I find often that when I choose bad food it's more for convenience than taste.
So I was wondering if I could just make a huge batch of some kind of chili or jambalaya where I just throw in all the things my body needs into one big pot, then that's pretty much all I eat for a week.
Kind of like how a dog eats dog food and nothing else. I'd want to make "human food" with the same concept.
I can't be the first one to think of this, so I'm assuming that someone's already figured out an optimal recipe or there must be some huge drawbacks I'm not considering.
I'm thinking maybe start with brown rice, toss in broccoli, chicken, carrots, spinach, and black beans. If that's all I ate for a year I wonder what nutrients I'd be deficient in?
I can only tell you what has and hasn't worked for me as I've done similar with mostly good results.
I'm blessed to have 3 Asian (Indian) markets within 10 minutes, if you have one/some close by then I would suggest making the trip.
-Basmati rice, I get a 10lb bag for ~$11, other Asian markets have Jasmine rice at relatively similar prices. Brown rice is higher in Arsenic, try to find the healthiest option for you closer to where you are. A rice cooker could be found for ~ $25 if you have a Bed Bath & Beyond, Aldi, Lidl, or any big box store.
If you have a Dollar Tree close to you, pick up freezer bags and snack bags, if not get them in the big box stores.
I usually end up with ~ 3 1/2 cups of mixed frozen veggies that include: Asparagus, Broccoli, Brussel Sprout, Carrot, Cauliflower, Corn, Green Bean, Kale, Onion ( white, yellow, and red), peas, peppers (green, orange, red, yellow), potato, sweet potato, spinach, and squeeze of tomato paste from the tube, and a spoonful of minced garlic. For the most part it covers the veggie families and the color spectrum. The exceptions are Cabbage, Cucumbers, Lettuce, and radishes... also squash, pumpkins, and Zucchini.
Depending on if you're a breakfast person, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, cranberry, raspberry, and strawberry could be portioned out and added to oatmeal (in which case you could add chia, flax, hemp, and sesame seeds along with wheat germ). If you have a nutribullet just add the fruits to some pure cranberry juice and you're on your way.
Orange juice along with some shredded coconut, mango, peach, and pineapple will further add to your daily servings of fruits and will cover most of the families needed. Melons, Pears, and other fruits like apricot, avocado, kiwi, etc I try to make a point of having when I dine out or on weekends.
An apple and a banana each day are easy and portable and also add to your daily servings of fruit.
The snack baggies I mentioned are great for nuts and seeds. Almond, Brazil nut, Cashew, Hazelnut, Macadamia, Peanut, Pecan, Pistachio, Pumpkin seed, and Walnuts along with some dried fruits (date, fig, prune, raisin) preportioned are a much healthier snack and way cheaper than the trail mix- mixed nuts at convenience stores.
In terms of the beans, cooking in bulk 8n a slow cooker/pressure cooker is the way to go. Buy dry beans and soak them overnite (leave enough room as they expand) and cook them the next day. Ethnic markets like Indian and Latino have them pretty cheap, cheaper than canned, buy a variety of beans and lentils. They're cheap protein.
Typically I'm looking at around $25 a week including diced chicken or ground meat.
You could most definitely make whatever adjustments you see fit (dietary needs and availability, etc). I usually also go with some V8 juice (4oz), and also some Greens +/ Amazing grass.
What really stinks is that you'll get sick of it after a while, varying the spices and seasonings helped delay the 'boredom' of such a routine.
Good Luck in whatever you decide to do. Time restraints and scheduling often throw things off in how we want to take care of ourselves and those around us. I hope this helped in one way or another.
