Quick lunches - low or no syn

[AlleyCatty]

I know there are loads of recipes out there but can you suggest some go-to quick n easy lunch or dinner ideas that don’t require proper cooking?

I’ve had things like…

• scrambled eggs and baked beans
• pasta with cooked carrots and a can of tuna
• air fryer roasted veg with rice

they’re alright but can get a bit bland and boring

Anyone got any ideas up their sleeves?

If I seriously CBA ( which is often ) I use my HEB as a wholemeal pitta and stuff it full of salad and chuck in a tin of tuna or a pile of cooked meat

If I can be bothered I will use two slices of wholemeal and make two open sandwiches, - hot or cold - I like poached eggs and kippers on a bed of salad and pickles or ill make an omelette - mushroom and ham takes very little time

Sometimes I want something very "naughty" and do air fry hand cooked chips with my HEA as cheese grated on top and a bit of syn free curry sauce

Dont forget there is nothing off limits, you just need to plan ahead

My go-to is soup and a sandwich. I recently bought a soup maker from Aldi (£20) and make a batch of syn free soup every week that I'll then have most days. I also have a Warburtons protein flatbread, pitta or bagel (all HEXB) with either some HEXA cheese spread or some chicken/turkey and salad.

All syn free and fills me up :)

I sometimes have a mugshot (i know!) - the Sweet n Sour is only 1 syn.

With this cold weather we have right now and the darker days just screaming out for comfort food I have been making pots of dhal, cheap, syn free, extremely filling and full of speed depending on what you add. Im loving sweet potato and spinach at the moment , with a good bite of chilli. I make a pot at the weekend and put in the fridge, heat a portion as and when needed

That sounds delicious! Do you have any recipes for the dahl?

@FairgroundAttractionPerfect its loosely this one

https://veggiedesserts.com/red-lentil-dahl/

To make it syn free, I nuke the onions to soften rather then fry in oil, then I just use a few sprays to cook out the spices ( I use ground spices not whole ) and instead of a whole tin of coconut milk I use 1/3 of a can of light coconut milk - 1 syn - but you are getting 8 portions at least . A 1/3 of a can is enough for my taste buds as I dont like anything overly creamy/sweet. Check which can you buy, own brands can be 3 syns a can, branded can be upwards of 5 syns . I just cube up the squash and add to the spice mix before adding the liquids

Looks ace! Thank you

Boiled eggs, bread and milk- I eat this when I don't feel like cooking

Couscous with a stock cube in the water first, 1 tablespoon low fat mayo (1 syn) then protein and veg that you just grab rather than peel and chop
e.g. smoked salmon, spinach, cherry tomatoes
Or Prawns, lettuce, peas and sweetcorn
Or sliced beef, rocket, lemon juice, cucumber and gherkin

Tin of tuna, tin of mixed beans and lentils, roasted butternut squash (Iceland do frozen prepped where u just roast in oven) and a fresh herb e.g. parsely/basil blended smooth and mixed in.

Homemade hummus-lemon juice, can of bertoli beans, couple of pickled beetroots blended together. Spread on riveta x 4 as your hep B and protein e.g. canned sardines/defrosted cooked chicken (take out night b4) u can add chilli to hummous if u like

U can marinade any protein that is bland in lemon juice or lime juice, Worchester sauce or soy sauce and garlic in the fridge and add to any version of above for a nice kick of flavour.

Roasted chickpeas with any spices are a nice addition to a salad too. E.g. cumin and chilli, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.

Struggling with quick / low syn lunches too as only have a kettle at hand in work so living on noodles 🫠 I use my HEb at breakfast for my overnight oats

Swap your breakfast out. If you dont have time in the mornings to cook, then boil some hardboiled eggs the night before and have those with some tomatoes, cooked meats - chicken ,ham , tinned fish or microwave a couple of poached eggs and have with tinned fish ( I love kippers but obviously not for everyone )

Dont feel that your first meal of the day has to be what you have grown up knowing as breakfast food, I often have the above dhal ( its already cooked at the weekend and is stored in the fridge ) or a bean salad ( tin of mixed beans with a dressing of lemon , garlic, chilli and whatever herbs I fancy trying - again made and left in the fridge ) A ratatouille is lovely with chicken and if you want carbs, - couscous

The longer Ive been on my weight-loss and maintenance , the less I reach for bread and oats. I try to keep bread as a wholemeal pitta and if Im having oats, I have them in a yoghurt at night as my treat or as a snack if Im hungry along with lots of chopped up fruit.

Oats and grains dont fill me as much as peas and beans - lentil, chickpeas, kidney beans, butter beans etc and there are a host of dips you can make with those just using a tin. There are a lot of Bean burgers you can make as well, get the flavour right ( for you ) and they are just as nice cold, wrapped in a lettuce leaf, tomatoes and gherkins drizzle of chilli oil/paste

The trick is , is to plan ahead at the weekend, plan your meals so you pick your carbs wisely. At the weekend I make my yoghurt, a soup, dhal, and roast up chicken drumsticks and hard boil a few eggs which means I always have something which is high protein ready to go ( beans and peas are high protein )
Dhal is that cheap to make so that if I get a sickener of it, its ok, its lentils and onion, I dont feel so bad at chucking it to the birds if I dont finish it. Chicken and eggs - dog will have - I hate food waste but I need choice else I have a fuck it moment and reach for the high fat, high salt and sugar UPF

Just throw the rule book out of the window, find free food you like and just eat that, no matter what time of day.Go to Turkey and Greece and you get eggs, cold meats, yoghurt and salads for breakfast, and we eat it happily so why not at home?

If you have a kettle and it's not a trigger food, you could try a mug shot or cuppa soup used as a sauce over something you have brought in. They r between 2 and 5 syns.
E.g. bring in cold cooked frozen veg plus canned potato and shredded chicken, make up one creamy chicken pasta mugshot and pour over then stir.
E.g. Thai green curry cuppa soup over fresh spinach wilts it, mix and add to chicken then stuff into a pitta

Linda McCartney frozen veggie sausages are low or no syn, quite nice with some smash made up with boiled water (use syns) and u could bring some gravy powder then you have sausage and mash plus gravy...ish

Cold Asian noodle salads are nice, see SW app for recipes

Sliced boiled egg mixed with chopped gherkin, chopped smoked salmon and ffree yoghurt, with some dill. Makes like a Danish style pate. Eat smeared onto lettuce leaves or as a dip plus chopped carrots, also nice with some cold sliced potato and beetroot, think like a salad platter?

My go to lunches are
salad in the summer, with hard boiled egg / cold roast chicken
Home made syn free soup (make loads then freeze in portions and defrost in microwave)
Jacket potatoe and beans (quick and low effort in microwave)

Occasionaly an omlette full of speedy veg / mug shot

I tend to make 3 different nice things then mix and match for lunches throuh the week
E.g. 1 pot of dill and gherkin mix
1 pot of ratatouille
1 pot of pulled pork

Then varied carbs e.g. riveta, pasta, orzo, rice, couscous, potato....

Then varied protein.

I think if it like those children's books with pages cutting to 3 and you make different combinations. Saves me getting bored.