I want to eat right, but I don't know how!?

My husband and I want to eat healthier. But I have no idea how! I bought a lot of fruit canned and fresh like peaches pears plums apples kiwis strawberries etc, and some veggies also canned fresh and frozen. Broccoli, zucchini, squash, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, peas, carrots, etcetera. And for meats I bought a pork roast, bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts, hamburger meat, pork chops, and beef stew meat. I have whole grain egg pastas, wheat bread.... I have all these healthy things and I have no idea what to do with any of it. It just sits there for us to stare at because I have no idea how to prepare any of it. I can cook a little, I'm great at following directions. I need ideas for healthy breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. We like things to be tasty and flavorful and we'll eat almost anything but tofu and soy milk... Thanks a million to all who take the time to help me out!I want to eat right, but I don't know how!?
First of all, canned foods (veggies and fruits) are NOT healthy. If you are interested in receipes, go to any of the food sites. Yahoo has a food site that refers you by catagory and also has links to other sites, recipes, video instructions and so on.I want to eat right, but I don't know how!?
Your husband can show you how to howl. I'm sure he's made you do it well many times, so why ask us? Oh sorry I thought that was an L. Didn't have my g!asses on. Okay a!! I can offer is the bible,';The Joy Of Cooking';!!! It will make you appear to be a cook and teach you a little about yourself.
This is a great menu-planning website. http://www.uclick.com/client/adv/mu/

The author is a registered dietitian and always keeps ';healthy'; in mind. You don't have to follow her week to a ';T';, but you can get some grat ideas for cooking some of the food you've got. She's also got shopping lists and recipes linked on her pages. You can go back for months to look at prior weeks' menus.



Some other good nutrition info: http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada鈥?/a>
Its very healthy for you to eat 6 smaller meals a day. What you are eating is great..but its best to keep your metabolism going and running. like an example 1st meal which is breakfast consists of a oatmeal and juice and then for your 2nd meal you could have a banana and maybe a granola bar. 3rd a pita with hummus. 4th crackers and cheese. 5th a salad with lite dressing and 6th grilled chicked or pasta with tomatoe sauce. I hope this was helpful to you.
wash every thing and cut each item that's fresh up to bite sized pieces. that way when your ready to make the chicken stir fry its ready. cut it all up in to pre measured packs. there are two of you so measure you meat for 2.ect same with veggies.

squash is great with a cob of raw corn in a sauce pan. the squash when cooking will create liquid,simmer squash and corn to heat through, this will be fast so, tend to it

cut up Velveeta cheese while ya wait mix that in

salt and pepper to taist.
Your best bet would be to buy a couple of good basic cook books.



You have bought some great food,.

Home made food tastes better, has less salt aand no additives than ready meals and shop bought pizza and burger.

Roasting, stirfrying , boiling, poaching, and grilling are healthy ways to cook food. Try to avoid frying whenever possible.

Suggest spaghetti bolognese, chilli con carne or home made burgers with hamburger meat (minced beef), Stir fry chicken with chinese sauce and veg with rice or noodles. Stuffed roast chicken breast, Chicken Tikka with salad and pitta breads or chicken ib tomato and herbs (mediterraneun style.

You can google these recipes easily.

Grill Pork chops or roast joint and and serve with apple sauce, chop mixed vegetables and stir fry them in snall amount of oil and add tinned ot chopped tomatoes dash garlic and herbs for tasty veg.

Chop mixed fruits and either have healthy fruit salad (use a little fruit drink to put it in) or combine fruits in a blender and have fruit smoothies.

Broccoli just steam or boil for about 10 mins until tender,

Stewing beef needs to be cooked for an hour or two to be tender, Beef stew is great if you add tomatoes to the gravy.

Anything too bland add herbs or garlic. Try to keep dalt to a minimum.

Anf get those cook books - suggest one all rounder, I indian (if you like curry) 1 chinese I italian. Home made pizza is wonderful.

Cooking is great once you get into it and every meal can be an occasion.
Next time you buy canned fruit, look for fruit packed in pear juice instead of syrup. If you have canned veggies, drain them and rinse them to get off the sodium when you go to use them.. As far as all that meat, cut it into meal-sized portions for the two of you - like if you have a 5 pound roast, cut it into a 2 1/2 lb chunk so you aren't eating leftovers for a week. Freeze everything. If you have pork chops, wrap in saran individually, place in a zip lock bag and label with what's in it - all frozen food looks alike (I defrosted gravy once thinking it was applesauce). I on occasion buy a pork roast and slice it into steaks, individually wrap and freeze. My freezer is full of future meals so I always have whatever sounds good. Now for the fun part. The recipes!!



You can make a fruit salad by taking the fruit (like the peaches, pears, and apples) and cut them in half. Wrap one half of each in saran and put in the fridge. With the other half, chunk it into a bowl with diced plums, kiwis, strawberries, etc. You can add a little Cool whip to it if you want that and mix it up or just have it as straight fruit. Put the leftovers in a zip lock bag and put in the fridge. You can haul out the bag to put in a small bowl for breakfast the next morning or whatever meal you'd like. Or, if you didn't use the Cool Whip, you can use the leftover fruit to make a fruit cobbler. Just place the fruit in two sprayed custard cups, sprinkle with just a little cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice and cover with the cobbler topping: 1/4 c sugar, 1/3 cube butter (or 2 1/2 T butter) and 6-7 T milk, 1/3 flour, 1/3 tsp baking powder and a dash of salt. Cut the butter into the sugar until it's mashed together. Add the milk and mix. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and mix into the milk mixture. Divide evenly over the two custard cups. Take 1/3 c sugar (or a little less) and 1 tsp cornstarch and mix together. Sprinkle over the cobbler topping. Take 1/3 c boiling water and divide it evenly over both dishes - pouring it over the cobbler topping. Bake in a 350潞 oven for about 30 minutes or until golden. Place a pan on the shelf below the dishes in case it boils over if you filled it too full.



You can make cake with your fruit - like an apple cake but with mixed fruit. Here's a recipe for that:



1 c flour

dash salt

1/3 tsp baking powder

1/2 c oil

2/3 c sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 c heaping apples or other fruit

2/3 c nuts - chopped



Sift flour, salt and baking powder. Cream sugar, oil, egg and vanilla and combine to sifted mixture. Will be very thick. Add fruit and nuts and pour into a cake pan (small fluted one if you have it - otherwise just a regular cake pan). Place in a COLD OVEN, turn on the oven to 350潞 and bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.



You can mix the fruit in jello with chopped celery and carrots - that's good too.



Now for veggies. Stir fry!!! Cut them on the bias and saute with a little olive oil, chicken broth and light soy sauce mixture until tender-crisp. To do that, put a little olive oil in a pan (2 Tbsp) and heat a little. You can add one piece of onion and if it starts to sizzle, it's ready to add the rest of the onions. Saute onions and garlic together until the onion is translucent (can see through a part of it). Then add thicker veggies that take longer next on down until you get to the quick-cooking veggies. Make sure all meats and veggies are cut first before you start so all you have to do is add them. When you cut your veggies, put the extra in zip lock bags and back in the fridge for another meal. Just use what you want for your meal. So, once your onions and garlic are going, then add things like carrots, celery, and mushrooms and cook about 3 minutes. Have a mixture in a small bowl of 5 T or more chicken bouillon (or 1 tsp chicken base mixed with 4 T hot water), some soy sauce - like 3 Tablespoons, some Oyster Sauce if you have it - 1 Tablespoon, 1/3 tsp of ground ginger and some black pepper to taste, and some Sesame oil 1 tsp if you have it. If the pan gets a little dry, add some of the sauce mixture - a tablespoonful at a time and stir - just enough to keep things from sticking. Then add things like bok choy, green beans, zucchini, asparagus stems but not the tops and broccoli. Cook another 2 minutes. Then add shredded cabbage - like regular cabbage or Napa cabbage. Put a little more sauce on it. Cook another 2 minutes. Then add quick cooking veggies like the asparagus tops, bean sprouts, pea pods, any meats you have left over that are cooked (or saute meat before you start the veggies and cook until no longer pink and set aside - like pork and beef cut into strips). Add the last of the sauce mixture and mix everything together. Cook until everything is hot and the veggies are tender-crisp. Serve. If you want the sauce thickened and glossy like you see in a Chinese Restaurant, then take 1 T cornstarch and mix with a little water until thinned and add to the juices in the pan and mix well. Cook for 1 minute after adding the cornstarch mixture to get rid of the cornstarch taste. If it's too thick, add a little more broth or water to thin it down a little.



You can do variations on the stir fry depending on your meats or veggies but the sauce base is the same for all types of meat. If you want it spicy, add a little cayenne (1/4-1/3 tsp)to the sauce.



I found roasting the roast whole makes for too much meat for the two of us so I always cut it into steaks so I can control the portions. Make beef stew out of the stew meat. Hamburger can be chili (take 2 cans kidney beans - drained, 1 can tomato sauce, 1/2 pkg chili mix, your cooked and drained hamburger and mix well. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down, and cook for 20-30 minutes.) We serve it over rice - can use brown rice too. I like to put a can of mushroom pieces and stems in my chili - just like mushrooms.



For the frozen pork chops, just open a can of low-sodium condensed cream of whatever soup, add about 2/3rds of a can of water, mix, and drop your two frozen pork chops into the soup. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, and cook 30 minutes. The pork chops will be so tender you can cut them with a fork. If you don't use frozen meat, reduce the time or they will be dry. You can put your chicken breasts in there too - very good that way. Serve with your pasta or rice.



For your wheat bread, you can make sandwiches out of it - from the leftover meats sliced thin with cream cheese, lettuce and tomatoes - I even put radishes in my sandwiches sometimes. If you have any sprouts, you can put them in too.



For breakfast you can take some of that hamburger, onions, garlic, spinach, eggs, and parmesan and guryere cheese (or just the parmesan if you have it - I keep my parmesan in the freezer - I buy the shredded kind - nothing in a green can). Saute the onions and garlic in a little oil until translucent. Add the raw hamburger and cook until no longer pink. Drain off the fat. Add the spinach leaves - torn into pieces and cook until wilted. Stir the eggs in a bowl with some black pepper - for hubby I use one yolk for every 3 eggs I mix together so 4 egg whites and one yolk - throw away the other 3 yolks because it's just too much cholesterol. When the spinach has just started wilting, move everything over and add the eggs to the empty side of the pan. Stir the eggs just a little until they just start to set. Then mix them in with everything in the pan. When the eggs have started setting, add the guryere cheese and the parmesan and cook until it's melted - stiring it in. Serve. Or, if you don't have much time, the whole wheat bread, some scrambled eggs with sauteed onions and mushrooms cooked in them - will make a nice meal. You want to have some protein (eggs/meat) with your starch (bread) to keep your blood sugar stable.



To cook your hamburger (lean), turn your oven on to 400潞 and once it's hot, place your burgers on a steak pan (metal pan) and cook 10 minutes. Turn it over and cook 10 more minutes. Then turn the oven to Broil and cook until the juices are no longer red - won't take very long - maybe 3-4 minutes. This works great for a nice tender steak too - you would broil that until the fat on the meat browns.



If you are cooking a tougher piece of meat, like a roast, or your stew meat, then brown the meat on the outside in a skillet and transfer to a pan to go in the oven. Add 1/2 cup of coffee mixed with 1/3 c of soy sauce and black pepper to taste. Pour that over the meat, cover the pot and roast at 350潞 until your meat is tender. You can add some carrots, onions, and potatoes to that about 30 minutes before it is done. If you do a 3 pound roast (not your pork roast - but a beef roast), cook it 1- 1/2 hours and then add the veggies and cook another 30-45 minutes. You can also add parsnips or turnips to the carrots and onions - and even a stalk or two of celery if you want. Strain off the fat and serve the juices with the meat or just leave the juices and transfer to a tupperware container, cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight. Next day remove the layer of fat on the top of it, stick the broth in the freezer and keep to use for making soup. You can put a lot of your left over veggies - either raw or cooked - in your soup. Always start with the sauteed onions, then saute the carrots and celery a little in oil and add them to the broth - by cooking them a little, it brings out the flavor of the veggie. Add a bay leaf to your soup and just before serving, if you want to change it from a regular veggie soup to a cream soup, just add about a tablespoonful of cream to each bowl and stir it in. It will taste like it's full of cream when it's not. It will improve the flavor 1000%! Any leftover meat or veggie - or even leftover scrambled eggs - can go in the soup. I don't waste any food. I even take the bottoms of asparagus when I break them off (normally people throw the bottoms away because they are hard) and toss them in the freezer. Once frozen, I put them in a broth (left over from a roast or chicken) and cook until soft and then puree it and use that as the base of my soup. I add the rest of the veggies from there.



Hope that helps. You can play with whatever veggie combination you want or just steam or boil the veggies and put a little butter and black pepper on it to serve. Depends on how much time you have to make the meal. I tried to cut down the recipes for you so it wouldn't make too much.