Easy, minimum-cook, and healthy self-catering meal ideas

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Looking for lunch and dinner ideas for a self-catering holiday:

• Will do one big shop on the first day to last the week.
• Have a freezer in accommodation.
• Are very rural so no takeaways/top up shops likely.
• Unlikely to eat out in restaurants at all due to location and Covid situation.
• We like to eat as healthy as possible, lots of fruit and veg, a little meat.
• Will probably take packed lunches out with us each day, so something that can be packed up/put in tupperware.

Any ideas that fit the bill? As I have cooked, and cooked, and cooked over lockdown, I want things as low/no-prep as possible, or things that can go from freezer to oven/pan, but not loads of washing up. And not too much stodge!

Thanks

My self catering meals, not all of which meet your criteria are typically:
Wraps or enchiladas from a box set
Curry from a jar
Pasta with a very basic tomato sauce of onion, cherry tomato, garlic and basil. With prawns stired through at the last minute.
Sausages, peas and frozen Yorkshire puddings.
Omelette and salad in places with a decent frying pan
Roast chicken in a bag with fresh bread and salad
Chicken and pea risotto

Anything there that triggers a train of thought for you?

We usually have a BBQ or two eg prawns/ steak/ burgers so just need ketchup, baps and bread and salad.
Pasta and pesto or puttanesca or tomato sauce .. so makings + spaghetti + Parmesan
Couscous with roasted veg and salad if you have an oven
Fish plus new pots plus green veg
Chicken wraps with peppers , bought salsa , cheese and possibly nachos
I usually take chilli flakes or dried chilliest, Sal and pepper and tea on holiday. I buy a small bottle of olive oil to use for dressings and cooking. I manage without other spices or herbs although there often things growing in gardens and at this time of year I would be tempted by fresh basil as it suits in season cooking.

Thanks @RedCatBlueCat - tomato and prawn pasta and chicken in a bag with bread and salad is exactly the thing. I could also do a 'risotto' type thing with micro rice and cream cheese/creme fraiche.

Thanks @yikesanotherbooboo - bought salsa is a good lazy option, with wraps, chicken or nachos. And avo!

Yes, I will take S&P and a potted fresh basil is a great idea.

I usually do a double-batch of spag Bol the week before a holiday, freeze the extra sauce and have it on the first night (defrosts on the way there).

A pre-cooked chicken from M&S cold in summer or warmed through in winter, always with mayo and potato croquettes (my lot think potato croquettes are the food of the gods, the heathens).

Fajitas, but with more of the trimmings than we'd have normally, all bought - so guacamole, salsa, sour cream, cheese, jalepeno poppers on the side, etc.

Puttanesca sauce for pasta is really good as only tins and jars....

Crustless quiches and salad
John West light lunches

Pre-cooked salmon fillets with new potatoes and green salad

Packets of flavoured couscous (just required being soaked in boiling water) with crumbled feta and possibly diced cucumber and tomatoes.

Pre-cooked mackerel fillets (Sainsbury’s are best for these - try the hot smoked pepper mackerel) with beetroot on a bed of microwave quinoa www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/merchant-gourmet-red-rice-grains---quinoa-205g

We often eat a lot of fish on holiday, 1 because it’s usually quick to cook and 2) we usually go to coastal resorts so like to buy fresh and local.
Fresh salads with local prawns or tuna steaks.
Linguine with garlic, chilli, cherry tomatoes and fresh local crab.
Fritata is easy and a bonus if you have leftovers you can pack up for lunch the next day.
Could be worth roasting a piece of gammon that could be served with a pineapple salsa and wedges for dinner then added to sandwiches or salads the next day.
I’m a big fan of just roll, ready rolled puff, just unroll, spread over a caramelised onion chutney, sliced figs and then crumbled over some blue cheese. Throw it in the oven and you’re done.

We stock up on a few ready meals from Cook. They’re as good as homemade without any of the nasties in regular ready meals. Take them in a cool bag and then pop them back in in the freezer of the accommodation.

Thanks everyone, great ideas.

@LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett - I read the bolognaise tip on here a while back (it may even be you who posted it then!) so that's already on the list for night 1.

Frittata and puff pastry tarts are also a great idea for leftovers for lunch.

Thanks

What's the bolognaise tip?

Tray bake roasts. Pizza. Chip shop tea.

Ooh fab ideas...

@OhioOhioOhio just to make a double bolognaise sauce at home and freeze a portion, it then defrosts in the car on the way there (helpfully keeping other foodstuff cool) and all you have to do is reheat the sauce and make pasta when you arrive.

Thank you.

Chicken Caesar salad is a good use for ready cooked chicken.

Salade Niçoise is a substantial evening meal, make it with tinned tuna, cook extra new potatoes at a previous meal, boil up a batch of hard boiled eggs for SN and packed lunches as they last for several days in the fridge, use fresh or frozen green beans.

We are self catering abroad next week. My rough plan is:

Roast chicken with salad, jacket potato and coleslaw
Some kind of tray bake (whatever meat and veg look nice!) with crusty bread
Burgers, corn cobs and coleslaw

Caesar pasta salad