Simple recipe recommendations please.

[Thistledew]

My friend is a carer for his disabled mother, with whom he lives.

He is desperately trying to lose weight, but is struggling against his mother's issues with food. She is severely over weight but refuses to recognise it and seems to deliberately sabotage my friend's attempts to eat healthily.

He now insists on cooking for himself most days during the week (his mother won't eat what he cooks), but the problem is that she will not let him keep any of his food in her fridge. He has some storage for dry goods and tins, but nowhere to keep left overs, or food that he has not cooked. There is nowhere that he can put another fridge for himself- no room in his bedroom and his mother will not permit one elsewhere in the house. He is able to go to the supermarket every day to buy fresh food, but going to a butcher or independent grocers is too much of a journey to do every day.

This presents a problem with lots of dishes- for example he cannot do something like a chicken stir-fry, because supermarkets only sell chicken breasts in packs of two, and with no fridge space, one would be wasted.

So suggestions please- for easy to cook, healthy dishes for one person that require no cold storage space.

I know you said he's on a budget, but IO think buying 7 ready meals would actually be cheaper than buying 7 different lots of meat.

I think he should buy a small fridge and keep it in his room.

luciemule- he is early 40s.

I'd recommend Cooking in a Bedsitter by Katharine Whitehorn because it's based on an era before fridges were easily available. You want to try and get hold of an original edition from the 60s, rather than the updated version. Try Amazon?

In the meantime, does he work? could he perhaps store some food there? This is probably based on an office-work scenario though, not for everyone.

I also am a strong believer in the recipes on packets - they are usually simple and effective IMO.

Also consider food deliveries - e.g. could he get milk and bread delivered to the door?

So - Katharine Whitehorn recommends a marinade for keeping meat overnight, if he wants to do that - so he could buy one lot fresh, put one lot in a marinade - look on the Lakeland website for one of those meat covers that keep flies off.

So: buy two chicken breasts (for example), chop one into strips and put one in marinade of soy sauce, lemon juice and fresh grated ginger and cover. Put the other in a baking dish with sliced carrots and new potatoes; slice an onion, put a spray of oil in a pan and cook on a low heat for 10mins: add a tin of chopped tomatoes with herbs, stir well, bring to the boil and cook over a low heat for another 5. minutes. Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken and vegetables and bake in the oven for ?180 for ?half an hour.

Following evening, chop up preferred veg, take chicken out of marinade, slice an onion and a garlic clove, heat oil until very hot, add remains of marinade liquid and heat, add chicken and stir rapidly for 3 mins, cook noodles according to packet instructions, add veg to pan and stir for 2 mins, add noodles and warm through.

I'm sorry but it was my mother, I'd tell her that if she wanted me to care for her, then she'd have to let me cook my own food and that I would be keeping it her fridge.

Perhaps he's been too soft with her and if he answered her back and was more assertive, then she's actually respect him more.

Wiltshire Farm Foods are fab - not too pricey and deliver every 2 weeks. Yes, he'd have to store them in the freezer but tough!

Thanks Maktaitai- the marinade suggestion is a good one. Will also look for the recipe book.

I am thinking that a small fridge just big enough to hold a couple of tupperwear boxes should give him enough storage for some marinading meat and/or leftover sauce.

I second the 'Cooking in a Bedsitter' book idea - this was the first cookery book I bought when in hall as a student.It has some great ideas in it for cooking with limited funds/equipment/storage space

here are some

The point about a marinade was that it replaces a fridge, for 24 hours or less anyway, but I'd agree that life will be infinitely easier for him if he does install a fridge of his own.

Eggs are another good one - if you never put them in the fridge, they are safe to keep on the side. Given a copy of Delia he could do a lot there; omelettes, obviously, but also coddled eggs if he likes them soft (my favourite as they are foolproof, unlike boiled eggs) - put room temp eggs into cold water, bring to full boil, turn off heat, leave for 5 mins. I like curried eggs too but that's a bit of an acquired taste so will leave that one...

Don't forget tinned meat and fish either - a salad is a lot more tasty with some anchovies.

If he's doing the shopping, then why can't he just buy different stuff for them both - they clearly both need to loose weight and her attitude is killing them both. I'm sure she'll rant for a bit but she'll get over it.

Eggs are great, as maktaitai says.

He could make a decent nicoise with an egg, some tinned tuna, olives/capers/anchovies (agree ought to go in the fridge but he could buy in v.small quantities from the deli counter if there is one), a potato or two, fresh toms and lettuce. If he goes easy on the vinaigrette it shouldn't be too calorific.

Lentil soups are easy and storecupboardy, too.

On the subject of lentils, Puy lentils are delicious and although not cheap as lentils go, are cheaper than meat. Cooked with some tinned toms, onion/garlic and a bit of chilli they go well with mash or pasta.

If he fancies cooking, perhaps a scaled down version of this, which is very storecupboardy, would be good. He could have half in the evening and half the next day for lunch - it should be fine out of the fridge if it's only for a short while.