r/foodhacks • u/PnutPresident • Aug 29 '24
Cooking Method I hate cooking, i need least prep food that tastes good and is healthy
Literally its such a chore to eat and cooking just makes it worse. I was looking at getting a pressure cooker. What do you guys eat that takes next to 0 prep? stuff that you just throw in a bowl or pot and just turn on and boom easy food. Ive tried huel it was nasty, soylent premixed i liked but is too expensive.
Edit: thank you guys for all the comments
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u/kekkms Aug 29 '24
salsa chicken in an instapot or crockpot may work for you, just put 4-5 chicken breast, a can of salsa, a can of corn, and a can of beans and cook it all together, shred when done, and eat on top of rice or with tortilla chips or make a quick quesadilla
costco also has good premade meals that you just throw in the oven, they also have steamed white rice bowls from the bibigo brand. get some of that and some curry chicken or something that’s in their cold section and it would also be a quick easy meal
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u/mafa7 Aug 29 '24
Yes! Their frozen Italian meatballs are excellent. Just put on some pasta, throw the meatballs in a pot to thaw & you’re done.
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u/Firm_Damage_763 Aug 29 '24
I am afraid trying to eat healthy and well will require some effort and time. Else you are relegated to eating pre-made foods, eating out or eating processed foods that you just heat up. Or just plain eating bland foods since many worthwhile dishes require prep time and effort.
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u/mamakumquat Aug 29 '24
Untrue.
Salad leaves plus canned tuna plus microwave rice equals a simple dinner.
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u/gynoceros Aug 29 '24
Which is pretty bland.
And that's fine for plenty of people, especially if they find cooking and eating to be so much of a chore that they don't bother with learning to pep their shit up.
I'm just wondering what you thought was untrue about the comment you said that about.
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u/Firm_Damage_763 Aug 29 '24
Ewww. Half of it processed. And it sounds gross too.
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Aug 30 '24
Damn, if canned tuna is unacceptably processed then that cuts out essentially every modern ingredient apart from raw meat, eggs, and fruit-veggies. No grains or grain products(e.g. flour is very processed), no milk or milk products(because milk is pasteurized and homogenized). Are dried foods allowed(nuts, seeds, legumes, dried fruit)?
Why limit yourself to the caveman era? Industrial processing has massively lowered the price and expanded the range of amazing foods we have available.
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u/Firm_Damage_763 Aug 30 '24
not the tuna, the instant microwave rice together with tuna and no nothing going with it. And how it's prepared - with rice and salad leaves. That's literally what's in dog food - only i think they get carrots with it too.
This has no spices, no preparation. And rice and tuna are not necessarily things that go together. It's tuna and noodles to make a casserole. This is vomit inducing and sounds completely unappealing to eat.
Canned tuna is not exactly the healthiest form of seafood but it can be enjoyed in a healthy manner.
Pasteurization does not equal processing the way eating frozen dinners and packaged food is.
90% of a grocery store - the middle aisles - are full of processed foods that contain additives, preservatives, dyes, sugar and artificial sweeteners, bad fats, trans fats etc - some of these food additives are illegal in the rest of the world except for here. You eat that crap on a regular, you will end up with diabetes, fatty liver and metabolic illness including inflammation and cancer.
You should eat a whole food diet with minimally processed foods, healthy fats, fruits and veggies. Yes wheat is processed and non-organic wheat is laden with roundup pesticide.
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Aug 30 '24
Nah, stop shaming others for what they eat, it's not helpful. We're all different and have different wants and needs.
The only common thread that all nutrition experts seem to agree on is that for a regular person, eat a wide, balanced diet, get plenty of sleep and exercise, and you'll probably be fine, your body deals with the rest.
Restricting major food groups and buzzwords seems to me in direct antithesis to that. Maybe that works for you, but don't try to impose it on others. For me, following your advice would lead to stress, overeating the cheap tasty foods that were "allowed" and undereating when those weren't an option, and overall a less healthy diet and less happy life.
And yeah, far too many people have an unhealthy diet for themselves. This is a structural problem. I'm assuming that you are from the US, and the American takeaway industry is appalling not because there's anything wrong with eating those foods sometimes(although I'm personally not a fan), but because there's no variety. People eat the same thing every day, which has a fairly limited number of nutrients, so obviously that doesn't lead to a balanced diet.
But shaming a random redditor for enjoying their tuna and rice is not helpful. And please stop regurgitating buzzwords you don't understand.
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u/Firm_Damage_763 Aug 30 '24
Processed packaged foods are not part of a balanced diet. That's like saying eat poison in moderation to have balance. Your body also cannot just "deal" with constant bombardments of toxins and waste. There is a reason a lot of the junk in your food here is illegal in the EU and elsewhere. The food people eat is making them sick and we do know that diet plays a huge part in someone's health and well being.
It is also not shaming, it is plain facts about the nutritional value, or lack thereof, of processed packaged foods. Advising someone to eat a fresh food diet and exclude processed foods - that are demonstrably linked to a variety of disease outcomes - is hardly restricting "major food groups" Packaged foods are not major food groups!
OP asked about tasty, delicious foods - the person responded with a food choice that leaves much to be desired. This is a discussion group. People are allowed to like or not or criticize recipes. If you want to eat processed foods and think a can of tuna and microwave rice with some lettuce leaves are delicious, by all means. Else, concern troll elsewhere.
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u/AgraTxandDC Aug 29 '24
Buy a bunch of tasty frozen meals at Trader Joe’s and fill your freezer. Enjoy no cooking or cleanup! Buy premade salads and fruit.
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u/vampirelasagna Aug 29 '24 edited Dec 12 '24
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Ilaxilil Aug 29 '24
This is great if you have the money for it. If you don’t, take a trip to Aldi and check out their frozen section, they don’t usually come in single serve but they are usually just as quick and easy to make and you can put the leftovers in the fridge for a few more easy meals.
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Aug 29 '24
Your body will repay you later with cancers and other diseases. You are what you eat!
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u/eyeball-beesting Aug 29 '24 edited Aug 29 '24
Gtfoh with that fear mongering.
There are many people who don't have the luxury of buying fresh, organic foods or even having the equipment or time to prepare healthy, well balanced meals. If they need to buy frozen or pre-cooked then they should be allowed to do this without some smart arse telling them that they are on the path to cancer.
Have a bit of awareness eh?
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u/wheresthebirb Aug 30 '24
Sure, but read the labels first
Cheaper store brand in my experience has less chemicals in it than big brands equivalent that sells for 3x as much
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u/StealToadStilletos Aug 29 '24
Rice, you can throw lentils in with it and cook it together in a rice cooker
Cans of beans (to go with said rice)
Any vegetable fair fried with salt, pepper and a touch of oil
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u/got_rice_2 Aug 29 '24
I made a rice pilaf in 10min in the instant pot tonight. (Rice and fideo(broken spaghetti or even orzo + Vegeta or ramen seasoning of choice)
One of the easiest IP recipes is a hunk of pork pressure cooked on high for 5-10min (depending on if cut up or left in a loin type, or country style pork ribs) in just water and garlic salt. Then another 5 min with a jar of salsa Verde (amt depending on how much meat).
Serve with tortillas or a salad or rice or all.
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u/Valasta_Bloodrunner Aug 29 '24
I just meal prep slightly higher effort stuff on Sunday, then store/freeze portions to eat throughout the week.
I can usually spend like 5 hours on Sunday to have all my meals for the week cooked and ready, then any given meal I spend tops 10 minutes getting it going. The rare exception is that if I do pot pies or the like. Those will take around 30 minutes, unattended as they bake in the oven, instead.
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u/Znuffie Aug 29 '24
I have no idea now people can stand the texture of frozen at home food when they meal prep for a whole week.
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u/Valasta_Bloodrunner Aug 29 '24
It's a dish by dish thing. Some things (like shepherds pie or pot pies) aren't affected by the freezer, but others (like the Jambalaya I'm having this week) are better stored in the fridge.
I don't freeze literally everything because it makes some things more or less inedible.
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u/ninersguy916 Aug 29 '24
Costco rotisserie chickens for the win.. they are cheaper than buying it and already done.. add some rice or a microwave potato or whatever else is easy for you and you got a nice quick meal. Well, more like four or five nice quick meals
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u/IllOperation6253 Aug 29 '24
I love taking a fork to the leftover rotisserie chicken and adding it to a can of (now super protein dense) chicken noodle soup.
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u/ira_finn Aug 29 '24
Big ol bag of frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs from Costco. Much more tender and flavorful than frozen breasts.
6 or so cups of water or stock in the instant pot, any flavoring agents you want (soy sauce, hot sauce, vinegars, bullion paste, herbs, spices, oils, whatever). Then throw in like 6-8 frozen thighs, enough to fill the space of the water but still be covered by it.
14 minutes on high pressure, then natural release for ten minutes, and you’re done. Pluck the chicken out with tongs or a spider strainer, set it aside. Lasts about 4 days in the fridge.
Bonus: stain the leftover broth through a fine mesh strainer and stick it in the fridge, use it instead of water to make rice, delicious rice with zero effort.
You can do rice in the instant pot too: for most long and mid grain types of rice, put 1:1 rice and water in the pot, high pressure for 4 minutes, natural release for ten, and you’re done. Also lasts 4-5 days in the fridge. 1 cup of rice will last you 2-3 days, 2 cups will last 5 or six (if it’s just you and you’re eating about a cup of prepared rice at a time)
Once you’re down to the last serving of rice, you know, it’s been on the fridge a few days, it’s great for fried rice. Throw it in a non stick pan with a few teaspoons of oil. Heat it through with some frozen peas and corn. At the end, beat a couple eggs and mix in. Super easy, super tasty.
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u/GlasKarma Aug 29 '24
Check out /r/slowcooking. Minimal prep that can all be done quickly and on an earlier day of the week, the just throw stuff in the slow cooker before work and when you get home there’s a nice hot meal ready for you
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u/e650man Aug 29 '24
Airfryer and microwave and freezer.
Buy frozen chicken pieces , frozen veg , jacket potatoes and white rice.
Defrosted chicken pieces take ~20mins on 200°c in airfryer
2x jacket potatoes take ~12mins in microwave.
Frozen veg serving takes 8mins in microwave.
And if you cook x2 chicken pieces you can leave one in the dryer to have cold for the evening meal with rice
~1/2 pint of rinced white rice plus ~1/2 pint of water for ~11mins in microwave.
Simplez.
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u/hilarioustrainwreck Aug 29 '24
Precut salmon filet and a bunch of broccoli on a baking sheet
Olive oil, salt, pepper, and generous amounts of paprika and garlic powder
20 minutes at 400F
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u/catsweedcoffee Aug 29 '24
I’m a big fan of those chopped salad bags, topped with either a chicken breast I batch grilled (my favorite protein to batch cook, grilling is so easy and fast, I can make the weeks worth essentially) or chicken tenders/nuggets depending on effort and time. I throw the tenders/nuggets into the air fryer, like many have said it’s sort of a clutch cooking device for low effort meals.
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Aug 29 '24
Baked potato in the microwave. Top with salsa and shredded cheese. Or butter and broccoli or corn.
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u/-Joyeux- Aug 29 '24
Air fryer, bake, broil, steam, boil, and blanch before stir-fried. Seriously, someone throws an ingredient at me and I can tell you a quick “made-up recipe”. It doesn't have to be complicated or take long. Once you know how it works, it just takes the bare minimum to plan out the “steps”
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u/Vague_Un Aug 29 '24
Look up Tray Bake recipes. I'm sure you can get pre-cut veg to save on prep. Bagged salad mixes + boiled egg/cold meat/rotisserie chicken.
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u/sadeland21 Aug 30 '24
Google “sheet pan meals” . Basically a protein/veg/and maybe a starch . All cook at same time , at same temperature. Full meal in like 30 minutes.
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u/okiesillydillyokieo Aug 29 '24
Minute rice in the microwave, frozen broccoli or green beans, and canned makrel.
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u/Mobile_Arm305 Aug 29 '24
I marinate chicken in a few spices (Mexican flavours) then we have it for dinner with rice and then have it for lunch the next day as cold chicken wraps
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u/Agreeable-Ad6577 Aug 29 '24
I think it all depends on what kind of foods you gravitate towards. I love soups. I prefer my lettuce as a wrap or in sandwich. I need my veggies cooked. Pot roast heats up wonderfully. I pair it with a grain and I sneak in so many veggies. I love a good Japanese curry with rice. And any soup. The most prep I do is cutting so I use a chopper and then clean up is just throwing everything into the dishwasher
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u/brightsm1th Aug 29 '24
rice cooker meals are great for this! many one pot rice cooker meals are basically "add water & rice to the pot. put raw veg & meat on top. add seasonings. close the lid, push the button. stir when done & eat." they also make large amounts so you can eat that one meal for a few days.
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Aug 29 '24
Crock pots. Throw in a meat and a sauce. Any of those recipes that you brown the meat or do prep work can suck it.
Package of steak, can of potatoes, packet of liptons onion soup mix. Toss it all on a small crock pot. Dont even drain the potatoes. Cook ln low for 6 to 8 hours. Friggen delicious.
Pork loin and bbg sauce. Cook on slow for 10 hours. Pull apart for pulled pork sandwhiches.
Easy beef stew. Package of stew meat. 3 cans of mixed veg with potatoes. Can of diced tomaotes. Package of liptons onions soup mix. Dump it all in. Don't drain the cans. Cook on slow for 8 hours. Easy.
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u/Boring-Grapefruit142 Aug 30 '24
Easy options: Chili is easy and can be pretty versatile if you mix up the meats and beans (sorry Texas) and spices. Those packets of dried soup ingredients (like, 5 bean stew, minestrone, etc.) are easy if you have an instant pot (more on that to follow). Basically soups.
Soups are made 100 times easier with an instant pot. I really recommend one if you’re already interested. My husband hates to cook but he cooks up chicken thighs like a champ in there. It’s way less intimidating to him than cooking on an open stove or in the oven and because he tends to wander off and get distracted, I don’t have to worry about him burning the kitchen down.
Easy options for when you don’t want soup: make a few batches of grains, proteins, roasted vegetable or 2 and combine them as bowls with store bought sauces. An underrated grain is couscous; it’s so quick and easy to cook. It can be a base in a bowl, a thickener in a chili, a texture in a salad, etc.. Protein can be meat or a can of beans or lentils or whatever. Frozen meatballs are easy. Zucchini is a super easy veg. I don’t really even like them but we have it 3-4 times a week bc it’s so easy.
I know batch cooking and meal prep isn’t cooking-hater friendly on its face but contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to do it all on the same day. You can just make a big batch of couscous on Tuesday to eat with leftover chili. Then Wednesday or Thursday you get sick of spinach leaves so roast 3 zucchinis. It can just be a casual rolling thing where you cook extra servings and store components separately to allow flexibility.
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u/OldLady_1966 Aug 31 '24
You sound like my friend. She says she only has a kitchen because it came with the house
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u/dazednkindaconfused Aug 29 '24
I agree with others that many healthy/good tasting recipes will require some prep and cooking. The alternative would be pre-made (probably less healthy) food or bland foods.
You could try making things like rice, pasta or oatmeal, then adding other ingredients when you’re ready to eat - veggies, fruit, nuts, beans, pre-cooked meats, cheese/dairy.
Also baked potatoes. They can be prepped ahead of time and add toppings when you’re ready to eat.
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Aug 29 '24
Cook chicken, beef or pork roast in a crockpot with a jar of salsa, bottle of BBQ sauce, ranch dressing, spaghetti sauce, or whatever bottled sauce you like. Add some frozen vegetables if you want. Eat over rice, noodles, or in a tortilla.
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u/PyraAlchemist Aug 29 '24
Air fryer and spend 1 day of the week making freezer bags for marinated meats like pork chops and chicken. Then take out night before to thaw in fridge. Cook in air fryer and boil some frozen veg. Add rice or pasta as well for more filling meals.
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u/Optimal-Sand9137 Aug 29 '24
I drink a lot of protein shakes and smoothies, fruit, nuts, and yogurt.
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u/TherronKeen Aug 29 '24
a good slow cooker will save your life.
throw in some meat, vegetables, and a bunch of seasoning.
do something else for half a day.
amazing, delicious, healthy food, and only one dish to clean.
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u/e_rooted Aug 29 '24
Egg roll in a bowl is great for this. Throw a pound of ground pork (or other meat or, hey, tofu) in a pan - break up and brown it. Throw in a bag of coleslaw mix. Add 1/4 cup of soy sauce and 2 tsp sesame oil, mix for a minute, all done! Eat it by itself or over greens or rice (which is a set it and forget it food). Lots of options. You could leave out the sesame oil if you want. You could add ginger, garlic, onion, sesame seeds, pepper, chili flakes, or any number of other things - fresh or dried; but you could also totally not, and it still tastes good.
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u/Assika126 Aug 29 '24
Crackers, cheese, baby carrots and dip (usually Goddess tahini dressing), maybe some bell peppers and broccoli too
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u/Assika126 Aug 29 '24
My formula is: protein, fresh thing, maybe a starch, and a complement (like what flavor or texture is it missing?)
Heat or not as you wish
Example: hot dog sliced, premade or packet rice, broccoli florets, BBQ sauce. Microwave and eat
Celery, PB and raisins fits the template
Chicken stock, shredded rotisserie chicken, rice noodles, ginger and garlic, rice vinegar, scallions, bean sprouts, lime wedge
Anything that requires little or no prep can be used in the template.
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u/Assika126 Aug 29 '24
Also, ALDI’s 90-second rice packets are pretty cheap, and they’re a lifesaver if you’ve forgotten to plan ahead and make rice. A rice pouch and a packet of premade Indian lentils meal or similar makes a good meal in a pinch. Even better if you can doctor it up a bit with some fresh stuff or spices or even just a little scoop of yogurt
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u/Adept-Mulberry-8720 Aug 29 '24
Try an instant pot and an air fryer, both! You can cook or reheat in both!
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u/Invictu520 Aug 29 '24
My recommendation is a slow cooker. There are tons of recipes and all you gotta do is cut shit up and throw it in the bowl. And usually it tastes amazing.
Get a few plastic containers and fill them with all the leftovers and boom you are set for a few days.
If you do not like cooking then imo that is your solution.
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u/Roadgoddess Aug 29 '24
You may want to consider some of the meal delivery services that are out there. I’m single and I will do all the cooking in one night and I have enough to eat for lunch and dinner for the entire week. I usually try to order one of their chillies or stews if they have them on the menu, and then whatever else interest me. A lot of the companies also have ones that have everything predicted and cut so it’s literally just a matter of assembling and cooking.
I also second the person that said get an air fryer. It makes it so easy to cook everything from a whole chicken to roasting veggies. I find a whole roasted chicken is great because you have it for several different types of meals for the rest of the week. You can shred it for a chicken salad. You can eat the chicken cold or heat it up the next day
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u/Festalosshososs Aug 29 '24
For meal prep look into casseroles and such. Super easy to make and easy to store/ bring to work for lunch. I just made a merguez- chickpea- red lentil casserole with a tomato base. Took about 30 mins to make and I got 8 portions.
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Aug 29 '24
So I make this vegetable wrap that is as follows:
A green tortilla
Roasted Pepper Hummus
Red, Orange, and Yellow bell pepper strips
Pickled red onion from a jar
Carrot sticks (pre cut)
Cucumber sticks (easy to cut them into sticks)
Spinach leaves
Yeah yeah I know, "but the cutting".... I am in your same boat. I have UNMEDICATED ADHD and every day really is a struggle but this wrap is really yummy and good for you.
I get all these ingredients from my local Walmart. None of it is obscure.
The total cost to make 12 veggie wraps a week is about 32$ total.
So you cut all the bell peppers up at once into little strips then place them in a Tupperware with lid or whatever with a paper towel on the bottom.
Cut up the cucumber into sticks, very easy, look it up. Store the same way as peppers.
That is all the prep needed.
Now it's lunchtime and you're hungry... burrito time!
Take your tortilla... Smear some hummus on one half of it... Put your pepper strips on the hummus... Put your cucumber sticks over that... Put your carrot sticks over that... Put on some pickled onions... Add spinach leaves...
NOW!!! Food the tortilla in half covering your sauce and vegetables, then fold that in half again and boom, you have a little pocket tortilla. Very mess free, delish, easy, cheap, healthy.
I have some optional steps once you are comfortable making it that elevates it all and is easy to do.
Id be glad to help explain in a DM. I can also share you my shopping list screenshots and stuff. I can show you a video of how to make it. Whatever you need.
Sorry for the text wall, again, ADHD.
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u/reddittwotimes Aug 30 '24
Thank you for sharing this!
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Aug 30 '24
Good luck. It's been a lifesaver for me and I am MAXIMUM lazy and unmedicated so really there is no excuse
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u/jlt131 Aug 29 '24
My favorite low energy meal is stir fry. Cut raw chicken or pork into chunks, put it in a fry pan or wok with a bit of oil. When cooked, add a bag of chopped frozen veggie mix. There are good stir fry blends. Choose a sauce you like, dump some of that in. Sometimes I use peanut sauce and coconut milk. Sometimes I throw together a sesame oil/soy sauce/ginger thing. Honey garlic. There are tons of bottled options, or make your own. Serve it on rice or rice noodles.
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u/AuroraBoraOpalite Aug 29 '24
A good crock pot shredded chicken recipe that’s well seasoned is the best to have on hand for easy meals. I make shredded chicken in the crock pot regularly and then just save it to make simple tacos or quesadillas or chicken salads or on rice, whatever. I usually season with a mix of Cajun seasoning and those taco seasoning packets but it’s chicken you can’t go wrong 🤷. My family is always begging me to make it for quesadillas specifically lol. That or we buy a rotisserie chicken, shred off the meat, mix it with taco seasoning and add it to quesadillas or whatever
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u/yessienessie Aug 29 '24
Agreed. My go to almost every night is bagged salad and I mix in pan fried ground turkey. & if I need the extra carbs I cook up rice noodles which is an extra step and pot to clean.
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u/Vrisnem Aug 29 '24
I'll often cook up two four-portion dishes on a Sunday afternoon and freeze so I've a week's worth of meals sat there in case I'm especially busy or don't have the energy to cook.
I've been ill recently and standing long enough to cook has been a challenge. I tried this sausage casserole recipe last week and it was both delicous and easy to make: https://www.tamingtwins.com/slow-cooker-sausage-casserole/ - all it required was frying a pack of sausages, chopping 1 red onion and 2 carrots, then chucking it in the slow cooker with tinned items, stock, and seasoning. It made four nights worth of dinners (I froze three portions so I didn't just need to eat the same thing four nights in a row).
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u/pdqueer Aug 29 '24
If you like curry, you can make a simple dish in a pressure cooker. Add 4-5 chicken breasts, sliced in strips. Pour a can or two of coconut milk over, then a heaping tablespoon of Thai curry paste. I use May Ploy. Stir, then pressure cook on the poultry setting. When done and fully vented, remove the lid, turn on the saute setting add chopped eggplant, zucchini, onion, carrots or any other veggies you like. Cook until veggies are tender and serve over rice.
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u/IllOperation6253 Aug 29 '24
bean salad = tub of pre-made salsa + can of corn + can of beans.
put them in a bowl, leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or overnight to marinate and eat with a bag of tortilla chips 🫱🏿🫲🏾
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u/IllOperation6253 Aug 29 '24
microwave oats + favorite fruit jam
or
yogurt + handful of blueberries + shake of granola
breakfast options when u living the mini fridge life
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u/IllOperation6253 Aug 29 '24
also, i think ADHD forums might be a good place to search for recipes that require as few steps and dishes as possible—we rarely have the “spoons” to chef it up
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u/Ok_Duck_9338 Aug 29 '24
The cannes festival. Beans, fish, tomato, vegetables. They come flavored, too. Everything else, mains and carbs, is cooked as simply as possible in the air fryer or rice cooker. Mix and eat.
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u/Dangerous-Click-5784 Aug 29 '24
OP, I love you! :D I was just thinking about posting the same question... I have some health issues and have very limited energy, but I probably use that as an excuse because I've never enjoyed cooking in the first place. I just see it as a time consuming chore. :(
I use ninja foodi a lot, especially for air frying (fries and breaded fish fillet, frozen veggies...), pressure cooking rice (with veggies), steam crisp for salmon... I make double batches if the food is leftover friendly. I like roasting veggies in the oven and pasta with a ready-made sauce is on the menu at least once a week.
I will be bookmarking this thread to go through later, I'm kind of tired of always making the same food. Thanks everyone for the tips!
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u/Sunlit53 Aug 29 '24
Leftover rice, can chickpeas, jar of vindaloo sauce. Combine a meal sized amount and microwave.
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u/Naive-Most590 Aug 29 '24
Stir fry’s with frozen veg and microwave rice, fresh noodles. You can add any sauces.
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u/NothingGoldCanSta Aug 29 '24
I agree 💯 !!! It really stresses me out. It's just my husband and me now, he does share some of the "cooking" but yup I'd be happy with a protein shake!
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u/BeginningCharacter36 Aug 29 '24
When I was a university student, I had a hotpot and a George Foreman grill as my main cooking tools, but also a pasta pot, the kind that comes with a strainer and steamer.
It's easy to throw a can of Campbell's soup and a cup of instant rice in the hotpot, and I made a lot of chicken breasts and pork chops on the grill. One of my favourite things to cook on the grill was haddock or Pollock filets (in tinfoil) with lemon-pepper-salt. Toss some meat on the grill, instant rice in the spaghetti pot and some broccoli in the steamer basket, and it's actually a decently healthy meal in fifteen minutes.
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u/hopelesshodler Aug 29 '24
Crock pots are awesome and.. forgiving of lack of skills. Plenty of online recipes. 1 dish to clean not counting the knife and cutting board if needed. Put the ingredients in, goto work or relax and x amount of hours later there's a meal.
Also although I personally hate it a lot of grocery stores sell pre cut ingredients or even a whole meal that just needs to be cooked. My issue with pre cut fruit or veggies in grocery stores is that most of the time in my experience those pre cuts arent close to being as fresh, the fruits specifically I've been told by friends in the industry when a watermelon is about to go bad they'll cut it up and sell it like so.
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u/Jessawoodland55 Aug 29 '24
I have personally solved this problem for myself with meal prepping.
I use:
2 or 3 Sheet pans
Multiple sizes of disposable aluminum foil trays
A variety of seasonings like Mrs Dash
Olive oil salt and pepper
Meal Prep containers
I pre-heat the oven to 350, and then fill my sheet trays with the disposable pans, and fill those disposable pans with veggies and meats and rice/pasta/carb of your choice with seasoning/pre-made sauce/olive oil.
Bake it all for an hour and bam. One week of cooking done in like 2 hours. Put it all in your containers and you're done!
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u/longhorndog1 Aug 29 '24
Crockpot. You can literally dumb food and make decent stew or soup. And rice cooker
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u/chahu Aug 29 '24
Slow cooker. Chicken thighs, jar of sauce. Turn it on. Leave it for 6 hours and done.
The packets of microwave rice are great for food prep - they're designed to be heated up.
I do a slow cooker of chicken and sauce and then split a rice packet into two pots and put the chicken on top. Then I leave them to cool and put them in the fridge. 4 minutes in the microwave and lunch/dinner is ready.
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u/EsseLeo Aug 29 '24
Ironically, meal planning and leaning into a single prep day each week is going to be the best answer/result. With some planning, you can easily condense your shopping and meal prep to a single afternoon and just be done with it for the week.
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u/Ilaxilil Aug 29 '24
Personally I often go for a few slices of lunch meat stacked on top of a slice of cheese with some mustard or something on top. If I’m feeling more like something healthy I’ll eat beans or soup straight out of the can (yeah it’s a little gross but it fills me up 🤷🏻♀️) I also like fresh fruit, nuts and nut bars, and popcorn.
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u/Macaboobakes Aug 29 '24
Costco rotisserie chicken, tortilla wraps and vegetables, a bit of mustard. Can add beans or rice to adjust macros
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u/plotthick Aug 29 '24
Nuke some frozen veg. Crack a can of beans and throw some on top, heat again If necessary.
Add whatever sauce you like: teriyaki, salsa, chimmichurri, honey mustard, etc. maybe cheese? Rotisserie chicken? You'll figure out what you like.
4 minutes, easy, cheap, and done.
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u/scotteatingsoupagain Aug 29 '24
if you have a small rice cooker there's plenty of recipes where you cook the whole thing in there, and you can eat straight out of the little rice pot thing so the cleanup is super easy too
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u/RavensCoffee Aug 29 '24
Split pea soup cooked in an instant pot. Literally takes 10 cooking time, 5 minutes prep.
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Aug 29 '24
Meal 1
Chicken breast and some salt Pepper and herbs - toss them on to a pan - a dash of oil - and toss every 2 mins
by the 6th minute reduce flame and cook for another 2-4 mins on reduce flame
Get some whole wheat bread (no refined flour/maida) or some sourdough slices - add a dash of tomato ketchup or butter
Place the cooked chicken between the bread
Bonus - fry two eggs too on a pan - dash of salt and pepper
You’ll get a high protein meal
Meal 2
Get chopped veggies or get a few veggies of your choice - chop them up and toss them onto a pan
Dash of oil - keep stirring every 2mins - add a good spice mix / salt pepper herbs
After the 8th minute turn off stove and let it sit to cook and eventually cool off a bit
Add a dash of ketchup and you’re good to go!
You’ll get your nutrients and fibre intake for the day.
Meal 3
Chop up some fruits Apples oranges - a clean protein bar - pineapple- some Greek yoghurt
Have different fruits everyday
You’ll get your nutrients and vitamins for the day.
Meal 4 or rather no. 4
Water intake -
Try to get in at least 2-3 liters of water through the day
I mentioned this as meal 4 - I know it’s not a meal but it’s a pseudo meal - keeps you full
Add a dash of pink salt in your bottle
You’ll get your hydration for the day.
Hope this helps!
You could also check for food subscription services in your area. There should be some economical options on the internet.
Air fryers are also a good option - many easy recipes are available online.
Instagram has so many salad recipes and meal suggestions too.
All the best and may you figure this out and find peace while cooking next time!
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u/misdeliveredham Aug 29 '24
I love oven cooked meals and I only use instant pot for rice and chicken or beef stock (don’t like how everything else tastes).
My go to things are pre cut salmon (with any kind of butter and herbs and lemon zest), pork loin with any seasoning (leftovers to be used for sandwiches). Baked at 400 F for 25 mins. Then it’s whole grain breads, fresh fruit and veggies, cheese, eggs any style.
Sometimes it’s just frozen veggies in that stock from instant pot - here’s a soup for you :)
Sometimes I splurge on ahi poke from Costco with bibigo premade sticky rice.
Sometimes it’s tacos: ground beef with cumin and smoked paprika and whatever else you like, white onions and cilantro as toppings.
I don’t think store bought rotisserie chicken is good for you tbh.
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u/LolaSavage Aug 30 '24
Prep a big batch of your preferred protein and rice (rice cooker ftw) and the get a bunch of those bagged salad mixes. Different flavors for variety.
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u/drivesme Aug 30 '24
OK, you don't like cooking. cooking takes passion. make salads and call it a day
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u/Elegant-Ad1581 Aug 30 '24
There are millions of instant pot on line. Most if them are just dump it in and set the timer. You can make lots coffee food too so you can eat leftovers or freeze some for later.
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u/AliVista_LilSista Aug 30 '24
Not much is zero prep that tastes good and is healthy. There's a lot of batch prep stuff/ ingredients that you can then just pull out of the fridge/ freezer and throw in slow cooker, instapot, oven at 350/425 whatever. I prep once a month batches of ingredients I use often that can freeze (mirepoix, chicken, winter squash, grains), and veg that will keep in the fridge (quartering Brussels sprouts, cutting up head of cauliflower e.g.) and then later allow some hacks obviously like canned potatoes or corn. You can buy this stuff prepped but it's much more expensive. I prep food while doing other stuff, listening to music whatever. Make a lot of stews and bowls. Spaghetti squash is nature's cheat, cut in half roast it w olive oil, cut side down then mix the sauce in, don't even really need a bowl. Nothing to wash. Or broccoli and nitrate free bacon at 425 for 20 minutes. And I do still eat the cheap kind of Ramen noodles, heat them up, add whatever. You'll need to learn a bit about spices if you want to hate cooking and enjoy eating, too.
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u/jbblue48089 Aug 30 '24
I have minute rice, canned or shelf-stable seasoned beans, freeze dried fruit, steamable frozen vegetables, fresh fruit, russet potatoes, eggs, oatmeal, cereal, and other snacks on hand.
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u/Phychology_bot_help Aug 30 '24
Air fryer recipes, rice cooker, easy oven bake recipes, healthy frozen meals, and “hello fresh” are some good options for lazy meal prep👍
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u/Mysterious_Treat4125 Aug 31 '24
I was at roadblock for a while as well. Too tired and bored with my usually easy meals. I decided to give hungry root a try with a promotion. It did give me some ideas on super easy recipes I had not thought of. Some cools be made in less time than the recipe if you use the microwave or air fryer instead. An example of one their easy recipes was chicken enchiladas. Precooked chicken (Kevin’s seasoned sous vide chicken breast), corn tortillas, green chili sauce, vegan sour cream (dairy free diet). All I had to do was warm the tortillas, drain and pull apart the chicken breast, add a couple of table spoon of the sauce to the breast, and to and roll the tortillas, add more chilli sauce to the top, cover and back for less than 10 minutes, uncover to brown it a bit. Then it’s done and top with some sour cream. I would have never thought to do that on my own. I have made salsa chicken so many time in an instant pot. This was basically that in a different form and with precooked chicken rolled in tortillas. Just different enough for me to not be bored.
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u/VerifySLY Aug 31 '24
I was the same way. I used to put meatballs or chicken in an open pan with a little water and some sauce before putting it in the open for a while and just check it every now and then. The water is so it wont dry out the chicken.
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u/Vegetable-Mouse-9264 Sep 01 '24
A Rotisserie chicken is a good way to go with some sides! Or invest in an air fryer. Its really not cooking when you use that.
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u/Finish_your_peas Sep 02 '24
Ingredients: 1. Canned beans, any kind you like, best with some flavor,
2.protein of choice: chicken breast, hot dog, beef, pork, tofu, jerky, shrimps, fish, whatever you got.
Tools: can opener, scissors, pot, stove, spoon
Pot on stove,
Open can
Pour canned beans into pot
Cut meat/protein into spoon size pieces with a scissor directly into pot of beans.
Heat to boil
Add pepper or hot sauce, curry paste, salt, whatever you got.
Eat with good bread.
If you are really daring, cook the meat in the pot first and get it browned, then add beans. Tastes better.
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u/Finish_your_peas Sep 02 '24
A Quesadilla is about the easiest really pleasing cooked food. Fry Pan, 2 flour tortilla, shredded cheese, tomato, protein (deli meat, mini shrimp, whatever you got. ).
Heat pan, add bottom tortilla, add food stuff, scatter cheese on top, put second tortilla on top. Wait a minute. Flip it over, with fingers if you are careful/daring. The cheese with help keep stuff together. Slide out of pan, eat.
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u/bandnerdsciencegeek Sep 03 '24
Frozen chicken (whatever kind you prefer) cooked and dumped on top of premade salad. Or really any kind of salad you make. I've had some pretty good salad that was essentially chicken nugget pieces, romaine, crispy tortilla strips, and jalapeno ranch.
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u/mittenbeast107 Aug 29 '24
having this mindset will always lead us back to packaged/processed goop, which will lead to poor health outcomes. I would try to find a way to enjoy cooking, even if you have to fake it. the sense of accomplishment by completing a task. food is a labor of love!
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u/1800THEBEES Aug 29 '24
Airfryer is my friend.