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Comment by shard | Hacker News Reader

In my bachelor days during my bulking phases, I'd do the following to pack in the nutrients I needed:

1. Buy several bags of chicken drumsticks (de-skin if you want to lower fat intake), poke holes with a fork, marinate with wine / vinegar / soy sauce / herbs and spices for a few hours, put into broiler. I'd cook 30 or so at a time, and it'd last me days.

2. Ham or turkey or peanut butter sandwiches.

3. bags of frozen veggies. Stir-fry if you have time, boil or microwave if you don't.

4. Peanut butter & banana & milk & protein powder drinks. I'd make a big glass every night for my snack.

5. Mixed nuts to snack on.

Lots of good fats, low glycemic index carbs, and protein; inexpensive and quick.

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Steaming frozen veggies is faster and tastes better than boiling. You can do it in the same pot, just use about 1/4 as much water.

Is that all that needs to be done to steam them?

Yes. I was amazed at how different mushrooms taste when steamed. Totally different animals. Same goes with a lot of veggies. You can add flavor if you want, but many times, it's unnecessary.

My list is similar. Healthy, cheap, and dead easy to prepare.

1. Cereal and milk

2. Oatmeal

3. Rice and beans

  - You have to soak the beans overnight before you cook them
  - After that, you cook them with rice in a rice cooker
  - After they're cooked, mix in some frozen vegetables and cook for a while longer to thaw the vegetables
  - Some kind of sweet and sour sauce is good with this

4. Noodles (all kinds)

  - You can also cook pasta in a rice cooker
  - Add frozen vegetables to this too
  - And tomato sauce (of course)

5. Chips

  - The baked variety are healthier and taste better (imo)

6. Fish

  - Buy frozen filets, cook in microwave

7. Melons

  - Cut off the rind with a big knife
  - Cut the flesh up into chunks 
  - Stick the chunks in tupperware and refrigerate

8. Peanut Butter

9. Whole-grain bread

10. Mixed Nuts

11. Carrots

  - Baby carrots are good snacks

12. Apples, oranges, and bananas

13. Cookies

14. Deli cheese

  - My favorite is gouda

Ok, those last two aren't so healthy, but they're delicious enough to be worth it imho.

(Also, I'm pescatarian if you couldn't tell.)

You can make pasta in a rice cooker? Do you just stick the noodles and water in and check it periodically until they're done?

I use a rice cooker that you stick in the microwave.

This one, to be specific: http://www.amazon.com/Maxi-Aids-Microwave-Rice-Cooker/dp/B00...

13 minutes works for spaghetti in my microwave.

Awesome, I didn't know about pescatarianism. I wanna be a pescatarian, too!

Protein powder is great. It's so easy to make and filling. Add a tablespoon of natural peanut butter and you're good to go.

I ran the numbers and found that whey protein was a little bit cheaper than milk on a protein/price basis. (And soy is even cheaper, if you prefer soy) I usually mix it up with a noncaloric sweetener now to overpower the strong taste.

For a dessert you can mix the powder, peanut butter, a banana, and some dark chocolate together...microwave or blend it. I haven't really perfected that recipe though, I use a cup of protein powder and it's too much relative to the other ingredients.

Not sure why we got downvoted. Protein is so easy to make. It's a hack in that it fills you up but takes a minute to make, and it's great for a lifting regimen.

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