Easy nutrient rich recipes please

[TheHighQueenOfTheFarRealm]

After a stressful busy time living mostly on bread and marmite and other quick rubbish food , I'm looking for easy quick meals mainly for myself, to get my nutrient levels back up.
I'm so run down and my skin is bad, my hair is terrible, I'm overweight and I just don't feel good. I sleep badly too.
I'm still up and my alarm goes off at 6.30am and that obviously doesn't help.

Family meals are ok but they can be improved too by adding more veg. It's mainly for myself during the day where I don't bother then eat lots of crap easy food.

All ideas welcome.

Get in the habit of having real stock in the freezer: it's delicious and full of protein and nutrients. Today for lunch I had a Chinese style soup of stock with a pinch of star anise, a few cloves of garlic, once the garlicky c was soft I put in some pak Choi, some tenderstem broccoli, some carrot shavings. Usually I'd add a handful of rice noodles but today I put in some orzo. Add salt before serving. Less that 15 minutes from start to finish, tasty, light and full of nutrients.

Omelette is a tasty quick meal. I use feta to get more flavour for less cheese, with some leaves and tomatoes on the side.
Because I work from home I can cook. But the call of the sofa is still there so I try no not eat heavy things st lunchtime lest I'm tempted to nap!

I have a big salad every day for lunch. It takes about 5 mins to put together. It always has some chopped tomatoes, radishes, beetroot, cucumber, pepper; lettuce or similar; chopped nuts; mixed seeds: something a bit starchy (chickpeas, leftover potatoes); a protein (tinned fish, feta). Sometimes avocado, sometimes anchovies, sometimes a hard boiled egg. Good drizzle of olive oil and squirt of vinegar or lemon juice. Chomp chomp chomp.

Those sound so nice. I'm going to the supermarket today to buy stuff mainly for me.
I think I've really forgotten how to look after myself

Microwave Shakshuka realfood.tesco.com/recipes/microwave-shakshuka.html

Miso green noodles realfood.tesco.com/recipes/miso-greens-noodle-pot.html

Microwave salmon noodles www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/microwave_soy_salmon_07689

Fried rice in a mug www.coop.co.uk/recipes/green-fried-rice-in-a-mug

Healthier omelette www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/healthy/healthy-spinach-omelette/

Make a big pan of lentil and vegetable soup with plenty of garlic, turmeric and lemon (or even without). Then you can just keep it in the fridge and reheat a bowl when you want it.

The key for our family (2 working parents FT and 2 small kids) is that ALL cooking happens on a Sunday morning when spouse ferries around kids for swimming etc.

in a single 1 hour 5 weeknight dinners are cooked simultaneously on the hobs (2 on hob), instant pot, oven and slow cooker. They all contain a protein (poultry, fish, paneer or the odd bit of red meat ), they all contain veg, they Al involve the Same exact prep at the same time (economies of scale!). BUT! The simultaneous pots and pans receive different spices! Harissa, tahini, curry pastes, five spice, coconut milk - produce very different items! They will all generate a completely NO COOK week and stuff for my lunchbox. So lots of No Spend Days at work.

Alongside all 5 weeknight dinners a Sunday roast cooks itself in the air fryer. And when diners are cooking I chop and prep a truly mahoosive salad with 7-8 ingredients. And remember that a dinner is cooking in the oven? Why waste the heat? A large tray of veg is also roasting in there with lots of garlic and sage!

that’s it. Right up till Friday night nobody has to think about what to cook/where to eat healthily/oh let’s get a takeaway. Yummy dinners, huge pot of salad and huge tray of roasted veg is always ready. Our health is massively improved. There’s no cooking between Sunday night and Saturday morning and there’s always yummy food in the fridge!

Our grocery bills have come right down and we have so many no spend days!

Was going to say homemade soups - are great for lunches

If you are not used to making soups - All include an onion , all can have a dash of cream added before serving , and to be honest some salt ( or marmite) works if you don't have time to make stock

Just boil and hit with a stick blender or food processor

Carrot and lentil ( dash of cinemmon or handful of corriander )
Mushroom with mIlk ( dash of nutmeg )
(Frozen ) Sweetcorn ( grated cheese to top)
(Frozen ) Pea with splash of pesto

Liver’s probably the most nutrient dense food you can eat.

Liver stroganoff - fry sliced onion and mushroom & garlic in butter in butter/lard/tallow. Add thinly sliced lamb or calf liver. Add a little paprika, mustard, 1/4 beef stock cube, seasoning. A couple of dollops of crème fraîche/sour cream. The liver only needs 2 to 3 mins in the pan - don’t overcook. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve wih buttery steamed spring greens or green veg.

Agree with the suggestion of making big pots of soup

Ive been making salads up in advance and storing in glass jars in the fridge, keep for longer and them being there ready makes me less likely to say sod it and just eat toast instead. Google mason jar salads for ideas but they can be anything - I also have a variety of nuts and seeds in always that I can sprinkle over for an extra nutrient boost

Nothing wrong with scrambled eggs or even beans on toast - get the organic version of beans if you’re worried about additives/ upf. You could grate a little cheese over, or get a pot of nutritional yeast to sprinkle on, have an orange after - it’s a pretty nutritionally complete meal.

Also nut butter (the 100% nut kind) on decent bread toasted, with a side of fruit or some veg sticks - make a change from your marmite and give you some extra nutrients and protein.

Omelettes are quick and easy and can add extra veg/ salad on side. Or you could make a tortilla/ frittata type one in advance and portion it up for lunches.

Also, if you’re doing fairly decent family meals anyway - make extra, add extra veg and then have a portion of leftovers for lunch. We do this often.

Eggs? Scrambled, poached or an omelette? I often make lunch just for me at home and a slice of toast with avocado and a poached egg is delicious. For omlettes I just throw in whatever’s in the fridge so mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, cheese, ham all sorts. Fills me up longer than a sandwich too

Buy frozen veg. It's already prepped so just put into whatever you're making. Frozen diced onion, frozen sliced peppers, mixed veg, stir fry veg and even chopped garlic and herbs. No waste either, just use what you need. Plus it is frozen shortly after picking, etc so has more nutrients than the fresh stuff sold in supermarkets which may have had a week or more's journey to the shelves.

If you don't already have one, get a slow cooker or multi cooker. Make a curry, Bolognese, slow cook a gammon or brisket which can then be shredded for use in different recipes and frozen of course. I cook bags of potatoes or lots of rice in one hit then cool and refrigerate. Reheat as needed. You can freeze cooked rice too.

You can also prep things like chicken thighs and freeze in a marinade. Remember to take out of the freezer the night before you want to cook it and pop it in the fridge to defrost.

I realise those aren't recipes but thought it might help.

Make yourself a weekly menu plan. It means you do the mental work once rather than being faced with the 'what shall we eat'? conundrum every day. And avoids waste, and helps you make healthier choices.

For lunch, avoid sandwiches - soup, curry, cous cous salad (with loads of bits thrown in). A nice chickpea curry is cheap and good. I make Meera sodha's one and freeze portions.

Or roast chicken on Sunday, strip off meat and use in curry, coronation chicken etc, carcass in slow or pressure cooker with onion, celery, carrot, garlic and bay leaf - lovely soup you can add noodles, potato, veg to.

Get enough fresh air and water as well.

Thanks everyone
I managed to do a tray of roasted veg, beans and feta. It was really good.
Dinner was spinach and salmon coconut curry.
I feel a lot more positive but I'm still craving bread and sugar too much. How do I stop that?

Place marking I’ve stopped looking after me too mainlining carbs

Love these ideas! Just wish I could be that organised, but you have inspired me 😊

Keep going, OP, and your body will adjust to less carbs & sugar. Meantime, eat more mindfully, eg, allow yourself a treat of some really nice chocolate (just a little, mind!), which you consciously savour (instead of inhaling a bar of Dairy Milk while doing something else). Same with carbs, eg buy a proper artisan loaf. You'll need less of it to fill you up.

Op I don't know if you tried it but I had some porridge the other day with almond nit butter and the almonds butter was amazing! Almost like thick choclate

After 10 days (at most) if you stick to low sugar/carbs you'll suddenly notice you're not craving and you're feeling less hungry.

Boiled eggs in the fridge for a quick snack with some spinach, just grab and eat.

Nuts are another good snack or add them to salads (walnuts, pine nuts) for healthy oils and vitamins.

Omelettes are great for a quick breakfast or lunch and you can add onion, peppers, mushrooms, any sandwich meats or leftover meat you have in the fridge.

In winter for lunch I like a warm salad of asparagus, green beans, sugar snap peas and mushrooms just steamed for 3 minutes in the microwave. Then add a knob of butter, plenty of salt and pepper and slices of cooked chicken or boiled egg. Give it a good mix up. Takes 5 minutes as I'm lazy and buy pre-prepped veg so just need to take from bag to jug, cook, plate and eat.

I was actually going to start a thread asking pretty much the same question.

I'm trying to loosely follow Zoe nutrition advice of getting in 30 different plants a week...

A couple of my favourite lunches (looking for more ideas which is why I was thinking of starting a thread)
Homemade hummus with a pile of roasted veg (aubergine/peppers/squash/courgette/tomatoes)
Balsamic roasted veg mixed with a pouch of lentils (two days worth) with a bit of crumbled feta
Veg fritters (grated carrot/courgette/onion/leek mixed with seasonings and a bit of flour to bind)

Few things I do

Always have steam bags of frozen veg. Microwave and add to anything

Omelettes are good to use stuff up in and fast

Salad - boiled eggs or tuna, chopped up red onion, cucumber/gherkins, peppers, tomatoes, add mayo and a bit of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Stick it in a tub and it keeps for a few days. Good on crackers for snacks or in a sandwich or wraps

Smoothies - I do one every morning with Lidl flaxseed fruit mix, frozen fruit, Greek yoghurt, protein powder and some milk

Iceland for frozen fruit, veg, jacket potatoes, stir fry, easy prep stuff - they do shredded chicken which I air fry and add to salad or wraps for a quick meal

For me it's basically
Having easy stuff to grab that I've prepped when I've had time
Having options that cook by themselves when I'm tired or take minimal prep

Do you have an air frier?

Every lunch I roast veg in airfryer and see with humus or cheese or cooked chicken or stick a salmon fillet or chopped sausage in with it. Can add any seasoning too.

Good combinations
Aubergine, courgette, red pepper, red onion
All the peppers and cherry toms
Sweet potato, butternut squash, cherry tomatoes
Carrot, parsnip, sweet potato

When I'm really busy I just eat the real basics throughout the day, but they are healthy:

banana, avocado, boiled egg, satsuma, mixed nuts.

get yourself some floradix too, that will give you a boost

I’m currently living on stroganoff and rosé beans (that recipe is on her TikTok). It takes me 10 mins max.
https://carolefood.com/

So many amazing recipes. Thank you all. This is so helpful.
I do have an air fryer and I will try the roast veg in there.
Planning the carbs and sugar makes so much sense! Tomorrow, I've planned some lentil and tomato soup with pitta bread stuffed with some salad. Lentils are soaking now so they cook super quick.
Dinner is chicken and mushroom pie but I'll have chicken and mushroom with air fried sweet potato and spinach.
Some chocolate for after dinner.

I'm going to go shop for floradix and vitamin d.