Original Finding red days hard

NN89

Sexy Member
im finding them very tough right now to have ideas for meals, ive looked through the recipe section on this forum and am just STUCK!

I'm a student, so obviously being on a budget is vital and meat is expensive. Today (on my red day)

I had:
Hi fi bar with bran and fruit + muller yogurt

Chicken- yes thats right, just chicken, with melon and some yogurt

tea- more chicken, with some muller yogurt and strawberries

late night snack- some cod..and er..a muller yogurt

I dunno what to have!!! I've obviously had some chicken salads in the past, and some tuna steaks with veg, and also diet coke chicken with some salad..but..thats all the ideas i have! Plus i don't have time to make these meals for lunches etc...argh

I need ideas for lunch and dinner!!!
 
Is there are particular reason you are sticking to red rather than Extra easy? Might help you money wise if you add some carbs to bulk it out a bit.

If not, you could make roasted chicken thighs (cheaper than breast) with butternut squash, peppers, courgette and red onions.

Chicken thighs in peri peri spice and salad

Lean pork cooked with tomato & smoked paprika served with steamed veg


Lean beef mince bulked up with TVP (available in health shops, veggie mince) made into bolognese, cottage pie, topped with mashed swede.

Salmon steak with roasted veg. Salmon steak with salad.

Bet there will be loads more ideas coming :)
 
I did EE in my first week, and didn't loose a thing...and since doing the red/green days ive had a loss, tbh im too scared to go in the EE because of my first weeeks experience.

Thanks for the ideas though, im going to try eating some marinated meat maybe?

I'd also like to point out i don't eat beef and pork due to religion, so will be eating quorn alternatives to these :)
 
I use turkey, it's cheaper than chicken and you can do virtually the same with it.
Bulk it out with lots of seasonal veg and make yourself quick and easy stir fries, casseroles, salads... Try to focus on your superfree rather than the meat for speedier loss.
There's no need to get bored on SW, and if you get bored you're more likely to give up!
 
Hi i used to hate red days too but that was because i didn't vary what i was eating. There is only so much meat you can take lol! I had a red day today and this is what i had:

Brekkie: 2 choc orange alpen lights (b)
Glass of milk (a)

Lunch: red onion, cheese (a), ham and tomato omlette
Meringue nest with total yoghurt and strawberries (2.5 syns)

Dinner: Chicken breast with 198g baby new potatoes and sprouts with some sort of sauce from a sachet that worked out to be 3 syns for my portion (think it was white sauce)

PUdding: meringue nest with total and strawberries (again lol) 2.5 syns

Packet of mini maltesers (roughly 5 syns)

So i have varied my foods and enjoyed this red day. Just to give you an idea of stuff to eat, hope this helps x
 
I find red days hard too, so I mainly stick to green days (and they're cheaper). Do you like fish? You could eat tinned sardines in tomato sauce, or my favourite, curried mackerel on toast with salad - its in the same sort of tin as the sardines etc. And don't forget tuna, you could always make a tuna sandwich for lunch.

Have you tried mix2match? You could have a green breakfast and lunch, and a red dinner in the evening - only snack on superfree foods in between.
 
Good idea to try mix to max, vary things and get the odd green day in there.

Marinated chicken/turkey is lovely. I do chicken with lemon juice, peri peri spice and then grill it. Or lemon juice and jerk seasoning.

Try some quorn or tofu with stirfried veg, SW quiche with tuna, eggs, cottage cheese.

I definitely think the key to this is getting plenty of variety. If you find you're struggling on red days, mix up with some green, Mix2max and one or 2 EE. You don't need to stick to one type of plan all the time, make the plan really work for you :)
 
On red days I eat mainly tinned fish, chicken, ham or mince meals. I use eggs and lots of veg to fill me up.
 
I've started doing alternate days, I do red, EE, green, EE, red etc. Find it helps the bank balance a bit and I haven't felt as bloated as I do after a run of green days.
 
I did EE in my first week, and didn't loose a thing...and since doing the red/green days ive had a loss, tbh im too scared to go in the EE because of my first weeeks experience.

I've been doing EE ever since I started - I gained 0.5 lbs in the first week, but since then I've been losing weight just fine. It might be worth a go - even if you gain, it's only one week of your life!
 
I don't have a lot of red days really, if I do have meat then I make it an EE day as I need carbs to fill me up!
Surely green would be better for you on a budget? Pasta/rice/potatoes are much cheaper and as I'm a bit anal about the meat I buy (free range chicken etc) then we don't have it so much as it's very expensive. We have lots of pasta and risotto and chips and egg and jackets etc etc.
Try green, or mix to max.
 
Thanks for the input guys!

I tend to feel really bloated on green days so am trying red days all this week to see how i get on!
Ive heard about mix to max how does it work? an easy plan to follow?
 
hey hun, .. before EE was introduced i used to only do green, because i really struggled with red days because i could never figure out what to eat and always ended up eating a lot less than i would on a green day.. but now, its bizarr, since being on EE i dont think i ever have a meal that doesnt have both meat and carbs like pasta and rice.. poatoes etc.

money wise i totally get you.. really think it'd help if you switched, or even if you didnt.. id suggeest buying bumper packs of peppers.. and bumper packs of baking potatoes.. i usely buy mine for 1.50 ish from morrisons and they have loads of huge baking potatoes in a pack which lasts me all week.

also, try the shwartz packet recipes mixes as what you would use in them although may be a lil expensive if your having meat like chilli con carni.. makes so much , if cooking for one will last u a fair few days. You can also find these in morrisons, tescos etc. but not asda (grr)

i recommend making loaded potatoes skins, and a cheaper way of doing them is to put just one ingreidant in, like bacon, or ham.. tuna or even just peppers.. and mixing it just with cheese instead of natural yog etc.. as it's justa HEA and you wont need to buy teh extra yogurt etc xxxx
 
I love EE. Lots of folk at my group found when they switched from red/green they initially gained a small amount , but then went on to lose consistently. I started on EE and I have never lost faster (I'm 58) Honestly I'd give it a go! I'm never hungry and 5 weeks in I haven't been tempted to cheat! A REAL FIRST!
 
hehe, .. good luck! at the end of the day if you give it a good go, doing it right and hand on heart say u gave it ur all and it still doesnt work.. then we'l stop nagging and u can carry on doing red to green.. lol but i think ul be fine! lost 4 pounds my first week!!! xxxxx
 
hehe, .. good luck! at the end of the day if you give it a good go, doing it right and hand on heart say u gave it ur all and it still doesnt work.. then we'l stop nagging and u can carry on doing red to green.. lol but i think ul be fine! lost 4 pounds my first week!!! xxxxx

lol if i gain or sts im holding you responsible!:p
 
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