What are your go to low effort meals for challenging days?

[aperollingintotheweekend]

I suffer from endometriosis which means a good two weeks at least of every cycle I feel horrendous with so much pain and the lowest energy known to man. I make the worst nutritional choices during this time too which I’m sure fuels feeling even worse.

I am in need of low effort recipes for this time to stop me eating processed crap! What are your go to’s for when you’re exhausted, or unwell, or mega busy etc?

I am hoping to make a bit of a recipe bank of ideas so I can be better prepared next month 😊

This recipe is handy because all the ingredients last several weeks in the fridge or are store cupboard/freezer.

boil some linguine
Fry some frozen leeks until soft
stir in smoked salmon, creme fraiche and grated Parmesan. Bring to bubbling then stir in the cooked pasta

Baked salmon with steamed green veg and a microwaved sweet potato.

Tray of roast Mediterranean veg (tomato, courgette, aubergine, peppers) mixed into quinoa with Chickpeas

Wholewheat pasta with sundried tomato, garlic, peas

Would batch cooking be a better option for you? Then you don’t need to cook at all other than the oven or microwave and it would be even easier than processed food.
I haven’t use her recipes but a friend swears by The Batch Lady cook books.

Easy favourite in our house- fry chopped bacon, or lardons, with some chicken. Add dollop of pesto and half tub of creme fraiche or cream cheese and serve with pasta. You can obviously add extra veg to suit your taste but it’s so quick and loveliy

Oven on.
tesco bag of frozen Mediterranean veg in on a large tray. Add any other fridge dwelling use-ups like extra mushrooms, cherry tomatoes etc. or not!
20 mins later tip in two tubs of own brand garlic cream cheese (like Philadelphia) and stir through the veg. Put back in oven on a slightly lower heat to make a cheesy veg sauce.
at the same time boil pasta for 4 people.
when the pasta is cooked tip that into the oven tray, stir and serve.

Batch cooking. I am saved by chilli, dahl/curry, etc on a cycle. Try staying away from carbs. Feels counterintuitive but I feel so much better off them!

Fry or griddle slices of halloumi, stick in a wrap with sweet chilli sauce and salad. Even nicer with frozen chips air fried.

Slow cooker meals are easy too - stuff like chilli or Bolognese are bung in ingredients and leave to cook.

Veg, rice and pasta microwave steam bags.

Halloumi again, but with lightly fried red onions and mixed peppers, which I buy frozen. Bed of baby leaf lettuce, plum or cherry tomatoes which you can fry or microwave, cucumber. Stick halloumi on top and a balsamic vinegar glaze.

Frozen mash, steam bag veg, air fried sausages and instant gravy (or make your own).

I have days where my autistic/ADHD brain make it difficult to feed myself, so need easy options. Also can't beat beans, cheese and fried egg on toast. 😉

This is my version of healthy processed food.
Packet of ready cooked (and/or flavoured) chicken breast, or prawns. Pouch of rice. Frozen peas/sweetcorn, frozen garlic, frozen ginger. Whatever veg you have hanging about the fridge, maybe spring onions. Scrambled egg. Soy sauce/sriracha/whatever sauce you like.
Fry the garlic /ginger/hardest veg in a wok for a few minutes. Add softer veg, chicken/prawns and rice. Cook for a few more minutes. Add the scrambled egg and cook long enough to warm through. Add your sauce. Done.
In my house a pouch of rice would do 2 portions.

Or pasta and frozen peas boiled together. Once drained add pesto and a tin of mackerel in tomato sauce (sounds weird, tastes good to me!), stir over a low heat to warm. Parmesan on top for extra comfort points.

Yes it’s a great idea for when we have freezer space (our freezer just packed in, so may have to come back to this one ☺️)

I can relate! I am Audhd too.. it’s all going on 😆

Thanks for the lovely ideas so far everyone ☺️

Pot Noodle.
There is a comprehensive range of flavours to suit every taste.
AND if you whip your shirt off whilst waiting the two minutes for the flavours to combine and enhance the potenional experience, you can get a TV Series out if it.
I did.

Make a tub of overnight oats so you get an easy energy start to the day. My current favourite is with a bit of sea salt, dash of milk, a small (one serving) tub of hazelnut yogurt, and a handful of blueberries. Will be thick, creamy and fabulous by the morning, just tuck in with your morning beverage while contemplating the day.

Depends how easy you want to make it.

to be honest when I’ve had a really painful/tiring/shit day then the simpler the better.

Ive had Pasta, tuna and grated cheese. Sometimes with added peas or sweetcorn.

jacket spud with beans and cheese

tonight we’ve had, salmon that I steamed in the microwave (surprisingly lovely) boiled new potatoes and peas l/sweetcorn and broccoli.

Ive also got some meals frozen that I made
last week, I’ve got chickpea curry, chilli and 3 portions of cottage pie that will do for me and the kids if I’m having an off day

Pasta with Parma ham, asparagus and creme fraiche is lovely too.
I add the asparagus to the pasta at the end of cooking, so it's just one pan.

Bonus points as Parma ham and creme fraiche have a very long fridge life! Frozen broccoli works in it too.

Minestrone soup? Homemade and frozen in advance or a carton from the supermarket. Keep par baked baguettes in the cupboard for emergencies.

When I feel crap I like something I can eat with a spoon. I freeze homemade moussaka and Currys and suchlike in the Chinese takeaway containers. I have mini casserole dishes the same size, so I pop out the frozen block, put it in the dish, cover with foil and put it in my mini oven on low (160ish ) for 90 minutes. Zero effort and a healthy dinner! Set an alarm for when it's ready so you can nap, read etc with no worries.

I have noticed that a lot of Tesco ready meals are very low or no upf now, so if you know your bad time will last a while you could do an online order on the first day to stock up. I usually go for the veggie stuff as I think it reheats better. But there's loads of choice.
Tesco also do frozen 800g bags of paella, pasta, noodles and green curry. You add a few tablespoons of water and heat on the hob for 10 minutes. Veggies, protein and carb in one easy pourable bag.

Or scampi chips and a frozen corn cob for 20 minutes in the oven.

If you do get a grocery order, I also get those kids pure fruit juice boxes with a straw. Perfect size if you crave a sweet drink, or if you have frozen fruit, a good size for a smoothie too.

You'll not only want stuff that is easy, but also that you genuinely enjoy eating otherwise it's very easy to not bother at all and just get an Uber!

Heat up some beans.
Put them on toast.
Eat.

Bag of Itsu veg gyozas from the freezer. Fry them for about 5 minutes and serve in a broth, which you can keep in the fridge for ages til needed.

Just saw your freezers packed in, sorry!

Try ready meals and fresh soups and look at the ingredients, if you really like any then you know what to batch cook for when you do get a freezer!

That's how I expanded my repertoire anyway.

My favourite super quick meal is gnocchi, broccoli and pesto. Ready in about five minutes and very comforting.

Chop a bag of tenderstem into chunks - cook in boiling water for about three minutes before adding gnocchi for about two minutes - til they float to the top of the water.

Whilst they’re cooking, toast some pine nuts.

Mix pesto and some of the gnocchi water in a bowl to loosen.

Drain broccoli and gnocchi and mix with pesto.

Toss over toasted pine nuts, chilli flakes and Parmesan.

Total comfort food

I always keep some batch cooked Bolognese sauce in the freezer. Also probably not very nutritious but Lidl do some very nice frozen vegetable spring rolls.

Omelettes. A fat frittata type one, a skinny flippy one, whatever. Although I go through phases with eggs and sometimes I love them and other days I can't even stomach the thought of them, so I am kind of contradicting myself here but they are a pretty complete source of protein, need minimal cooking time and little forward planning.

Egg. Fork. Bowl. Frying pan. Ten minutes. Finished.

Chop up some new potatoes. Put on an oven tray with chicken thighs. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle generously with curry powder. Bake for 25 minutes. Stir through a bag of spinach to wilt, some pink pickled onion slices from a jar and a couple tbsp mango chutney. Serve drizzled with watered down tzatziki.

stirfry frozen prawns, frozen stirfry veg, noodles and sweet chilli sauce.

Airfry breaded chicken, slice and serve in a warm pitta with coleslaw

Couscous With garlic granules, olives, feta, sliced cherry tomatoes, lemon juice, capers and olive oil stirred through. Only the couscous needs “cooking”.

fry some frozen onions. Add mascarpone, a couple of spoonfuls of capers, some spinach and some chopped smoked salmon. Spread on pre made puff pastry and bake per packet instructions. Serve with pre-made side salad.

Scramble eggs, stir fry tomatoes cut into wedges, season with sesame oil, soy sauce, white pepper. Serve over pouch of microwave rice.

Pouch microwave white rice but don't microwave it - stir fry with peas, bacon lardons, scrambled eggs and any frozen veggies you have in the freezer.

Pouch lentils & bulgur heated in the microwave, fry halloumi and a sliced up courgette. Top with a Tbsp of tahini let down with a bit of lemon juice, a smashed garlic clove, salt, and some warm water.

Truly TRULY CBA dinner: a tub of Sabra or Ramona's hummus, cut up cucumber/carrot/peppers/radish, some mortadella or parma ham or a couple of pepperamis, a tub of olives and feta.

Really lovely ideas thank you!

i always forget about the classics