Suggestions Needed Please

[Guest FourAces]

Hey Guys, When I say I do not cook at home I am not joking. While I do have nice cookware I do not have anything else like pantry type stuff one needs to cook with. I am planning on starting a few lifestyle changes this weekend ... one obviously related to my diet.

I know there are really knowledgeable people here so I am asking for suggestions on the basic items I should buy to be able to cook some pretty basic meals for myself. I guess I mean things like spices or flour or oil or whatever you think I should have on hand.

At my old age I never have bought much pantry type stuff aside from salt & pepper which I know is pretty pathetic to say but its true

With this upcoming change I feel bad for my pizza delivery boy he might end up unemployed

[JKane]

I was in the same boat so I started my diet with 3 months of Optifast. Didn't have to cook, 'meals' didn't cost much, and since it was all I had in the house my laziness worked for me...

Another option is the meal delivery services, they've cropped up all over and the friends I have that were on one in LA loved the food and lost weight. But that can be expensive.

Sorry I don't have much in the way of useful on-topic advice, but we're really in the same boat. One thing I'd suggest is Costco, they have great fruit and vegetables, often in little baggies. Baggy of baby carrots is 25 calories, also apples, plus trays of mixed fruit or vegetables. Also saw a pack of individual 2oz things of hummus last time. Much better than ranch for dipping vegetables, and the veggies are much better than crackers or bread for dipping in hummus!

And grazing the sample aisles is great when you're trying to save money, IF you don't buy anything. It's my experience it never tastes as good when I do buy it and make it at home anyway!

Alton Brown had a great episode of Good Eats on some easy healthy food. Highly recommend his show if you need to know more about cooking!

[RA1]

There is no end to the possible answers to your request. It depends upon any number of things. Do you want to eat "light", as healthful as possible, Italian, Greek, Asian, etc.?

When I am in town, I cook 90+% of the meals that I eat. I have gotten so tired of restaurant food. I never eat "fast food".

In the summer time I luxuriate by eating local veggies. Tomatoes, beans, peas, corn, cucumbers, etc.

However, all that is likely not what you are asking. There are many good cooks on these roles and they shall, no doubt, offer plenty of suggestions.

Nonetheless, for my own personal preferences: I cannot do without garlic powder (not garlic salt, I do not use salt at all), black pepper, rosemary, thyme, Italian seasoning, paprika, olive oil, canola oil, wheat flour of whatever description you like, powdered milk, lite butter, lite mayo, cheddar cheese, blue cheese, various forms of pasta, canned tomatoes in various forms, frijoles, several hot sauces, Kraft BBQ sauce, beef and chicken cubes and, no doubt, much more than I am not thinking of at this moment.

Get some "stuff", try a few recipes either from a cook book or the internet and ask some more "pointed" questions. There are a lot of answers; most folks just need to know the questions.

Best regards,

RA1

[Guest FourAces]

Thanks guys that really gives me a good start. Several things I like but never would have thought of needing to cook with.

[flguy]

FA My current diet consists of mostly protein and veggies with very few carbs except for two free meals a week. My grocery list is pretty simple mostly individual marinated chicken breast, shrimp and scallops, some pork tenderloin and cod loins. Then veggies for salad with low fat dressings, and veggies for steaming in microwave and in stir fries. One most important thing for me is Crisco Canola Spray, no need for liquid oil, you can cook anything with the spray. I go through lots of regular egg beaters, no fat, virtually no carbs for omlettes almost every morning. I also always have protein powder on hand, Amplified Wheybolic Extreme 60 in chocolate and vanilla from GNC which I mix with water and they actually taste great. Try keeping the bad things OUT of the pantry because if they aren't there, when a craving hits you can act on it. Best of luck

[TampaYankee]

Lots of good info so far.

I'm a pretty good cook if I do say so myself. My family agrees as well -- not to blow my own horn too much.

Good cooking requires the right quality ingredients and good technique. It will take some practice to acquire the technique and a little time but not a lot.

The secret to most good cooking is aromatic veggies: onions, celery, garlic and to a lesser extent carrots and bell peppers. They add tremendous flavor to almost all savory dishes: stews, chili, chicken and rice, smothered steak, meatloaf, gumbo,...

Onion is essentially universal, celery nearly so, garlic in smaller amounts is essential to many dishes but overwhelms some. Carrots slightly sweeten and bell peppers add a subtle bite. Hot peppers add heat and flavor. Dehyrated versions are covenient and acceptable thought fall short of the fresh.

Most often these veggies are diced and sauted in a little oil or butter to start a preparation. They can be sweated to translucent or browned lightly depending on the effect desired. Depends on the dish and personal taste. That will come with the recipe or with personal taste.

I prefer vegetable oil over canola for taste whether frying or on salads. Peanut oil with a higher burning point is the best for frying if you are not allergic but it is very pricey so I use vegetable.

The other big secret to good cooking ( in addition to the aromatic veggies) is browing meat/chicken in the intial cooking stage. Alton Brown can go on for hours explaining the details if you care. Brown bits = flavor. For example, if making chili or stew, brown the meat on all sides in a small amount of hot oil, just enough wet the bottom of the pan. You can saute aromatics after or before but if before you must remove before browning meat, else things will burn. Also brown meats/chicken in small amounts. Overloading pan causes meats to steam rather than brown as the juices exude. After browning throw everything back in the pot and use some liquid and scrape up the brown bits of flavor to incorporate in the cooking. The liquid could be a half cup or so of water, dry wine, tomatos with juice etc. depending on the recipe.

Spices and herbs on hand should include garlic powder, onion power, oregano or italian seasoning, thyme, parsley, rosemary, papprika, chili powder, cumin. For chili always keep a couple of envelopes of McCormicks or Old Elpaso Chili seasonging in the cupboard. I also use taco seasoning in chili, an envelope of each for a couple of pounds of ground beef. That might be a bit much if cooking for one.

If you are cooking a chili or smothered steak type of dish remember to take your time cooking. Keep covered unless a lot of liquid needs to be reduced. It takes time for the flavors to meld together or tough meat to cook tender. Count on at least 75 minutes, if not 90 minutes, on very low heat and stir every ten minutes or so. (Beef stews will be on the long end of that depending on size cut meat. Add any dinner veggies in the last 30 minutes else they will overcook.) The same can be accomplished without your continuing supervision by using a crock pot, however the miniumum cook time is four hours on high setting. If you are out for the day set on low and it goes for 7 - 8 hours. Remember to brown the meat in a regular pot before adding to the crock pot and don't forget to include the brown bits loosened with a little liquid.

Easiest/fastest things to cook: roasts, steaks and chops. Salt, pepper, add any other spice lightly and cook in pan or oven on rack. Obviously roasts take time. they can either be browned in a skillet before being finished in the oven or directly in the oven under high heat (450) for the first 25 mintues and then turned down to 325-350 for remainder of time. The same works for roasting whole chicken too.

Fish is quick to broil or saute or poach or steam, slightly longer to bake. Add butter or lemon or cajun seasoning as desired.

Cooking can seem pretty daunting to the uninitiated but it is really not difficult mostly and depends only on a few underlying principles. Start on easy things and progress with practice and experimentation. It may take a couple of times to get a specific dish to your liking. As with most everything, practice makes better.

[Lucky]

We prefer extra virgin olive oil, but were stunned to learn from Consumer Reports in their testing that many, if not most, products claiming this are in fact mixed with cheaper oils. Costco's Kirkland product was not one of them, so be sure to buy it there. I have found their products to be of good quality, especially their meats. But you might need a large freezer since if you are buying for one they don't accommodate that well.

One thing not to overlook in the diet is fish oil. It truly does reduce lipid levels dramatically, and nothing can be easier than popping some fish oil pills. The cheaper the pill though, the more likely it will burp on you, so spend some dough and get quality pills. Sadly, Costco's fish often have warning labels not to eat too much, due to mercury poisoning of the environment under Reagan and Bush.

[TampaYankee]

We prefer extra virgin olive oil, but were stunned to learn from Consumer Reports in their testing that many, if not most, products claiming this are in fact mixed with cheaper oils. Costco's Kirkland product was not one of them, so be sure to buy it there. I have found their products to be of good quality, especially their meats. But you might need a large freezer since if you are buying for one they don't accommodate that well.

One thing not to overlook in the diet is fish oil. It truly does reduce lipid levels dramatically, and nothing can be easier than popping some fish oil pills. The cheaper the pill though, the more likely it will burp on you, so spend some dough and get quality pills. Sadly, Costco's fish often have warning labels not to eat too much, due to mercury poisoning of the environment under Reagan and Bush.

I'm shocked... just shocked that there is adulterated olive oil making the rounds!! Imagine something of some value being knocked off... by it's own industry nonetheless. I guess there aren't as many extravirgins to go around as we were lead to believe. What's next? Adulterating gasoline with alocohol?

Olive oil is very beneficial, but as a boy in the South we only knew olives of the green and black variety and I remember asking what is that black thing? When told it was an olive I replied no way it tasted like one. Did the dye make it taste that way?

Do you have any youtube moments of Bush and Regan in thier boats dumping their old batteries and thermometers in the ocean. That would be priceless. If I recall correctly, we already had mercury-in-fish warnings when Reagan came into office. Not sayin' he made it better but that Japanes village went dimentia in the fifties. Of course that was due to a local factory.

I use olive oil too, mostly for salads and sauteing, when I think of it -- old dogs and new tricks sort of thing. I was doing good to get past the crisco.

If I made buscuits from scratch I'd use lard. At least that is my fantasy. Both actually: making buscuits and the lard.

[Guest NeedSome]

I cook all the time. Not only can you better control what goes into your body but you can also experiment and find stuff you really like. I don't know what to add here, FourAces, because it's just such a huge topic and varies so much person to person. And several posters already gave you some good advice. But I think I saw in another post that you are also trying to lose a lot of weight (right? was that you?) so I'd recommend trying to stay away from the olive oil and butter - all fats are 120 calories a tablespoon, and it adds up quickly when you cook with them. Roasting, steaming, and boiling might be the way to start off. I have a bamboo steamer that gets all kinds of use for veggies and fish. I sometimes brown my meat with a lot of nonstick spray and as little oil/butter as possible (it does negatively impact the flavor though) and then braise with chicken stock (and btw you should steer toward low-sodium chicken stock). You could also try to make soup - it can be very filling, you can make it with lots of veggies, and can be a healthy alternative. I tend to make a big pot of something every weekend and then eat it throughout the week

Maybe try watching some cooking shows and see what appeals to you. Mike Symon has a new show on the Cooking Channel, Cook Like and Iron Chef, where he really shows lots of different techniques and makes some very appealing food. Plus he's kind of a hottie.

[lookin]

Great question, great answers, and great thread. Thanks, guys!

TY, your primer makes so much sense and takes some of the fear out of cooking. Really helpful. I'm not a cook, as much as a recipe-follower, but you've given me hope.

NeedSome, do you know of any easy 'big pot' recipes? With winter coming (for some of us anyway), I'd love to find something simple, hearty, and nutritious. Much obliged!