To use a George Foreman for chicken and steak every bastard day

[MoiraNotRuby]

Teenage DS lives for the gym and lifting weights. He is v disciplined and determined. He eats a high protein diet. I do want to support what matters to him and I'm glad he's not into gangs or regular binge drinking etc. He's also v anti steroids.

I can afford for him to have this high protein diet because he compromises in other areas. BUT I am so utterly utterly sick of the kitchen never being/feeling/smelling clean because there is always some fecking meat that needs frying or grilling. It is so repetitive, the extractor fan is on more than its off, nothing goes in the dishwasher etc.

Wondering about getting a George foreman type gadget - will this make life easier or is it a waste of money and space?...

Depending on your financial situation it is possible to bulk-buy pre-cooked chicken. Sounds gross to me, but the option does exist.

Batch cooking in advance once or twice per week sounds like a good idea. Protein powder is another thing to think about, it's not for everybody but it can be a way to meet nutritional needs.

Can you (he) batch cook. So grill a whole load of steak / chicken at the weekend and slice up for meals and keep in the fridge / freezer. Then you only have a limited amount of smells / greasy washing up to worry about as reheating isn't half as messy.

Get him a few packs of oven bags, throw in chicken breast and different herbs seasonings, possibly some veggies ect, bake in the bag. No mess and the chicken 🐔 is lovley and moist.

Could he try tofu or beans for a change?

I have a ninja xl grill. it is expensive and I don't know how it compares to a George Forman. It still smells a little bit, but not nearly as much as actually grilling food. If grilling was 100% smelly, this would be 20%. I still run the extractor fan.

You don't need to derive all or much of your protein requirements from fried or grilled meat tbh. Protein powders, veg proteins, tinned or fresh fish can all form the bulk of it. I suspect he just really likes steak

He needs to be eating eggs and chicken for his protein. He could cook a whole bird and pick at it all day

We had a George Foreman style grill which I freecycled because, although it cooked well, it generated quite a lot of smoke. It definitely didn’t cut down on cooking smells.

George Forman will be grim if he doesn't clean it once it's cool enough.

He definitely needs to be meal prepping. He can cook a weeks worth and leave two/three in the fridge the rest in the freezer to get out night before.

Another vote for air fryer. Mine is quite small but certainly enough for a couple of chicken breasts or a large steak.
All that needs washing are the little griddle thing and the actual pot, both about 7 inches in diameter.
Makes lovely chips and croutons too, great for a couple of slices of bacon for a sneaky sarnie, lots of uses

We have a bbq just outside and cook all stuff like that on it year round. It's not sheltered my husband goes out there with the golf umbrella. Who wants a stinking kitchen.

@rbe78

High-protien meals don't have to be a lump of grilled meat. Take a look at Joe Wicks recipes for inspiration - he does really tasty high protein meals that you can all eat together.

this^^ also here's a useful research based article on how much a body builder actually needs at any phase of their development. mennohenselmans.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

@nomoneytree

We have a bbq just outside and cook all stuff like that on it year round. It's not sheltered my husband goes out there with the golf umbrella. Who wants a stinking kitchen.

Sounds ideal if the son is grilling steak every day. If he can't be bothered to stand in the cold he can learn some non smelly protein sources. Fish. Egg. Pulses. Beef is really bad for the environment.

Ninja foodie multi cooker - use ours daily. You can buy (cheaply) racks to do steaks/chicken on. Air fry is the business!

Meat that many times a week sounds really unhealthy. Where is he getting his nutritional advice from?!

I have a George Foreman grill
They are great for chicken steaks anything meat
I have the ones with the removable plates
But you can just spray oil on the grill then put tin foil on top of the grill to stop it sticking
And then just put the chicken on top of the foil
Then you don’t get any messy grills or smell

I don’t get any smoke or smell from it
I’ve had them for years wouldn’t be without one

Another vote for meal prepping and an air fryer! I make my lunches on a Sunday and store them in the fridge (although mine are much more interesting than chicken & rice). I cook most of my meat in the air fryer - fish, bacon, sausages, steak etc have all turned out really nicely with minimal mess!

If you dislike the fact that the plates can't be removed from George Foreman grills look around for other brands. I used to have an Anthony Worrall Thompson grill which had removable ones so they were easy to clean.

To be fair, unless you burn things all the time like I do, the George Foreman ones clean pretty easily.

I've got a son with a similar chicken/protein/bodybuilding addiction, he fries his chicken.
Stupid question (probably) but if I got him an air fryer does it generate steam? Would you need to place it under or near the cooker extraction fan?

Air fryer would be better. We got our George last Xmas and it smokes the kitchen out.

Polecat03
Ask him to look into meal prepping.
It's what all the bodybuilders do, my husband included.
All cooking for the week is done just once a week. Roasted chicken breasts, steamed Broccoli, boiled rice all tubbed up and in the fridge ready to be reheated in the microwave.
Your kitchen won't be ruinous from constant meat cooking.

This. My student son meal preps lunch and dinner for 6 days every Sunday afternoon. Not only is it cleaner, less hassle and less time consuming but it's also very cost effective. There are hundreds of tasty meal prep ideas online.

MoiraNotRuby George foreman is a pain to clean, do you have a griddle pan?

Thanks for all the replies, really appreciate it and wouldn't have thought of an air fryer.

I know its not the best diet ever, and will keep nudging improvements where I can, albeit you can't tell a teenager anything He will clean up after himself (eventually) but it is so much easier in general if the things he cooks with can go in the dishwasher (compared to frying pan and splatter guard).

I’ve shown my son how to batch cook chicken etc. then cool, portion and freeze. He then takes out what he needs. Simpler all around. He mostly uses this food for lunches. As I cook a family meal

@Matbest

I think a George foreman grill is a great idea but get one with detachable plates that can go in the dishwasher or sink

We had one that the plates went in dishwasher. It was fairly self contained