Is this a dumb idea?

[natenaaron]

I’m in a good rut and need to cook healthier. I’ve been scratching my head about where to start...sooo I thought if I bought a couple weeks or a month of a food delivery service to get ideas about ingredients, portion sizes etc.

What do you think? Good idea, dumb idea, or have a better way of going about it?

 

[buyandhold2018]

Get an instant pot.
Tons of recipes online and in YouTube. Amazing way to cook healthy.

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[Contact_vs_Feedback]

Cast iron skillet from Lodge is a good place to start.
I use it for vegetables, eggs, burgers, burger fillings etc.

Look for recipe for single person, this will give you an idea about portions and interesting recipe.
Get Tasty app, it's a great app and has many one portion recipes.

Keep the delivery services as back-up, for when you are late in preparation or just want to treat yourself, please don't let it be your clutch.

If you use food delivery services regularly, then it looses it's Dopamine factor.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[natenaaron]

Get an instant pot.
Tons of recipes online and in YouTube. Amazing way to cook healthy.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

I have one but we haven’t really gotten too carried away using it.

 

[Lightcs1776]

Get familiar with home cooking, increase the vegetables and watch your meat portions (I love meat), and don't bring snacks into the home. That alone will do wonders,in my opinion.

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[ajkel64]

A good idea in my opinion. In Australia I used a group called Light and Easy. The majority of the meals came frozen in portions or you made up some meals. Everything was in portion control designed for weight loss and it worked. I lost a heap of weight but when I stopped I put 2/3rds of it back on. There are other companies where you get all the ingredients delivered for the week and you just follow the instructions and make the dinners, lunches each day. The problem that I found is the amount that you put in your mouth. I just eat far too much. Years ago I even lost some weight eating the rubbish that I ate at the time. I just halved everything.

 

[Bobbers]

Habits are both hard to change and form. I have a problem with portion size. When I go to a farmers market to get healthier food I do good with the veggie side and then the meat sellers have 2 over sized steaks. I have become better and the wife and I split a steak and then have the rest for breakfast. She orders steaks from Omaha Steaks when they are a good price since they are already portioned in a good size. It all comes down to price and will power.

 

[Doc4]

When I see a thread title that says ...

Is this a dumb idea?

... my instant response is to think "probably, yes." Then I check out what the thread is about.



Try it, see what you think, and see if it is an improvement over what you do yourself. Then see if you can improve it even more.

 

[ChewyChef]

I do not think it is a dumb idea at all. We all need a place to start and the inspiration. I suggest that you sign up for the introductory offers which are usually fair value and you can always drop out once you have to start paying full price if you do not like it. About two years ago my household went vegetarian and we signed up for a two week trial to get some meal ideas and it worked out great. It was easy when everything is pre-portioned and ready to go after you finish work. Find the meals that you like, keep the recipes and then once the subscription end you can make it yourself.

 

[razorboi]

A friend of mine ordered from "Freshly" and everything is to microwaved. There is a large variety of choices and the calorie count is about the same across the line. Problem is, it all starts to taste the same after a while.
So, you can certainly try them, no harm in that, but it rarely turns out to be a long-term success.

Some people believe that portion control can solve an over-weight issue. It never can.
The human stomach is simply too large. It's designed to fuel an active body.
Sufficient regular exercise/activity is the key, together with sensible portion moderation.

If you're unfamiliar with healthier cooking strategies/techniques, find a cookery book from your region with that focus.
Healthy cooking and eating always involves locally-obtainable fresh fruits and vegetables, so the book must be intended for your geographic region.

 

[Tirvine]

Dumb? No. Best? Likely not. My major concern with the approach is overpaying for the service and, depending on the service, not getting the best stuff. What sorts of healthier foods do you like? A bit over a year ago my wife and I went on Noom. No one thought we looked particularly overweight or out of shape. I am 5'11" and was wearing 38" trousers and 44" jackets. Now I am between 34" and 35" for trousers and 41" jackets. We were fairly healthy eaters, but in order to lose weight some things needed to change. Portion control is key, but a shift to more vegetables helped, too. Now our weights and measurements are quite stable, and we both feel pretty healthy. We use the IP infrequently. I love to cook and am pretty good at it, and I prefer a fifteen minutes to a half hour of cooking to using the IP. Share your food likes and dislikes and the number of people for whom you and I am sure folks will offer ideas. Unless your likes and dislikes are very unusual, I certainly will.

 

[Mick]

Depends on your definition of "healthy"

#1. Stop eating out

#2. Stop consuming high fructose corn syrup (read the ingredients list).

#3. Cook all of your meals. Stay away from anything that comes in a box, a can, or the freezer.

#4. Use no more than 3 ingredients in a meal.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Not a dumb idea at all. It depends on if you are a good cook or not. If you can cook and you’re confident with it then that’s a no brainer just look up a few healthy recipes anywhere on the Internet and pick one out, prepare it, cook it and see where you are. If you’re not a good cook then the delivery service is probably a good place to start.

 

[H4nk]

Healthier is pretty simple according to a friend who is a doctor. "Just watch what fat people eat and don't eat that"
I finally had my physical and since Covid began, I have lost 2 lbs. We are eating better by staying out of restaurants. I replaced the bread in sandwiches with tortillas. I walk up a flight of steps about 20 times a day.

 

[OldSchoolYoungin]

If you have to ask if something is a dumb idea, you've normally answered your own question.

Kidding aside, if you've got the money to do so, meal prep services aren't the worst thing in the world. You're trying to teach yourself portion sizes and if ordering from a meal prep is your way of doing that, I say go right ahead. Not exactly the way I'd do it, but hey, it works.

If I were you, I'd buy myself an inexpensive food scale, weigh what I'd normally eat, then make adjustments from there. It's just to get an idea of what you're truly eating and the portion sizes that go along with it, most people are very good at over estimating how many calories they burn but woefully awful at estimating how many they're taking in. Weighing your normal sizes will give you an idea where you stand, what you're really taking in and what adjustments to make.

 

[Brocktune]

I think it's a good idea. A friend of mine uses Hello Fresh and loves it. It gives you a chance to cook things you probably wouldn't bother to do otherwise, because they send exactly the amount you need to cook that particular meal. For things like odd spices and fresh herbs, you don't end up with a bunch of jars of things you might never use again or clamshells of fresh herbs that go bad in your fridge.

Once you figure out which recipes you really like, you can stock up on those ingredients and cancel the service. Or just keep ordering.

 

[natenaaron]

I don't think I was very clear. I am a very good home cook, but I was raised by a mom who was a farmer and a dad who grew up in the east texas oil fields. Healthy was not the name of the game. I learned to cook that way. Hearty meals. I don't know how to cook tasty healthy meals, and I am a visual/tactile learner so i need the hands on. I don't want these meals as a crutch or the only thing we eat to reach a goal I need to relearn how to do things. If we were not in a pandemic, and I lived in a big city I would happily take healthy eating/cooking classes. I do not have that option. I want to use this as a kind of cooking class. I was thinking about something like hello fresh where I cook. I don't own a microwave so frozen premade is out. My question is if you folks thought this would be a good way to relearn how to cook? Not if I think I will lose weight.

Thanks for the answers so far. There is good stuff in here to think about.

 

[mishkaya]

If you already know how to cook, I would suggest find a youtube channel offering healthy cooking options that suit your tastes. There are many good options out there. I have expanded my cooking repertoire tremendously during the pandemic this way.

 

[Lightcs1776]

I don't think I was very clear. I am a very good home cook, but I was raised by a mom who was a farmer and a dad who grew up in the east texas oil fields. Healthy was not the name of the game. I learned to cook that way. Hearty meals. I don't know how to cook tasty healthy meals, and I am a visual/tactile learner so i need the hands on. I don't want these meals as a crutch or the only thing we eat to reach a goal I need to relearn how to do things. If we were not in a pandemic, and I lived in a big city I would happily take healthy eating/cooking classes. I do not have that option. I want to use this as a kind of cooking class. I was thinking about something like hello fresh where I cook. I don't own a microwave so frozen premade is out. My question is if you folks thought this would be a good way to relearn how to cook? Not if I think I will lose weight.

Thanks for the answers so far. There is good stuff in here to think about.

Since you already know how to cook, the only question that seems to be left is what to cook. This is how my wife and I cook; coniferous veggies with bacon or seasoning, lightly salted green beans, grilled (pan or the grill) chicken cut up and put over a salad, stir fried veggies with diced chicken, seasoned with garlic, ginger, and perhaps some cyan (spelling?) pepper, etc. We like a lot of seasoning on our food so it is not boring. We try to keep meat portions at 1/4 pound. My wife does that better than I do. We have also tried to incorporate some fish into our diet as well.

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[Tirvine]

I don't think I was very clear. I am a very good home cook, but I was raised by a mom who was a farmer and a dad who grew up in the east texas oil fields. Healthy was not the name of the game. I learned to cook that way. Hearty meals. I don't know how to cook tasty healthy meals, and I am a visual/tactile learner so i need the hands on. I don't want these meals as a crutch or the only thing we eat to reach a goal I need to relearn how to do things. If we were not in a pandemic, and I lived in a big city I would happily take healthy eating/cooking classes. I do not have that option. I want to use this as a kind of cooking class. I was thinking about something like hello fresh where I cook. I don't own a microwave so frozen premade is out. My question is if you folks thought this would be a good way to relearn how to cook? Not if I think I will lose weight.

Thanks for the answers so far. There is good stuff in here to think about.

Some of the things we make that are reasonably healthy include lean roasts (eye of round beef, pork loin) with brown rice or sweet potatoes, steamed vegetables, and salad, stir fries from leftover roasts, ramen with egg and sirloin, tofu and mixed vegetables curries, salads topped with grilled vegetables, and tacos. Any of those sound interesting? Glad to share recipes here or by PM.