash or mushrooms. A bag of salad greens is also a good option, and I have an easy way to make a good salad, which I will do as a separate post.

Next pick something easy that works as either breakfast or a snack. For me this is a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and a bunch of bananas. Sometimes it’s nice to have an additional option here, like cereal or yogurt.

Last, you’ll want 2-5 sauces in bottles. I would definitely recommend a low sodium soy sauce be one of them, and maybe a BBQ sauce for the other. I usually also include worcestershire and sriracha but go with whatever you want, teriyaki sauce, A1, whatever you know you’ll eat. Hell, you can use Italian style salad dressing as a cookable sauce if you really want.

Oh, and If you don’t already have some at the house, you’ll need pan lube: butter and/or some kind of cooking oil.

Okay! we’re done shopping! Affordability isn’t the main focus here, but is undeniably important -- I live in a very expensive area, this shopping trip is going to feed me well for a week and costs me about $100 bucks. When I was living in Alabama, it probably would have cost me more like $70. You won’t need to get stuff like the sauce and rice and peanut butter every week, so you’re definitely looking at a monthly grocery bill of something like $300 depending on where you live, and that’s not too bad.

Prep

hell no, I’m depressed, the only prep I’m doing is putting two packages of meat in the freezer and the rest of this stuff in the fridge. You CAN box or bag each portion of meat separately so you can really alternate what you eat -- me, I’m gonna eat chicken for two or three days, then beef for two or three days, etc.

and listen, don’t fuck around with microwave settings or running water on things to defrost them. If you package the meat all up separately, just move a portion from the freezer to the fridge each time you cook dinner. Or, if you do like me, move the whole package when you go to cook your last portion of the previous stuff, and just deal with the fact that it will probably still be a tiny bit frozen when you go to cook next.

Tip: When you cook dinner, you’re going to make enough for lunch. That just leaves you one small meal - I often smear peanut butter on a peice of bread and wrap it around a banana like a taco - fast, easy, practically no dishes, relatively healthy

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Cooking (this is going to take about 25 minutes)

You’re going to need

ONE frying pan, medium size w/ lid ONE boil pot, medium size w/ lid knife, a spatula and a cutting board.

If you want to be fancy, you can include a big spoon. Looks like this

No matter what the specific ingredients you’ve chosen, the basic format is going to be:

Start your starch heat pan, put meat in the pan flip meat and add veggies, cover with lid remove meat and add sauce finish starch put everything on a plate while it is still too hot to eat and you are standing in the kitchen anyway, wash the like, 4 dishes you’ve gotten dirty. eat.

Okay, before you even get everything else out, start your starch. For rice this means rinse the rice and put it in the cold water and set it on high heat, for pasta this means put your salted water on the stove on high heat. For potatoes, you can use my perfect mashed potatoes recipe (I’ll do that as a separate post) or, honestly, you can wait until you’re halfway done with the rest of everything and microwave the sucker for like 8 minutes. I would never do that in a restaurant, but trying to feed my lethargic depressed ass? Absolutely.

easy rice: Fill your smallest coffee cup with rice, put it in the pot. Rinse. Fill the same cup twice with water, add to rice. Bring to a boil, give a good stir, turn heat all the way down, put a lid on it for something like 15 more minutes.

Okay, now lube your pan. Butter, olive oil, whatever. You’re probably looking at an amount more than a teaspoon and less than a table spoon of whichever you use. Personally I try to use as little olive oil as possible, so I pour a large coin sized amount (a quarter in the U.S.) into the pan, ear off a piece of the paper towel I’m going to use as my napkin for the evening, fold it up tight, and sort of paint the oil around so a little goes a longer way.

Pan lubed? Great, turn your burner on. highest heat will work but is not ideal, medium heat will work better but is still not ideal. Halfway between the two is perfect for chicken, a little hotter for beef, a little lower for fish.

Now remove two portions of your chosen protein (that way you’ll have tomorrow’s lunch too). By the time you get the packaging open and stuff, your pan is probably hot. If it’s not, let it get hot. You don’t want the oil to start smoking (warning, butter will burn faster than oil) but if you shake a single drop of water off your finger into the pan, you want it to sizzle.

If your pan is hot, put your meat in. The more you do this, the more you’ll perfect the timing, but you’re going to cook it for ~about~ 7 minutes before you flip it, maybe a couple minutes longer if it’s chicken or pork, maybe a couple minutes less if it’s beef.

Now that your meat is in, prepare your veggie. Rinse it off, cut off any part of it you don’t want to eat, and then cut what’s left into pieces the size of a large bite. Don’t worry, it’s going to get a little smaller when you cook it. Take your time, you’ll probably finish in less time than the meat needs.

Time to flip your meat? Great. Do that, and then dump your chopped up veggie in the pan. It does not matter at all if the pieces are not touching the bottom of the pan -probably most of them will not be, a bunch will be on top of the meat, that’s fine.

Put a lid on it. Now add your pasta to the water, or put your potato in the microwave, or check your rice. If following my perfect mashed potato recipe, mash now.

Rice tip, checking: eat a grain, you want zero crunch. If it’s not done and there’s no liquid, add a splash of water and stir. It it’s done or close to done, but it is still very wet, give it a big stir and leave on the stove with the lid off for a couple minutes.

Your meat still has like, at least 4 minutes, so rinse off your cutting board and chef knife, get out a plate, table knife and fork.

Meat done? Great. Take the meat out of the pan, leaving the veggies in. Add sauce to the pan. I like to also use a little wine, because it’s usually already in the house, if you have some and want to, pour a large swallow of wine in the pan with the sauce. I’ll often mix a couple sauces, like worcestershire and soy (makes something similar to teriyaki) or hot sauce and BBQ

Stir the sauce around with the veggies. This, called deglazing, is an important step for two reasons, 1: it will get up a lot of the flavorful stuff that has stuck to the pan and make your sauce better, and 2: it will make washing the pan much easier. Okay, put the lid back on for one to two minutes, maybe stir a couple times. Basically you want the sauce to stain the veggies.

Your starch should be done, turn off the burner, put a portion on your plate, and stick the rest in a ziplock or tupperware or something. Go ahead and throw the second portion of meat right in there with it.

Turn off the stove and scoop the veggies onto the plate, and pour the sauce from the pan over everything.

Now, while it’s too hot to eat, and you’re standing in the kitchen anyway, wash the pot, pan, and spatula. It should be very easy because of the way you used the sauce and because nothing has had a chance to harden. This usually takes me about 2 full minutes.

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OKAY! it’s been 20-25 minutes, you’ve got dinner and tomorrow’s lunch (just add another cut up veggie, pour a different sauce on, and put it in the microwave for two or three minutes) AND there’s no danger of dishes piling up on you :) You can even add “washing last night’s plate and fork for use tonight” to where you rinse the cutting board to really keep it full circle.

It’s not gormet. It IS accessibly healthy, affordable, and easy.

If you are extra depressed, forget the starch and use more veggies; this cuts what little work there is by up to half

Using this format, you can have three good meals per day and only spend 30 total minutes a day in the kitchen — including clean up! (dishes piling up tends to exacerbate my depression and makes cooking your next meal harder)

And it’s easy to give yourself a wide variety, from soy glazed chicken, zucchini and rice one night; to steak, mushrooms and pasta the next; followed by BBQ pork chops, brocoli and potatoes... I suck at math but there’s probably a hundred options

Just to recap, because I know I was very detailed and this might seem overwhelming, once you read through the above to answer any questions you might have, simply

-Start your starch -lube & heat pan, put meat in the pan, about 7 minutes -flip meat, add veggies, lid, about 7 minutes -wash knife and cutting board -remove meat and add sauce to veggies, re-lid, 1-2 minutes -finish starch, refrigerate extra meat and starch -put everything left on a plate -wash pot and pan -eat.

#cooking #food #depression meals

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tightwadspoonies · 4 years ago

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The Thrill of a $5 Rotisserie Chicken

Few things allow you to feel the potential like a $5-7 pre-rotisserie’d chicken from a fancy, otherwise expensive grocery store like Costco or Meijer or Walmart or Giant Eagle.

First, you didn’t have to cook it yourself (and, generally, for some reason it’s significantly cheaper to buy your bird pre-rotisserie’d than buying the raw bird and cooking it), and second, well, it’s like 4 entire pounds of the expensive ingredient in basically any recipe- and you didn’t even have to run the risk of accidentally messing it up with the wrong seasoning or by forgetting it was in the oven.

But if you’re like me, $5 is the absolute max you would ever think of spending on any single grocery item (plus, if you think about it, that’s an entire animal’s entire life in that chicken carrier)- so how to justify it?

By getting absolutely every possible single scrap of nutrient and calorie from this former wad of feathers. That’s how.

Today I’ll take you through the process of getting your (7-9) meals’ worth out of that $5 bird in 4 easy steps:

Step 1: Acquire the Bird

Figure out which stores in your area offer the least expensive rotisserie chickens. In many places this will be somewhere between $5-7. It’s worth seeing if they’re even less expensive when purchased day-old from the deli cooler instead of on the warmer, though this is rarer than you’d think. It might be worth it to you to get a biweekly/monthly chicken at a place you don’t normally shop if you, like me, usually shop at grocery stores without such a fine prepared food section.

Step 2: Divide and Conquer

Resist the urge to eat as-is. You’re on a mission here.

While the chicken is still warm, pick all the meat from the bones. Picking meat from a warm chicken will make the meat come off the bones more easily and net you more meat for less work.

Place the carcass (as well as skin, tendons, drippings, and anything that isn’t meat) in a plastic bag or large container and put it in your freezer for later.

Shred the picked meat and divide into about 6 servings. It may not look like a lot of meat per serving, but many recipes don’t need a lot of meat to make them tasty.

Freeze these in separate containers (baggies are fine, or plastic/glass containers) so you’ll have a convenient, pre-cooked, pre-portioned source of meat for recipes.

Step 3: So You’ve Got Some Conveniently Portioned Chicken...

Find some cool recipes that use chicken. They don’t have to be difficult or time-intensive- find ones that use (or can be amended to use) about 1/6th of a rotisserie chicken. Keep in mind that many recipes are not specific to a particular type of meat/protein, and pre-cooked chicken works for a lot of them.

For example:

Warm shredded chicken on salad greens

Chicken salad (chop carrots, onions, and celery, toss with thawed chicken and dressing, serve on toast)

Chicken enchiladas

Chicken and bean tacos

Chicken bacon ranch casserole

Chicken pasta salad

BBQ chicken pizza

Chicken noodle soup, stew, or white chicken chili

Chicken stir-fry

Chicken Sloppy Joes (chop chicken small and pad out with veggies like finely diced or shredded carrots, potato, sweet potato, onions, green pepper, cauliflower, etc...)

Step 4: So You’ve Got a Chicken Carcass in Your Freezer...

Remember that large container or storage bag with the chicken bones, etc... in it? Well, you know how every time you cut up an onion or carrot, or celery, or other veg there’s bits you don’t eat (onion skin and ends, carrot tops and greens, celery butts, radish greens, etc...*)? Throw those into that bag/container as you go.

Once the container/bag is full of chicken and vegetable scraps, you’re ready to make some broth/stock. Broth and stock helps you get everything else out of the food parts you’d normally throw away.

Put all the scraps from your bag/container into a large pot and fill with water. Add some herbs/spices of your choice (recommend rosemary, bay leaf, basil, parsley, pepper, salt or bouillon if you would like, and garlic (fresh or granulated)) and a few tablespoons of vinegar (any kind you have is fine- it’s just to put a little acid in there to get some extra minerals out of the bones).

Turn on the stove until just boiling and simmer for several hours. Alternatively, you can put this in an electric pressure cooker (like an instapot) for 1-2 hours or a slow-cooker for 4-8 hours.

Once everything has boiled long enough that the tendons are clear and gooey (or when you’re starting to get anxious about the gas/electric bill), pour everything through a strainer set over a large bowl.

What comes out the other side is your stock. Pour into containers and freeze for later. This can be used for a nice soup base, instead of water when making rice or pasta, or you can drink a mug of it plain. It’s particularly great for getting calories, salt, vitamins and minerals in when sick- you can hide a surprising amount of butter, lard, coconut oil, or other fat in a mug of broth!

*I recommend not using bits from cruciferous veg like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, etc... It will be overpowering flavor-wise and not in a good way.

#budget #chicken #food #tightwadery

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mynameisjaxx · 4 years ago

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Daichi x Y/N

(Stuff happens, so read if you want to.)

I'm currently a first year at Karasuno and it's almost time for spring break. Since starting at the high school, I had special circumstances at the beginning of the year. Mostly because my parents had just died and I had no other living relatives or god parents to take care of me. Due to the fact that I was 15, I was given the choice to stay at a half way home or to go out on my own. Knowing full well, I would never get adopted for being a teenager, I decided to opt out and remain living on my own. For the most part, it was okay, I would crash at a few friends houses every so often to wash my uniform in a place that had actual laundry detergent. It wasn't long until the manager at the store I worked at started letting me have the left overs that didn't sell.

I guess, he got the hint that I was shedding pounds like no tomorrow. So one night, he flipped the sign to close and asked me to step into the back room.

"Hey, kid, how's it going?" He started.

"I'm okay." I shrugged.

"Don't lie to me, now." He lit up a cigarette.

"Well, if you gotta know, I'm currently living with the snacks I you let me have and couch surfing." I narrowed my gaze.

"What happened with your folks?" I look up and through the wisps of smoke, he was looking into my eyes and waiting for an answer.

"They're dead."

Silence. It last a few minutes and then he took a pull.

"Sorry, kid."

"Yeah, it's not something I'm ready to talk about." I wipe the single tear that fell from my right eye.

Tch.

"Alright, I have an idea, but only if you feel absolutely 100% comfortable with the idea."

"Shoot."

"I have a spare room, if you want you can stay there, instead of couch surfing or staying out in the streets." He takes another pull.

"I don't know, I don't feel right about just staying there. Is there someway for me to repay you?" I look up to him determined.

"Well, you can take on some extra chores around the house and we can call it even." He shrug.

"Alright then Mr. Ukai, thank you so much!" I bow.

"Don't worry about it kid, I just don't want you to end up hurt somewhere. You've been really good working for me the whole summer, and I see you like a little sister." He puts a hand on my shoulder with a light squeeze.

"I promise that I will do my best to not be a burden." I declare.

After our chat, I spend my time minding the store until closing time. I double check the floor and restock what's low and keep the journal of the day's sales. I make sure to keep everything organized before putting together a list of the things we need to order for the next week. Keishin came out with the broom and the mop, he swept and I mopped the floor behind him. We were done rather fast and put away the cleaning supplies. Stepping through the back of the store we take out the trash to the dumpster and then walk a little to the house behind the store.

"Well, this is home." He says.

"It's very nice."

"Thanks." He closes the door behind us, we remove our shoes and I walk in barefoot, taking my socks off and feeling the cold floors.

"Hey put these on, they should fit." He hands me a pair of gray slippers that seem my size.

"Thanks." I slip them on and he shows me around the house.

"So, living room is here, to the left is my room, the right is yours. The kitchen is down the hall and the bathroom is also down the hall. The is a small backyard if you ever want to sit outside and take a break." He rubs the back of his neck.

"Wow." Amazed at how neat and warm the house felt.

"Yeah, I haven't the heart to change a few things because its the way my mom left it. I just do upkeep." he shrugs.

"Well, I will be sure not to move things too out of place on cleaning day." I make a mental note.

"I appreciate that. For tonight, I'll make dinner. What do you want to eat?" He peers into the fridge.

"How about I make dinner and you tell me what my chores are while I work?" I counter offer.

"Oh, Okay." He steps aside.

I pull out the left over rice he has in a tupper ware, the shaved steak left overs, 3 eggs and a mixed veggie tray. Julienning and then sauteing them for a little color, I add the shaved steak to mix in with the juices from the veggies, adding a pinch of onion powder and a few dashes of soy sauce, I stir until the white rice has an even browning.

"So, we would be alternating cleaning duty, you'll get bathroom and kitchen and I'll do living room and front of the house. Following week, we switch. Cooking is up to you. I'm limited in what I know how to make, but it seems like you can definitely throw down in the kitchen." He motions to me.

"Well, I had to learn while my parents were at work, I made myself dinners." I smile.

"That's very smart." He compliments.

Adding the rice into the meat and veggies and adding a splash of water to make the rice a little fluffy again, I cover it. Cracking the eggs into a bowl and scrambling them before hand.

"So, you learned all this from being home alone?" He grabs plates out of the cupboard.

"Yep, we would have left overs and I'd take them to make them into a meal for myself. I hope you like it." with a half smile as I add the eggs to the same skillet. While the eggs cook into the fried rice, I clean all the utensils I used to cook, leaving just the wooden spoon I was using to help mix everything. Almost like a 6th sense, I could feel that it was ready, so I turn off the heat and proceed to spoon out a few into each bowl.

"It smells delicious!" He takes a whiff before carefully putting the steaming hot food into his mouth and hums something that sounded like 'yum'.

"Glad you like it." I laugh a bit.

That was my first night, it was very nice. It really did feel like having an older brother, despite knowing that I was practically alone in every sense of the word. He really made me feel welcomed. We worked out a deal for when I would get to school.

So while I did some early morning shifts to help prep all the sandwiches and meat buns to be sold for the day, he would take care of the store and then I would do homework while I worked the counter and he would take his break and go over to the house and prep dinner for us later.

It's been about 2 months with the same routine and there was this man, Takeda. He comes in once a day to ask where Keishin was and if he could spare a moment, everytime, he was turned away until yesterday. Kei actually agreed to whatever that Takeda man asked him to do.

"I'll be at the school gym tomorrow, so I want you to go there straight after practice. I'm not letting you out of my sight, kid." He sighs as he goes towards the back room.

"Oh, okay, but who will mind the store?"

"I'll get my nephew to watch the store." He pulls out his phone and dials a number.

"Alright, well, I'm off to school, sandwiches are ready to be stocked, coffee is in the machine brewing for the day, and the meat buns are in the steam tray." I put on my shoes.

"Alright, hon, have a good day at school and don't forget to meet me at the gym." He shouts after me as I jog out to school.

The school day was boring and quite frankly, I was just hoping to see what was going to happen after school, but I still managed to take down good notes in class. I wonder why Takeda wanted Keishin. Guess, I'll find out later.

The day ends and I bolt out of class and head to the gym, right outside is Takeda and Keishin, talking a bit.

"Hi, y/n." Takeda bows.

"Hello, Takeda Sensei."

"Lets see what we are working with." Keishin grumbles and puts out his cigarette.

Inside were boys, shouting and running around. They were playing a 3 4 on 4 game of volleyball. There were 3 boys I recognized as my senpais since one of them gave me a tour around the school my first day and introduced me to the other 2. Sugawara was very nice and detailed with directions, Asahi was super shy and told me I was scary until we spoke a bit more and then there's Daichi. He was just, woah.

Suddenly I'm down on the ground, my chest hurt a little. I wasn't sure what just happened. I definitely got the wind knocked out of me, somehow.

"Woah n/n! Are you okay??" Keishin bends down to check on me.

"Y/N!" Daichi runs over and slides right beside me.

"We are so sorry." I hear the boys shout in unison.

I cough a bit trying to breathe. Daichi helps me sit up.

"Hey, Kiyoko, toss me my water bottle!" Daichi looks at the blue haired girl.

She nods and tosses the water bottle at him and he catches it with ease.

"Here drink some. It'll help" I nod and do as he says.

A sip and I try to breath but it sounds like a heavy wheeze. He takes my loose hairs and tucks them behind my ear.

"It's alright, take your time." He stands.

"Alright, Ennoshita, sub for me. I'm going to look after her during this set." He takes my hands into his and helps me to the bench. He sits straddling the bench and pats the space in front of him.

"Sit with your back to me." He orders.

I do and his chest is warm. I hum.

"Alright, I'm going to rub your upper arms and I want you to take deep breaths with me." He whispers into my ear.

I could feel my face turn red and my chest tighten, but I nod.

After a few breaths, I feel much better. At some point I had closed my eyes and he had stopped moving his hands on my arms and just held me.

"Hey, earth to y/n. You okay now?" He whispers, bringing me back.

"Yes, thank you, senpai." I reply.

"Please, call me Daichi." He insists.

"Well, now that you are a bit better, please go to the bathroom and check if you're bruised, if you want take Kiyoko with you. She'll be able to help with ice or if you would prefer a salve." He motions to her and she comes over.

"Okay" meek and quiet, I leave with Kiyoko to the bathroom and she comes in with me.

Unbuttoning my school uniform, I see the yellow and blue starting to form.

"What would you like for me to do? Salve and bandage or just an ice pack?" She offers, cleaning her glasses on her volleyball jacket.

"Whichever would make the bruise slow down faster." I shrug.

"I'll get the salve and bandage, wait here." She hurries out.

She returns and quietly buzzes about, tending to the bruise.

"Thank you, senpai." I mumble.

"Of course, let me know if you have any discomfort." she guides me back to the gym and I sit quietly on the bench and watch the rest of the 'set'. In between sets, Daichi comes back over to me and asks me once more if I was okay and I nod, choosing to keep talking to a minimum since my chest was still in some pain.

"So, you have yourself a coach, Takeda." I over hear Keishin shaking hands with Takeda Sensei.

"Thank you. The practice game with Nekoma are in a few weeks. Here's the details and I will need you to come by the office tomorrow so we can formally fill out your paperwork as new head coach of Karasuno's boy's volleyball" He's super excited.

"Alright boys, line up." Daichi commands.

"Thank you for coming." They say in unison.

"Boys, let me introduce you to your new coach. Coach Ukai. he's the former Coach's grandson, he also happened to play for Karasuno when he studied here." Takeda lets Keishin take center stage.

"Alright, so the rematch against Nekoma won't be for another few weeks, and I have 'til then to whip you into shape to even be close to a tied game with them. I have faith in what I witnessed today that we will beat them. Maybe not in our first game but definitely in our second." Keishin riles them up.

"Come on, clean up and then you are free to go home." Daichi claps.

The boys grumble. Just like that time passed in a flash, somehow in that time I became the co manager of the team with Kiyoko and we've become really good friends. Though I know I won't see her around much after this year, with her being a third year and all

The practice game came and the boys played their hardest, in the end, they lost making it really close to a tied game. They were absolutely devastated but definitely not discouraged. After the game, Keishin treated them to dinner. As a way to show them that even in their losses they will learn and adapt, but for now eat and work on your strength. Some of them cried and others remained stoic.

It was weeks later that Takeda slipped by the door and announced that Nekoma had invited us to join in on their training camp. Takeda and Keishin shared a glance, one I knew all too well. 'The I'm not sure we can afford it' look. An idea popped into my head, so I decided to go up to Kei and whisper it.

"Doesn't sound bad, I bet if you got the guys to help then it would definitely go a lot faster. I mean you've got the skills." He nods.

"Takeda, I'm not sure if you know, but y/n is a wiz in the kitchen, can they borrow the cafeteria on Thursday night? Y/N wants to have a bake sale for the team. Of course if the boys help out then I know they'll be in good hands." He pleads.

"What a splendid idea, I'll run it by the principal tomorrow morning and have an answer by practice. Just give me a list of what you wanted to bake and what the cost to profit is, I'm sure it will work out just fine." He looks at a determined y/n who's already scribbling away in their notebook the recipes and how much the items would cost, specially through the store as a vendor they knew they could get a bit of a discount.

On a new sheet of paper, they write down the cost to profit and hand over the menu to Takeda, who looks in awe of the menu.

"Are you sure you can make all this?" He asks.

"With help, of course. I just need to know if I have permission before I go asking the team for help." I nod confidently.

"alright then, I will pass this along." He puts it into his folder of to-do.

The following day at lunch I got the approval of cafeteria use for the thursday night which was in 3 days. Yachi who was the other new co manager created posters to put up around the school and town. The school wrote a check for the cost and I gave it to Keishin when we ordered the ingredients. The entire team agreed to help, even salty Tsukishima. It was a nice night, we took off of practice and spent the evening working hard. The boys followed my every order, I was running a tight ship that night.

By nightfall, we were all packing up the small bundt cakes in the wax paper and twine. The muffins were placed into boxes to contain them for the night and the sweeter things we baked, we left for the afternoon. The entire day Kiyoko and I were manning the cash box, and thanking students for buying and donating the change.

At the end of the day we had made back what we spent on ingredients and more than tripled our profit. We gave back the initial investment that the school spent and we took the rest to the bank. Got the coins changed into larger bills. Gave the money to Takeda who in turn, put it towards the bus to take us to the training camp and food for those two weeks. Even after that we had a little left over, which we had decided we would save for any club emergencies.

"We did it!!!" We announced.

"We're raised enough money to go to the training camp!" Yachi jumps up high like Hinata.

"Yay!" He jumps even higher.

"Rest up, we leave next Friday after school and get there by evening. We are going to be there for 2 weeks." Keishin reminds them.

Time flies and it was just a a few hours by bus to get there. It was finally here, training camp weeks with Nekoma and Fukurodani. Being the last to arrive, the Nekoma team are the ones to greet us.

Everyone is polite enough, though the tension between the captains is so awkward. It makes me want to be a turtle and hide inside my shell. Being here was incredible. The days were spent between exercise and practice games. There were many losses for the boys, but with each game they learned more about their opponents, which in turn they adapted their strategies.

The night before the last day Daichi approached me with a concerned look.

"What's wrong sen-Daichi." I tilt my head.

"Well, tomorrow there's the barbecue and I think we have enough, but I'm not sure. If there's a shortage would you mind going to the store with Kiyoko and two of the boys to help you bring things back?" He places a hand on my shoulder.

"Of course, what kind of a manager would I be if I didn't take care of my team." I laugh it off.

"Thank you for taking such good care of us, if it weren't for your idea, we probably wouldn't have been able to participate." He squeezes.

"It's no big deal, besides, Yachi's posters were also a tremendous help with donations and you guys helped me back and pack all those tiny pastries. It's my pleasure, honestly." I raise my hands in front of me.

"Thank you." He smiles and walks away.

Practice felt like it flew by and the coaches had already started the grills to heat them up. The captains of each team was manning the grills and making sure that everything was cooked to perfection. Daichi gave me the look so I took Kiyoko's wrist and she understood. Looking around the only two boys that seemed the least busy were Tanaka and Nishinoya.

It was a short walk to the store, but while we were there, we had a slight hiccup. Some guys from Fukurodani's regular students were there. They had chosen to hit on Kiyoko and she looked uncomfortable. I tried to distract them from her, but failed. It didn't help that Noya and Tanaka got involved, until I stepped in between and diffused the situation a bit.

"Listen guys, I know she is really beautiful, but she can't go out with you, because she is with me." I step in.

"Yeah, sorry boys. Can't split up the happy couple." Tanaka makes his iconic intimidation face and Noya has a demonic look in his eyes.

"Now, if we can all go about our respective days, that would be amazing." I insist and drag the boys away with Kiyoko and the food cart in tow.

We paid and we left, thinking it would be the last of it. We got back in time with the meat and more soda. The boys celebrated our return and immediately took the items out of our hands and began prep work while the last of the meat had just been put on the grill, but the time it was cooked, the meat we had brought was being put on. The rest of the afternoon goes on with lots of laughter and a light atmosphere.

It was evening by the time the teams had began slowly breaking off to go shower and hit the sack. The captains and a few members stayed behind to help with clean up. Between us we finished up in an hour and placed the trash into the dumpster. The sun had already set and the navy blue sky, like a blanket being pulled over the day to rest.

I wasn't tired so I didn't go back yet, instead I decided to walk around a bit, take in the last views of the school before morning, since we'd be leaving around 7 am to get back by noon and send the team home to rest and study for the exams the rest of the week had instore for us. Thinking over the checklist of things that I could do to kill time, I thought it would be a great idea to go to the store for a last minute run, pick up some cereal bars, or jell-o cups, some kind of snack that didn't need much prep incase the team got peckish on the ride home. Mostly because we weren't going to make breakfast, just pack up, clean and leave.

Apparently the boys from earlier just didn't know when to stop. They just had to follow me at a distance, but I didn't even realize it. It wasn't until I had gotten closer to the gym that they started vandalizing school property. I saw them, with their trash and the faint smell of alcohol hit my nose. I took out my phone and dialed Keishin but he didn't pick up, so I called Daichi.

"Hey y/n, what's up?"

One of the guys had ran towards me and I dropped what I had in hand and my cell phone, luckily it didn't cut off the call.

"Hey, back off, you can't be here."

"Like hell, we can do what we damn well please," one of them slurred.

"Come on cutie, drop the bluenette and come have fun with us instead."

That was all he needed to hear to grab the team and race outside to where I was. Surrounded and trying to find a way out. Nothing seemed viable so I did what I thought and tried to duck under their arms and run, but they caught me by my jacket. I unzipped it and left it in their grasp. I ran until I bumped into something that was soft but sturdy.

"Where are they?" A stern voice.

"Back that way" I answered with my eyes closed still waiting to hit the floor.

"Noya, Tanaka, and Suga, go in first. Rest of you, stagger in." He orders.

"Hey, they didn't touch you right?" He lifted my chin up and I opened my eyes.

"No, but it was really scary." Tears pinching the back of my eyes, just thinking about what could have happened had I not worn the volleyball jacket.

"Shhh, it's okay now. You're safe." He tried to comfort me.

"I tried calling coach but he didn't answer."

"It's okay, we told Kiyoko to stay behind and look for all 3 coaches." He pet my hair.

We stayed like that for a moment until he pulled away first.

"I don't want you walking back alone so come with me and stay behind me. I'll make sure they don't lay a hand on you." He promises.

"Okay" I hesitate.

So of course it caused a commotion and a brawl broke out. Someone called the cops and Noya, Tanaka and I were taken in because of the fight. Daichi had driven to the station with Keishin and Coach Nekomata. While there, the boys were placed in the holding cell while Noya and Tanaka and I were sitting, cuffed on a bench.

"I'm taking the fall, you guys just say it was me that did all the fighting and that they tried to attack you so it's self defense. Okay? I started the fight. You guys can't get into trouble, they'll kick you out of school or something. I'll be fine. So don't fight me. I am your manager and I will hear no protest." I turn to either side of me and they nod in defeat.

After questioning about what had happened I made up a story. About how I was walking back to campus and they were just drunk and spewing nonsense. I tried to get them to leave until one of them grabbed my wrist and I pushed him off as defense, which escalated when his buddies joined in and I fought back, having called my coach to alert him of what's happening. Noya and Tanaka said similar things so the detective gave us all breathalyzer tests to fact check.

We we let go after a few hours.

"Kids!" Keishin is waiting in the lobby to pick us up.

"We're okay coach, a little shaken and roughed up, but we'll be fine." Noya answers.

"Let's go back to campus and you can retell what happened." He looks me up and down to make sure I was okay.

Once back, we went to an empty class on a different floor than the one where everyone was sleeping. I retold what actually happened and the lie we told the cops.

Tch.

"But, they didn't touch you, right?" Kei knelt in front of my seat.

"No, Kei, I'm fine. Scared, but fine." I assure him.

"God, kid, I don't want to think about what could have happened." He engulfs me in a hug.

"I know" muffled into his chest.

Headed to the floor where the rest of the team was, they couldn't sleep. Too anxious about what happened. They try not to crowd me and I bow.

"I'm sorry for worrying you." A few tears slide down my cheek without meaning to.

A chorus of 'don't' could be heard and I couldn't help but feel relief. They ended up giving me a group hug and then they let go after a little. I smile and wipe the tears.

One of the boys managed to grab the things I had dropped and brought them inside. The bag from the store was pretty intact, but my phone sadly was not. It was cracked and had a few scrapes on the exposed metal.

I take my phone and put it in the bag with the things I got. Leaving to the managers room, the tears flow freely. It was scary. I was alone until the guys came to my rescue. I was too scared to lash out. I couldn't move. God I was so stupid.

"Hey, hey, you're safe now, honey." I heard a soothing voice.

"I know, but I could've screamed, done something."

"No, no, none of that. You called us, you did do something and escaped them before we got to you." He cups my face.

I sob a little, but he leans close and looks into my eyes. Its like I was over come with warmth. Like a security blanket wrapped around me. Taking even breaths he thumbs away my tears and gives me a small smile. I flush and my cheeks start getting warm, feeling the blush spread, I look away but he follows my gaze. So I place my hand on his wrist.

Suddenly our lips are just whispers away from touching.

"Are you sure, because I don't want you to feel pressured." our noses grazing each other.

"Kiss me"

It was the sweetest kiss. So soft and gentle, he was treating me like a fragile, porcelain doll.

"I-"

"How about when you feel up to it, I take you out on a date. I'll make it special."

"I would like that." I blush having forgotten all those scary thoughts.

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cutesuki--bakugou · 5 years ago

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Always

Main Pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x Koge Naegi (OC)

Story Rating: Explicit

Genre: Fluff / Hurt / Comfort / Romance / Domestic

Story Warnings: Topics of Depression / Anxiety / Body Image / Eating Disorder / Suicide, cursing, sex, alcohol

Chapter 2: Always, I’m Here

1 | 2 | 3

Chapter Rating: Mature Warnings: Cursing, Arguments, Topics of Depression / Anxiety / Body Image / Eating Disorder / Suicide Words: 3,132

Bakugou spent the next few hours cleaning, both little child bodies coated in paint and the living room that had been completely splattered. At this point, this was the worst he had seen of Matsuki’s uncontrollable destruction, besides a little red mark here and there. It was on the coffee table, in the area rug, on the couch, throw pillows, and blankets. He was even positive that he could see a tiny little speck up on the ceiling, but the thought of dragging out a ladder to get up there wasn’t appealing after all the other cleaning was done.

After bringing on the children to help him fold the laundry in the dryer, they were packed up for a weekend stay at their grandparents, and he drove them all the way to his childhood home. He figured that it would be best for the children to be away from the house for a couple of days, that way he could have plenty of undistracted time with Koge to work out what was wrong. How exactly he was going to try and get it out of her, he wasn’t sure. One of the things that frustrated him about her was that she had a tendency to hide her feelings or emotions until they blew up out of control, usually just waiting for things to resolve themselves instead of taking the first step to fix them.

She wasn’t always like this, as she usually spoke her mind the instant something bothered her. Though, those things were usually trivial, like how she didn’t like the way he left his socks all over the house, or that he needed to shave his prickly facial hair when it got just a tad too long. But when it came to big, life or relationship changing issues, she usually would let it fester until it popped, sending her into an emotional spiral that was difficult to get her pulled out of. He knew this was going to be one of those times, though he hoped that bringing her favorite takeout meal back home with him would be a good first step.

How quiet the house was when he first arrived back was a bit off putting, as he had grown used to constant noise. There was no hint or inkling that there was any life in the home, except for the single light upstairs that he hadn’t left on when he took the children out. With a sigh to prep himself, he trudged his way up the stairs with the food in his hands. “Utsuro? Are you up?”

There was no answer, but there was a soft shuffling of clothing inside of Matsuki’s bedroom. Walking past the open master bedroom with just a quick glance inside, he came to a stop outside of his son's room, watching for a moment as Koge silently put away laundry in the little dresser. Since her back was to him, Bakugou gave a small knock on the doorframe, though she didn’t give much indication that she realized he was there. “Utsuro, what are you doing?”

With a glance over her shoulder, Koge only continued her work. “Putting away laundry.” Her tone of voice was quite bland, as if she were forcing herself into an emotionless, void state of mind to keep herself in check. “Thank you for getting it out of the dryer.”

“Yeah, sure…” Frowning, Bakugou shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Utsuro, I told you not to worry about that stuff, I’d take care of it.”

“It’s okay. I felt useless sitting around after you left with the kids, so… I just needed to keep myself occupied.”

“I think that’s enough for tonight. Come with me, I brought us food. I’m fucking starving, and from the warzone I walked into, I bet you didn’t get to eat well today, either.” Bakugou held up one of the bags as Koge paused, letting it swing from side to side when she finally turned to see it. Her expression was emotionless, as usual, but Bakugou could still see that there was something else. Just the simple fact that she didn’t even crack a hint of a smile as she approached him made his stomach twist, wanting to just blurt out his questions immediately. Instead, he plopped the bag of her food into her hands as she offered them, before kissing the top of her head. “That’s what I thought. You showered? You smell good.”

Holding the food carefully, Koge made her way towards their bedroom with Bakugou in tow. “I took a bath, actually… I used that bath bomb you had gotten me a while ago. And a few drops of lavender oil, just to try and relax.” Bakugou was sure to shut their bedroom door behind him, able to smell the scents even stronger now that they were closer to their ensuite.

“Ah, nice, I’m glad you got to finally use it. That must also be why your skin is all… glittery.” Setting his food down on the dresser, Bakugou set out to get himself some comfortable clothes, having still been in the outfit he arrived home in. With that on his mind, he couldn’t help but notice something particular about the way Koge was dressed. Though, it wasn’t just right now that he had noticed it. Every night for the past few months, she had been very… conservative. Usually, she was fine with just a tank top and shorts or leggings, and when it was just the two of them together, she would wear even less and be content.

But lately, including right now, her attire was baggy clothing, and the glitter on her skin that he had mentioned had only been visible from her elbows down. One of his large t-shirts and a pair of her sweatpants covered the rest, and he was surprised that he hadn’t actually paid much attention to this change.

Deciding to still wait to pry, he changed clothes and flopped to sit beside her, food on his lap. “Finally, some time to eat! Is it alright that I had my parents watch the kids for the weekend?” Bakugou watched Koge as he waited for a reply, though he felt confused as he watched her pick through the food to pull out anything that was fried. That was odd, as Koge usually went absolutely crazy over the fried calamari that was mixed in with her typical veggies and rice.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Her response was what he expected, but her further sectioning off the rice from the veggies was not. Turning to face her with his legs crossed, Bakugou began to open his food up, deciding that this was a good change to question what was going on.

“Uhm… Is that not what you wanted? I thought that was your favorite dish from Kubos.” Her slightly furrowed brow and flushing cheeks told him that he had truly caught on to something, so he continued. “I know I didn’t ask, but… This is what you always pick anyway.”

“It’s just… It’s not very healthy, right?” Although she must have been starving at this point in the night, she ate with timid, small bites. Not following her example, Bakugou ate without restriction, nearly shoveling the seafood pasta into his mouth.

“Healthy?” Bakugou spoke with his mouth full. “Utsuro, I know you’ve always eaten healthier, and so have I, but you’ve never worried about that with this food. Look, I even got you the crab poppers.” Tapping his chopsticks against the already open small box on the bed beside them, he was very surprised to see that the rice balls filled with crab meat were still perfectly intact. Koge’s brow only creased further, avoiding looking at him as she cowered down a bit into herself, putting down the carrot she was about to eat.

“I haven’t been eating things like this for weeks. You hadn’t noticed?” There was an almost accusatory tone in her voice that instantly further soured Bakugou’s mood, even though he was trying to be chipper to bring her happiness up. Swallowing the food in his mouth, Bakugou used a napkin to wipe his lips clean.

“No, Utsuro, I hadn’t. You put the same shit on your plate that we do ours every day. I assume you don’t eat everything each night because you’re always quick to get full.”

“You can still be so oblivious sometimes…”

Although she spoke so quietly Bakugou could barely hear it, what she had said was quick to tick him off. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? If I’m oblivious to something, it’s because you hide it.” Taking one of the ignored crab poppers, he plopped it into his mouth, struggling to find patience with her attitude. “Seriously, if something is wrong, just come out and tell me.”

“It doesn’t involve you, Katsuki.”

Now he was not only irritated, but seriously confused and near offended. “What the hell do you mean it doesn’t involve me? Koge, you’re my wife, if something is wrong, I want to try and help you. I always have. What’s the deal? Are you overworked? We can get help for the kids or for the house if you need it. I’ve offered that before, many times.”

“You want to focus on your career right now, and I need to focus on what to do here. That’s all that needs to happen.”

“When did I ever say that I wanted to focus only on my career?”

“When you started working more hours.”

“I started working more hours because you said you wanted to quit working. Was there some miscommunication there, because I’m pretty sure we agreed on that. If it was too much for you to be here by yourself, then you should have said something sooner.”

“Then you’d just feel guilty.”

“No, I think that you would just feel insignificant if you gave up. Out of anyone, you think I wouldn’t be able to understand that? There’s no shame in asking for help, Koge, I’d gladly give it if you would just tell me. But don’t start blaming me for everything that’s wrong, that’s fucked.” Silence fell between them as Koge hung her head, timidly picking at her food, moving pieces of vegetables from one spot to another.

“I’m… I’m not trying to blame you, Katsuki, I just… I just don’t want you to have to take on this burden on top of everything else. If I could just stay strong, then eventually it would go away. But I can’t… I’m weak.” Eyes welling up with tears, Koge placed her food and chopsticks down on the bed. “I didn’t want to bother you with any of it… You didn’t seem to notice, anyway, so…”

“There you go again. I didn’t notice because you were hiding it. That doesn’t even make any sense. You’re hiding it because you don’t want me to notice, but then you’re upset that I haven’t noticed?! I may know you like the back of my hand, Koge, but I can’t read your damn mind.” Bakugou ate another crab popper, trying to bring himself down a peg. “I have noticed things that are weird, but when I tried to mention them, you played them off as one thing or another. You want me to tell you all the things I’ve noticed? Would that prove that I’m not ignoring you, like you seem to think?”

Koge didn’t acknowledge his question, but her silence gave him enough leeway to go on.

“Fine. Like I said, I have noticed that you’re eating less, but you never ate a lot to begin with, so I figured it was just that. I’ve noticed that you’re constantly exhausted in one way or another. Too exhausted to go to events, too exhausted to make love, too exhausted to allow people to come over. You haven’t been taking care of yourself, you wear the same clothes for days at a time, you won’t even hardly let me touch you without seeming uncomfortable. You’re always nearly covered from head to toe in baggy clothes. You don’t laugh or smile anymore.”

As he admitted all these things, Bakugou felt his own emotions rising as he came to realize what all of this could mean. Koge, the woman he had adored since childhood and loved with every inch of his soul, was depressed. With all these issues and points that continued to roll off his tongue, it just became more and more obvious. He didn’t know just yet how deeply rooted it was, but at the very least, she was unhappy with aspects of her life that used to bring her joy. Their home, their lifestyle, their love, their children, their friends and family. Things that she used to be so passionate about were now just a thorn in her side, bringing her down further and further.

“Koge, you know that all I want is to help you and make you happy. If you’re not, then I want to fix what’s wrong. And I can notice all these things, over and over, but it won’t matter if you won’t let me in.” Bakugou watched as Koge stood, beginning to pace back and forth, which is usually what she did to try and calm herself before she exploded.

“It’s not that simple, Katsuki. Everything that’s wrong is my problem. I need to try and fix it myself.”

Bakugou scooted to sit on the edge of the bed, abandoning the food behind him. “And how long have you been trying to do that? It’s been at least four or five months at this point, and I’ve only seen you shut down further and further. That isn’t how you help yourself.”

“But you already have so much on your shoulders trying to support us, I can’t stand the thought of bringing you down more with my problems.” It was then that Koge finally lost control of the tears that had been welled up in her eyes, though she was quick to try and wipe them away. “I-I’m not worth that.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about? You know damn well that you are everything to me. I told you, if you need me here to help you or I need to hire help for you, then I’ll do whatever I need to.”

“I don’t need help, Katsuki, I can handle the children.”

“You say that, but what I see says otherwise. But I’m not just talking about them. I’m talking about time to help you, to work through the things that are troubling you. I can guess and speculate for hours, but I will never know everything and how to fix it unless you talk to me. Koge, stop pacing and come here.”

“N-no, no…” Koge shook her head, not even looking at Bakugou as he held a hand out towards her. “I’m not… It’s just not worth--”

“You were going to say you’re not worth it again. Damn it, Koge, it gets to me to hear you say those things.” With a sigh, Bakugou pinched the corners of his eyes, leaning back with one arm supporting him. “I don’t want to guilt or force you into telling me. But you know that I love you. And you know that I will do anything to help you.”

“I’m just… I’m just so inadequate.” Seeming to have finally broken, Koge let her arms flop to her side, no longer bothering to try and wipe the tears that poured down her cheeks. “Everything about me is inadequate! I’m not a good enough mother, I’m a shitty wife, I can’t do anything that used to mean so much to me… How can I face anyone with the shitty person I’ve become? How can I face you? My Katsuki, who’s pushed me to where I used to be… I’m ashamed of myself.”

Struggling to speak behind her sobs, Koge continued to pace, not even able to look at him. “I’ve gotten so out of shape and gained so much weight… I have stretchmarks and I feel like I just sag everywhere. I just hate myself, Katsuki, I don’t know what else to say. I have no hobbies, no aspirations, no goals. I’ve lost myself… The only reason I can make myself get out of bed in the morning is because I have to piss, for fucks sake! It’s not even for my babies anymore!”

Entire body trembling and heaving with the new onslaught of emotion and sobs, Koge fell to sit on her knees, leaning forward with her forehead to the wooden floor and face hidden in her hands. At first, Bakugou could only sit there, watching his lover wail and cry. He had never seen her like this before, nor did he ever expect that he would. She was always so strong, so emotionally centered and levelheaded that she could always work herself out of slumps. He figured that is what she had tried at first, but the longer it went on, the more it festered, until it was this uncontrollable monster that devoured her whole. Bakugou would never have thought that the issues were this big, that what crippled his lover was something that could take her life.

At the mere thought of her doing something so extreme to relieve the pain she felt, Bakugou’s eyes and senses began to burn. Standing, he was quick to be at her side, pulling her onto his lap and into his arms. Clutching onto his t-shirt like a vise, Koge continued to cry into his chest, allowing him to hold and cradle her for the first time in weeks. Burying his face into her hair, Bakugou enveloped her into his presence as much as he possibly could.

Fearful that he would begin to break down if he spoke a single word, he allowed her time to cry it out, stroking her still damp hair softly while rocking very slowly from side to side.

“I-I’m not wo-worth it! K-Katsuki, you deserve someone s-stronger!”

“That’s not true, Koge. You are worth everything to me… and there’s no one else in the world I’d rather have. My wife, my best friend… My everything. I’m a fucking idiot for not trying to help you sooner… and I’m sorry. I should never have made you feel so alone. I promised you over four years ago that I’d never let it happen again.”

Shaking her head, Koge moved her arms to wrap around his torso, squeezing him tightly. “You never did anything to make me feel like this, Katsuki… You tried to help me already, over and over, but I kept you shut out… But I… I can’t do it anymore.”

“I’m here for you. Anything you need, we’ll do it together.”

#bnha imagines #bnha scenarios #bakugou x oc #bakugou #katsuki bakugou #bnha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #oc #original character #koge #bakugou x koge #bnha fanfiction #fanfiction #bnha writing blog #cutesuki-oc

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bthenoise · 5 years ago

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Quaran-Dine & Chill: Here are 12 Homemade Food Recipes From Some Of Your Favorite Bands

Look, we get it: You’re bored. You’re stuck at home with nothing to do and to top it all off you’re absolutely starving with no idea what to make except for a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

Thankfully, we knew this would happen so we reached out to some amazing artists to see if they had any recipes to help us all get through this never-ending period of social distancing.

Submitting for a feature we like to call “Quaran-Dine & Chill,” bands like Mayday Parade, The Used, August Burns Red, Atreyu, Periphery, New Found Glory and more have all pitched in some of their most favorite recipes to make from home.

To check out how to create Groovy Toast, cook some of Herbie’s Homemade Chicken Taquitos or even put together some Veggie Pasta with Vegan Ass White Sauce, be sure to look below. Afterward, remember, before making anything to eat, WASH YOUR DAMN HANDS!

Oh, and there’s also a special 35-song Quaran-Dine & Chill playlist at the end of all this. Listen to it as loud as you possibly can -- we hear it helps the food taste better.

Enjoy!

JAKE BUNDRICK - MAYDAY PARADE

JAKE’S OVERNIGHT OATS

Ingredients 1/2 cup oatmeal (any type will work but I personally like Old Fashioned or Rolled Oats) 1 cup water 1 scoop protein powder (It's not necessary by any means but I prefer French Vanilla from TrueNutrition) 3/4 cup of either frozen berries or fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, black berries... you can either add this now to soak overnight or wait until you're ready to eat and then add berries. It's up to you) 1 banana sliced 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter

Instructions Mix oatmeal, water, protein and frozen berries together in a bowl or jar (frozen berries are optional). You could forego this and choose to add fresh berries later.

Cover and let sit in the fridge overnight or for a few hours -- your choice.

After soaking, add fresh berries if you haven't already. Then add bananas and peanut butter.

Enjoy.

MATT HALPERN - PERIPHERY

REALLY HEALTHY “CEREAL”

I love cereal but I don't want all the bad stuff associated with most cereals. So I came up with a healthy alternative. It's pretty simple.

Grab a bowl

Add Trader Joe's Go Raw Trek Mix

Slice up some strawberries and add them too

Throw on a couple blueberries

Add 1% milk

And there ya have it! Really hearty, really healthy, easy to make “cereal” that actually fills you up!

MATT GREINER - AUGUST BURNS RED

DEER CAMP BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

Ingredients 18 eggs 2 cups of milk 1 cup cheddar cheese 1 lb bacon 1 lb loose sausage 1 ts salt 1 tb pepper 1 pack hash browns

Instructions Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Brown sausage and bacon separately-drain

Pan fry hash browns until golden brown

Grease a 13” x 9” baking pan and line the bottom with hash browns

Add a layer of bacon

Add a layer of sausage

Whip the eggs in a large bowl, then add the mix, salt and pepper, mix well

Add the cheese to the eggs and mix again

Pour the egg mixture over the meat and hash browns

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25-30 minutes

Remove foil and bake until the top of the casserole begins to brown. Then remove from the oven.

BRENT WALSH - I THE MIGHTY

B-LEE'S BREAKFAST FEAST

Ingredients Hash browns 2 eggs Onions Garlic Mushrooms Peppers Cheddar cheese Black pepper Salt Ketchup Valentina (black label, extra hot) hot sauce Olive oil

Instructions First, get the hash browns going in a frying pan with lots of oil. They take the longest.

In a second pan, get all the veggies going adding garlic when everything else is almost done so that you don't burn the garlic.

When the hash browns are done, plate them and immediately add the cheese to taste.

The veggies should be about done by this time so add those on top.

Fry the eggs (I like mine over medium) in the original pan you cooked the hash browns in and add salt and pepper while they cook.

I like to top it all off with some black label Valentina hot sauce and a little ketchup.

Add a coffee and mimosa on the side and boom, you got yourself a good ol' quarantine breakfast feast.

MARK HOLCOMB - PERIPHERY

SRIRACHA TUNA SALAD

Take two cans of tuna, break it up in a mixing bowl, toss with two tablespoons of celery, half an onion and some chopped fresh parsley.

Add 1/3 cup of mayonnaise (or veganaise if you’re a tree-hugging hippy like me), 1 tablespoon mustard, and several tablespoons of Sriracha depending on how spicy you want it.

Top off with some ground pepper and lemon juice, to taste.

Also feel free to add half a diced apple if you like some sweetness and crunchy texture in there.

Delicious, healthy and super simple.

JEPHA - THE USED

GROOVY TOAST

Soak a cup of any kind of nut (almond, cashew etc..) overnight in water.

Next day, strain most of the water except for a little bit to help blend it.

Put soaked nuts in blender with a dash of lemon, a pinch of salt, pepper, two tablespoons of olive oil.

Blend until smooth.

Optional fun: slice something spicy like a jalapeño.

Add “Groovy cheese” to either toast or crackers.

Drizzle olive oil and lemon on top of “Groovy Toast” with a spicy, spicy jalapeño and let your mouth party like your stuck at home for the next month or so 🤙

CYRUS BOLOOKI - NEW FOUND GLORY

SHEPHERD’S PIE

Ingredients: Ground Beef (or turkey, or chicken, or any kind of meat for that matter) Onion, diced (optional) Frozen veggies (1 bag of pretty much anything you have, normally a carrot/corn/peas mix, but seriously, anything will do) Worcestershire Sauce (optional, but check the back of your cupboard because you probably have a bottle that’s been sitting there for years and is still good!) Potatoes (again, any kind of potatoes will do) Cheese (cheddar is the standard, but use what you have!)

Instructions: Cook your meat in a skillet, seasoning with salt and pepper and adding diced onion if you have while cooking.

Cook/microwave your bag of frozen veggies and add directly into the meat and stir.

Now’s the time to find that Worcestershire sauce if you have it -- if not, don’t worry, this is awesome without it too!

Add a cup of cheese in there and also 1/2 cup of liquid (could be water, could be chicken/beef broth if you have). Stir to combine all ingredients and turn to low heat to keep warm.

Meanwhile, make mashed potatoes however you can (whether by hand or with a box) and when done layer these two things in an ovenproof dish — meat/veggie mix on bottom, mashed potatoes on top.

Toss cheese all over the top of that and throw it in the oven on medium heat for 20 minutes to melt the cheese.

Now, sit back, relax and enjoy your dish whether with family or all alone. It’s a full meal all in one, tastes even better the next day and you can even freeze it!

BRANDON SALLER - ATREYU

WINNER WINNER ISOLATION DINNER (Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs)

Ingredients Bone-in chicken thighs w/ skin Salt (coarse salt works best but any will work fine) Pepper Garlic powder Mixed herbs or Italian seasoning Desired veggie - Whatever you have (ie broccoli, green beans, asparagus, zucchini) Italian dressing (your favorite)

Instructions Preheat oven to 400º

Pat dry chicken on both sides with a paper towel

Season both sides of chicken liberally. Especially the top. The key to this chicken is the well seasoned crispy skin.

Place on sheet pan and roast in oven for about 40 minutes. You are looking for the chicken to be cooked through and skin to be browned and crispy.

When chicken has about 20 minutes left, put marinated veggies on a sheet pan and roast until chicken is done.

When finished, let chicken rest for about 5 minutes as it just came out of a 40-minute fiery hell and will 100% burn your mouth.

ENJOY!

IRA GEORGE - MOVEMENTS

TACO SALAD

This is a very easy and fluid dish that you can make on your own with ease. Whether you are a vegetarian or vegan, you can make this fit your lifestyle.

Ingredients 1 bag of chopped romaine 1 can of black beans 1 frozen bag of white or brown rice 1 cup of frozen corn (thawed) Soyrizo (or any type of ground meat) 1/2 bell pepper 2 Roma tomatoes 1/3 yellow onion 1 avocado Cilantro 1 lime Taco sauce of your choice Cilantro dressing (or something comparable) Diced jalapeños Shredded Mexican cheese Handful of tortilla chips

Instructions Dice the bell pepper, yellow onion and Roma tomatoes

Chop a handful of cilantro

Thaw corn in microwave

In a small pot heat up the can of beans

Cook the soyrizo or other meat in a pan at the same time (if you are using meat you will need to season to your liking)

Heat rice in microwave (if using uncooked rice have it ready before everything)

Grab a big bowl and put rice down. Add the cilantro and lime and toss together

Now add everything else however you want. Remember this is a completely fluid meal, add or takeout any ingredient you feel. Get creative with it! DON’T FORGET TO ADD THE AVOCADO AND SAUCES!!

NICK VENTIMIGLIA - GRAYSCALE

HERBIE’S HOMEMADE CHICKEN TAQUITOS

Servings: 12 Calories: 241 Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 20 min Total time: 40 min

Ingredients 3oz cream cheese 1/4 cup salsa of your choice 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 1/2 teaspoon of taco seasoning 2 fresh cloves of garlic, minced 3 tablespoons cilantro or parsley 2 scallions diced 2 cups shredded cooked chicken or whatever protein you desire 1 cup Mexican blend cheese or whatever you want 12 6in flour tortillas Cooking spray Kosher salt

Instructions Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, taco seasoning, garlic, cilantro, and scallions until well combined and creamy. Add in the cooked chicken and cheese; stir to thoroughly combine.

Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 10 seconds).

Spoon 3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla tightly.

Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone, making sure the taquitos are not touching each other.

Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with a little kosher salt (don’t skip the salt!)

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, or guacamole.

BALSAC THE JAWS 'O DEATH - GWAR

I offered up my recipes for Feline Fricassee and Poodle Wellington but my publicist informed me that things hadn't yet gotten to the point where most people are ready to eat their pets. Instead, here is a recipe that you should be able to throw together without having to take that dreaded trip to the supermarket.

Now more than ever, everyone should be able to hunt and kill their own food. So the first thing you will need to do is grab your favorite battleaxe, knife or shotgun and go in your backyard. Look for the happy yellow flowers that are probably taking over your poorly manicured lawn. Pick as many of these as you can find, making sure to pull them out from the roots keeping the long dark green leaves intact. You may be asking, “What do I need this shotgun for?” The weapon is in case your neighbor sees you and tries to shake hands!

DOOMSDAY DANDELIONS

Ingredients Dandelion greens 1/2 cup olive oil 3 tablespoons vinegar (red wine vinegar or balsamic work best but whatever kind you can find in your cupboard. It is the apocalypse after all) 1 tablespoon mustard (Dijon if you've got it but who am I kidding, you only have that horrible yellow crap!) 2 cloves garlic minced Salt and pepper 2 teaspoons dry herb (use whatever you can find. What are you saving that stuff for?)

Instructions Pick the flowers off the dandelion greens (these are edible too, I suggest beer battering them and frying them, but that's another recipe and I'm not getting paid for this).

Trim the hairy roots from the greens and discard.

Wash all the dirt from the greens, cut them in half at the base keeping the leaves attached and soak in clean cold water.

Wisk all other ingredients together until they are a cohesive solution.

Drain and pat dry the greens and dress them with the vinaigrette.

Enjoy by yourself!!

SCHUYLAR CROOM - HE IS LEGEND

VEGGIE PASTA WITH VEGAN ASS WHITE SAUCE

Ingredients 1 medium onion chopped 3 cloves of garlic Red bell pepper julienned Broccoli florets Mushrooms sliced thin Zucchini halved and sliced Yellow squash quartered and sliced 1 or 4 splashes of white wine

Finisher Sauce 1/4 cup of unsweetened oat milk 1 or 2 tbs coconut oil 1/4 cup vegan mayo A few handfuls of vegan cheese (I used a vegan pepper jack by Daiya and a bit of Follow Your Heart Parmesan) 1/3 cup of Nutritional yeast Fresh basil

Herbs and Spices Kosher Salt Fresh ground pepper Herbes de Provence Some other optional shit

Pasta Fettuccine noodles ( I like that Ancient Grain in the blue box.)

Instructions Boil salted water for your noodles and in a separate pot boil a few cups of water to blanche your broccoli. You’ll be mad if your water is not boiling before you start sautéing your veg... that shit goes quick, watched pots never boil.

In a large saucepan over med/high heat: Sauté onion for about 5 minutes until it is soft and almost translucent. Add chopped garlic until that smell wakes up your girlfriend. Boom you’re cooking. Salt and pepper that junk.

Add the peppers, mushrooms, zucchini and squash, hit it with some more salt and pepper. I like to throw in some Herbes de Provence and a TINY SPRINKLE of cayenne (a little goes a long way) plus some truffle salt because I’m fancy.

By now the lil pot should be boiling. Throw those broccoli guys in there and when they turn dark ass green drain them and throw them in the pot with the other veggies.

Shit’s all steamy now. It smells crazy good. Your girlfriend and your dog are in the kitchen salivating.

Hit those veggies with some white wine. I say a few dashes, but you’ll know. You’re gonna want to let that cook off for 3-5 minutes.

Maybe you’ve already put your noodles in. If so, they’re ready to drain. If not, get to it 9 minutes after the water starts boiling again (read the box)

Now your noodles are in the strainer. Make your partner divide that into bowls.

After the wine has cooked off, add the veganaise, coconut oil, vegan cheeses and the nutritional yeast and stir all of that up until melty and gooey and combined with the veggies. I like the throw in about half a cup of chopped sliced basil and leave a little for a garnish after you’ve topped your pasta with this creamy ass veggie goodness.

OH! Pro tip: Garlic bread. (Do this 40 minutes ago before starting anything else.)

Take 2 heads of garlic and peel most of the skin off but leave bulb intact.

Chop the very top of the head off the garlic to expose the clove (like 1/16 of the top).

Place it in tinfoil and close it up around the sides. Douse with a generous amount of olive oil and salt and pepper all over that opening on the bulb and close the foil up tight around the top. Create a little oven inside your oven.

Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. You’ll smell it.

Let it cool well.

Toast a loaf of French bread.

Those little garlic cloves will pop out like little teardrops of pure heaven. Smear that junk on your toasted bread and thank me later. The oil is now roasted garlic oil. You could drizzle that on the bread too or over the damn pasta that’s in the bowl.

(Be careful. You will want to skip the steps of letting the bulbs cool. They are unforgivingly hot and will burn your flesh.)

#He Is Legend #Grayscale #Atreyu #New Found Glory #Periphery #August Burns Red #Mayday Parade #Gwar #I The Mighty #The Used #Movements #interview

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jenroses · 5 years ago

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Cheap, low spoon cooking

My cooking tends to start with protein, and because of my food issues, that protein is generally meat, and if you argue with me about that, I’ll block you, because if you want to do a thread on low cost vegan cooking, go right ahead, you’ve got your own blog right there. Holler if you want more specific instructions for any of these, and let me know whether you just need a basic recipe or “how to for a complete noob to the kitchen” or anything in between.

1. Chicken

Chicken is at the top of the list for cheap and easy, because it can often be had for less than $1.50 per pound, and because many preparations of it can be done with less than 5 minutes of work (oven time not included.)

Basic: get whole chicken. Preheat oven to 450. Pull out giblets. Sprinkle salt on skin. Roast at 450 for 1 hour. Enjoy crispy skin, tender meat. Same method (shorter cooking time, about 45 minutes) works for bone-in skin-on thighs. With the whole chicken, you can usually make one bird into several meals, by using the meat for one meal, and making soup out of the bones and whatnot for the next meal. If you get skinless boneless thighs, they’ll usually be a little cheaper than skinless boneless breasts. Don’t roast them, cut them up, drench them in a marinade, and pan fry the pieces. Serve with pasta or rice and stir fried veggies.

2. Pork

Pork tends to range in price from $2.50 per pound up to $8 per pound. I’m usually getting pork shoulder for about $3 per pound. Shoulder and “country style ribs” are incredibly cheap and can be pressure cooked (instant pot) or slow cooked into pulled pork with seasonings, or you can get slightly fancier, make a marinade of coconut aminos and orange juice (or apple juice and apple cider vinegar, or rice wine vinegar, mirin, soy sauce, whatever, just make sure there’s some salt and some acid and some sweetness in the marinade to help tenderize the meat), and cut the shoulder roast into 3/4 inch thick steaks, cutting across the grain, then put in a bag or bowl with the marinade overnight. We add onions and garlic and shallots to the marinade because I can digestively tolerate them only if they’ve been soaking in acid of some sort for a while. My favorite is to marinade in orange juice, coconut aminos, chilis, onion, garlic, etc. overnight, then pan fry the steaks, turning often, until golden brown. The resulting pork shoulder steaks get cut into strips and served a variety of ways--tacos, sandwiches, lettuce wraps, whatever. We usually use about 8 oz per person if there’s no fancy sandwich toppings, and 6 oz per person or less if making wraps or tacos. I have to have a little more energy for this method, and will often have someone else prep the aromatics.

3. Eggs Even farm eggs, if you live anywhere near a rural area, can be had for less than 50 cents an egg, and regular conventional eggs have been $2 per dozen or less basically as long as I’ve been alive. Basic egg recipes can go from fridge to table in about 5 minutes. I usually get eggs from a friend whose neighbors have backyard chickens, for about $4 per dozen. A good nonstick egg pan + eggs is a fast way to get protein into you without spending all your energy doing it. Over easy, scrambled, omelet, or my kid’s favorite, egg in the hole... all cheap and incredibly fast.

4. Beef Most beef is not cheap, and has been getting steadily more expensive for years. That said, if you understand how to cook various less fancy cuts, and shop at a local butcher, chances are you can get your meat for far less than a typical grocery store. I rarely go for things like ribeye or filet. We’re all about the round roast, chuck roast and flat iron here. Also like the shank. I rarely spend more than $7 per pound on beef, usually closer to $6. But again, we’re shopping at a local butcher who sources meat locally and does all breakdown themselves. Tricks: Look for a whole flat iron and ask the butcher to cut it. The method I ask for is “Please cut it off the silverskin and then into 6 oz portions.” This eliminates most of the gristle layer, leaving incredibly tender meat with a ton of flavor. The flat iron is from the chuck, but is a specific muscle that doesn’t get used a lot, so it’s very tender. Round roast, tip roast... these can be just salted and roasted very slowly (like, 200 F) if you have a meat thermometer with a probe that can stay in the meat, so that you roast it at very low temp until it comes up to about 110-120 degrees, then you take it out, turn the oven up to like 450, put a rub on the meat, and blast it at high heat until the probe is at 140. Then you let it rest for a while and come up a few more degrees, and what you get is a roast with a crust, as tender as the cut is likely to get while staying pink, which, cut thin, will be fantastic roast beef. If you don’t have a fancy thermometer, we usually start it high, then turn it down without opening the oven and let it go for an hour or so before checking with a cheap thermometer. But you can also cut into smaller pieces, marinade, and stir fry. You can ask the butcher to cut your roast into chunks for stir fry, if you aren’t up to the cutting.

Chuck, shank, and other tough cuts can be pressure cooked into super tender pot roast very quickly. Wine, mushrooms... We use cheap sulfite-free wine and whatever mushrooms are most affordable for this.

5. Lamb Lamb can be pricey, but we get a boneless leg roast (grass fed) at Costco for about $6 per pound, which is one of the best prices out there for grass fed meat. We use the roast in one of two ways: We either roast it low and slow like beef, serving it rare, or we cube it and pressure cook it with savory liquids and then serve it with coconut milk and curry paste over rice. So good. 6. Duck Our local Asian markets usually have whole duck for $3.50-ish per pound. It’s outrageously expensive literally anywhere else. Duck doesn’t cook like chicken, exactly... you must score the fat if you want it crispy, which means poking the fat without poking the meat. We roast at high temp, flipping as needed, to get a very crisp duck without drying out the breast. SAVE the drippings and use them in soup, or to cook eggs or potatoes in. Duck fat is like gold. So much flavor. 1 duck feeds 3 of us an indulgent amount of duck. Cooking gadgets for reducing the amount of physical energy you need to cook things: I never, ever use slow cookers because even used properly they seem to create less flavor than the pressure cooker methods. Pressure cookers are like slow cookers for procrastinators. Things that normally would take all day take an hour. Things that would take a couple of hours will take 30 minutes. The amount of money you can save in cooking beans alone vs. canned will pay for it. Pressure cooker is often the difference between me making homemade stock and throwing the carcass away. They’re also about as efficient at transferring heat into meat as any form of cooking you can get, so the energy savings are not irrelevant. Instant Pot is $70-ish at Costco right now, I’m just saying. An oven is helpful, but if you don’t have a full sized oven or can’t bend that way, a toaster oven can do a LOT. If you can get one that is large enough to cook a chicken in, you don’t need a larger oven if you aren’t doing large scale cooking. If you have a child who wants to learn to cook, a cheap toaster oven costs about the same as an EZ bake, but is an actual real kitchen device which can do real cooking. Spend a little more and get one with air circulation and a little more interior space if you can afford the counter space and the money. I know people like air fryers, I’ve not seen the point. Very few things an air fryer can do that a convection toaster oven can’t, and the form factor is better for the toaster oven for cooking a reasonable amount of tater tots. (priorities!)

Food processor: If you find chopping things a barrier, food processors can slice and grate very quickly, and rinse off nicely without a lot of elbow grease. I don’t usually bother, but I have minions who will do chop prep for me. If you don’t, even a small food processor will be less taxing on sore joints than most chopping. If you want to make pastry, a food processor is a must if you have energy issues.

Knives and a means to sharpen them: dull knives make cooking incredibly exhausting and tedious. Sharp knives make it all work so much better. The base price of the knife is less important than the condition you keep it in, as youtube will be happy to show you in a variety of mesmerizing videos.

Meat thermometer: Sort by reviews, ignore any where the reviews are suspicious. My strong preference is for digital quick-read ($10ish) OR probe-style leave-in. ($20-ish) You want this for food safety AND so that you can avoid overcooking roasts.

Cutting board: ideal is something with a groove (prevents juices from flooding the counter and contaminating everything) that runs around the edge. Cheap plastic boards can be convenient, I guess, but are harder to get reliably clean than wood, which tends to kill off germs. My favorites are bamboo. Not terribly spendy, super pretty, work very well.

The pans I use: 9x13 pyrex baking dish for most of our chicken stuff dark enamel roaster (not huge unless you’re going to do turkeys) for beef roasts (very cheap) large baking trays lined with silpats (both bought at costco, idek, they’re ideal for tater tots and such and don’t get problems with sticking and are easy to clean) Nonstick PFOA-free egg pan, sautee pan and 11 inch griddle. I think I spent $22 at Target on three egg-type pans of different sizes? Not particularly spendy, but you do need to replace them every 5 years or so. variety of saucepans and pots in stainless (I have cuisnart and Kirkland and they’re fine and last kind of forever barring disasters and sometimes even then. Can be bought second hand.) We use a lot of pyrex stuff because it’s convenient for leftovers and mise en place. If you have someone helping with chop prep, little dishes full of prepped things make the cooking go so much easier. But you can do that in regular dishes too, we’re just fancy that way (and I stg the pyrex breeds in the cupboard.)

I’ll talk starches if people want.

#Mine

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thefaeborn · 5 years ago

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Making jambalaya with chicken today. Fortunately, thanks to Full Cart, it's easy for me to make. Just throw everything in the pot together, put it on simmer, and let it cook for 20-25 minutes. I don't really have to think much, which is a good thing when I'm feeling this rough.

I need to get a few things at the store to supplement the box we got, but not a lot. Mostly just proteins and produce. And for us, that means mostly proteins lol. But with only paying around $20 for shipping for the box (and that's all I pay--the food itself doesn't cost anything), I can afford to dedicate more of our EBT to the things that we normally couldn't get at the store, like fresh meat and fresh fruits and vegetables.

I'm really excited about this, because our food budget is usually so tight, because we have to get EVERYTHING on that budget--meat, produce, pasta, rice, potatoes, soup, everything. This cuts a LOT of that out for me, and it comes right to my door, so my anxiety about going to the store for it is *poof* gone.

I know this sounds like an advertisement for FullCart, but it's not. Just.... I'm really happy that we found something that works, isn't a scam or a subscription service, and doesn't have some ulterior motive in what good they do. I didn't think places like that existed anymore.

They almost *ALWAYS* have sales going on for their “Signature Box”, which helps a LOT. If you go follow them on social media, you can get notified when they’re having a sale, or just go to the site and sign up for email updates.

When we got our Signature Box about a week ago, it had:

Mashed Potatoes mix

Jambalaya mix

BIG bags of instant oatmeal (not individual servings)

Pinto beans

Dried chicken noodle soup

Pasta with dried veggies

Chipotle bowl mix (to put over rice)

Specialty cookies

Macaroni and cheese

Thai noodles

AND MULTIPLES OF EACH OF THESE THINGS!!!!!

All of that, for less than $20 shipping, and NO cost for the food. They cycle out food every so often, but you get a wide variety of meals, and they’re all really, REALLY easy to make.

The jambalaya, for instance? I boil water, pour everything (literally everything--even the rice) into the pot, lower it to a simmer, cover it, and turn on a timer for 25 minutes. That’s IT. And that’s the most complex meal I’ve prepared out of the batch.

If you’re food insecure, if you have prep anxiety about meals, social anxiety about going to the store, or just feel overwhelmed, give them a try, eh?

#fullcart.org #full cart #making your grocery budget stretch #pay only shipping ever #free food #Signature Box #jambalaya #mac and cheese #potatoes #beans #thai noodles #cookies #oatmeal #so much food

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martinnecas · 5 years ago

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So if you’re not comfortable don’t answer this, but I was wondering what changes you have made in your diet? Like I have severally bad acid reflux (like I throw up every other night because of it) so I’m on some pills but the doctor told me I should make diet changes like taking out spicy things, greasy fried food too, milk, juice, caffeine, pop etc and like I just wanted to know what you’ve done in your diet change?

Sooo I’ve changed literally everything lol. I also use to have issues with acid reflux, not that bad, however it’s almost completely gone away now.

Just an FYI I am not a doctor in any way shape or form. This is what I have found works best for my mental and physical health. If you’re in serious need of a diet plan, you need to see a licensed nutritionist/dietitian.

Sorry this got super long lol..

So #1 is portion control. I used to eat WAAAY more than I should have. It’s important to stop eating the second you start feeling full. Don’t push it. If you’re hungry again soon after, grab some fruit, nuts, or a rice cake with peanut butter to hold you over!

Watch your sodium! This is one of the biggest thing I’ve learned. You should not be consuming anymore than 400-700mg per meal. Every single restaurant has their nutrition menu online, make sure you check it when you go out because you’d be surprised. Also check the boxes when you’re buying stuff from the store.

Protein is really important! It’ll help keep you full longer that way you eat less. I don’t eat red meats anymore, only white meats. They’re better for you since red is a little bit harder to digest. If you’re craving a sandwich, turkey burger, grilled chicken wrap, things like that.. instead of bread use romaine lettuce leafs! Nuts are also a really good form of protein if you’re not a fan of meat! IN ADDITION: Don’t consume anything fried! Only grilled. That extra oil and bread isn’t good for you.

Meal replacement shakes are also good if you’re like me and you’re always going somewhere and don’t have time to eat. You can either buy pre-made ones at the store (ex. Slimfast) or if you have a blender/juicer you can make them at home! My fav one so far is {2 frozen bananas, 2 tbs natural peanut butter, 2 cups Vanilla almond milk, optional: 1tbs unsweetened cocoa powder -to cut the banana flavor-}. It’s a good source of protein and potassium, it keeps me full for HOURS. Plus it’s a little sweet and stops my cravings.

Fill! Up! On! Veggies!!!! Find a couple vegetables you enjoy and always have them first in a meal! They’ll start filling your stomach up that way you eat less. Fruits are also very important. If you’re like me and feel weak easily, the natural sugars from fruit really helps! But don’t eat too much fruit, I would say one to two whole ones a day.

I’ve been eating sautéed potatoes and brown rice as a form of carbohydrate. If you’re trying to lose weight, keep this potion small and keep your protein & veggie portions bigger. A little carbs are good for you! If you’re trying to gain weight, make the carb section bigger and other two smaller.

Don’t drink liquid sugars/calories. Meaning sodas, sweet tea, juices, etc. This was probably the hardest part for me, but it worked the most. I ONLY drink water. I’ll have one glass of pineapple juice a day because it’s good for your skin, but other than that I’m drinking at least two bottles of water a day. Hydration is a serious key. Your body neeeeeeds water. Some people like to add lemons, limes, strawberries, etc. for flavor.

Since I’ve started this I’ve learned my body has become really sensitive to dairy. It’s too heavy for me to digest now. I use sweetened vanilla almond milk in place of regular milk. It tastes good.

C H E A T!!!! It is OKAY!!! Now from what I’ve read there is a right way and a wrong way. The wrong way being: setting a full day to cheat and eat whatever you want. The correct way is eating a healthy breakfast and lunch, then cheat on dinner, or whichever order you would like to do. And you can do that 2-3 times in a week. I have found this extremely useful because you’re limiting and treating at the same time.

And lastly, my doctor told me to do 30 min of walking a day. He said that is all you need to keep up the good cholesterol in your body. He told my father, who had a heart attack, the same thing. Just take 30 min out of your day to raise your heart beat and get the blood flowing through your body. If you have the motivation to do more, then do it!! But if not, at the least do that.

I hope this helps even in the slightest way! Sorry it got so long I didn’t realize it. If you gave any more questions let me know! ❤️

#asks #not hockey #personal #weight journey

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mythicaliz · 6 years ago

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cheap eats tips

I got these asks last night but wanted to wait until i was on my laptop to answer them. so here are some ideas. they arent really recipes, just tips

tl/dr

Equipment

my number one way to save money is a chest freezer. obviously not everyone has the money to buy one or the space for one but you can find smaller ones on kijiji. alternatively, if you have a parent or friend who has a large freezer that you can easily access and is willing to give you some room in it that works too. we used to have a basket in my husband’s parents freezer before we got our own, and we give up some space in ours to a friend who lives near by. that being said, use whatever freezer space you have to stock up on things (more on this below)

a crockpot is also a great tool to have and you can find them cheap at thrift stores. It means spending 5 minutes in the morning and coming home to dinner already made. it can be used for so many things. there are no shortage of quick, cheap crockpot recipes on the internet but ill include some ideas below

Meat

- i pretty much only buy meat on clearance or sale. clearance meat is just a day or 2 before the sell by date so they have to get rid of it fast. it’s still fine quality. i just freeze it immediately (if you aren’t going to use the whole pack in one meal portion it out into freezer bags). This is why having a big freezer is handy. Once a pack of 3 chicken legs was on clearance for $2. we bought 24 of them and used them on the bbq, baked, in soups and stews, pulled the meat off for casseroles etc. we had like 6 months of chicken for under $50

-save your bones and scraps. have a bag on the go for beef scraps and one for chicken scraps in the freezer (do the same with vegetable peelings, ends, onion skins, etc.) throw a bag of veggie scraps and meat scraps/bones in your crockpot. cover with water and add whatever spices you like, peppercorns, bayleaf whatever. add a good amount of salt and a splash of vinegar. both of these help break down the bones and pull all the minerals from them. cook in the crockpot for 12-24 hours (you may need to add more water). strain it and you now have amazing bone broth which is incredibly good for you and a base for any soup. if you have the space you can freeze in ice cube trays and then put in a ziplock to have convenient broth chunks to throw in pretty much anything. but you can also just freeze it in tupperware, or zliplock bags or whatever.

-if you eat bacon save your grease. keep a mason jar in the fridge and drain any grease off into the jar. then you can sautee veggies and stuff in it and it’s already so delicious

-cut up meat and put it in soups, stews, casseroles etc rather than making it the centre of the dish. if you have 2 people you’re likely to cook 2 full chicken breasts if that’s the main part of your meal, but you could probably get away with one if you are making a dish where the chicken is cut up with lots of veggies and maybe some beans on top of pasta. get it?

-not meat but eggs are always good to have on hand. inexpensive and so much you can do with them. (in an oven proof skillet: sautee up some veggies, whisk up some eggs and throw them in. top with a bit of cheese if you like. throw it in the oven until eggs are set. you have a fritatta you can eat for dinner or cut into wedges and eat hot or cold for breakfast or lunch)

Produce

-lettuce is a scam. don’t buy it. it’s expensive, has almost no nutrition and is pretty shitty for the environment. Spinach or cabbage is a better choice because you can make salads with it but if it starts to get past it’s prime you can cook it or freeze it and throw it in a soup or stirfry later

-root vegetables last a long time and are great. plus they add heartiness to any meal

-use your most perishable produce first, then move onto the heartier stuff. frozen is also great, and sometimes is more nutritious than fresh thats out of season

-apples. they last forever and if they get sad you can make apple sauce (in your crockpot! cup em up, skin on and all, add a little cinnamon and some water and cook until mush. then blend it up) or baked apples (cut em in half and scoop out the core a little. add a bit of butter and brown sugar in the hole. if you have walnuts or pecans you can throw some in there too. bake until soft)

Legumes etc

-legumes, beans, pulses are all amazing sources of protein and inexpensive. you can save even more money buy buying dried ones and rehydrating them in your crockpot. (rinse beans and put in crockpot with 2 inches of water above beans. they should take about 6 hours on high to be tender)

-lentils are also great and have a really nice flavour. you can also use them to thicken soups, one of my favourite dishes is called Mujadara. it’s lebanese (like me!) you slowly cook a cut up onion in olive oil until it’s all caramalized and delicious. set it aside and cook equal parts rice and brown lentils. you can use water or broth for more flavour. cook until tender, top with your friend onions and it’s like heaven. i’ll cut up a tomato and cucumber and make a little salad on the side with it.

shopping

-stock up on things when you can. say canned tomatoes are on sale. maybe you can’t afford to buy 10 of them, but even if you buy one or two extra cans then you’ve paid less and have them on hand when you need them. also, i realize room can be an issue. don’t feel like all your food has to stay in your kitchen. in college i had a bin under my bed with canned goods and pasta etc. as long as it’s nonperishable keep it wherever you can.

-buy the largest size you can afford. for most things, it pays to buy in bulk. maybe you have a friend you can go halfsies on bigger items with. an example is rice. gigantic bags that could feed you for a year go on sale for $10. if you can, buy it.

-a lot of people live in food deserts. what that means is you live somewhere that it’s nearly impossible to walk to a grocery store so you end up shopping at convenience stores, gas stations and eating fast food. I suggest a well planned monthly shopping trip to a store that has good deals. Yeah you’ll pay for an uber, but you’ll save more than in the long run and have much healthier food.

-don’t force yourself to eat things you dont like. so many people try to choke down kale. or rather they buy it and let it rot in their fridge. personally, i like kale, (im sure it helps that i fry up onions in bacon grease and then wilt kale in that :P) but just because it’s some super food doesn't mean you have to eat it or feel bad for not eating it.

anyway that’s some advice!

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consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis · 5 years ago

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7+ Delicious Ways to Eat More Veggies with Every Meal

New blog post!

This post is generously sponsored by Spinato's.

When I was diagnosed with celiac disease, more changes happened to my diet than just going gluten free. Slowly but surely, my new dietary restrictions inspired me to experiment with more naturally gluten-free foods...which includes plenty of delicious vegetables. Before I knew it, I'd gone from a meat-and-potatoes kinda girl to a veggie addict! As a result, I can now honestly say that I enjoy eating vegetables and crave several servings of them every day. But I don't just eat raw broccoli and carrots! Instead, in the six years since my celiac diagnosis, I've found creative and yummy ways to incorporate more vegetables into my meals...and with help from Spinato's (home to some seriously ammmmazing certified gluten free broccoli crust pizza!), I'm sharing my top veggie hacks today! Because while I truly believe that everyone thrives on different foods and that "healthy eating" looks different for each person, I don't think most people can go wrong with adding a few more vegetables to their daily eats.

So whether you're looking for sneaky ways to up your kid's veggie intake this coming school season or you just want more creative ideas for delicious gluten free meals, keep reading to learn about 7+ easy and delicious ways you can eat more vegetables with every meal of the day!

Breakfast:

When I was in high school, some of my typical breakfasts were cinnamon raisin bagels slathered in peanut butter or a protein bar eaten in the car on the ride to school. And while those certainly aren't bad options, my breakfasts nowadays are a lot more veggie-heavy. But you might not even realize that upon first glance! Because here's the thing: I'm not a savory breakfast kinda gal. When I wake up, I want something sweet...but that doesn't have to keep me from getting in some veggies and greens. And if you follow me on Instagram, you can probably guess one of my favorite ways to eat more vegetables with breakfast: smoothie bowls!

Veggie Hack #1: Get Sneaky with Smoothie Bowls

In fact, one of the best things about smoothies is that, depending on the ingredients and ratios you use, you can pack them full with vegetables and just taste the sweetness of banana or whatever fruits you included as well. Some of my favorite vegetables to include in smoothie bowls are:

Zucchini and squash, steamed and frozen ahead of time to help with digestion. These are my go-to veggies to use if you want a tummy-friendly smoothie that is super thick and creamy but lower in sugar thanks to these additions. And I promise - you don't taste the zucchini or yellow squash at all, especially when paired with flavorful ingredients like berries or cacao powder.

Cauliflower, steamed and frozen. If your stomach can handle cauliflower in larger quantities, this is one Instagram trend you'll fall in love with.

Leafy greens, like spinach (which has a very mild flavor) or iceberg, kale, etc. if you don't mind tasting those greens more obviously.

Veggie Hack #2: Add Zucchini to Oats or Porridge

If you wake up craving a warm breakfast but still want something sweet and secretly full of veggies, zoats (also known as "zucchini oats") are another delicious option! I have made my zoats with zucchini and yellow squash, just grated and squeezed to remove the extra moisture. As I've shared in recipes like this one, you can also use alternative porridge grains like quinoa flakes, buckwheat flakes, or chia seeds if you can't tolerate gluten free oats. You can enjoy your zoats cold (and soaked overnight instead of being cooked) or warm, but if you're trying to hide the texture of zucchini, cooked is the better option. I often prep and soak my zoats the night before and then just warm them up in the microwave until everything is soft and gooey that morning!

Snacks

My snacks have also changed since I've started to enjoy eating more vegetables. While I still love my protein bars, I often end up having something homemade or fresh instead...and many of my favorite snacks - as you can guess from the topic of this post! - involve some raw or cooked vegetables.

Veggie Hack #5: Top Rice Cakes with Guac and Veggies

This tip is as simple as the name suggests. I know a lot of people enjoy rice cakes with peanut butter and jelly or other sweet toppings, but I'm also a big fan of putting on a layer of guac, avocado, hummus or pesto and adding some spinach, carrots, cucumbers or whatever other veggies I have on hand. If you love a crunchy snack, there's nothing better than this!

Veggie Hack #3: Dress Up Veggies with Homemade Dip

Now, I know I said that I didn't just eat raw broccoli and carrots (and these days, I rarely do at all!). However, when I do have a hankering for raw vegetables - especially during hot days when I don't want to turn on the oven to cook something - whipping up a quick homemade pesto or dip can make veggies a lot more of an interesting snack! Feel free to use whatever pesto recipe you enjoy, but my go-to lately has involved a mix of several handfuls of spinach, a few tablespoons of hemp seeds, a squeeze of lemon, heavy sprinkles of oregano and thyme, and enough chicken or vegetable stock (for extra flavor!) to get the pesto to mix in my mini blender.

If raw veggies aren't your thang, you can also roast some and keep them in the fridge for snacking and lunch and dinners (which we'll get to shortly!). One of my favorite pairings with pesto is roasted sweet potato rounds. Just cut a sweet potato up into small coins, place them on a lined baking tray (no oil required) and cook at 425 for 25-30 minutes or until caramelized and soft.

Veggie Hack #4: Replace Oil and Sugar with Veggies in Homemade Granola

If you've checked out my gluten free granola recipes before, you already know that I rarely ever bake mine with oil or refined sugars. Instead, I get all the clumps and sweetness from pureed fruits and grated zucchini and squash. I know it might sound a bit crazy at first, but you don't taste the vegetables at all and they help make the granola extra clustery and chewy. Plus, if you make granola with turmeric, yellow squash and banana, it'll be hard for anyone to notice the squash in the mix!

Lunch and Dinner

Now, the grand finale - how to add more vegetables into your lunches and dinners!

Veggie Hack #6: Cook and Freeze Certain Vegetables and Homemade Fries Ahead of Time

As I already mentioned in the snacks section, roasting vegetables ahead of time so that they're ready when you want to eat is a serious game-changer. I'd also encourage you to experiment with different spices (I'm partial to thyme and oregano) and methods of cooking (for example, baking at a super high temperature for a bit of burnt edges on your broccoli or covering your tray of veggies with tin foil so that they actually steam in the oven) to see what ways taste best to you.

Another trick I've learned over my six years of veggie-loving: certain vegetables can handle being frozen and reheated later on for an extra easy serving of vegetables. For example, I often cook an entire spaghetti squash and freeze one half so that I can take out the frozen spaghetti squash the night before, stick in the oven to reheat for a few minutes, and dive in extra quickly later on. And if you love fries but haven't ever made your own, now is the time! There are tons of easy recipes out there, and I've had success cooking big batches of fries, letting them cool, and then freezing them in sealed bags. When I want fries later, I just throw a handful of frozen fries in the oven on high for a few minutes, and wala! Quicker than fast food!

Veggie Hack #7: Take Advantage of Delicious, Secretly Veggie-Packed Alternatives to Your Favorite Foods

And now for one of my favorite vegetables hack lately. I already mentioned that this post is in partnership with Spinato's...and if you're trying to eat more vegetables this year, Spinato's certified gluten-free broccoli crust pizza is about to become your new BFF!

I knew I was in for a treat as soon as I got my first boxes of Spinato's; even without opening the box or cooking the pizzas, the scent of tomato sauce and spices got my mouth watering. Spinato's 10-inch broccoli crust pizza comes in four different flavors: Margherita; Aged Asiago, Romano & Mozzarella; Mediterranean Supreme; and Primavera. Besides being certified gluten free (something I LOVE seeing in foods I eat regularly!), Spinato's pizzas are free of MSG and trans fat, and packed with high-quality ingredients like hormone-free chicken sausage and vine-ripened tomatoes from local farms. One of the coolest parts? The Spinato family has been experimenting with pizza recipes and unique topping combos since 1974, so these pizzas are part of a delicious family legacy. As for my personal experience with these pizzas...first off, I loved how quickly you can cook them! Depending on what appliance you use, you can have your frozen pizza hot and ready in just 8 minutes. My pizza only took around 14 minutes in my oven, which makes Spinato's the perfect secret weapon to keep in my freezer for crazy busy school days this coming semester. And I definitely want to try grilling these pizzas one day, as the box suggests!

And now we get to the most important part: the taste. For the particular dinner in these photographs, I went with Spinato's Primavera pizza, which features zucchini, red onion, mushroom and red pepper. I added a lil' bit of greens and avocado (since those are my go-to pizza toppings!), and enjoyed evvery bite. I loved that the sauce, cheese and toppings were evenly dispersed throughout the whole pizza, and that the soft crust was balanced out by crunchy and chewy vegetables. I also enjoyed that the crust looked "normal" despite its broccoli base. If you served this to me without the box, I wouldn't have guessed the crust is packed with vegetables! My cooked pizza crust did come out of the oven feeling pretty soft and some of the pizza slices were messy to hold - especially since Spinato's pizza crust is pretty thin (just how I, personally, like it). However, once the pizza cooled some, the crust got a lot sturdier and had deliciously crunchy edges with a soft, chewy middle. And at the end of the day, I don't mind a bit of a messy dinner as long as it tastes finger-lickin' good...and Spinato's pizza definitely does.

If you want to try out Spinato's for yourself, Spinato's frozen broccoli crust pizzas are now available in over 1,500 stores all over the US. For help finding Spinato's broccoli crust pizza in your area, check out Spinato's handy dandy product locator here! Before I was diagnosed with celiac disease, I would've never imagined waking up and looking forward to eating zucchini and green beans and all sorts of other delicious veggies. But the more I've experimented with new, delicious ways to enjoy vegetables, the more I've craved them...and I hope the same can be said of anyone who tries any of the vegetable hacks I've shared in this blog post! And if you need a tasty and easy place to start eating more vegetables ASAP...as I mentioned earlier, Spinato's certified gluten free broccoli crust pizza can be ready in 15 minutes or less. ;) *I received free samples and monetary compensation in exchange for spreading the word about Spinato's broccoli crust pizza. However, I only partner with brands and products that I personally belive in, and all photographs, opinions and thoughts are my own. Thank you for supporting what supports Casey the College Celiac!* Which flavor of Spinato's pizza would you want to try first? Margherita; Aged Asiago, Romano & Mozzarella; Mediterranean Supreme; or Primavera? Tell me in the comments!

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