What are your go-to, can’t-be-bothered to cook healthy meals?

[NightlyCircus]

I am 28 weeks pregnant and my diet has completely gone off the rails. I used to eat quite healthily before I got pregnant, but I just don’t have the energy atm. I’m still working full time and have other DC. I’m sure my crap diet lacking in fruit & veg isn’t helping! Does anybody have any go-to, can’t be arsed meals that are actually quite healthy?

Omlette and salad.

Build yourself wraps, halloumi and julienne salad all in the middle of the table so you can help yourself.

Shop bought quiche and salad.

Frozen veg is your friend too.

If I'm doing something less healthy, I just cut up masses of fruit for after-pineapple, mango, melon, kiwi, berries.

Veg and lentil soup (I make a huge batch and freeze into portions so no cooking really once the big batch is done and frozen)

Same with roasted veg-I'll roast a huge amount and freeze into portions and then defrost and add to cous cous which takes 5 minutes from the kettle boiling to being ready.

Pasta topped with smoked salmon, creme fraiche and a green, such as mange tout or slightly wilted spinach.

@DonPablo what veg do you roast? I want to make a more exciting couscous!

All of it! Onion, courgette, pumpkin, cauliflower, peppers, aubergine. And I often add a can of beans (chickpeas, butter beans whatever I've got!) towards the end too.

Pasta with tuna and tomatoes - basically a tin of tomatoes fried in some olive oil and mashed down with a potato masher, add in a tin of tuna and, if I have them kicking around, some olives/capers. Takes moments.

Stir fry veg with chicken and noodles. If feeling especially lazy we buy the pre prepped veg.

Any ready meal eg moussaka, fishcakes plus most of a bag of salad. I like the watercress, rocket & spinach one with half a wedge of lime squeezed on top.

Not going to win health food awards but lots of green leafy stuff plus citrus is a substantial improvement on the ready meal by itself

I bung a chicken to roast in the oven and steam some veg (usually cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, courgette). When the chicken is ready, I shred half of it (keep the other half for sandwiches the next day) and add it to pesto. Then I add the steamed veg to the chicken-pesto mix and give it a good stir. It's lovely!!!!! Takes 1.5 hours because of cooking the chicken but requires minimal actual effort (and not much washing-up either).

When I’m really lazy I buy those pouches of merchant gourmet lentils and have that with spinach stirred through and a piece of steamed fish. Takes 10 minutes if that but is filling and healthy.

Sardines on toast, omelette, jacket potatoes & bake beans.

I tend to make two meals on a Saturday teatime and put the second meal in the fridge for Monday. Sunday I do the same for Tuesday so that the worst of the week is over. Prepare a casserole and put in a Tupperware ready to put in the slow cooker for Wednesday and Thursday

Our v lazy and v quick go to is a rotisserie chicken, some fresh bread and lots of salad, salsa and coleslaw. Nothing beats it! Maybe wraps sometimes 😀

Thank you all! You’ve just done my meal plan for next week 😊

I’ve had udon noodles this week with a couple of handfuls of frozen Thai vegetables- stir Fry and had a piece of salmon baked in the oven in soy sauce and 5 spice

Scrambled eggs

100g ready cooked frozen chicken, 1/3 bag of egg noodles, bean sprouts and sweet chilli sauce 5mins in a wok and under 500calories

Quiche microwave garlic potatoes frozen veg

Sweet corn and crab soup. Cook some frozen sweet corn in stock. Blitz then add in a tin of crab meat heat and serve. Add chilli sauce if you like it spicy. Great with crusty bread. Can be done in under 10 minutes.

Packet of microwave rice.
Packet of stir fry veg.
Sesame oil, soy sauce, chilli.

Omelette and salad
Jacket potato with beans

Stir fry - you can buy those bags at a supermarket to make it super easy or just chop up veg. I like to have it with salmon to be extra healthy.

Chickpea curry takes slightly more effort but not loads.

Salad of romaine lettuce leaves, a few cherry tomatoes and walnuts then half a ripe avocado mashed in as a kind of dressing. Sounds weird but tastes really good and is filling - good as a lunch!

Batch cooking at the weekend helps me (I’m 33 wks pregnant, have a toddler and work full time with 3 hours/day commuting so I understand!).

Today I’m doing a big Thai curry with two large packets of chicken thigh fillets and veg which will make at least 6-8 portions (so 3-4 meals for me and DH). I choose a different thing each weekend so have lots of options in the freezer. Chickpea, tomato and chorizo stew freezes really well. I also like chicken, mushrooms, tarragon in creme fraiche sauce- use thighs so they don’t dry out.

I use the short cuts- microwave or ready meal rice, frozen jackets that go in microwave, ready marinated/prepared meat and veg in trays that saves washing up/any prep.

Otherwise my go tos are:

Humus and halloumi pittas with roasted peppers and salad

Quiche and tomato/basil salad

Ready marinated chicken like the Waitrose Parmesan crusted spatchcock chicken with corn on the cob, jacket potato

Stuff on toast (eggs/bacon) with roasted mushrooms and tomatoes

Charlie bighams ready meals with extra veg (the pies go really well with cavalo nero)

And 1-2 takeaways a week! Usually try to have a veg based Indian takeaway with lots of spinach and daal to appease my guilt

Frozen jacket spuds (yes super lazy), pre cooked chicken with new pots and veg or salad. Tesco tortilla (ready cooked) with beans, Tesco lasagne and veg. Fish inspirations.