Early Retirement Extreme Forums

The search did not produce a suitable existing thread, but if there is already one - please point me in the right direction!
I was not really sure where to put the thread, it would fit as well into Health, Skills & Tools, or Inspiration. Opinions?

I like to cook but I'm often uninspired what to cook, so I figured I'd start a thread where everyone posts what they are eating/cooking today. Not with recipes (personally I think it very tedious to write them up - there are millions of recipes online if one has a keyword).
There is a "share your recipes" thread already I believe, for those inclined?
I was thinking more of a list to browse to get some quick inspiration.

Today we had:
- vegan, pan-fried patties (buckwheat, red lentils, oats, onion)
- a bowl of bean salad (white & pinto beans, red lentils, corn)
- sauerkraut

I made a double batch of everything, we like to eat the patties & beans as a snack!

Yesterday I was a bit of a grazer. I had:
- bananas and peanut butter
- kombu dashi broth
- cheddar cheese cubes
- seared ahi tuna
- white rice, kombu, eggplant, egg, and salmon
- blueberry spinach smoothie

Today I am going to load up on office lunch and for dinner probably fry myself some more salmon for the rice/egg/salmon combo plus make a small green goddess salad in the side.

Today:
Egg salad/lettuce wrap for breakfast
Mini pizza (I made 2 last night, one for dinner and one for lunch) with mushrooms, onion, zucchini and eggplant
Dinner will probably be leftover vegetarian stuffed peppers that I made a couple days ago.
Couple pieces of fruit for snacks.

(Not a vegetarian, but trying to eat less meat and I’m pleased that today is vegetarian without even planning for it).

Red lentil soup with carrots and smoked bacon (this was insanely good)

Courgettes, peppers, onions, and mushrooms slow cooked in a Dutch oven and then topped with some canned mackerel in tomato sauce (also insanely good)

Hmmm. I was thinking about making an improvised shrimp stir fry sort of thing. My local grocery has those "steamers" frozen veggies at half price which isn't dirt cheap but a pretty good bang-for-the buck when it comes to the quality of what I can prepare with them.

Oatmeal with walnuts and dried cranberries and bit of cream.
Cauliflower, chickpea, potato curry with basmati rice.
Leftover roast beef and horseradish, mashed sweet potato, tossed salad.
Likely some mint chocolate chip ice cream, because it is already in the freezer, and I have no will power.

NOTE: I don't consider this a very frugal or healthy menu. I don't buy the groceries and still working way through holiday leftovers.

Baked chicken thighs with onion, peppers, and mushrooms. Juice reserved to cook quinoa. Spinach salad with peppers, celery, and olives dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.

I am on day 10 of the flu (never had it before OMG) and on the BRAT (banana rice applesauce toast) diet due to some of the symptoms. One would think I’d have lost a ton of weight, but no. Until yesterday I wasn’t able to standup long enough to shower and felt fatigued just sitting up. I enjoyed reading your menus though!

3 bananas per day
1 apple
1 chickpeas burger
tacos with no cheese and lentils instead of meat
pasta with spinach, tomato and walnut

This was today. I am fairly repetitive, and often I eat mashed potatoes + fried beans (this is my most common staple ).

Frita wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 02, 2020 5:13 pm

I am on day 10 of the flu

I hope you feeling better today! A severe flu is really no walk in the park..

At the moment I have a vegan stew/soup simmering on the stove, consisting of onions, celery, potatoes, millet and buckwheat. There are some leftovers from yesterday (lentils & beans) that will go into the stew as well.

Breakfast: coconut granola + whole fat yogurt (both DIY) + frozen blueberries

Lunch: ham sandwich (bought a spiral ham on sale post-Christmas) on rye bread (DIY), an orange

Dinner TBD: probably apples + roasted almonds...

I drank four liters of my tea concoction throughout the day.


9:15am A big bowl full of green smoothie with oatmeal, almond yogurt, ground flax seeds, chicory root powder, a big cup of blueberries, a banana and a pear. Coffee

11:45am Two large carrots, two pieces of toast and a handful of almonds.

3:00pm Roasted vegetables (onions, red & yellow peppers, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, a variety of mushrooms) and tofu with leftover whole wheat pasta.

@horsewoman
Thanks, though I still have a feverthat comes and goes, I have more energy and started eating different foods. (Yesterday was more of a hybrid with those BRAT foods.)

Brunch: 2 cups black coffee, one slice pumpkin bread (recipe uses more squash than flour, 50% less sugar), half of a ruby red grapefruit

Lunch: spiced apple cider

Dinner: homemade chicken-vegetable pastie (red potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, and parsley), 8 ounce Coke Zero (don’t usually drink pop/soda thought it would be better than a beer)

Snack: one Hershey’s Kiss and one shortbread cookie

Other beverages: water

Ego wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 03, 2020 9:31 pm

3:00pm Roasted vegetables (onions, red & yellow peppers, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, a variety of mushrooms) and tofu with leftover whole wheat pasta.

First inspiration today - oven baked potatoes & onions, with our unavoidable bean salad for a side.

I’m doing the budget thing this week:

Breakfast: overnight steel cut oats with milk, a touch of vanilla, and pumpkin spice

Lunch: leftover thanksgiving turkey (from the freezer), made into turkey salad on a whole wheat “sandwich skinny”, 2 Roma tomatoes, lettuce, an orange and 2 small apples.

Dinner: leftover thanksgiving turkey soup with brown rice and veggies.

I’ll eat some version of all of this again tomorrow.

Tomato Soup:

• 29oz Tomato Sauce
• 6oz Tomato Paste
• 1.5cup Vegetable Broth
• 1cup soy or almond milk (unsweetened)
• 5 Garlic cloves
• 1tsp Basil
• 1/2tsp Red Pepper flakes
• 1/2cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1cup of sliced mushrooms

Put everything in a pot and bring to a boil - no pot lid. Once boiling, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Serve with bread of choice.

Just made a lentil recipe that my picky 4 year old approved of. I felt very accomplished getting him to eat this. Learned that properly prepared tomato sauce, more black pepper then I normally use, and a tablespoon or 2 of lime juice makes a world of difference.

1.) Saute onions, carrot, celery, and green onions in that order to build flavors. Add lentils. Mix. Add 1 tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of black pepper, and 1 tablespoon of additional spices if desired. I usually just use a generic all purpose seasoning. Add 2 bay leaves. Bring to boil and then simmer for about 50 minutes with the lid on.

2.) In another pot prepare one cup of quinoa by bringing to a boil 2 cups of water. Let simmer and sit for 15 minutes.

3.) In another pot, saute garlic and add a can of diced tomatoes and enough tomato sauce as desired. Add a dash of salt and pepper and let that cook for about 10 minutes and then let sit.

Last step is mixing all the pots above in the big pot and adding a tablespoon or 2 of lime juice (freshly squeezed is what I would prefer). Mix that and let cook for another 5 minutes to mix the flavors. Upon completion, let the lentils cool for about 10 minutes or so and during this time you can get all your dishes cleaned up.

For lunch I’m gonna have cannellini beans with a bit of tuna, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sprinkle of dried herbs.

Pressure-cooked the beans over the weekend with just thyme and bay leaf and a little garlic. Basically a blank canvas.

Have been eating as various combos (e.g with pasta and basil and a shred of parm). Today it’s tuna. Tomorrow, maybe tomato sauce.

Breakfast: Two egg omelette over a corn tortilla topped with homemade salsa. 16oz black tea with a splash of whole milk.
Snack: 8oz black coffee and a slice of homemade zucchini bread.
Lunch: 5oz of grilled chicken breast, 1/4 white rice, 4oz of hummus topped with garlic pepper sauce.
Snack: 6oz homemade unsweetened yogurt. 2 hefty Tbsp of chunky peanut butter.
Dinner: Braised brisket served over slow cooked carrots and onions. Side of homemade garlic mashed potatoes and a green bean salad (cherry tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, salt, pepper, vinaigrette).

Wow! Typing this up made me realize I eat a lot of food. Good thing I exercise regularly

Yesterday we've had the vegan staple - Tofu stir-fry, with rice, onions, corn and a dash of frozen veggies.

Today for lunch it'll be mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, peas, carrots, and our well-loved bean & lentil salad. DD and DH will probably want a baked Camembert with it, I'm happy with the side dishes. Endive salad is in season right now, so we have this almost daily, as well.