Quick, easy meals for when you're unwell and don't feel like cooking.

[BenWillbondsPants]

I'm on chemo at the moment and I know that I'll feel shit for the next week or so. I need ideas of really quick meals that won't make me feel like chucking up when I'm cooking. DH doesn't get home til late and I want to cook for me and the DCs earlier.

Tuna mayo pasta or tomato soup with bread and cheese are our go to's. Or you could try to cook one biggest thing like a lasagne that will last you for several meals so that some nights all you need to do is warm it up. Also, with what you are going through I don't think anyone is going to judge you if you get a frozen pizza or similar in or send out for a takeaway. I think it's more important to take it easy on yourself than anything else.

Sorry to hear that. I've found this which might give you some inspiration. www.macmillan.org.uk/information-and-support/coping/maintaining-a-healthy-lifestyle/recipes?type=Recipe&page=1

Omelettes?

Filled pasta and a stir in sauce. Takes minutes.

Soup in the slow cooker with crusty bread.

Hot dogs in the slow cooker?

Can you get Cook meals delivered? Bit pricey but they’re really delicious and would take all the stress out of prep etc. You would just need veggies/sides.

Beans on toast with cheese

Scrambled eggs on toast

Pasta bake - with those ready made sauces, assemble it in the day and cook later.

As a pinch, ready meals? Pizza and salad?

Take care OP, sending warm wishes xxx

I usually keep a quiche (shop bought) part baked bread and salady things in the house for when I can't make a proper meal.

Pouch soups from the supermarket, avocado and tomato on toast with a little bit of feta, veggie stir fry frozen mix with udon noodles, cashews and a jar sauce.

Sorry to hear about your chemo 😕

Traybakes like this www.ocado.com/webshop/recipe/chicken-and-potato-tray-bake/45659

Ocado/ Morrison's do frozen bags of mixed Mediterranean veg - can use it for a traybake with cod and pesto or a frittata.

For the above chicken traybake - can buy bags of frozen mixed peppers too so only takes a minute or two to put everything together.

Before you start feeling really unwell grab a load of decent ready meals for the freezer and a similar amount of your” comfort food “ eg tomato soup.

You won’t want to cook if you feel rough and your husband needs to be aware you might fancy little bits of things.

Forget “ healthy “ eat what you want when you want and keep the calories up - cream/ butter added helps and makes things feel a bit more “ treat like”.

All the best

Jacket potato with tuna, cheese, beans. Omelette, pizza, chicken pieces. All can be served with salad, bread, packet coucous. If you think you could face it, cook pasta, chilli or curry dishes before and freeze. A stir fry can be quick.

Sorry to hear you're going through chemo. Do you know how many sessions you'll be given?

@BenWillbondsPants what foods are you supposed to avoid on your chemo cycles? It varies from person so that’s why I ask. From what I’ve heard about chemo it also changes your taste buds dramatically and foods you once loved taste like dirty dishwater to you. If you can give us some avoidances then we can make more suggestions.

Overall, don’t feel bad or guilty about buying prepared fruit and veg like cut mango, pineapple, grapes, bagged salads, etc. The key factor is to get food into your body so it can keep working to help you heal. Rest up

I used to make a load of different soups for mil when she was on chemo. It was all she felt like. I would buy in some decent ready meals for the kids or if you feel up to it now cook and freeze chilli, Bologna we etc that you can just heat up. Microwave rice, you can get microwave pasta or wraps and salad. Sausages and ready made mash, bung sausages in oven so you don't have to stand over the grill / frying pan.

Hope you don't feel too grim.

Pasta and stir through some pesto or grated cheese and butter, you can add some cooked chicken or ham for protein.

Stir fry with whatever meat and veg you like, microwave rice and sauce from a packet.

Fajitas - just need to stir fry some chicken, can use bagged salad for veg, salsa from a jar and some grated cheese. If your DCs are old enough they can assemble them themselves.

Frozen pizza is always good.

Jacket potatoes with whatever filling and some salad. Or substitute the jackets for wedges/potato waffles if you want something that cooks faster.

And if you really can't face cooking, you can always give the kids some toast or something to keep them going til DH gets home and cooks something more nutritious.

Good luck with the chemo

Can you get Cook meals delivered? Bit pricey but they’re really delicious and would take all the stress out of prep etc. You would just need veggies/sides.

My council will deliver meals on wheels to anyone in the city.

I was going to say beans on toast, cheese on toast, anything on toast.

Something done in the slow cooker, you and the children can eat and it will still be warm for your dh.

Baked potatoes.

Rice cooked in coconut milk with frozen veg thrown in, I do this in a rice cooker and often add fish to it.

I've been buying read chopped veg and stuff which I know sounds really lazy but I'm trying to get stuff shoved into the oven asap because the smell makes me 🤢.

Traybakes and pasta and sauces with some extra veg sounds like a good bet.

The only things I've been told to avoid are things you're not supposed to eat when pregnant and no take aways.

Some slow cooker meals whose components are prepped and frozen may be helpful. Get a freezer bag and add in the chicken, beef, veg, seasonings, etc. Mix them together to coat the seasonings then freeze.

The day before chemo, a family member can take a bag out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to defrost. At the beginning of the following day they or you can drop it into the slow cooker and leave it to cook. Add the bagged salad and fruit and a complete meal is done.

@BenWillbondsPants Buying chopped veg is not lazy! It’s extremely practical for the folks who need it, of which you are now one of them. Marvel at all the veg you can still eat because of the ingenuity of pre-cut veg! :)

When I was going through a particularly rough time and didn’t feel like feeding myself, pre-chopped veg and fruit kept me going. It kept me from getting sicker due to eating takeaways all the time.

I do get days when I feel ok, it's just I never know when they're going to be. I was buying all my normal stuff to make decent meals then I just couldn't be arsed to make them. I need to sort my freezer out really, it's a mess so there's probably things in there that I've forgotten all about! I can't taste much at the mo so it doesn't really matter what I eat.

Can you make a load of pasta bakes in metal trays and pop in the fridge now? Then all you'll need to do is whack in the oven. You could also do this with risotto, curry etc.

Chicken noodle soup? Get a couple of chicken legs, roast with veg, onions and some garlic. When done, shred off the meat and put aside with veg. Mash up the onion and garlic a bit. Boil the bones down with a stock cube for a couple of hours and strain (keep the liquid, discard bones). Then just add the chicken, veg, onion and garlic back in with some herbs into a tupperware ready to be microwaved. If you want to add some pasta or some noodles to it, instead of microwaving, pop on the hob in a pan and cook them inside the soup before adding the chicken etc.

You could make probably 4 portions of this with 2 large legs.

My main go to meal when I'm not feeling good is soup, stews or curry any one pot meal. Asda and other places do fresh veggies already chopped/chopped and frozen. Which means I can throw them in a pan add stock and let them simmer away. Then garlic bread or part baked rolls, fresh gnocchi is a good one to add to the pan.
Lots of tray bakes, Nigella has a good chicken and pea one use the foil trays so no washing
up.

Massive sympathy op.

When I had chemo my go to was tin of soup (chicken and mushroom for me) emptied into saucepan, fill tin with water add to soup. Put half a mug of uncooked rice into pan.

Put in heat, when bubbles stir, put lid on then heat down and leave for 15.

Easy and comforting.

Raw carrots and cauliflower are good too. I lost sense of taste except for these veg and the soup!

We had chilli tonight @LindaLa and I could barely taste it! How long did it take for your taste buds to get back to normal?

We're currently eating those fresh filled pasta packs (tortellini?) cooked in chicken stock with frozen peas and a massive spoon of pesto. Serve as a pesto-y soup.

This website has lots of recipe ideas for anyone undergoing chemo. You can filter the recipes by preferences.

www.cookforyourlife.org/category/healthy-comfort/#