Is it possible? Food shop

[TheLimeQuail]

Is it possible to buy easy foods that don’t take a lot of time or preparation, 10 mins max prep, still healthy but doesn’t cost a fortune over all? Could do with ideas.

Cooking - almost anything that is not roasting can be done within 40 mins. Keine problem

For dinner I often have either fish or mini chicken fillets drizzled with olive oil and seasoning, they take ten minutes in the air fryer or less in a frying pan, then with 4 minutes to go I add frozen red onion and mixed peppers and sliced fresh cherry tomatoes and courgette, serve with baby spinach no need to cook that and either croutons or cous cous - basically pour boiling water over, cover and leave for 5 minutes.

I don't get it - I do get ... brown mince in one pan, soften onions and pepper in another pan, combine losing meat fat, add tomatoes and seasoning, add a green element and some tomato purée, cook pasta, serve with Parmesan

So we'll do new/baby potatoes cut in half and put in a mixing bowl. Add oil, salt and pepper and spread on tray. Then cut carrots long ways, put in same bowl, add honey so they have oil and honey and put them on the tray too. And then dump on some sausages or fish fillets (I'd parcel fish in foil). Chuck in the oven 😂

Ice berg lettuce, handful of cherry tomatoes, chop up cucumber, air fry a piece of salmon in tin foil with lemon and lime juice on it for 14 minutes.

Op put your budget into chatgpt and ask for a meal plan. It's amazing

I rarely spend more then 30 mins in the kitchen and when I do, Im spending more time on the phone then actually cooking . A roast dinner is the longest - an hour. I also think we eat a pretty healthy diet - I cook from scratch from proper food - not jars or packets and we eat pretty cheap

Yes
buy some veg - courgette, carrots, onions mushrooms, peppers
chop and fry off add bulgar wheat/qunioa/ lentils/Cous cous/Pearl barley
add water and stock

then you can do a few styles-
Indian- tin tomatoes and spices
Italian- tomato’s with basil/oregano
Creamy- milk , lemon juice , thyme
Chinese- soy, Chinese 5 spice

very cheap can be ready in about 10 min (maybe 15 if using Pearl barley or lentil s)

Also
Tuna salad or tuna pasta
jacket potato and beans

Also bolognaise is quick and fairly cheap in

Salmon steaks, 15 mins in the airfryer, with microwave rice and brocoli.

Made enchiladas last night, 10 min max prep time, cooking time 25 mins

You can steam potatoes in a steamer, they just take longer. It is much healthier as it preserves the nutrients. I put new potatoes in for half an hour...I also like to save some to eat cold with salad etc. A steamer is also great for doing hard boiled eggs, about 30 mins but probably ready sooner. Eggs are a great convenience fast food, they can be kept in the fridge for sandwiches, kedgeree etc. I tend to do them while I've got something else on the go, it is very economical to add a basket to the steamer. I steam rice too.

I should add I don't have a microwave, I know a lot of people steam in a microwave but my timings refer to old-school cooking!

Pot Noodle.

There are a number of different flavours, so you can cater for a whole range of food fads.

I just peel, and chop some potatoes, and put them in the steamer. I used to boil them in water, the traditional way, but I always overcooked them, and they used to fall apart, or be waterlogged. I put my potatoes on first, and add any other hard veg, like carrots, halfway through the cooking time.

Hands on time or total time?

Jacket spuds, mushroom omelette & salad or beans
Chicken thigh and bean tray bake
Sausage and lentil casserole
Pasta with any old veg, toms, crème fraiche
Shop bought ravioli with fried frozen Mediterranean veg

Salmon fillet with sauce 12 minutes in airfare. With a packet of microwave rice and some peas

Quick meals like scrambled egg, with tinned smoked salmon is cheap (nicer with fresh smoked salmon though)

Microwave rice, add Mediterranean roasted veg (you can buy frozen bags of it but making fresh is easy) and mix. Can add chunks of chicken if you want for protein.

Any pasta dish is easy and cheap but not always the healthiest.

Poached eggs on toast. Quick, cheap. Add some salad for extra nutrition.

Frozen onions, curry paste, spices, garlic, red lentils, couple of chopped up tomatoes and a handful of spinach. I'm eating it now and after a ten minute soak for the lentils it took about 15 minutes. Sometimes I do it with coconut milk, sometimes add chickpeas. It might not be the most authentic dhal but its filling and quick. And very tasty.

I make a large meal once a week and then have it over 3 or 4 days (soup, shepherd pie, bean chilli etc), so pretty much most days I don't have to cook at all

I make a 3 bean chilli - cheap and really quick.
fry a chopped onion and 2 cloves of garlic, add and fry 2 chopped bell peppers, then add 2 tins of chilli tomatoes and optional tomato puree, some grated ginger and any beans - kidney beans, chickpeas etc and heat through. I serve it either with crusty bread or rice.

10 minutes is a big ask.
There are plenty of cheap meals, but generally it will take longer.
For quick and cheap meals you're looking at things like omelette, pasta based meals, jacket potatoes (10 minutes in microwave then olive oil and crisped up in oven), chilli con carne, Enchiladas or Fajitas
But most of those will still take slightly over 10 minutes.

I don't know how they sell so many, we took them camping and I got so bloated after. Don't usually have a sensitive stomach so presumably there's some absolute junk in them!

Surprisingly not, apparently! If you use the app Yuka,

'Yuka scans food, beauty & personal care products to decipher their ingredients and evaluate their impact on your health. In a world of incomprehensible labels, ...'

A pot noodle comes out as 'good'. (see photo, eventually)

Could the 'bloatedness' be attributed to being in a confined space (tent, van etc.) for a prolonged period and one taking care not to release of 'wind'?

Risotto. Fry onion (and chopped raw chicken if you like) in open pressure cooker on hob. Add rice and coat in the oil. Add stock (and white wine if handy) and any veg you have knocking about (or frozen chopped veg/peas). Lid on pressure cooker and cook for 6 minutes.

Get an oven dish, pop in a block of cheap salad cheese(feta) or a block of bourson/whipped garlic and herb cream cheese you choose and two bags of cherry tomatoes, this seves 4 so double if needed.

Once baked till soft enough squish it all in and give it a mix then mix in with cooked pasta.

It works well with chicken and fish and is my cheap tasty go to!