Do you have any recipes......?

[PupInAPram]

.......for meals and snacks that are healthy but involve minimal prep and cooking? I've got into the lazy habit of an evening meal of a big bowl of greek yogurt with frozen fruit in it (makes a kind of fake ice cream but not too unhealthy). I then eat a cold boiled egg straight out of the fridge or a bit of pre-cooked meat, and that's my tea. I need to snap out of it, but I'm always so tired and unmotivated after work

I live alone but spent 25 years as a single parent cooking a dinner after work, and I'm so over that!

If you're ok with spending a little more to get the convenience of pre-prepped then I'd go with stuff like:

• stir fry veg pack, stir fry steak strips, stir fry sauce. Chuck it all in a pan for 5 minutes and stir.

• supermarket crustless quiche or frittata, bagged salad. Place on plate and eat

• supermarket pasta salads

• pre-prepped steam bags of veg, cooked chicken slices or boiled egg. Microwave the veg, add knob of butter, salt and pepper, mix in boiled egg or chicken.

• rotisserie chicken, day 1 strip it, have the breast slices in a fresh warm baguette with whatever salad leaves/tomato/cucumber and condiments you like. Then have the rest in the fridge for the next couple of days worth of dinners. Can be used in an omelette or stir fry or added to a pasta salad or in a sandwich.

Thanks @FlabMonsterIsDietingAgain Yep, money is not a big issue (finally) although I won't be eating lobster every night!

My fastest meals with little prep are pan fried sea bass with stir fry and baked salmon and broccoli. I do DH potatoes, so jersey royals when available or mashed potato. I always do an extra portion of mash so he can have the next day or freeze. Also, cook extra salmon to eat the next day?

Prawns with creme fraiche, pasta is very fast. Can add chorizo or some sort of saucisson sec to make it fancier.

I always cook extra if it can be frozen so that I can have home cooked food with little effort after work.

What about M and S ready meals? DD likes the gastropub fish pie and has it on consecutive nights as lives alone.

Could you make a Vege packed soup at the weekend and have that?

I often just have beans on toast.

I would say get a slow cooker, there are loads of simple recipes online plus as @Sunshineandrainbow mentions veg soup is brilliant and can also be made in a slow cooker. When in the massively busy years plus I had a dire commute I used to put the slow cooker on a couple of times a week. It has given 🧑 DS a hatred of stews that I feel is unfounded :). Omelette and bagged salad is an easy one. Fresh pasta plus a little sauce either shop bought or fresh and some cheese or just chopped deli meat in and some salad or frozen veg chucked in is really easy.

Mmmm 🤔 slow cooker @KalamazooZoo I could definitely sling a few bits in before I leave in the morning when I'm a feeling a bit livelier. I think I'll google some recipes now. Just one pot to clean as well I assume.

Yes one pot to clean stews, soups, and you can do say rice and chicken in them. Can also use cheaper cuts of meat as they get tender. I did a beef brisket a couple of weeks ago in mine from a cheap cut

There is a woman on YouTube who does 10 in 60 minutes. You prep 10 meals for 4 people in an hour and then freeze them. So that would do you for over a month. I think she’s about to release a new book (may be worth reserving at the library).

https://twochubbycubs.com/2019/03/03/chicken-soup/

Ive made this today - its very minimal, a tiny bit of chopping and there is enough to last me 5/6 meals

I meals prepped some bagel frittata and cheese things, then wrapped them up to put in air fryer - they are yummy for breakfast or lunch - it was Emily English protein bagels that I started using, This last batch was just 8 eggs, fresh tomato and smoked German cheese from Aldi

Ive made kebabs with the left over chicken and will eat those in-between

Not a recipe but on really lazy days, I like to have food from cookfood.net in the freezer. Their healthy range appears to actually be healthy.

I have two kids and my youngest has severe food allergies meaning we can’t buy ready meals and the only place we can eat out is McDonald’s. I often don’t feel like cooking at the end of the day and so I swear by my slow cooker and instant pot - slow cooker is great for preplanned dinners that are just ready when you get home, and instant pot is great for cooking meat straight from frozen in no time if you haven’t preplanned. I keep frozen chicken in the freezer always so I can make a quick curry/drumsticks in a hurry. Frozen veg and rice in microwave and you’re sorted without much effort. Latest favourite is chicken, lentil and spinach curry I’ve been making in the instant pot - from frozen chicken, spinach and onions and dried lentils to curry in about half an hour and most of that is totally hands off. You can even cook the rice in the instant pot at the same time. The other thing I like about both appliances is they seem to create less mess, I’m not sure how! There certainly aren’t cooking splatters etc about

I make loads of stuff in my slow cooker. Butternut squash soup is a good one to make a batch of then freeze it.