AIBU To ask for your simplest, yet fast prep, healthy meals?

[RubyCav]

Please can people share their simplest recipes for those nights where I can't be bothered to cook. Preferably with prep time of 10mins or less (unattended cooking time can be much longer), yet still reasonably healthy.

Tortilla wrap pizzas.

Think it's a Lean in 15 recipe or pinterest

I've batched cooked the base (passatta, onion, garlic, basil and oregano). Spread it over the wrap, add whatever toppings are in the fridge then stick in the oven for 5-10 minute.

Tastes really good and the DC love help making their dinner

If you want to cook healthy meals quickly the easiest thing is to ditch as much of the prep as possible and keep pre-prepared staples to hand like:

Pre chopped frozen onions
Garlic paste
Mix turmeric, chilli powder and ground coriander in a jar, so you can just add a teaspoon of that to start a curry base
Ginger paste

Those 4 staples will start a curry base that takes 10 mins in total, cook them off, add frozen prawns, then a carton of coconut cream, handful of baby corn and some sugar snap peas.

Boil pasta

In a large bowl chop mozzarella , Basil's and sweet tomatoes (ie only make this in summer ) - and maybe fresh garlic and chili . Add olive oil

Mix with just boiled pasta

I am the 3rd to suggest that

Pesto - fresh tomato (again need to be sweet ) , green herbs , almond , garlic and olive oil , yum !

Roast chicken with lemon, herbs and potatoes. All cooked in one tray. Cut potatoes into big chunks and scatter round the chicken, squeeze juice of a couple of lemons over it all, put the lemon halves in the carcass for maximum lemony flavour, throw over some herbs, a wee bit of olive oil and salt then just roast it until the chicken is cooked. Super tasty, healthy and prep is as long as it takes to chop your potatoes. My lazy Friday night dinner when I can't be bothered cooking.

Another pasta one (if you have a microwave it's so easy - I don't )

Boil pasta
Microwave sliced onions in olive oil , if you do them in a plastic bowl with cling film they are so sweet
Drain tuna
Drain some black olives
Parsley

Mix ! Yum

Chilli done in slow cooker.
Quick to prep in the morning, so dinner is ready when you get home.
Vary between veggie, turkey or beef for a change. Whichever, I use lots of different veg and beans (can be kidney or something else).
Serve with rice if time, or for super quick option - tacos or wraps.
Can jazz up with sour cream, guacamole and salsa on the side.

I also quite enjoy a fish finger salad - fish fingers served on lettuce, cucumber and tomato, with Pizza Express salad dressing! Caught DH making this the other day too!!

Mix in a bowl...

Tin of chickpeas
Tin of tuna
Tin of sweetcorn
Olives

Add any old chopped herbs, maybe a bit of raw veg, finely chopped carrot, gherkin, whatever you have to hand that would go.

Maybe a squeeze of lemon and a bit of olive oil.

Lovely, healthy and very, very quick.

Lazy garlic, ginger and chilli are your friends!

One easy meal is to buy pre diced chicken, pan fry with garlic, add broccoli and Philadelphia and a dash of milk and serve with brown rice. Lush!

Everything else takes more than ten minutes though

Wild salmon- smear mayonnaise on top, squeeze of lemon & sprinkle dried rosemary. Grill 8 mins. Microwave quinoa, salad leaves. Amazing and whole thing takes less than 5 mins to prepare.

Chop up peppers, courgette, red onion into small pieces (or whatever veg you like), roast in oven with garlic, dried herbs,.salt and pepper and olive oil for 30 mins. Meanwhile quickly cook some couscous & grill some halloumi. Mix the veg into the couscous & serve with pittas warmed in the toaster & sweet chilli sauce. Not 10 mins but pretty simple, and I make loads of roasted veg couscous for lunch & future meals.- eg. Serve with white fish cooked with parsley & lemon.

Cook whole wheat pasta and drain. Then cook halved cherry tomatoes and garlic in some olive oil until the tomatoes are soft. Add the pasta back in and stir through some pesto and cheddar cheese. Serve with salad

One pot pasta - fry some onion & garlic in olive oil in a large saucepan until soft. Add spaghetti, halved cherry tomatoes, basil, some tomato.puree, olives and (optional pine nuts) stock, season and cook for 10 mins stirring frequently. Squeeze over lemon before serving

Great ideas. Place marking

Thanks for all of these - I am rubbish at this sort of thing, so am scribbling them all down!

Some great ideas on here for lovely meals. Most I'll eat but dp and ds's are more fussy but sure I can alter them.

Place marking...

But my fave healthy quick dinner is stir fry chicken strips for a few mins, add a ready prepared stir fry fresh veggies pack. Soak vermicelli rice noodles in hot water. Add to the meat and veg with soy sauce, bit of hoisin and you're done. 10 mins max. Can use prawns but put in nearer the end.

Haven't read whole thread - apologies if any repetition... My quick and easy meals are:

Fajita wraps (peppers, onions, cheese, avocado, creme fraiche and maybe some chicken or beef or not!)

Tuna salad pittas (tin of tuna, tin of corn, diced cucumber, onion, pepper and a dollop of mayo)

Chicken friend rice (with pre-cooked chicken and frozen veg if time really is lacking)

Tuna bake

And my personal favourite - the 'whatever is in the kitchen smogersboard' (or however it's spelt) - think: cheese cubes, grapes, cherry tomatoes, crackers, nuts, raisins, seeds etc...

My laziest healthy meal is a steam bag or two of veg with one or two packets of cod in butter sauce. The fish is only 91 calories a pack but it's such a comfort food to me as well.

Raw king prawns fried in garlic,herby butter served with spaghetti (not particularly healthy)
Chicken goujons cut up and mixed into noodles with a chow mien/hoi sin sauce

Puttanesca Spaghetti (Jamie Oliver recipe)
It's on the table in 15 minutes and my DH loves it!

Fry some anchovies in their oil, add some sliced garlic and a teaspoon of cinnamon.
After a minute add half a jar of passata, some black olives,and a can of tuna. Give it a good stir and add more cinnamon if desired.
Meanwhile cook the spaghetti until al dente.
Add a jar of drained capers to the tuna sauce, stir. Add the cooked spaghetti and toss in the sauce.
Serve with parmesan if desired.

This dish is very salty so we never add extra salt or pepper.

I have bags of ready cooked chicken in the freezer so i can quickly rustle up curries , casserole , stir fry , fajitas on days i cba

Place marking!

I am a bit concerned that these are my actual meals, not my quick and easy ones!
I have veg hating children so every so often I make a massive batch of tomato sauce - chopped tomatoes, garlic, onion, then basically any veg at all. Simmer then whizz then freeze in little bags.
That's not time saving in itself but it means I can whip out a wee bag of sauce at any time ready to make bolognaise, chilli, pizzas, pasta etc etc very quickly

We like Salad Nicoise - salad leaves, cherry tomatoes and diced cucumber topped with a can of drained tuna and a hard boiled egg each plus a handful of lightly cooked green beans and an oil and vinegar dressing. I also have olives on mine but easy enough to leave them off for fussy people.

Pressure cooker
Sauté function, add onions and garlic, leave for 5 minutes, add a teaspoon of Garam masala half a teaspoon of chilli powder half a teaspoon of turmeric and diced turkey breast, sauté for 5 minutes and add a tin of tomatoes and brown rice, pressure cook for 15 minutes.