The holy grail of meals - healthy(ish), quick and virtually no prep or clearing up - does it exist?

[ohwhattododo]

After 15 years of meal planning and trying to cook healthy meals from scratch, I am all cooked out at the moment!

For the summer holidays, I was going to try to give myself a bit of a break from cooking, but I'm struggling to come up with many ideas. If I eat rubbish, I feel rubbish, so trying to still keep up the fruit and veg etc.

The best I can come up with is something like a lentils/grain/rice pouch, a tin of mackerel or some ready-cooked chicken, and some cherry tomatoes and tinned sweetcorn! Looking for as little prep and washing up as possible. Doesn't have to be overly exciting either, just easy.

Any other ideas? Thanks.

Pesto chicken traybake

Chicken breast (or thigh or drumstick or whatever you've got) per person
Bell peppers
Cherry tomatoes
Red onions

All onto a tray, salt pepper and I like a little of the chicken seasoning you can get sprinkled over the top

Bake for 30-40 minutes gas mark 7 or 200 degrees electric until the chicken breast are piping hot all the way through.

Scoop out, chop up the chicken mix with pesto and serve with carb of choice.

I like good quality tomatoes, cut into large chunks, with salt, olive oil, and walnuts. Lambs lettuce, green olives, and crusty wholemeal bread on the side as well. and a glass of verdejo
Beef tomatoes are especially good.
Works for breakfast too!

My go-to at the moment is

warm some sliced garlic in a teaspoon of oil. When it smells garlicky but not browned, add a drained can of cannellini beans. Heat through, then add tinned tuna.

Serve on lettuce leaves or rocket if you have any. Tastes fab. Requires a knife, a small pan and a fork. 😊

Tuna crunch pasta

Tin of tuna per 2 people
Wholemeal pasta
Bell pepper
Red onion
Tin of sweetcorn
Cheddar cheese
Light mayo

Boilt the pasta
Chop up the veg
Drain the tuna
Grate some cheese

Drain the pasta
Tip everything else in the same pan
Generous squirt of mayo

Mix, top with cheese (and crushed ready salted crisps if your feeling naughty)

Eat.

I do a traybake when I'm feeling lazy, but still want a proper meal.

This sort of thing : -

https://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/view/spanish-style-chicken-bake

It's just a matter of adding things at the right time, & it's so flexible.

Or simmer some puy lentils in water. When most of the water is absorbed, lay a frozen hake fillet on top and put a lid on. The fish cooks in the steam. When fish is white rather than opaque (cooked), drain onto a dish.

Add halved cherry tomatoes, some olive oil and black pepper.

Wrap salmon fillets in foil with a slice of lemon, salt and pepper. Bake in oven with either jacket potatoes or homemade potato wedges made by slicing Maris pipers or similar lengthways and baking with oil and sea salt. Stick some carrot slices in for veg or serve with some salad

Falafel Pitta

Hummous
Wholemeal pitta breads
Plain yoghurt
Tablespoon of mint sauce
Frozen falafel
Supermarket prepped salad of choice

Warm pittas
Cook falafel
Mix mint sauce with the yoghurt

Assemble and eat.

Have you tried the Roasting Tin books? One roasting tin, chopping board and knife to wash.

Smoked mackerel fillets mixed with cream cheese. Instant pate. Some toast or rice cakes and salad. Yum

Lidl ready prepared fish is good and reasonably priced. I like the poached salmon and gravalax with pepper and horseradish sauce. Pimps up a salad or microwave veggies

Chick pea curry

tin of chickpeas
frozen butternut squash pieces
frozen pre chopped onion
tin of chopped tomato’s
tomato puree
60g of cream cheese ( light or full fat )
two teaspoons of medium curry powder

chuck it all in a pot or slow cooker

Jacket potatoes?

I buy gnocchi and bake it in the oven with cherry tomatoes and olive oil and a sprinkling of spicy Italian seasoning and whatever other bits I've got in the fridge (most recently it had courgette and goats cheese added)

I tend to eat it out of the dish I cook it in to get all the scrummy crispy bits of roast tomato so saves on the washing up too.

My local butchers does decent quality 'ready to cook' meals and things like stuffed mushrooms and stuffed peppers. They are made just like I would make them at home

When I'm busy I boil a large pan of new potatoes at the start of the week and they get reheated/ fried/ sliced into fritata or turned into a quick potato salad as the week goes on - usually to go with a butcher made chicken with cheesy Leek sauce, or butchers lamb and veg skewers

Skinny smash burgers

Reduced fat supermarket burgers
Wholemeal thins
Iceberg lettuce
Raw red onion rounds (thinly sliced)
Packed of mcains wedges

Chuck wedges in the oven
Squish and grill off burgers
Chop lettuce
Slice onion

Assemble and serve with wedges and coleslaw. A corn on the cob if you fancy it also goes nicely

To be totally lazy, I go for pre-prepared but healthy things…..chopped frozen veg, diced meat.
Asda have some lovely frozen rice/grain and veg mixes, or things like Mediterranean veg mix. Just microwave or oven roast.
Iceland have some great frozen chicken kebabs, with different glazes or just plain. Oven or air fry and serve with the above, and a tub of salad from the supermarket.

Rotisserie chicken bought from supermarket with steamed white rice (use a sistema microwave rice cooker for perfect rice every time) served with cucumber chunks, liberal sprinkle of soy sauce (mix with a dab of wasabi or horseradish sauce for extra zing) is my dcs favourite quick dinner. Takes 20minutes to wash and cook the rice, shred the chicken and chop up the cucumber.

Wow, so many ideas already! Thanks all!

I basically want no chopping or boiling if possible! So sick of standing in my kitchen right now!

But some other good ideas for when I am feeling less lazy and more inclined to chop 😊

Bag of salad, chopped cucumber, pouch of new potatoes in butter microwaved, spring onions, baby beetroots and sliced goats cheese

Then your going to have to buy ready meals or prepped veg

If you’ve the budget - I have a Ninja Speedi which has changed my life.

I tend to use frozen vegetables on sauté mode then add in mince, protein etc for a chilli and put it on steam air fry.

You can do one pot meals - things like tuna or bolognese pasta bake, macaroni cheese, rice based dishes.

Roasts are easy…you can bung a chicken and all the potatoes/veg in.

I often do jacket potatoes in it and they come out cafe style..then a bagged salad, grated cheese, beans, chilli from the freezer, tuna deli filler etc.

You can do a full English in it.

My emergency go to is cook some M&S or Aldi Tempura Chicken in the top, then remove once done, switch to sauté mode, bung some stir fry oil, chopped spring onion, a couple of eggs, soy sauce and a packet of ready cooked rice (I use Veetee but Uncle Bens etc fine), Serve with a packet of sweet and sour sauce and you have Chinese fakeaway. 15 mins from start to finish.

Some times I do fish, chips and a tin of peas…low fat options when possible,

Clean up is sooooooooo easy. You can also get disposable liners or silicone trays.

I know not a recipe, but definitely a game changer if you want quick meals, largely from scratch.

Jacket potatoes with whatever and salad.

Fish or nice fish cake cooked in the oven with a tray of courgettes, peppers, onions etc also cooked in the oven. You could add some chips or rice.

Or, just eat the raw ingredients

Eggs, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes either as an omelette or a fried egg.

Salad with a choice of smoked salmon, prawns, tuna, ham and cheese etc and a granary roll.

Eggs in any form, with basically anything! Omelette is my go to with any odds and ends of veg, grating of cheese and a bit of salad if I have it. Oven chips or toast if I need a carb.

The fresh stuffed pasta with a tomato based sauce rather than cream, salad, spinach wilted in maybe.

When I get stuck in a rut I tend to buy a chicken to roast with easy sides- new potatoes/bagged salad/tray of roast veg. Strip all the meat while it's warm and into the fridge to pick at/stir fry/wraps etc. Fajitas fits your brief too.

Following as the school holidays always seem to descend into terrible eating and not only do I want to watch my weight but it also makes me feel dreadful and bloated!