I hate cooking.

So, I want to eat healthier, but I absolutely hate cooking. It's time consuming, it's messy, and it's boring. And, nothing turns out the way I want it to. I tend to eat anything that's fast and easy, not because I'm in a rush, but because I hate cooking.

I guess my question is, what are some healthy, easy ( I mean reeeally simple) recipes that you suggest for either lunch or dinner?

Sandwiches for lunch are always great

Instant rice or the microwaveable single serving bowls. Paired with steamable veggies and rotisserie chicken from the deli if you eat meat

Purchase a rotisserie chicken because its already cooked. Use it for salads, sandwiches, pastas or soups. Add bbq sauce or dressing to switch it up.

You can make pasta and buy jarred sauce...there's tortellini, ravioli, and fettucine buitoni brand that are refrigerated and supert fast to make. If you get an assortment of sauces like alfredo, marinara, and pesto and add in different things like broccoli, peas, corn, or carrots along with chicken or tofu or something then you're really just heating and not "cooking"

You can always open a can of beans and top em with cheese and have a salad with it

You can have a baked potato with low fat cheese, veggies, and some lean protein.

How about a pita stuffed with veggies and hummus

You can make couscous or quinoa and add in some frozen mixed veggies and cook it in broth. Add in either a can of tuna or chicken for a complete meal.

Hope these ideas helped :)

Original Post by chrissy1988:

Sandwiches for lunch are always great

Instant rice or the microwaveable single serving bowls. Paired with steamable veggies and rotisserie chicken from the deli if you eat meat

Purchase a rotisserie chicken because its already cooked. Use it for salads, sandwiches, pastas or soups. Add bbq sauce or dressing to switch it up.

You can make pasta and buy jarred sauce...there's tortellini, ravioli, and fettucine buitoni brand that are refrigerated and supert fast to make. If you get an assortment of sauces like alfredo, marinara, and pesto and add in different things like broccoli, peas, corn, or carrots along with chicken or tofu or something then you're really just heating and not "cooking"

You can always open a can of beans and top em with cheese and have a salad with it

You can have a baked potato with low fat cheese, veggies, and some lean protein.

How about a pita stuffed with veggies and hummus

You can make couscous or quinoa and add in some frozen mixed veggies and cook it in broth. Add in either a can of tuna or chicken for a complete meal.

Hope these ideas helped :)

Mmmm tasty ideas! :-D

If cooking rice makes you mad, invest 20 bucks in a rice cooker, or figure out how to do it in a slow cooker.  Set it & forget it.  Slow cookers are the greatest thing for laziness... toss in a 98 percent fat-free cream of _____ soup, some veggies you like, chicken or something, come back in 8 hours and see how it tastes.  Usually the answer is delicious.

Something awesome which doesnt get enough playtime is quiche. 

1. get eggbeaters

2. get some cream, about 1/4th cup cream to every 1.5 cup eggbeaters

3. choose your favorite cheese

4. choose your favorite veggies (if frozen microwave first)

5. mix all in a bowl

6. pour mixture into pie plates or casserole dishes

7. put in oven at 325 until the egg is done & cheese is nice looking.

*shudders* Sorry, quiche gives me the heebie-jeebies!

One of my favourite fast and easy meals is to cook a portion of pasta with some veg chucked in (whatever is in the fridge) tip it into a bowl with a few halved cherry tomatoes. Mix together a tbsp natural yogurt and a tsp pesto, work it through the warm pasta & veg and sprinkle a tbsp flaked almond over the top.

Delicious and only one pan to wash, win-win!

Isn't it a flan or a slice unless it has a pastry crust... in which case it's a quiche?

Anyway, my vote is to cook once a week and do it in bulk. Even if you don't like cooking, surely you can commit to once a week? I mean, you do your laundry whether you like it or not, right? This is just one more way of taking care of yourself and being a grown-up.

Soups, stews, curries, bolognese sauce, lasagne and plenty of other dishes are easy to cook in bulk, portion up and freeze in individual containers, ready for pulling out and reheating whenever you like.

My quick ideas are sandwiches, toasties, omelettes, pita "pizzas", wraps, hot potatoes with chilli beans and cheese (you can nuke a potato for about 5 minutes and it'll be done) or opening a can of soup. That said, a proper stir-fry with some lean beef, veges and noodles with some stir-fry sauce added is only going to take you 10 minutes to make.

The more you can cook for yourself and the less you use packets and jars, the less it will cost and the better it'll be for you.

Great ideas so far.  Also, invest in an indoor grill (something like the Foreman, or the Cuisinart Griddler) and stock up on frozen chicken breast, fish fillets, shrimp.  Also stock up on mixed frozen veggies, without sauce.  Put the protein of your choice in the fridge in the morning before you leave for work and it will be ready for you when you come back. 

When it's time for dinner, just start the indoor grill, take your protein out of the fridge & season it however you like.  Stick it on the grill and in the time you open a bag of veggies and steam it in the microwave, it will be done. 

Serve with steamed veggies, a slice of whole wheat bread (or brown rice, whole wheat cous cous, or pasta, if you can muster making either) and voila!  This is my stand-by meal for nights when I'm feeling lazy.  I swear it takes less than 20 minutes and it is very tasty.  I switch it up by changing the seasonings/flavors/veggies. 

 

A noodle stir-fry is pretty quick and easy....  Use either ready-to-go noodles or soak dried ones in boiling water for 3 or 4 minutes.   Use a pack of pre-chopped stir-fry vegetables fresh or frozen.  Slice up a chicken breast or use some prawns.  Cook in a little oil until everything is heated through and flavour with a little soy sauce right at the end... very simple and takes less than 15 mins.