Very low effort meals needed

[IsaBisaBuildsaBoat]

I have ME/CFS and have just realised I need to be more strategic about time spent in the kitchen. I need to reduce effort as much as possible, basically. Shame, as I enjoy cooking (sometimes) and have resisted making this change for too long. I use a perching stool so I can sit while I chop but still, the lower effort the better.

I need to change my shopping habits to include more preprepared frozen veg, frozen steam rice, more family size ready meals, and incorporate more dishes that are like 'dump the jar on the chicken beasts and walk away for forty minutes'.

So, please share your low effort tips. I would really really appreciate it.

My least effort meal is to buy one of those ready cooked chickens, boil some new potatoes and open a tin of sweet corn. It's nice with a dollop of mayo.

I also love those sachets of micro rice.

Garlic and ginger chopped in jars are great - usually find KTC brand in the ethnic section of the supermarket.

I try to make lots of bolognese type sauce at once then freeze, and also have rice or potatoes cooked ready for another day - so for example yesterday was boiled spuds and carrots fried up with smoked sausage (keeps for months, cut up with scissors) and frozen microwaved peas. Tomorrow will probably be rice with peppered mackerel (again, keeps for months in the fridge, cut up with scissors) and some veg,egg and turmeric.

How about those bags of veg that you just pierce with a fork and put straight into the microwave to steam? You can also buy steaming bags for use in the microwave that you can put fresh veg bought lose into.
Also, as mentioned above things with egg, baked potato or toast. I use ready meals because I'm lazy but I suppose that's not the cheapest option if you're cooking for a whole family.

Pack of gnocchi/ tortellini. Carton of passata. Chuck passata in pan, add salt, add handful of torn up basil, simmer for 5 minutes. Take off heat, add cream. Pour over the pasta, grate parmesan. Voila.

Do you have a ridged grill pan? Tuna steaks take about 5 minutes. As does halloumi- slice, grill, there you go.

Ready meals wise, LIDL do great fish cakes, especially the smoked haddock ones.

LIDL also has nice salmon, veg and pasta and similar chicken frozen/steamed ready meals.

Tortellini! I'd forgotten tortellini! Fantastic.

I have filled an online cart with loads of these suggestions. I will have to print this thread to make sure I don't lost these ideas, though. Can't buy all these options this week.

You can freeze fresh pizza dough.
Pizzas are fast and quick.

Thank you for this thread. I have CFS too and I'm really struggling with meals ATM.

'Tis true gwen, LIDL is amazing. We have their smoked salmon fillets almost every week (young baby, zero desire to spend ANY time cooking ATM).

First thing you need to knock on the head though, OP, is building a boat. That's a fuck load of useless effort....

Fuzz for you as well.

Juggling roasted veg is so good, especially in cold weather. Not just root veggies but peppers, courgettes and cherry tomatoes all roasted together for 20 minutes or so is gorgeous and really easy. I don't even bother with oil with those.

Isa DH came home with a load of easy healthy snacks for me He's bloody amazing.

I am a single working mum and only do easy meals!

Salmon with spoonful of pesto (out of a jar obv ) on top, bit of grated cheese if you want, wrap in tin foil in the oven for 20 mins.

Serve with rice and veg.

Can do the same with chicken.

Cheats roast dinner = sausages, aunt Bessies roast potatoes and yorkshires, veg and bisto gravy.

Jacket spuds with cheese and beans.

pasta with tin of tuna chucked in, some pesto and have with salad or veg.

Also lots of freezer meals i.e. fishfingers, oven chips etc.

Buy however many of those bags of pre prepared Mediterranean veg that most supermarkets do, empty in to a roasting dish with some new potatoes and chicken breasts/thighs/legs with some olive oil and whatever seasoning you fancy. Cook for forty minutes. Prep takes ten minutes and the washing up is minimal.

This is a lovely thread.

Our quick dinner is massaman curry. We buy a pot of paste from an Asian shop - we have red and green curry too but prefer massaman.

Fry chicken thighs, add paste, add coconut milk. Add cooked potato if you want to, but we often don't bother. It cooks in the 10 mins it takes to boil the Thai jasmine rice.

A lot of supermarkets sell curry pastes now, they don't tend to have all the hidden extras jars do.

If I'm at home and feeling shattered due to a non sleeping child or illness I will go for a jacket potato with tuna or beans or leftovers. In the oven for two hours and then done - people can add their own toppings.

Meant to say always add salad or veg but I can see that's been covered earlier in the thread!

I plan on never chopping another onion ever since discovered no frozen chopped onion

Op here's a . You sound done in

Freeze whole chillis. Just grate a bit from frozen when needed.
Tray bakes are easy. Chop chicken breasts and assorted veg - potatoes, onions, leeks, peppers etc - chuck in garlic cloves and drizzle all with olive oil and whatever you have to hand for seasonings. I use a balsamic glaze, or honey, or sweet chilli sauce. Add herbs, salt and pepper. Bake unril cooked.

I tend to alternate between some nights cooking 'properly' and some nights shoving a pizza in the oven.

I really like my microwave rice steamer. I have that down pat so I can cook rice quickly and it's just fluffy and perfect. Always have herbs and spices and packets of stir fry sauce in the cupboard to make something quickly. Lazy garlic in a jar in the fridge. I also batch cook occasionally so there are some dishes in the freezer.

I have a gadget that chops onions and veg quickly so i use that a lot otherwise the frozen chopped onion would be a definite alternative. I cook most of my meats in the slow cooker and they come out gorgeous, whole chicken, stewing beef, lamb shoulder, pork joint etc.

Sainsburys frozen pizza. It's half the price and twice as good as the more expensive fresh ones. I discovered them when I was doing some charity catering. What you save on pizza spend on a ready made salad bowl.

Breaded chicken escalopes, frozen chips and peas.

Salmon steaks, pasta with pesto, salad bowl. (Asda do a party salad that last three of us two evening meals and a couple of lunches).

Heinz tomato soup, cheese on toast, apple pie and custard.

Spinach and ricotta pasta (or variations), jar of cheese sauce, garlic bread, said salad.

Roast chick, new potatoes, coleslaw, said salad.

Puff pastry tart made with frozen puff pastry. Just score a line about an inch in all round, fill,inside that line with toppings and bake for about twenty mins. I like mozzarella, pesto and cherry tomatoes on mine, but there's loads of things work well.

Chicken wings and oven wedges. Coat the chicken wings in whatever you fancy, some things I like, paprika, soy and garlic, barbecue sauce, nandos rub, bake on a rack for about thirty mins, serve with jacket wedges and sour cream for dipping.

Baked omelette: (serves 4 adults)

In large, greased Pyrex dish put 8 beaten eggs then 350g grated cheese.

Season with salt / pepper / herbs

Bake for 15 mins at 200

Serve with oven chips & bag salad

I am so grateful to everyone for sharing. to everyone struggling. Fuzzpig, especially you, I have been with you on many threads under other names.

I get my knickers in such a twist thinking I should do things from scratch. It is just fab having so many low effort options.

This is a fabulous thread. I'm not unwell but work FT with two kids and always tired so super quick meals are great.

I've cut and pasted all the recipes into a word doc as I want to keep them, if anyone wants it you can pm me and i can try to email it...

My family's easiest meal is:

1. Put boneless skinless chicken breasts in oven proof dish
2. Pour jar of pasta sauce over the chicken breasts
3. Sprinkle pack of grated mozerella cheese over the top
4. Bake at 180 for 32 minutes

Serve over boiled pasta.

The cheese melts into the jarred sauce and makes everything taste much better than you would expect. My children love it. It's easy. No cleaning, chopping or preparing. Just 3 ingredients to dump in the dish.