Probably a silly question
But I am a silly person so I shall ask anyway :p

Cooking for 2 is extremely painful to me. I'm quite incompetent in the kitchen to begin with. As far as meals go through out the day, meal 4 or 5 (dinner) is always going to be my worst. And at this point in time its not particularly, clean though it could be worse.

I am going to attempt to start counting calories in the near future. And was going to count every other meal but this, but that would sort of be pointless in the end.

So if I count calories for every other meal pretty precisely, would it be good enough to basically just half the total calories of my dinner meal? (Hmm does that question even make sense?)

Basically how do you count calories when your cooking for two? Add them all up and half them?

See.. I warned you it was a silly question :lol:;)

Basically how do you count calories when your cooking for two? Add them all up and half them?


That's exactly what my wife and I do. If she makes enough to feed 3, we divide it by 3 and I have it for lunch the next day.

Antoher tip... we also makes a huge pot of meat sauce for pasta. We always uses the same stuff so I entered all the ingredients in fitday and counted how many cups it was in total. Divided the number of cups and made a custom food of "Meat sauce" per cup. Sooo much easier then guessing or using the fitday sauce.

Good luck

Cooking differently for four different people is even more painful. :p

You probably don't need to keep a precise count of exactly how many calories you're eating.

I'd suggest that if there are certain times that you're more time-crunched than others, that you prepare things in advance and freeze them in single serving portions. It's tempting to eat Lean Cuisine Dinners, but if you've planned ahead, it's no more difficult to reheat a custom prepared chicken and broccoli stir fry with brown rice.

That's exactly what my wife and I do. If she makes enough to feed 3, we divide it by 3 and I have it for lunch the next day.

Antoher tip... we also makes a huge pot of meat sauce for pasta. We always uses the same stuff so I entered all the ingredients in fitday and counted how many cups it was in total. Divided the number of cups and made a custom food of "Meat sauce" per cup. Sooo much easier then guessing or using the fitday sauce.

Good luck

Cool, thanks Cramp. :)
Whats the sauce like? fairly good for you?
I buy alot of bottled sauces for on say meat and rice, or pasta. And there really is alot of excess, and I hate to waste food BIGTIME so I end up eating more then I should. :doh: But I am looking into making my own sauces eventually if they wont be too time consuming.
Is your recipe for pasta sauce on the forums at all?

Cooking differently for four different people is even more painful. :p

You probably don't need to keep a precise count of exactly how many calories you're eating.

I'd suggest that if there are certain times that you're more time-crunched than others, that you prepare things in advance and freeze them in single serving portions. It's tempting to eat Lean Cuisine Dinners, but if you've planned ahead, it's no more difficult to reheat a custom prepared chicken and broccoli stir fry with brown rice.

Yeah I can imagine how painful it would be to cook for 4, especially if they are as fussy as my bf. He is not one for eating, reheated precooked meals... least not mine.. I must be doing something wrong.
At least he generally eats a fair bit of what I cook, even if he doesnt particularly like it. I often wonder what my food tastes like to him. I have no sense of smell, so I think my sense of taste is affected quite a bit. Especially since I eat just about anything.

Yeah I don't plan to be too meticulse (sp?) with counting calories. I have not done it to date, and apart from being pregnant I have generally always been between 59 - 63kg which doesnt bother me so much. But I really have no idea of how much I am eating, so I wouldnt mind getting a basis.

I dont ever eat frozen meals generally, my bf has 1 a week though. We dont do too bad with the dinners I am cooking. But I am sure there are healthier ones out there. It doesnt bother me so much as long as the rest of my meals are in check (once I figure them out :p). But I just dont want to sort out all my other meals, and then end up fully over doing it on the last one, hence the need for a rough idea.

Anyway I really need to be more concise when I type/ speak. :lol: Sorry for rambling :) ANd thanks for the feedback Cramp and Guava

For pasta sauces, I make one that's heavy on meat, and I do it in the slow cooker. (More on cooking in a slow cooker here (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=32745) and here (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=38981) - highly recommended reading for the cooking/time impaired.)

I just get a package of stew meat (not the leanest cuts around, but cheap - you could use whatever beef you wanted), a normal sized can of diced tomatoes, a small can of tomato paste, and seasonings of my choice (generally basil, oregano, garlic powder, and a little salt and pepper - experiment).

I brown the stew meat lightly in a pot to drive out a ton of the moisture, generally this takes about half an hour on a low temperature on the stove, in a covered pot (watch the heat with a lid on, it'll be much hotter inside that way). Drain the fluid, then throw everything together in the slow cooker and let it cook for 6-8 hours. At the end, the stew meat will be tender and shred easily and you'll have a delicious, meaty sauce. This can cook all day or all night, and really only takes about 5 minutes of attention to get cooked. Mine makes two-three servings, and I have entered it all manually into Fitday so I can reuse it whenever I make it.

That help? I highly recommend the threads linked above on slow cooking if you are used to eating things that are premade. It's an easy way to get into making things yourself.

Hey archie, here is what she makes it with http://www.fitday.com/webfit/publicjournals.html?Owner=cramp11&Year=2007&Month=5&Day=13

I have no idea how much better it is for you then the stuff in the can, but since she uses extra lean ground beef, I'm assuming it is.

I forget how many cups it makes, but each cup is about 145 cal.

Add whole wheat pasta and a hunk of chicken... Mmmmm....

Cooked pretty much the same way described by Mapultoid. My wife loves to cook so I'm not allowed in the kitchen. I know it's in a crock pot though.

Thanks for the links fellas. :)
I probably wont get a chance to start cooking my own for at least a fortnight or so, but I will definately look through the links more and give them a try and let you know how I go.:tu: