Investment cooking is a term I use for cooking in advance. Today I took a frozen package of tilapia and stuck the fish in a baking dish. Then I put some pats of Smart Choice butter blend and some cajun seasoning on it. The salt in the cajun seasoning is a no-no, but i figured that just a sprinkle wouldn't hurt. I don't have high blood pressure issues so I think it's ok. Maybe I should look for a cajun seasoning that has low or no salt. Anyway, I set the oven for 325 and let it bake for about 45 minutes, until the fish looked done. It takes a little longer when it is frozen to start. This made 6 filets, which by weight, is about 3 servings. After baking, I let them cool a little, then put them by serving in Ziploc containers and put in freezer.
Now I am doing the same with a large package of frozen chicken breast tenders. This is just chicken breast meat cut into smaller pieces. I washed the same baking pan that I used for the fish, and put the frozen chicken in it. Then I dumped a jar of Soy Vay teriyaki sauce on there and stuck it in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour. When the chicken is cooked, I will bag it into 3 tenders per bag, and freeze. I weighed it raw to make sure I had the appropriate serving size. For my Slimgenics Diet, 6 oz of chicken is the right amount. The teriyaki sauce is NOT on plan, but what's a girl to do???
Next I am going to make a large pot of brown rice in my rice steamer, and bag that in 1/4 cup portions and freeze.
I love to take a frozen bag of cooked fish or chicken, and a frozen bag of brown rice, and some fruit and maybe a cut up cucumber for lunch. It is so fast and easy when I am so rushed in the morning. Sometimes I will throw an entire bag of frozen veggies in my lunch box with an empty storage container. I cook the veggie at work, and put half in the container for the next day. Luckily, i have a mini-fridge at work.
Another benefit to investment cooking is that I can do other things while baking. I cleaned my kitchen, and did a couple loads of laundry all while setting myself up to SUCCEED on my diet.
Hugs,
Maria
PS. My goal is to lose 3 pounds this week. I think I can do it with all my foods cooked in advance. :o)
Interesting!! I just read my post about cooking chicken late at night and discovered that I said about all the same things. Only this time I was more lenient with salt!! Sorry about the repeat information.
ReplyDeleteSo how did the week go? Did prepping in advance help?
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard from you in a couple weeks. Hope you're doing ok. Stay positive. There is truly a silver lining in every cloud. Sometimes you just have to work hard to find it. But it is worth it to look for it and concentrate on the good rather than the bad. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you even think about blogging anymore so I don't know if you'll get this message. But I just want to say I hope the New Year treats you well. My heart hurts for you because I've been where you are. But I want to encourage you that you are worth it (sorry to sound like a Loreal commercial) and you should keep trying because your life really will be better when you fix your relationship with food. Overeating truly isn't the friend it would like you to believe it is. Anyway, hang in there and I'll keep checking the site occasionally, so if ya need to talk, just holler. Hugz
ReplyDelete