Hello!im on week 2 of slimming world and im struggling,ive never been able to cook properly so i feel completly overwelmed by it all!i lost 4and a half pound my first week,but this week i feel like ive shifted none!i want to plan my meals for the week,well at least the evening ones,but im on a tight budget, id like to keep it all based using the same ingrediants if possible,every recipe seems to need a different ingrediant and it soon gets very expensive if you have none of them already,ive looked through the forums,and it all seems a little over welming to start with!anyone help a starter cook get going!thank you!
Struggling!
- Thread starter jordana26
- Start date
Rochelle1
Gold Member
I'm not a brill cook either lol I can't follow recipes cos I just get flustered!! I've started cooking a bit more since I started slimming world though ( my mam or aunty usually cook for me lol) and I have just been doing simple things like omelettes, pasta dishes etc. Ill learn bigger things as I go on lol
travelswithafatgirl
Full Member
On the Slimming World website there's a bit in the recipes and menus section for students/people on a tight budget. I've found it really useful.
It's worth investing in some basic herbs and spices. They have the basics very cheap at aldi? But as a starter I'd buy mixed Italian herbs, a middle range curry powder (not the 20p stuff the next one up) some chilli powder and cumin (the basics of a chilli con carne) and a plain mixed herbs (great for stews and casseroles) and some Chinese five spice. That'll get you going and able to whip up a few basic curries, chillis, pasta dishes, casseroles, soups and stir frys. Good luck!!!
strictlycomedieting
Member
-Jacket potato, cheese and beans
-SW chips, frylight fried eggs and beans
-can you do a big roast chicken and veg one night, then on day 2 leftover chicken and salad/day 3 stir some chicken and leftover veg through pasta /day 4 boil up the chicken carcass to make stock and turn this into a soup with last bits of chicken -add some veg and lentils or rice or pasta to make it more filling
-make coleslaw using grated red onion, cabbage, carrot and apple -add fat free fromage frais and salt and pepper -makes loads and is great with burgers/chicken/ham salad/on a baked potato with tuna etc -and it counts towards your superfree
-I also like a bag of stirfry veg with noodles and soy sauce, garlic and ginger -add crushed chilli if you like spicy, cheaper then fresh and lasts for ever -hope that helps x
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-SW chips, frylight fried eggs and beans
-can you do a big roast chicken and veg one night, then on day 2 leftover chicken and salad/day 3 stir some chicken and leftover veg through pasta /day 4 boil up the chicken carcass to make stock and turn this into a soup with last bits of chicken -add some veg and lentils or rice or pasta to make it more filling
-make coleslaw using grated red onion, cabbage, carrot and apple -add fat free fromage frais and salt and pepper -makes loads and is great with burgers/chicken/ham salad/on a baked potato with tuna etc -and it counts towards your superfree
-I also like a bag of stirfry veg with noodles and soy sauce, garlic and ginger -add crushed chilli if you like spicy, cheaper then fresh and lasts for ever -hope that helps x
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gazter
needs to get a life
I went from eating out/takeaways/meal deals from shops 5 to 6 days a week to cooking all my own food.
Some of the basics that helped me:
I divide my meal into three parts. Meat, free veg and superfree veg.
i) I deal with my superfree easy peasy - I get those frozen food pouches that you can get at tescos, lidls, asda aldi etc. A pouch of frozen superfree, three to four mins in the microwave - job done. - you can make up your own from large bags of frozen veg and some freezer bags to save some more cash.
ii) My Free Veg would normally be some variant of potatoes. Baked potatoes or slimming world chips (done right they are amazing, i have got back on them after dumping them for a couple of months, since i learned to them properly), if you are a pasta or rice fan just replace with those.
iii) your meat, there is great variety in this. For economy, if you have an Aldi near by i recommend their two chicken legs for 99p. Best value chicken out there, if you want mince get yourself some turkey *breast* mince, lowest fat mince and only £2 a pack at Asda.
My grocery bills have shot up, but i dont spend anything on takeaways. Once chinese takeaway would be £20. You can buy a lot of fruit and veg for £20.
For bulking foods out, i find there are very few meals that cant be enhanced by an onion, a pile of mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes. Buy these in big packets. For example Lidl sell a pack of onions for about £1.80, its a 5kg bag, i had two onions a day for four weeks and i still had some left. You can get a massive box of mushrooms, stick them in everything!
You can keep it simple, the meal ideas can be a bit fancy because if you have been on the diet for a while it can get a bit boring. Trust me, your hundredth baked potato can take its toil.
For breakfast, a box of weetabix (two weetabix every morning, no weighing or fussing) or branflakes - cheap as chips, theyll last you a month.
I would seriously recommend getting your fresh fruit and veg from a discount supermarket like aldi or lidle, they represent really good value. Bunches of bananas to have every day with your weetabix, pears, apples, graprefruits, pinapples.
They arent expensive. That £5 subway sandwich buys you a weeks worth of fruit!
bilsat
Really likes to cook
At Poundland they have 12 tins of chopped tomatoes for £3-00, cheapest that I have found, can be used for so many recipes.
To start your spice stock, if you like curries etc get cumin, coriander, turmeric & Madras curry powder. I used to buy 1 spice a week, look in Asian shops for cheaper spices, i.e. a bag of cumin is about 69p (about 10 times the amount you get in a spice jar!
Staple foods for us are......
Onions
Tinned tomatoes (12 tins for £3-00)
Baked Beans (4 tins for £1-00)
Potatoes
Salads
Eggs
Look for quick/simple recipes for starters then progress as you get more confident. When I started SW I took over the kitchen as I kept on trying to tell my wife how to cook the SW meals so she said that "if you don't like the way I cook, then do it yourself" so I did and my cooking skills were Beans on toast or a fry-ups!
Good Luck (we all started at the beginning!)
Pete
To start your spice stock, if you like curries etc get cumin, coriander, turmeric & Madras curry powder. I used to buy 1 spice a week, look in Asian shops for cheaper spices, i.e. a bag of cumin is about 69p (about 10 times the amount you get in a spice jar!
Staple foods for us are......
Onions
Tinned tomatoes (12 tins for £3-00)
Baked Beans (4 tins for £1-00)
Potatoes
Salads
Eggs
Look for quick/simple recipes for starters then progress as you get more confident. When I started SW I took over the kitchen as I kept on trying to tell my wife how to cook the SW meals so she said that "if you don't like the way I cook, then do it yourself" so I did and my cooking skills were Beans on toast or a fry-ups!
Good Luck (we all started at the beginning!)
Pete
i love cooking - but i also love cheating for quickness!!! 
I often buy the own brand sauce mixes to make - they cost about 30p each, or get the Schwartz/Colmans ones on offers (3 for 2, or BOGOF) and add these to pastas, SW chips, xtra lean mince, as they really do make them taste SO yummy!
Not to everyones taste i know - but i never seem to be able to make my meals from scratch taste as yummy as using a packet mix. Plus the syns are never as high as you think and if you are portioning your meal out, you are looking at 2-4 syns max per portion.
Best of luck, and before you know it - you will be cooking and experimenting your own recipes x
I often buy the own brand sauce mixes to make - they cost about 30p each, or get the Schwartz/Colmans ones on offers (3 for 2, or BOGOF) and add these to pastas, SW chips, xtra lean mince, as they really do make them taste SO yummy!
Not to everyones taste i know - but i never seem to be able to make my meals from scratch taste as yummy as using a packet mix. Plus the syns are never as high as you think and if you are portioning your meal out, you are looking at 2-4 syns max per portion.
Best of luck, and before you know it - you will be cooking and experimenting your own recipes x
clairebrookes
Full Member
I share cooking duties with my mum (but I do the most ;-) ) every Friday night we go through the cupboards and freezer and build a menu plan for the week based on what we have left and build a shopping list based on what we need. We never deviate from the shopping list... Ever. In the beginning we were buying 1 spice a week and we always look out for deals.
With regards you cooking abilities, I was rubbish at cooking until I left home to go to university where I lived off pasta until my flatmate showed me how to make chicken fajitas then I slowly learnt different recipes. It's all about confidence, keep trying new things, some may be rubbish but you'll soon find yourself watching Jamie Oliver and thinking "I could make that sooooo much better and it would be syn free"
With regards you cooking abilities, I was rubbish at cooking until I left home to go to university where I lived off pasta until my flatmate showed me how to make chicken fajitas then I slowly learnt different recipes. It's all about confidence, keep trying new things, some may be rubbish but you'll soon find yourself watching Jamie Oliver and thinking "I could make that sooooo much better and it would be syn free"
AnnaFaraday
..
Anyone can learn to cook. You really can! But you must read through the recipe beforehand (not just when you are actually cooking and getting in a flap!) and read it again until you are sure you understand it. Then measure and weigh out your ingredients, clear the kitchen of (un)helpful people and follow the recipe to the letter. (You can change recipes once you know what you are doing.) If you don't understand any of the cooking terms, then look them up on Google or ask us. Make sure that you understand spoon sizes (no, a teaspoon - tsp - is not the same as a tablespoon - tbsp!) I knew someone who didn't know what a clove of garlic was and didn't want to show her ignorance by asking, and ended up pounding away at a whole bulb of unpeeled garlic with a rolling pin! If in doubt, check or ask. You will soon get the hang of it. And if, after all that, you still don't like cooking, then just cheat!!
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