Repetitive meals

[Whatsthekey]

If you had to eat the same lunch and dinner every day what would the meals be?

Context is that i'm doing 16:8 and i HATE cooking or preparing meals. DH cooks all family meals but the food diary i've been keeping has shown me how unhealthy and calorie laden they are. I haven't lost a pound in 6 weeks.

I'm thinking if i eat exactly the same thing every day for the next few weeks it might help kick start things for me. I'm thinking nicoise salad for lunch and porridge with peanut butter, chia seeds and stewed berries for dinner. What would you eat in my position?

I would have chicken ceaser for lunch and Halloumi and veg casserole for tea.

This sounds boring I wouldn't do it.

Do you have freezer space? I would cook and potion 4 meals freeze 2 every third day so eat one fresh and reheat 1 on the third day make 4 meals and repeat that way you can build up enough meals to only cook twice a week but eat different foods/meals.
I personally could not eat the same meal everyday.
Good luck with what ever you decide to do, I hope it helps you reach your goal

@Harp1977 That is a good idea but i really hate cooking. It's the only household chore i don't do and i don't want to add it to my already huge list of daily jobs.

I'm no fan of cooking, but I just couldn't eat the same meals EVERY day. If you are just feeding you, can you not at least prepare some one pot type family size meals for a few days (curry, stew, chilli, bolognaise, etc), eating one portion and freezing 4 or 5 portions, then do the same with a different meal the next night for about 3 or 4 days, then you've got 'ready meals' to last you for weeks.

@BackforGood Also a good idea but DH would just help himself so what should be a few portions would just get eaten. I'd feel mean saying he can't have what i've made when he cooks every meal for me. Maybe a rotation of salads and soups would be a better idea (DH hates both!)

My thinking was that lots of people eat the same breakfast ie porridge or cereal every day for breakfast and the same sandwich for lunch. Surely this is a similar concept.

Can you not talk to your DH and ask that he cooks meals which work for you? I cook and I cook what I need - high protein, low fat, some carbs, plenty of veg. I just add extra to DP's meals, usually additional carbs.

We’re big fans of soup and slow cooker chilli and stew in this house: neither of us have ever really subscribed to the idea of eating particular foods at particular times if day so typically we’ll have homemade soup for breakfast and then whatever we most recently batch cooked in the slow cooker for both lunch and dinner. Healthy, nutritious, no faff, no prep when we’ve had long days at work. If we want amazing food we go out to eat (or used to, anyway.)

I do always have the same breakfast (cereal), but I vary a bit for lunch and wouldn't have the same evening meal twice in a week.

Whilst it is hot, then salads make sense.

There's lots of ideas in the Fast Diet book (the original one that came out a few years ago which was about 500 cals for two days a week) for this kind of situation OP.

For example, some people who are doing IF just stock up on supermarket ready meals (obvs within the calorie range you're looking for) and don't even think about 'proper' cooking. Others just do soup/raw veggies. And some people do eat the same thing on every fast day because that's easier for them.

A salad with protein is a good choice, you could have a couple of different dressings or veg combos to ring the changes. Porridge likewise you can have different fruits on top but just check if you're adding peanut butter and stuff that you aren't making it horrendously calorific.

Sounds selfish, but if his cooking doesn't work for you, can you make something he wouldn't eat? My DH would quickly vacuum up leftovers if I let him, so I realised long ago, that if I want to meal prep healthy stuff for me & actually get to eat it, it needs to be stuff he won't eat (doesn't like). Thankfully, he's not into "health food". I do a lot of batches of:

Bean salad - fresh herbs really improve tinned beans in salads, IMO.
Quinoa & vegetable bakes - up to you if you want to add meat - minced lamb, beef etc are good if you eat meat. Any number of flavour options - curry spices, Mediterranean herbs, harissa, etc. Needs a lid or the quinoa dries out in the oven.
Minestrone soup. Good for using leftover veg. I like adding pesto just before serving.
Kale salad - really good salad option to make ahead as it doesn't go slimey straight away like lettuce etc. I find it's usually good for about 4 days in the fridge.
I'm also partial to lentil bolognese, & daal. I'd quite happily eat either with cauliflower rice. I make a big batch, & freeze it in bags, inside takeaway cartons, so it freezes in nice brick shapes which stack well in the freezer.

I have a Pinterest board (several actually) & when I'm bored, I browse for new ideas for meal prep.

Lots of good ideas. @SisyphusAndTheRockOfUntidiness your DH sounds like mine. There isn't much he won't eat but he definitely isn't into salads. Any curry, stew, etc he would just demolish!

I think maybe i do need a few different things on rotation for the weekend but am going to stick to salad lunch and porridge dinner for weekdays and see how it goes.

Haha @Whatsthekey - my DH always claims he likes vegetables, that he isn't opposed to the odd vegetarian meal (I'm transitioning back to being vegetarian after many years of lazily going with the flow). However, when it comes to it, he looks at my healthy vegetable dishes & salads, & eschews them in favour of something more meaty. Often, a kebab. I decided that rather than try to find a middle ground with lots of vegetables in family meals, which he & DD often don't eat much of anyway, (too "healthy") I'm going to please myself. Balls to them.

I predict DD will change her tune when she discovers boys & wants to be slim & healthy with glowing skin. At present I'd sooner she ate what she wanted. She does actually eat a reasonable diet, cursed hot dogs aside.