What's your favorite quick McDougall meal?

[MountainLady]

When you are on the run and don't have time to do anything fancy and just need something McDougall friendly in a hurry, what do you make? (I'm getting in a rut and need new ideas!)

[Malva]

I keep pre-cooked veggie soup, squash and sweet potatoes in the fridge.
When I'm really hungry, with no time to cook, I grab some taters or squash and eat it as it is while I heat a cup of soup in the microwave.
I will also keep carrots and other crunchy veggies peeled and "at the ready" in ziplock bags to grab and go.
Fruit is a perfect grab and eat food, as it comes in its own wrapper.
Air-popped popcorn is also a real quick munchy that can sub for a quick meal when you're out of time. Soup and popcorn is kinda like soup and crackers.

In truth, I *never* do anything fancy.

[Sunny]

I am the same way, I normally have food cooked and ready to heat and eat. I make brown and wild rice with mushrooms that can be eaten hot or cold, it is very yummy

[S B]

I keep cooked whole grain brown rice and/or cooked potatoes and/or cooked and ready to eat other starchy food in the refrigerator all of the time. I also keeped seasoned canned tomatoes (like tomatoes and okra or succatash) in the pantry. So, when I am in a hurry, I can grab a starch and a can, put them together, and either eat the meal cold (like I often do in the summer) or heated in the microwave.

The only problem with this is I have to make sure I get LOW SODIUM (or as low as I can find -- usually the case) canned seasoned tomatoes. Of course, I do not add any salt to the starch -- so this equals things out some.[color=green][/color]

[groundhogg]

I make burgers...with either a can of any kind of beans, drain them and then mash them with a potato masher and add whatever i've got on hand...chopped onions, peppers, carrots or maybe add nothing but spices...basil, oregano, garlic, or just salt and pepper, and then add enough rice flour or corn meal to form a patty and brown both sides in a skillet.

Or I make the burgers with a mixture of steamed veggies...mashed with potato masher and add only a little salt and pepper, enough rice flour or cornflake crumbs to form patties and brown.

Or if I'm in a big hurry, I make a quick chili with canned pinto beans, canned tomatoes, spices (garlic, chili powder, cinnamon) onions, maybe peppers, maybe canned hominy...either eat that with oven fries, or serve it over rice or some kind of noodles...

If I'm really in a hurry or too tired to cook, I take canned new potatoes, canned corn, and maybe onions or something and just brown them together in a skillet.

Those are a few groundhog-on-the-run meals.

[Puddy]

When you are on the run and don't have time to do anything fancy and just need something McDougall friendly in a hurry, what do you make? (I'm getting in a rut and need new ideas!)

I always enjoy a baked potato smothered in salsa and shredded lettuce.

[MountainLady]

groundhogg, do you use a bun with the burger, or just eat it as is? Any condiments?

[LoriM]

I do usually have *something* leftover in the fridge, but my favorite fast meal is the one-button potato setting on the microwave.

[Pumpkin]

I bought a Corningware 1.5-qt. covered casserole - a small one. When I need a quick meal, I just cut up a couple of potatoes, add a slice of onion, and sometimes a sliced carrot. I add a bit of water and microwave for 12 minutes. Then I add some quick-cooking vegetables: broccoli, green beans, zucchini, whatever combination is available. Sometimes I will use frozen veggies or greens. I add a bit more water, if necessary, and microwave another 5-15 minutes, depending on how long the added veggies take to cook.

I just go away and do something else while the veggies cook, and they always turn out perfectly. I may add some BBQ sauce or any seasonings that seem to fit. I also sometimes use a peeled sweet potato.

Now that I have the timing down, this is almost effortless and fast for a nice, hot dinner when I don't have much time or motivation to cook.

Pumpkin

[groundhogg]

Reply to Mountain Lady (I still don't have that quote thing down yet...actually, I don't have the first clue

I don't do a bun with my burgers...we eat them as "steaks". If you get them nicely browned on a griddle or frying pan (I think I remember a few years back some people were browing them in the oven), they hold their own pretty well. Sometimes I make some type of sauce...if I have pinto broth (that's the BEST...but you only have that if youv'e recently made pinto beans ), veggie broth, or that chick*n style seasoning made with nutritional yeast and spices...or some sauce made with soy sauce or hot mustard or whatever...then we put that on the burgers...but the browned brugers can hold their own quite well on a dinner plate. You can also roll them in cornflake crumbs before browning, if you want. Sometimes I make them smaller and roll in cornflake crumbs or some other type flour, or even corn starch ( , being sort of a cook-by-the-mood type groundhog, or maybe that's groundhogg these days ) and we think of them as nuggets, and dip them into a hot mustard sauce, soy sauce, or even some type Asian dipping sauce...which as a rule of thumb I make by using 3 parts vinegar to 2 parts sugar--for instance, I might put 3 Tablespoons of some type vinegar in and 2 Tablespoons sugar --I like palm sugar from Asian stores, but really, ANY sugar works, succannt is good, raw is good, or even refined sugar is good for these dipping sauces...I l just like the palm sugar when I have it on hand-- then to the vinegar /sugar you add soy sauce and spices...ginger, lots of hot pepper, which really goes nicely with the sweet/sour of the vinegar sugar base...these sauces are quite fiddle-able, I find .

But lots of times we just eat the burgers as the main dish, and have some veggies on the side...I don't find their textures "right," in my opinion, for bunning (forgive groundhog for making up words constantly) (and using little faces all over the place too ). I think the gluteny ones make the best bunned burgers...and I don't touch them anymore. Once in a while I run across a bunable burger that's gluten free, but don't buy them much, because the buns, themselves are also a problem for me.

[Mirrim]

My favorite quick meal is the Fantastic Foods box of vegetarian chili. Just one package, 2 cans of beans and one can of tomatoes. Add some water and simmer for 20 minutes. It's wonderful. Sometimes I add a can of green chilis to spice it up.

[Sierra]

Corn Salad in the Q&E cookbook on page 19.

[PattyC]

Good idea on the popcorn Malva - didn't occur to me - I could easily do that and take it and fruit and carrots with me and eat while moving on down the road.

I almost always have some kind of soup on hand - Rich's potato soup is a new favorite because you can really just throw anything in there.

I almost always have some type of beans or lentils cooked up.

I always try to keep frozen corn in the freezer.

I always have cooked potatoes around - both sweet and white. They cook beautifully in the pressure cooker, 3 minutes for the whites and 3 minutes 45 seconds for the sweets, let cool naturally and I'm done.

I almost always have brown rice cooked and ready to go. I bounce between medium grain and pearl brown rice for variety. If I'm looking for dessert, I just take some brown rice, sprinkle a little homemade cinnamon sugar on it, throw in a few raisins and a little unsweetened soy milk, nuke it and I have rice pudding.

I keep 100% whole grain tortillas (from Sam's Club) on hand - 3.5 grams of fat but, if I have to, I can open a can of refrieds and make a quick burrito to take with me. I also can make a burrito with cooked sweet potato and fresh onion and that's delicious. One time I was very desperate because I had nothing done and I had to go somewhere, so I grabbed a tortilla, spread it with about a teaspoon of peanutbutter and slapped a banana in the middle of it and I was off. It held me until I got home.

I love the fake tuna spread made with garbanzos. I can eat a couple of the Ry-Vita crackers with that on top and that will hold me for a while. Sometimes I just use the old fork and take a few bites and that's good enough for awhile.

I love veggies but I'm not so good at eating a lot of greens before I have the gag reflex - however, I've recently discovered that if I saute them with some chopped up sweet potato, or tomatoes and onions or all of the above, they're delicious.

I have been known to throw or mix some pretty crazy things together and sometimes come out with a great "keeper"!

Sorry this is so long, but hopefully I sparked a few ideas for you. It certainly served as a good reminder to me that I really have no excuses for not staying with it. I love the food - I don't know why I stray when I do . . .

Can you tell I like variety . . .

[Janet in Dallas]

My favorite meal consists of 4 ingredients:

1) a bag of frozen veggies,
2) 1 can of Ro-Tel (diced tomato w/ green chilies),
3) couple handfuls of Barilla Plus Penne pasta, and
4) 1 package of Boca ground 'meat' (3 in a box)...this ingredient can be omitted...yes, I'm TRYING to cut back on my soy protein!
5) 1/2 water

Throw everything in a skillet, turn on med/high, so do something for 10-15 minutes. Yum-my...and makes 3-4 meals for the freezer.

[Heart4Animals]

When you are on the run and don't have time to do anything fancy and just need something McDougall friendly in a hurry, what do you make?

I recently acquired McD's Quick and Easy Cookbook - and I LOVE IT!!! Quick and easy are magic words to me LOL There are all kinds of recipes that have minimal ingredients (I am turned off by complicated recipes that have tons of ingredients) and don't take hours on end to fix (another total turn off, when I come home at night I want to be able to put dinner on the table within an hour). So MountainLady - if you don't have this cookbook yet, I would totally recommend it - sounds like it would totally help you!!

Tricia (H4A)