Hi guys,
I am in desperate need of some advice. I am currently a medical student and find I have no time to cook. Having something ready when I am hungry is a huge problem for me. I find if there is not something readily available I start wanting to cheat bad. I am so used to just running to Subway for a quick meal or popping in a frozen meal. I am actually a pretty good cook but just never dedicate the time to do it. Does anyone have any suggestions for quick meals? Are there frozen low carb meals I can buy (not Atkins-too expensive) but maybe stir fry or any premade meals you guys buy and are low carb. Please help I am really struggling with this and would love some advice. Thank you all.

Try to do a big cook once a week and freeze the food. Make a whole lot of different meals so you will have variety for the coming week.

And if you really HAVE to grab something on the fly you can always turn fast food into low carb food - a burger without the bun and tomato sauce is pretty low carb.

Thanks for the great suggestions. What else do you guys cook ahead of time? I love all these ideas!

We cook turkey! About every couple of weeks I've been roasting a turkey. We eat part of it for dinner, then put the rest away for later. You can freeze it, too.

One thing I really love that's super quick and easy is bleu cheese turkey. Take the turkey meat, smother it in bleu cheese dressing, and heat in the microwave. Once it's hot, melt some cheese on it. It's great!

The other night when I was in WalMart (pretty late) they had rotisseried chickens marked down to $2 each. That's something, too, that could be taken home and frozen for a little while.

Meatballs are good to make ahead. You can eat them with some spaghetti sauce (just watch out for the sugar--most brands have too much. Hunt's herb and garlic doesn't have any sugar, and has less carbs than their sugar-free sauce It tastes good, too!).

You might also try picking up some pre-cooked shrimp or other seafood. Shoot, even raw shrimp only take just a few minutes to steam.

Racking my brain for other quick and easies--it's past bedtime so the brain wants to sleep.

Lately we have been making casseroles which we can get some good mileage out of. The Bacon Cheeseburger Quiche, Deep Dish Pizza Quiche and Chicken Broccoli are a few of my favorites. They seem to last long enough (there is two of us) that we can get a good number of meals out of them without burning out.

Dana Carpender also has a book out called "15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes: Instant Recipes for Dinners, Desserts, and More" that may be of some use for you. Her other book, 500 Low Carb Recipes is a useful tool as well.

A number of LC frozen foods are beginning to make there way to the shelves. If you find yourself considering these, be sure and check the sodium count, as they are many time through the roof.

I take one day and just cook...Usually enough food to get me through the month with lunches and dinner. This month I roasted a turkey and then froze most of the meat into little ziplocs for turkey salad on the run. I made a soup with the rest of the meat. I froze that and have been eating it for lunch.

.... warning.... long post ahead

I do about 2 weeks worth of cooking/prep in one day. I pre-cook tons of meals & package and freeze them. I also clean, peel, chop, dice & slice my veggies and store them washed and prepped in the fridge in bags or containers with some water. (Of course... some veggies can't be cut up until ready to use). I find it dramatically ups the number of veggies I consume when I take the prep time out of the equation. I'm much more likely to do a veggie stirfry when I just need to stick my hand in and grab a handfull of sliced peppers The sliced up veggies can make grabbing a snack a lot easier too - having a bunch of pieces celery cleaned & cut up in the fridge makes it an easy thing to grab on the go. I also grate up a bunch of cheese & keep it ready to grab a handful to garnish, and thinly slice lettuce for my tacos & fajitas. If you like nuts, try separating a big batch into snack size servings and keep them ready to grab on the go.

Some of the meals I prepare ahead - some I refridgerate, some I freeze:

Taco meat, taco meat & more taco meat (my favorite!)
Lasagna - using sliced eggplant for noodles
Meatballs in tomato sauce (toss 1/2 a spaghetti squash in the microwave for 10 minutes and you've got spaghetti & meatballs)
Pork Tenderloin - seasoned and sliced into medallions, lots of varieties of seasoning
Hamburger patties - microwaved with cheese, mustard, tomato & lettuce - - heaven... can be chicken, beef or turkey (or combos )
Fajitas - chicken with peppers and onions ... just micro & add grated cheese, lettuce & whatever toppings you prefer (sourcream, salsa, guac etc.)
Cream Pork - mmmm...
Roast beef, roast pork, etc. etc. etc....Crockpots are awesome - toss the meat in frozen in the morning, turn to low, and cook for 8 or 10 (or more) hours until it's falling apart good Great leftovers too.
Creamy mashed cauliflower - I do up a big batch and separate into containers for the week.
Individual serving desserts - cheesecakes, cookies, etc. I freeze them and then grab them in the morning.
Jell-o in individual serving cups with lids

If you can find 1/2 a day or a day to dedicate to cooking, you can literally cook for a month. It does take a bit of work/thinking/planning, and when you're cooking, combine tasks...

i.e. I use ground beef in a bunch of things (meat sauce, taco meat, lasagna etc.) so I brown up a big batch, and then separate depending on what it's needed for. Likewise my meatballs & patties - I mix ground beef with egg, parmesan & salt & pepper, than divide into 2 batches... I add italian seasoning to the meatballs, and make the rest into patties. I cook one big pot of spaghetti sauce, and use some for the meat sauce for lasagna, some to cook the meatballs and add some more to the leftover meat sauce to make it "saucier"
I transfer my meatballs to the crockpot to continue cooking all day, and my big pot is ready for the next dish.

When I buy my meat & groceries, I do it the day before or morning of my cooking day. This means before freezing any meat I'm not cooking, I slice it (ie. if chicken for stirfries), separate it (i.e. bulk packs of meat or steaks) and otherwise prep. I'll put chicken breasts in baggies with marinades or seasoning... even just lemon pepper, and leave it and freeze in the afternoon, so that when I thaw and cook in the future they'll be seasoned and ready to go. (And if you're like me and never thaw ahead, the individual serving in baggies are quick to thaw in cold water )

Lots of these things (if you have the money) you can also buy done for you... bags of pepared salad mixes, pre-seasoned chicken breasts or ready burgers. I don't have the budget & I enjoy doing the cooking, but it's a great idea for someone with a major time crunch, and a bit of extra money.

Eating on the run is do-able too... at Subway you can order any of their subs as a salad in a plastic container... Wendy's jr. bacon cheeseburgers are a filling (and cheap!) meal.

Hmmm... I rambled on way too long here - hope something helps!

Wynter
(oh yes... and if interested in any of my recipes, most are in my journal)

Great post Wynter!

Thanks

I'm off to the grocery store tonight! You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for all the fantastic ideas! I better make room in my freezer

Here are some excellent quick meals.

Mock Pancakes -
Take two eggs, separate the whites and the yolk. Mix a bit of cream of tartar in with the whites, and beat until they are mostly dry and stiff. In the other bowl, beat together egg yolk, a bit of cream cheese (1-2 tablespoons), a packet of splenda, a bit of vanilla extract, and if desired some cinnamon. Fold the yolk in the whites. Heat a skillet with a bit of butter.
Use a ladel to put dollops of the mixture on the pan. Wait until you can see hole popping up through the wet side of the mixture, and it begins to take on a bready type consistency. Sides should be done. Then, turn and cook the other side. Do this until you have cooked all pancakes, stack them, add a little pat of butter and some sugar free maple syrup. It's very yummy.

This recipe is somewhere between 3 and 5 carbs per serving depending on how much syrup, cream cheese, seasoning, etc you decide to use.
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Heres another great recipe, mock fried rice.

Cut a cauliflower in half, and use a cheese grater to grate half the cauliflower into rice sized shreds. Set asside
In another plate prepare 3 green onions, thinly sliced, and minced garlic clove. Also scramble 3 eggs in a bowl, and in another bowl measure out 3 tablespoons soy sauce.

Get out a pound or so of some type of meat, beef chicken pork or shrimp are great. I prefer to use a left over fatty roast. Cut up the meat into little slivers, and mix with chinese spices (ginger, packet splenda, soy sauce, teensy bit of cinnamon, cloves, etc).
Pour about 3 tablespoons of oil into a pan, and stir fry the meat. Once done, set aside.

Add another tablespoon oil to the pan, and saute the white part of the green onion with the garlic. After about a minute, add in the cauliflower, and stir well for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add the meat, green part of the onion, and soy sauce. Mix well for a minute. Set all the mixture into a corner of the pan, add another tablespoon or two of olive oil, and add the scrambled egg. when egg is scrambled but still wet, begin mixing the egg into the mix. after about a minute, you should be done.

Total time is only like 15 minutes, and serves 4. roughly 6 effective carbs per serving, and calories vary depending on what type and how much meat and how much oil used.
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Quick Eggplant pizza

Cut up an egg plant into 1 ounce slices. Season eggplant with pepper, oil, salt and any other desired seasonings. Bake or broil until crisp or browned... about 5 minutes
Top each "pizza" with two tablespoons tomato sauce, mozzarella, and your choice of pizza fixings. Bake pizza until cheese is melted and slightly brown

Carbs depend on ingredients used

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Then of course there are american staples like hamburgers...

mix 3 or 4 ounces of ground beef with garlic, salt, spices, pepper, and green onion. fry well in pan. top with cheese, bacon, mayo, sugar free ketchup, or anything else desired. wrap up your burger in a couple romaine lettuce leaves and enjoy.

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salad w/ French dressing

Get a head of romaine lettuce and a medium sized cucumber, and chop them up. For french dressing, combine 1/4 cup canola oil, 2 table spoons sugar free ketchup, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 green onions, a teaspoon mustard, black pepper, salt, and a tablespoon splenda. Mix ina blender until smooth, and top your salad with dressing. If desired you can also include low carb croutons.

or if you want something REALLY quick, there is always an ounce of nuts, cheese, and stuff like that.

These are just a few ideas, possibilities are endless.