Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to want a list of instant healthy meals

24 replies

madroid · 06/11/2021 14:52

And I mean instant eg 5-10 mins prep/cooking time

Scrambled egg on toast with a tomato and coleslaw
microwaved potato with grated cheese and chopped tomato/salad leaves
beans on toast
mushrooms on toast
pasta/pesto

What do others do?

OP posts:
relocating24 · 06/11/2021 15:17

Huel hot and savoury meals might be your thing?

Otherwise avocado on toast, toasties, fresh pasta and sauce, gnocchi, soup (tinned or reheated from a batch cook), baked potato (microwaved).

cowburp · 06/11/2021 15:19

Stir-fry with frozen stir-fry veg

cowburp · 06/11/2021 15:19

Soup

DrCoconut · 06/11/2021 15:19

Sardines in tomato sauce on toast if you eat fish. You can put some salad with it too.

SoMuchToBits · 06/11/2021 15:19

Omelettes (can add cheese, ham, mushrooms, tomatoes etc).

TotallySuper · 06/11/2021 15:19

Omelette or anything egg based here for speed.
Envy microwave potatoes are wrong

cowburp · 06/11/2021 15:20

Omelette

cowburp · 06/11/2021 15:20

@DrCoconut

Sardines in tomato sauce on toast if you eat fish. You can put some salad with it too.
Good shout or mackerel. They do it in loooads of different sauces.
Ohpussyhatpussyhat · 06/11/2021 15:23

Salmon and green rice:
Tinned salmon, rice boiled with a handful of peas and spinach.

Salmon and pesto lunguini:
Boil linguini, drain and add pesto, serve and top with strips of salmon.

Creamy ham and pea pasta:
Cook spaghetti and peas, drain and pour on cream. Add chopped ham.

Stir fry:
Hint: iceland sells precooked frozen chicken cubes. Fry these for a few mins while boiling some egg noodles. Add frozen ready chpped chinese veg. Add spices e.g. five spice and chilli. Add noodles to chicken/veg mixture. Add soy sauce and mix.

Fish fingers and mashed sweet potato.
Cook fish fingers/cakes
Stick some sweet potatoes in microwave.
Take the skin off the hot sweet potato and mash in some butter and black pepper.

Bacon, tomatoes and chickpeas:
Fry bacon, add tomatoes, chickpeas and a bit of chilli

Cheats burrito's
Heat uncle bens microwaveable mexican rice. Heat tinned refried beans. Spoon ing redients into a wrap and roll it.

Quesadillas:
Take small tortilla wraps
Spread on tomato puree
Ad cheese and whatever else you have e.g chopped tomato, grated pepper. Sandwhich the tortillas together and toast in grill.

Slow cooker stew or casserole using prechopped meat and veg.

Tomato, mozarella and pesto panini

gogohm · 06/11/2021 15:25

Couscous with finely chopped cucumber, tomatoes, fresh parsley, mint, lemon juice and olive oil served with smoked mackerel and mixed leaves, prep is the length of time to boil the kettle, soak couscous and chop veg

gogohm · 06/11/2021 15:26

Can cook fish in maybe 2 more mins

Wiggles278 · 06/11/2021 15:27

If I only have 5 mins prep time I don't usually bother doing anything that involves heating anything up, other than toast!

I try to prep lunch as quickly as possible so I don't waste all my lunch break cooking. It's usually bread based - either a sandwich or toast, depending how I'm feeling - and try to buy sourdough or something wholegrain to try and make it a bit healthy!

I try to make up for the fact that every lunch involves bread by varying what I have to go with it and try to get some healthy fats in. Examples are:

Smoked salmon, cream cheese, cucumber.
Avocado, salt, pepper.
Tinned sardines/mackerels (I know some people hate these but I love them and they're pretty healthy).
Boiled eggs.

Then I'll usually have a portion of fruit and some yoghurt or a glass of milk for a bit of dairy.

I don't love salads but even as a non-salady person I admit you can make quite a nice one if you add in some nice soft cheese e.g. feta, some olive oil, and some fish or chicken (pre-cooked or that it would no longer be a quick meal!)

Omelettes are also fairly quick and you can load them up with tasty and healthy ingredients.

I will have a think about other quick meals but I'm not very imaginative so I tend to rotate the same things!

Ohpussyhatpussyhat · 06/11/2021 15:28

Also, halloumi and beg kebabs:
Chop halloumi, peppers, courgette, onions and tomatoes (or use ready chopped fajita veg). Stick on a skewer and wipe on some oil and a sprinkle of chilli. Grill for 10 mins.

Lamb kebabs
Take a lamb burger
Add spices e.g cumin and ginger
Cook the burger, stick in a flat bread with some lettuce, grated carrot and hummous.

cowburp · 06/11/2021 15:30

Homous and pitta bread toasted.
Just need a tin of chickpeas, lemonjuice, garlic clove and a bit of tahani whack it in the blender.

Flavabobble · 06/11/2021 15:51

I was very organised last week, and prepared a couple of meals in the morning for after work - then microwaved in the evening. (I did not have the time to cook after work) Nicest one was creamy chicken tagliatelle with spinach.

Nomorecoco · 06/11/2021 16:22

Our household lives off frozen cooked chicken pieces, you can fry them straight from frozen in about 5 mins.

I used them in loads of things.

Chinese fake away with frozen onions and peppers and satchet of sauce, packet rice.
Fajitas
Curry (frozen onion, jar sauce,) and packet rice

I make a herby chicken pasta sauce, cook pasta, In a seperate pan fry off chicken, add 1 chicken stock cube and 1 vegetable, instant garlic (puree/jar/frozen ect) parsley, pepper and 1-2 Bay leaves. Cook on slow, drain off pasta but keep a bit of the pasta water, cook sauce and pasta for about 2-3 minutes together. It's nice with fine beans in too, again just use frozen.

MoreStuffingMatron · 06/11/2021 16:34

The freezer bosses instant healthy food line no other.

Add frozen Fish, spinach, peas, green beans, butter, black pepper & squirt of lemon juice - microwave 5 mins

Put spaghetti on boil. Make sauce with frozen onions, mushrooms (bacon if not veggie) & add sour cream, salt & pepper to taste. Pour sauce over spaghetti.

Microwave some frozen mince for about 2 mins, add frozen onion & peas plus knorr stock cube and mix. Put pre frozen mash on the top - microwave 4 mins - homemade cottage pie

viques · 06/11/2021 16:48

Grilled/pan fried fish on couscous.

Supermarket fresh pasta ravioli with a sage butter sauce.

Gnocci with steamed spinach and Parmesan .

Crumblinginside · 06/11/2021 16:54

Fresh pasta and pesto (I chuck a pea peas in)
Fresh soup

Bit mostly I reheat meals (batch cook)

MrsTulipTattsyrup · 06/11/2021 16:59

Microwave rice pouches take 2 minutes to heat. Meanwhile fry a strips of beef (frying steak) or chicken with teriyaki barbecue sauce, serve on rice with julienned raw carrots and a big pile of pea shoots or other salad leaves, for a quick rice bowl.

Microwave salmon with soy sauce, slivers of leek or spring onion, carrots, courgette, in a parcel. Serve over microwave rice.

Tin of ratatouille, or homemade if you do a batch at the weekend or on a day off. Serve with rice or pasta.

Fresh filled pasta and a fresh sauce from the supermarket take three minutes to cook. Add steamed veg or salad alongside.

ImTellingTales · 06/11/2021 17:35

Apart from the insane suggestion of making your own pasta, this thread might be useful.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/food_and_recipes/4345097-Favourite-meals-you-can-make-in-the-time-it-takes-to-cook-pasta

madroid · 06/11/2021 17:45

Some great ideas there, thanks all.

OP posts:
AveryGoodlay · 06/11/2021 21:14

Microwave some frozen mince for about 2 mins, add frozen onion & peas plus knorr stock cube and mix. Put pre frozen mash on the top - microwave 4 mins - homemade cottage pie I think part of my soul has just died.

Loopyloulou007 · 06/11/2021 21:19

I am all up for cooking a big batch of Italian tomato sauce, frozen in portion sizes, so can make a pasta dish at the drop of a hat. Can then decide what I want with it. Meat balls, bolognese etc etc. Batch cooking is the plan. A stew frozen, tastes better the second time you eat it. Curry. Etc.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page