Healthy eating - simple meals /snacks that are inexpensive and minimal effort

[Aspanielstolemysanity]

I am trying to get healthier, but struggling because it feels like a lot of healthy food involves lots of prep/chopping and due to a neurological condition this isn't at all easy /possible for me.
I don't want to resort to ready meals etc but feel really stuck for actual healthy, tasty , meals and snacks that are minimal prep but made from whole foods (I want to avoid processed foods ). I'm allergic to egg which doesn't help either

Things I am doing /can manage

• jacket potato with tuna and ready prepared salad
• salad with tuna or ham
• houmous and veg sticks (if someone is around to chop them)
• yoghurt and berries

Can anyone recommend really simple things, or healthy ready meals and snacks that aren't processed food?

I want to get healthier but it feels so hard. And at work if I don't bring lunch all that's available to buy is pasties and paninis and crisps (and we are a public sector body with a department working on public health --make it makes sense!) , so I need to sort meals for lunches too, but again my ability to do much prep is very limited

Obviously I have fruit for snacks but sometimes we run out and again I can't always get to the shops so ideas for longer lasting healthy stuff would help.

Frozen stuff like blocks of ginger and garlic, ready chopped onions, peas/spinach, prawns, bag of microwave/straight to pan wholegrain rice (or leftovers), bit of soy sauce and Chinese 5 spice. ?

Are you able to do slow cooker recipes.
i love this daal, really tasty, nutritious and minimally processed ingredients. Makes loads and batches/freezes really well.

https://www.tamingtwins.com/slow-cooker-dahl/

Frozen stir fry veg is a good option. Also making smoothies?

Just about all veg can be bought frozen and prepared

chickpea and vegetable curry with a tin of tomatoe or coconut milk and some curry past - bung it all in and leave it. I’d use frozen onions and spinach and garlic as well as the chickpeas , but cauliflower would also go , or a packet of chopped carrot and turnip which could also be added to mince and ( frozen ) onions to top your jacket potatoe

fish boiled potatoes - no need to peel - and frozen veg . I’d use brown sauce and butter but you could have some pregrated cheese to sprinkle on the top

edit to add I would have a boring lunch - pre-slice cheese sandwich with an apple - and focus on decent evening meal

I’d say don’t hesitate to buy convenience food…. not processed ready meals but the whole foods that are prepared for you - veg in packets already chopped that you can just steam or stir fry, fruit already chopped up, you can even get ready-chopped carrot sticks, though they need eating fast.

Otherwise, toast is always quick and easy! Avocado on toast, cottage cheese or cream cheese, peanut butter and banana. And tuna’s great, but also try other tinned fish - salmon and mackeral both count as oily fish and are extremely healthy. You can get sardines in tomato in tins - again, on toast!

Being allergic to eggs is tricky, I admit - lots of things like omelettes and scrambled eggs on toast are out, and they’re a good quick protein. Baked beans are really good plant based protein - again, on toast!

Speaking of protein, I buy pre-cooked chicken breasts (Waitrose are nice) for salads - ready prepared salad bag, maybe some other bits like avocado, cucumber, steamed veg pack, herbs - then ready cooked chicken, and a dressing. Easy and delicious.

I would try adding chia seeds and oats to your yoghurt and leaving in the fridge for a few hours before adding the berries.

Can you buy baby carrots and baby cucumbers so you don’t need to chop them?

Plain popcorn cooked in a paper bag in the microwave.

Avocado on toast. Are you able to prep this at work for lunch?

Soup?

Mushrooms on toast? They are easier to chip or just buy the small button ones. I add fresh thyme and garlic and pan fry in a bit of butter

If you’re okay with nuts, then anything like small handful of nuts, oatcakes with nutbutter etc. work well as snacks and don’t go off. Small pots of yogurt, get some frozen fruit, defrost some in the microwave which gives you lots of juice and stir in.
Microwave rice or cook some grains like cous cous and stir through some vegetables and protein, if you want flavour stick some pesto, or sundried tomato paste through ut. (Frozen prepped veg is a life saver here!)

Roasting or air frying lots of chicken thighs. Great addition to salad or a wrap or just a grab and go snack.

Apple, cheddar and nuts is a favourite snack of mine.

Meals we cook regularly are;

• roasted veg (courgette, pepper, red onion, tomato) with feta or halloumi with pasta pesto.

• chilli with nachos and guacamole and salsa.
• chicken wraps with salad

-salmon, rice/quinoa with stir-fry green veg (broccoli, peas and kale)

We also try and batch match a soup (butternut, or pea) and freeze it for an emergency lunch.

I agree with frozen vegs being really convenient, also frozen fish portions - Iceland is good for both of them and cheaper then other places.
I think it depends on what you like. My DH likes pasta salad with cooked frozen vegs and grated cheese for his lunch bag but lots of people will tell that it’s boring.
I often do pita and avocado for lunch with adding a bit of something e.g a few olives and cherry tomatoes and some green leaves. It still healthy and simple but tasty. I’m trying to buy olives on sale and only those which last 14 days after opening to go through them less quickly.

Vegetable soups of various sorts will rye bread or brown bread and butter - get someone to do the chopping for you, bag up and freeze, then just tip into pot with stock cube, cook, blend. I often make a week’s worth in one pot.

Pasta with spinach (straight from bag), baby tomatoes (just sautée no chopping) and garlic (from jar), add pesto too if you like.

Any protein (fish, chicken, prawns) with roasted veg (buy pre-chopped) and new potatoes or brown rice or whatever grains you like

What you need is protein plus lots of fruit and veg. Work out which veg is easy for you. Snap peas and mangetout don’t require chopping. Nor does baby spinach or kale (most supermarkets sell it pre-chopped). Lots of fruit of all varieties that you can just eat. Raw nuts, almond, cashews, pecans as snacks.

Prepared stir fry veg doesn’t cost very much. https://www.aldi.co.uk/product/ready-set-cook-mixed-pepper-stir-fry-000000000334802002 This would do you two meals. Soba noodles and rice noodles are both healthy and egg-free. Traditional soy sauce, like Kikkoman, is generally considered not UPF.

Tinned taco beans https://www.aldi.co.uk/product/four-seasons-taco-mixed-beans-000000000336007002 on granary toast

Spinach pasta https://theclevermeal.com/pasta-with-spinach-easy-quick/

Baked apples https://eatsimply.co.uk/quick-and-easy-baked-apples/

One of my staples is a whole meal wrap spread with hummus, topped with fresh spinach and sliced ready cooked chicken.

Sliced apple with peanut butter. My favourite!

I like the slow cooker for easy meals and batch cooking, I buy all veg either fresh or frozen and all of it is pre-sliced.

chicken breast chunks with fajita seasoning, big chunks of pepper, onion and baby corn
chicken breast fillets with BbQ seasoning, cooked until it can be pulled apart and shredded, serve with salad
lean diced beef with chilli seasoning, loads of mushrooms, peppers and onion
lean diced beef, beef stock, whole baby button mushrooms, onion, leek, celery, carrots
i make enough for 4 portions, 1 goes in the freezer, when I eat the 3rd I make a new batch, that way I slowly build a variety of pots in the freezer that can be used as ‘can’t be arsed to cook’ meals when I need them.

You can buy microwaveable pouches of mixed grains. Merchant Gourmet and Jamie Oliver do some, also supermarkets do their own brands.
Serve with a baked fish (salmon, cod) fillet and a handful of rocket or spinach leaves with a little vinaigrette.

Thank you for these, there's some good ideas here . Forgot I am allergic to lentils now too though so Dhal is out which is a shame as I love it!

Stir frying I find hard as by the end of the day it's often difficult for me to stand up for any amount of time, but a slow cooker might be a good investment and I like the idea of bulk cooking chicken so I have it in for lunches!

And yes, when the children/DH are around I might get them doing some chopping for me and then I can batch cook things like roasted veg/soup

Baked/tinned fish would both work well too, and I like some of the snack ideas ..