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MFP has me at 1200 for now, but because of my running, I usually eat more like 1400-1500. However, I've noticed that there are lots of recipes on www.cookinglight.com and www.eatingwell.com that I can make for about 350 calories for a pretty satisfying serving. I eat breakfast around 7AM, lunch around noonish and find that I generally need a snack (usually greek yogurt, I second Jackal904's love of the stuff) before dinner.

For specific recipes, one of my favorite tricks is to do a "pasta" recipe and sub zucchini "noodles", which cuts the calories down like crazy. Then I can eat a really big portion for my alloted number of calories. I have this thing which I use a lot and really love. Makes zucchini noodles in 30 seconds, whee! Another favorite snack: deviled eggs. Use a tiny bit of low-fat mayo just to get the yolk mixture creamy enough, and use mostly mustard instead, and you've got a snack that's about 90-100 calories for the full egg. A lot of times, one egg will get me through to dinner!

I like to cook, and have decent amounts of time to do it, so I always look for recipes that are around 350 calories for a serving that isn't pathetic (like a half cup of something - like I could possibly feel full on that) and has lots of protein and/or fiber, which is going to make me feel a lot fuller.

Oh, and I recently stumbled across this collection of soup recipes and some of those look like good candidates for dinners, etc. You can view all to circumvent the annoying slideshow format.

I've actually found myself pleasantly surprised at how many things I can still cook and eat (and enjoy) without having to break my calorie allotment.

Hi! Proportions depends on your body and your goals. Here's a typical grocery list in my house:

PROTEIN

• Chicken breast
  
• ground chicken
  
• ground turkey
  
• Tilapia
  
• Beef (weekly)
  
• Tuna
  
• 0% greek yogurt
  
• Bean pasta (Explore Cuisine has 22g Protein per serving and <$4 a box)
  
• protein powder
  
  CARB
  
  
• quinoa
  
• brown rice
  
• white rice (moderation)
  
• salad
  
• beans
  
• onion/ peppers/ garlic (& other accompanying vegetables)
  
• spaghetti squash (instead of pasta, or in a tuna casserole)
  
• pasta sauce
  
• rice cakes
  
• oatmeal (1-minute & rolled)
  
• sweet potato
  
• FRUIT!
  
• Bananas (yep, deserve a separate line)
  
• FROZEN FRUIT!!
  
• frozen veggies (peas & corn mostly)
  
• bread (in moderate amounts)
  
• almond milk
  
  FATS
  
  
• eggs
  
• avocado
  
• nuts (raw)
  
• peanut butter
  
• almond butter (MAPLE ALMOND BUTTER)
  
• half & half (in your coffee)
  
• cheese (moderate amounts)
  
• olive oil
  
• coconut oil
  
• other oils
  
  RESOURCES
  
  
• skinnytaste recipes
  
• the only cookbook you'll ever need
  
• simply shredded athlete interviews (they all talk about their diet)
  
  MEAL IDEAS
  
  
• bean pasta and pasta sauce
  
• fillet of chicken (or fish) plus a carb
  
• enormous salad (beans, green onions, peppers) with chicken
  
• protein smoothie
  
• • 1/2 frozen banana (key to smoothieness)
    
• • 1 serving frozen fruit (I mix kinds for a total of 1 serving)
    
• • 1 serving rolled oats
    
• • 1 scoop protein powder
    
• • almond milk
    
• spaghetti squash tuna casserole
  
• • (I literally make this up every time I'm happy to write it out if you like)
    
• one skillet sweet potato burrito bowl (add chicken, modify the recipe however you like)
  
  TIPS
  
  
• portion and bake 3lbs of chicken & 3lbs of tilapia at once. let cool and freeze on baking sheet. Transfer when frozen solid to a freezer bag. Defrost a portion overnight.
  
• you can replace anything white with 0% greek yogurt (sour cream, mayo, whipped cream)
  
• pick up a carton of your favorite protein bars and save them for emergencies (when you couldn't shop or prep)
  
• make perusing recipe resources a regular habit to maintain inspiration
  
• you can shred chicken with an electric mixer (it's kind of amazing)
  
• make an enormous salad on Sundays, eat for 4 days
  
• sweet potato microwaves easily, just throw one in your lunch bag with your fillet and you're set
  
• chili is your best friend!
  
• so is mustard! All the kinds
  
• so are pickles (except for bread and butter pickles... the best kind)
  
• so is hot sauce!
  
• anything you make with ground beef you can make with ground chicken or ground turkey (sloppy joes, tacos, chili)
  
• keep a list of all of your favorite recipes/ meal ideas (things to try) where you can easily review it and build your shopping list. I do it all in one place here and organize my grocery list by department to make shopping happen faster.
  
  That's a lot of info, I got a little carried away. Sorry.
  
  Baby steps. Start with whatever. When you find yourself dreading your meals, spice it up. If meal prep stresses you out figure out how to make it easier (that's how I learned about shredding chicken with a mixer). When you falter (you will) figure out what went wrong and how you can improve.
  

If the powdered Vega didn't work for you, you may want to try their pre-mixed shake:

• Vega protein shakes
  
  This is a pretty decent lactose-free shake mix, if you want to blend your own;
  
  
• Nature's Plus Spiru-tein shake
  
  If you're looking for more of a meal-replacement shake, Super Body Fuel has a dairy-free keto version available. The plain flavor tastes like cardboard, but if you're going for a no-sweetener-added version, it's available in the drop-down menu:
  
  
• https://superbodyfuel.com/shop/keto-fuel-sample/
  
  There are plenty of non-dairy protein powders out there; I'd suggest reading through the reviews in the links below to see how the graininess of each one is. Here's a starter list to check out:
  
  
• Brown rice protein powder
  
• Hemp protein (non-THC)
  
• Peanut butter powder
  
• Pumpkin seed protein powder
  
• Soy protein powder
  
• Spirulina powder
  
• Sunflower seed protein powder
  
• Yellow pea protein powder
  
• Watermelon seed protein powder
  
• Whole oat powder
  
  If you want to get rid of lumps on the go, you need a motorized blender bottle. Basically a portable blender, but just for powders. They run about $40 on Amazon:
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/PROMiXX-iX-R-Shaker-Bottle-Evolved/dp/B07HCM92SV
  
  It also depends on how you want to make it...if you want to mix it in a liquid like water or a milk alternative, then you'll be more sensitive to how grainy the product is. If you have a good plug-in blender, you can mix them up really well in that & store them in one of those double-walled, vacuum-insulated tumblers to stay cold. Or turn it into a shake, which will help hide the graininess, like with some frozen fruit or whatever. Or if you want to make protein-enhanced treats, check out Protein Pow:
  
  
• Pea protein recipes
  
• Hemp protein recipes
  
• Rice protein recipes
  
  Lots of options out there!

I like this cookbook a lot - it's got a healthy/low-calorie focus and everything I've cooked out of it has been great (AND no/minimal "specialty" foods - some good quinoa recipes though)! Yes, it's vegan, but adding meat would be easy if you and your family prefer. I am personally not vegan, but I like vegan cookbooks a lot because they tend to showcase creativity with vegetables and whole grains.

Also, I'm going to stress this from forgot_my_password99 again:
>Cannot stress this enough, vegetables and more vegetables.

There are tons of ways to prepare vegetables other than just steaming them (though that's great too!), and maybe adding a bit of butter/pork/etc is a good way to 'baby step' into eating more vegetables!

Also: if your family is open to it, explore different ethnic cuisines! For example, Thai style curries or stir fries (easy with frozen stir fry vegetable mix, Thai curry paste, optional coconut milk, and tofu or chicken) are easy and vegetables are an integral part of the dish.

You can do an awful lot with the hotel fridge and a microwave. Any perishable items should be fine in the fridge, and if you just experiment some you can cook a wide variety of foods in the microwave pretty well. Americas test kitchen even tested microwave pasta cookers something like this and they worked great.

Even without refrigeration as long as you can heat it, you can get relatively healthy shelf stable rices and things like canned chicken breast or tuna/salmon. Buy a little whole wheat bread or the like and possibly some canned vegetables and you can mix things up and keep it much healthier than hotel lobby food or fast food.

I have this set and love it but I got it from Costco for $30 regular price and I've seen it down to $24.

I love these because they seal well, lids are color coded, and I can can prep, store, and eat out of the same container no matter if I want to use an oven or the microwave. Definitely been worth the money for me.

No doubt it would. Honestly if you're new to cooking there's a book I can't recommend enough. It's pretty healthy (as long as you keep most of what you're eatin in mind) and teaches solid basic techniques and concepts. It's called "how to cook everything the basics" by mark bittman.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-The-Basics/dp/0470528060

It'll talk about how to cook eggs properly and so on. He's good bring out flavor with very simple and mostly healthy ideas (ignoring the butter he likes to use).

I bought one of these a few months ago and it has been great. Super easy, no clean-up, and once you get the method down it's easy to repeat every time.

My co worker used to drive a lot and was in the same boat. He has something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TJH54RL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_y9bGDb1D6YMVH
that works pretty well. I've used it when on the road. I make some burritos and take any leftovers I have and it works pretty well.

I'm going to basically ignore your question here and instead tell you what you SHOULD get... Pyrex has just started making tupperware and it's maybe the best purchase I've ever made. No warping, microwave and oven safe, great, tight-fitting covers...

This is what I have, except I paid ~$24 at Costco. Looks like there's other potential stuff for 6 or 8 matching sets!

Ingredients

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced

1/4 cup lime juice

3 tablespoons PB2

1.5 tablespoons warm water

2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

4 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 package FiberGourmet spaghetti

1 English cucumber, thinly sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 cup carrots, thinly sliced

(plus whatever other vegetables you want in there: snow peas, broccoli, bean sprouts, etc.)

1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped

*Toasted sesame seeds as garnish (if you're feeling fancy)

****
Combine the chicken, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, lime juice and 1 clove of crushed garlic in a bowl and let stand a few minutes to marinate. Coat a nonstick pan with a bit of vegetable oil spray and pan fry until just cooked through. Reserve on the side.

To make the sauce, combine the PB2 and warm water in a large bowl until it reaches a peanut butter consistency (may require more/less water). Once mixed, add ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, fish sauce, red pepper flakes and salt. Whisk to combine and taste to make sure it's tasty.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water until tender. Rinse under cold water until cool, then drain really thoroughly and transfer to bowl with sauce. Toss to coat the noodles and let stand at room temperature until noodles have absorbed dressing, tossing occasionally, about 1 hour or more if you have the time. Stir in the chicken, vegetables and cilantro and toss again. Season with sesame seeds. This was delicious at room temperature, but turns it's even better cold the next day, (as I discovered eating the leftovers for lunch today).




The original recipe can be found here

I got the Paderno: http://www.amazon.com/Paderno-World-Cuisine-A4982799-Tri-Blade/dp/B0007Y9WHQ

It's a little hard to clean (my guess is that they all are), but it works like a charm. It was also rated #1 by America's Test Kitchen: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment_reviews/1540-spiral-slicers-spiralizers

Use a vegetti for the zucchini noodles! Super easy to use.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IIVRB3W?pc_redir=1407737043&robot_redir=1

There's something called a Vegetti that is a smaller spiralizer (the size of a peeler). I have the bigger spiralizer but i know people that swear by the vegetti. A peeler works too though. Just thought I'd share =)
http://www.amazon.com/Veggetti-Spiral-Vegetable-Slicer-Veggie/dp/B00IIVRB3W

This is pretty good:
http://www.amazon.com/Now-Eat-This-Americas-Favorite/dp/0345520904

Also, not a cookbook, but I do like some of the recipes here
http://leanbodylifestyle.blogspot.com/

IN our house we call it the Vagetty

Other than that Cauliflower is pretty workable in a lot of recipies - and baked Sweet Potato fries are pretty good - but still a starch.

They're the best ones I found! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MWBJRUO?psc=1&ref_=redir_mobile_desktop&ref_=ya_aw_od_pi

I put one scoop of protein powder into a blender bottle and fill it with water until it's almost totally full (maybe an inch of head room). I close the lid (making sure it snaps shut!), shake for maybe 30 seconds to combine, then drink.

Sometimes I'll add more ingredients, or use almond milk instead of water. Some people like adding berries or bananas, peanut butter, and/or chia seeds. Really, it depends what you're looking for: if you want a high-calorie shake that can replace your lunch, you might want some of those caloric ingredients. I usually drink my shakes for breakfast, so protein powder + water is enough for me!

I found I could make rice noodles in one of those microwave pasta cookers. I got mine from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Microwave-Pasta-Cooker-Original-Sticking/dp/B000YT2XOI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425995818&sr=8-1&keywords=Fasta+Pasta). From there, I can add leftover veggies and spices (onion and garlic powder, soy sauce, chili sauce, etc.). Makes a quick and easy meal. Add leftover fish or other precooked meats for non-veg)

I take my lunch in these:

http://www.amazon.com/Meal-Prep-Haven-3-Compartment-Containers/dp/B011SY4P9I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1449499511&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=meal+prep+containers&psc=1

And I put raw cut up broccoli in the two smaller sections and fill the big section with my main course. The broccoli microwaves perfectly. It has so much moisture in it already that it steams itself in the microwave. But plain steamed broccoli is boring so I drown it in sriracha. I highly recommend sriracha.

I used to buy these https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011SY4P9I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_95EazbKHAVFS2

But this kind of container leaks pretty easily and after awhile knife cuts would sever it open.

Check out snapware.

Fun fact: Roger Ebert (yup, THE Roger Ebert) wrote a book of rice cooker recipes: http://www.amazon.com/Pot-How-Use-Mystery-Romance/dp/0740791427

Something like this? They look to be about the same, just split into two compartments!

Your best bet is probably using PB2 and low cal/sugar jelly on a lighter bread

http://www.smuckers.com/products/fruit-spreads/low-sugar/low-sugar-reduced-sugar-strawberry-preserves-17

http://www.amazon.com/PB2-Powdered-Peanut-Butter-6-5/dp/B002GJ9JWS

I really liked this book when I was just learning to cook.

Adding PB2 also helps a lotttt!

Buy one of these, make some zucchini pasta, and add your favorite pasta sauce. I'm a fan of this sauce, but you can do anything from pesto to pad thai.

I'm buying my wife one of these since she loves eggs so much but seems to always be in a hurry in the mornings http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DDXYC6O?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

Amazon

Sorry, here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Meal-Prep-Haven-3-Compartment-Containers/dp/B011SY4P9I/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1451911954&sr=1-4&keywords=meal+prep

[Edit for link]

I got these ones and they are perfect

Not him but there's tons of options. Keyword 'disposable bento' returns a lot.

http://www.amazon.com/ChefLand-3-Compartment-Microwave-Container-Divided/dp/B00PY032QK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451872496&sr=8-1&keywords=disposable+bento

http://www.amazon.com/Pakkon-Compartment-Durable-Container-Airtight/dp/B015NDR3SK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1451872496&sr=8-2&keywords=disposable+bento

http://www.amazon.com/Bento-Lunch-Box-Set-Restaurant/dp/B00TXW5Z4C/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1451872496&sr=8-4&keywords=disposable+bento

You can get them from Amazon...

http://www.amazon.com/ChefLand-Microwavable-Container-Bento-10-Pack/dp/B00R9DCV8 for single space containers

http://www.amazon.com/ChefLand-Compartment-Microwavable-Container-Microwave/dp/B00P2L59X0 for two space containers

http://www.amazon.com/ChefLand-3-Compartment-Microwave-Container-Divided/dp/B00PY032QK for 3 space containers

http://www.amazon.com/Removable-Compartments-Microwave-Freezer-Dishwasher/dp/B00MWBJRUO/ref=sr_1_219?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1459276667&sr=1-219&keywords=tupperware

Pea or Rice

Is this what you bought?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IIVRB3W

I've been wanting one for a while now... Anyone know is any work ebtter than others?

I've been using Iyer's 660 Curries. Loads of information and a really cheap book

Use ON it mixes so easily.

Recipe modified from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Appetite for Reduction. Nutritional Information is as follows (per 1/4 cup serving)

• 45 cal
  
• 1 g fat
  
• 3 g carb
  
• 3 g protein
  
• 100 mg of sodium

I get mine on Amazon.

More of a general suggestion for cooking, but I highly "How to Cook Without a Book". It breaks down types of foods into groups by type/method, and then presents a basic "recipe" for how to do it. For example, it shows you the method behind how to make a basic stir fry or a stew, and then all you have to do is plug your seasonal ingredients into the equation, you don't need to go searching for a specific recipe anymore. More of a "teach a man to fish" approach to cooking.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Without-Book-Techniques/dp/0767902793

Since you're avoiding soy, I would stay clear of adding any Whey protein. A lot of them contain soy in their powders. I've been using hemp protein (this stuff) in my smoothies to boost the protein and fiber in mine. It's a bit gritty sometimes, but doesn't really change the taste at all. No soy, or sweeteners to it.

It's an upgrade over plastic stuff. Pyrex doesn't hold odors, you can scrub and bleach the shit out of it without worrying about any damage/reactivity and you can bake with it.

However, if you're going to invest in a set of pyrex glassware, I highly recommend pyrex snapware. The lids on the regular pyrex storage are garbage - they stop being airtight after a year or two and they have a tendency to pop off during transport. Snapware fixes all those problems.

It's a damn shame they changed the formula though. I work with the real stuff every day, and you can abuse the shit out of it. I could pull Pyrex bottles out of the autoclave (>200F) and put them directly on ice... I tried that with the soda lime bottles once and they shattered.