Meals in minutes for people who hate cooking
Discussion
Reading the How much do you spend in the supermarket? thread, it appears that everyone on PH "eats very well" and cooks from scratch or batch freezes. Will anyone else raise their head above the parapet and admit they hate cooking and just want it over as soon as possible so they can sit down and enjoy their dinner?
I appreciate that if you have kids you need to provide them with good rounded meals everyday, but living alone I generally only prepare food for one or two people at a time.
In an effort to vary and balance my diet a bit better, I was hoping people could share some of their ultimate lazy meals that are quick, tasty, healthy and preferably use frozen or tinned ingredients to avoid the planning, preparation and washing up that comes with using fresh.
This is the sort of thing I'll generally eat when I get home from work:
A box of salad (Tesco £1) with a tin of mackerel, pilchards, tuna or salmon. They come in a variety of sauces, which work as a dressing for the salad. Tinned salmon is nice mixed with black pepper and vinegar. A tin of mackerel is only about 80p. Sometimes add mature cheddar that I can buy in individually wrapped blocks so I can keep a stock in the fridge. The use by date is usually about 6 weeks so it is more convenient and less wasteful than buying a wedge each week. This is always my Monday evening meal because I shop on the weekend and salad has a short shelf life.
Omelette with frozen mushrooms and/or frozen onion. I like to fry up some baby plumb tomatoes as well and have it with wholemeal toast.
Frozen vegetable/bean burgers with defrosted soft rolls. In the last 10 minutes of cooking I'll toss in a few baby plumb tomatoes and melt some cheese over the vegetable burgers. My favorite ones are the Tesco Courgette and Sweetcorn Fritters, but there are loads of different types available these days. I don't buy frozen meat burgers or sausages as I don't trust them to have good quality ingredients. I don't have an issue with eating stuff like Quorn, but I can't get over the taste and texture.
A good quality thick, high protein Greek yogurt with raw nuts (Lidle does a good mixed bag reasonably priced) and dried fruit. 85% dark chocolate to nibble afterwards.
Avocado on toast with black pepper.
Cheese on toast with chutney and grilled baby plumb tomatoes (starting to wonder if I eat too many of those)!
Oven cooked from frozen fish in breadcrumbs with half a can of beans. I really like the Tesco lemon fin sole with lemon and parsley crumb. Whilst I usually find it a faff to use both the oven and hob at the same time, at least there is no preparation.
A pile of oven cooked from frozen sweet potato chips eaten with ready made coleslaw. Nice but too fattening to eat regularly.
I occasionally have a tinned soup, but I don't find soup particularly satisfying.
I find meat to be a bit of a hassle to cook, so about once a week I'll grab some fast food (burger/KFC/chicken shish) on the way home (but I wont have deep fried chips). Meat also doesn't last all that long in the fridge and defrosting requires forward preparation and 24 hours later I might have other plans for the evening. I have found that bake from frozen meat products tend to either take too long or not be very nice or poor quality. I'll have a meat dish if I go to a proper restaurant so I don't feel like I'm missing out. I usually go to restaurants at weekends or get some tiger bread in for sandwiches.
I have tried various ready meals over the years, and whilst they can be quite cheap and even nutritious if you choose carefully, they are always a disappointment when it comes to eating them. I might have one every two or three months, but I'm open to try any that come recommended.
I'll round off the meal with a couple of types of fresh fruit or half a can of fruit cocktail in juice.
Yesterday for the first time in my life I bought a potato, which I am planning on microwaving and having with tuna. If I can be arsed, I might stick it in the oven for 20 minutes to crisp it up, but that's starting to sound like too much effort
I appreciate that if you have kids you need to provide them with good rounded meals everyday, but living alone I generally only prepare food for one or two people at a time.
In an effort to vary and balance my diet a bit better, I was hoping people could share some of their ultimate lazy meals that are quick, tasty, healthy and preferably use frozen or tinned ingredients to avoid the planning, preparation and washing up that comes with using fresh.
This is the sort of thing I'll generally eat when I get home from work:
A box of salad (Tesco £1) with a tin of mackerel, pilchards, tuna or salmon. They come in a variety of sauces, which work as a dressing for the salad. Tinned salmon is nice mixed with black pepper and vinegar. A tin of mackerel is only about 80p. Sometimes add mature cheddar that I can buy in individually wrapped blocks so I can keep a stock in the fridge. The use by date is usually about 6 weeks so it is more convenient and less wasteful than buying a wedge each week. This is always my Monday evening meal because I shop on the weekend and salad has a short shelf life.
Omelette with frozen mushrooms and/or frozen onion. I like to fry up some baby plumb tomatoes as well and have it with wholemeal toast.
Frozen vegetable/bean burgers with defrosted soft rolls. In the last 10 minutes of cooking I'll toss in a few baby plumb tomatoes and melt some cheese over the vegetable burgers. My favorite ones are the Tesco Courgette and Sweetcorn Fritters, but there are loads of different types available these days. I don't buy frozen meat burgers or sausages as I don't trust them to have good quality ingredients. I don't have an issue with eating stuff like Quorn, but I can't get over the taste and texture.
A good quality thick, high protein Greek yogurt with raw nuts (Lidle does a good mixed bag reasonably priced) and dried fruit. 85% dark chocolate to nibble afterwards.
Avocado on toast with black pepper.
Cheese on toast with chutney and grilled baby plumb tomatoes (starting to wonder if I eat too many of those)!
Oven cooked from frozen fish in breadcrumbs with half a can of beans. I really like the Tesco lemon fin sole with lemon and parsley crumb. Whilst I usually find it a faff to use both the oven and hob at the same time, at least there is no preparation.
A pile of oven cooked from frozen sweet potato chips eaten with ready made coleslaw. Nice but too fattening to eat regularly.
I occasionally have a tinned soup, but I don't find soup particularly satisfying.
I find meat to be a bit of a hassle to cook, so about once a week I'll grab some fast food (burger/KFC/chicken shish) on the way home (but I wont have deep fried chips). Meat also doesn't last all that long in the fridge and defrosting requires forward preparation and 24 hours later I might have other plans for the evening. I have found that bake from frozen meat products tend to either take too long or not be very nice or poor quality. I'll have a meat dish if I go to a proper restaurant so I don't feel like I'm missing out. I usually go to restaurants at weekends or get some tiger bread in for sandwiches.
I have tried various ready meals over the years, and whilst they can be quite cheap and even nutritious if you choose carefully, they are always a disappointment when it comes to eating them. I might have one every two or three months, but I'm open to try any that come recommended.
I'll round off the meal with a couple of types of fresh fruit or half a can of fruit cocktail in juice.
Yesterday for the first time in my life I bought a potato, which I am planning on microwaving and having with tuna. If I can be arsed, I might stick it in the oven for 20 minutes to crisp it up, but that's starting to sound like too much effort
I like to cook but I also have depression so a lot of the time I can’t be bothered to cook.
I end up eating a lot of toasties but I still try and make it interesting. Making mushrooms with garlic is really low effort and makes a great filling with cheese. I also make a lot of guacamole because it takes five minutes.
I end up eating a lot of toasties but I still try and make it interesting. Making mushrooms with garlic is really low effort and makes a great filling with cheese. I also make a lot of guacamole because it takes five minutes.
Sounds as far away from the thread title as you can get, but I'm a great fan of a slow cooker for quick meals.
Throw some meat ( could be sausages, chicken breasts, gammon joint, roasting joint etc) into the slow cooker. Some chopped veg ( potatoes, carrots, peas, anything). A tin of haricot beans. Some liquid (water does fine but sometimes I'll use cheap beer or cider).
Do this in the morning before work, set it to come on for 3 or 4 hours, finishing just as you come home. Have it as soon as you get in the door with a big chunk of bread. Have it for a couple of nights and freeze the rest in meal size bags, microwave to thaw and heat whenever you want an even quicker meal.
Throw some meat ( could be sausages, chicken breasts, gammon joint, roasting joint etc) into the slow cooker. Some chopped veg ( potatoes, carrots, peas, anything). A tin of haricot beans. Some liquid (water does fine but sometimes I'll use cheap beer or cider).
Do this in the morning before work, set it to come on for 3 or 4 hours, finishing just as you come home. Have it as soon as you get in the door with a big chunk of bread. Have it for a couple of nights and freeze the rest in meal size bags, microwave to thaw and heat whenever you want an even quicker meal.
Thanks for the suggestions. Love garlic mushrooms and have not had those for ages. I'd use frozen garlic, but I'm not sure if I could use frozen mushrooms where the mushrooms are the main part of the dish. I'll give it a go. I could always get fresh button mushrooms because they are not such a pain to clean as open ones are.
I have a slow cooker and I tried a few things when I first got it. Gammon always came out lovely, but I never got a stew to come out well. I once followed the Philadelphia recipe for slow cooked stroganoff and it was one of the most disgusting things I'd ever eaten.
I have a slow cooker and I tried a few things when I first got it. Gammon always came out lovely, but I never got a stew to come out well. I once followed the Philadelphia recipe for slow cooked stroganoff and it was one of the most disgusting things I'd ever eaten.
borcy said:
Is that you can't cook so hate it or just not keen on the prep but enjoying eating ? Just curious 
Another vote for a slow cooker, shouldn't be too much faff.
It's both really. I could probably cook a roast chicken dinner from scratch and I'll help with Christmas dinner, but I wouldn't know how to make a shepherds pie, a curry or my own pasta sauce for example. Another vote for a slow cooker, shouldn't be too much faff.
I went through a phase of making small healthy pizzas using wholemeal pitta breads for the base, passata and a little cheese and topped with tomatoes and rocket. I should probably do those again sometime. I always have tomatoes and blocks of cheese, passata is dirt cheap so it doesn't matter if you use it once and throw the rest away, and I could keep the pittas in the freezer.
I enjoy the eating, but with more complicated cooking you need to plan your meals in advance, buy ingredients, preparing them, cooking them and this has taken 1 hour +, then it's all over in 15 minutes and you are left with a pile of washing up.
I made my own chicken shish once and whilst it came out lovely, it wasn't really any better than you can get down the chippy. It involved yoghurt, spices, cutting up raw chicken and marinading for hours. Worth it if you are feeding a family due to the cost, but not for a single portion.
I suppose I'm not really looking for easy recipes, just recommendations for what people like to eat that has minimal prep.
AlexC1981 said:
I made my own chicken shish once and whilst it came out lovely, it wasn't really any better than you can get down the chippy. It involved yoghurt, spices, cutting up raw chicken and marinading for hours. Worth it if you are feeding a family due to the cost, but not for a single portion.
I suppose I'm not really looking for easy recipes, just recommendations for what people like to eat that has minimal prep.
What about stuff that you make in bulk but then all you have to defrost?I suppose I'm not really looking for easy recipes, just recommendations for what people like to eat that has minimal prep.
Or a soup maker that you can make stews in? Quite filling and not much prep.
Good quality ready meals eg Charlie Bigham. Cooking for one is a nightmare and batch cooking with eating the same meals over and over sounds awful. I’d do a few ready meals a week, a few simple ones like the salad and fish, then a takeaway or two. Takeaway doesn’t need to be madly unhealthy if you choose carefully.
Jag_NE said:
Good quality ready meals eg Charlie Bigham. Cooking for one is a nightmare and batch cooking with eating the same meals over and over sounds awful. I’d do a few ready meals a week, a few simple ones like the salad and fish, then a takeaway or two. Takeaway doesn’t need to be madly unhealthy if you choose carefully.
This is pretty much what I do. I live alone and work north of 50hrs/week over 5 days.
I usually make a simple curry on a Monday night(buy a cooked chicken breast, jar of curry sauce and a pack of microwave rice) takes 10mins max.
A couple of decent ready meals throughout the week and maybe a pizza or something. I usually eat out on weekends with friends.
I hate cooking and don’t see much point in spending ages preparing ingredients, cooking, cleaning etc just for 1 meal for 1 person. Doesn’t help that I’m a fussy eater too.
I might have a go at batch cooking occasionally. It would have to be something simple though, otherwise it will just be another boring job added to the list of chores for Sunday evening along with the washing, ironing, hair/beard trimming, cleaning the bathroom etc!
I'm going to try the frozen mash I think. Hopefully it will be better than the mash I have had on ready meals previously. Any suggestions for a simple accompaniment? I'm thinking beans, tuna or coleslaw. I once tried tinned bolognese and it was awful.
I have thought about Huel for lunches to cut down on the amount of Pret and Subway type sandwiches I eat. I actually consume more calories at lunch than I usually do for dinner, especially if I have a pastry, which is too tempting if I'm in a bakery. I don't think I would consider Huel for dinner as I like to take my time eating dinner, even if it is just a simple meal.
I'm going to try the frozen mash I think. Hopefully it will be better than the mash I have had on ready meals previously. Any suggestions for a simple accompaniment? I'm thinking beans, tuna or coleslaw. I once tried tinned bolognese and it was awful.
I have thought about Huel for lunches to cut down on the amount of Pret and Subway type sandwiches I eat. I actually consume more calories at lunch than I usually do for dinner, especially if I have a pastry, which is too tempting if I'm in a bakery. I don't think I would consider Huel for dinner as I like to take my time eating dinner, even if it is just a simple meal.
I’ve used the frozen mash in the past - it’s better in the microwave than on the hob. I would say it’s 90% as good as the mash you make from scratch - add a bit of butter to it when mashing it up and its good to go!
I spent 3 years cooking for one and I agree, it never seems worth the effort to make a huge mess just for one person. Bag of stir-fry veg, some cooked chicken, some rice noodles and a big squirt of sweet chilli sauce used to be a cheap/quick one pan meal for me - can usually just use half the bag and save the rest for another night too.
Usually did the odd microwave lasagne/cottage pie and pizza. Never batch cooked as I’m not confident in freezing/defrosting/cooking without poisoning myself!
I spent 3 years cooking for one and I agree, it never seems worth the effort to make a huge mess just for one person. Bag of stir-fry veg, some cooked chicken, some rice noodles and a big squirt of sweet chilli sauce used to be a cheap/quick one pan meal for me - can usually just use half the bag and save the rest for another night too.
Usually did the odd microwave lasagne/cottage pie and pizza. Never batch cooked as I’m not confident in freezing/defrosting/cooking without poisoning myself!
Tesco frozen mash is pretty indistinguishable from the real thing. Bags of frozen sliced mushrooms, diced red pepper and diced mixed peppers are also pretty good as is the Birds Eye frozen steamed veg in a bag. Saves on repeated trips to Tesco when you're only using small amounts.
For a quick meal for one I'll usually do a bag of fresh pasta, a chicken breast, tub of fresh pasta sauce and a bag of frozen steamed veg. Cook, mix and save half for later.
For a quick meal for one I'll usually do a bag of fresh pasta, a chicken breast, tub of fresh pasta sauce and a bag of frozen steamed veg. Cook, mix and save half for later.
It wasn't my intention to change my lunches, but I've ordered some Huel to reduce my dependency on shop bought sandwiches. I could do with losing half a stone, so I'll try it for a month and see how it goes.
Bloody hell, I typed that at least three times 
w1bbles said:
AlexC1981 said:
baby plumb tomatoes
...go really well with leaks.escargot said:
Fish tacos are quick and easy. You could use frozen breadcrumbed fillets which can be cooked from frozen. Slice it up and throw it in tortilla wraps with a bit of salad, chopped onion tomato and coriander with some guacamole and douse liberally with hot sauce. Bloody lovely.
This, or some breaded chicken.Jag_NE said:
Good quality ready meals eg Charlie Bigham. Cooking for one is a nightmare and batch cooking with eating the same meals over and over sounds awful. I’d do a few ready meals a week, a few simple ones like the salad and fish, then a takeaway or two. Takeaway doesn’t need to be madly unhealthy if you choose carefully.
Sure, who doesn't like spending £8 on a pie!Super quick and easy staples:
Chilli - mince, onion, tinned chopped tomatoes, kidney beans in chilli sauce + Schwatz Hot Chilli packet mix. Add rice, grated cheese, soured cream, lime if you're posh and tortilla chips or a wrap = 25mins incl prep
Nandos chicken - Sprinkle Nandos 'rub' over chicken breasts and fry for 3m, flip, 3m flip, 3m flip 3m (so 12 mins total) eat with coleslaw, Nandos sauce of your choosing and chip shop chips (top tip: also by Nando's peri peri salt for them). Cook several breasts and they'll keep you in lunch through the week.
Jamie Oliver's 'Fennel s
te' (as it's affectionately known in our house): Very hearty fennel, Italian Salami, spaghetti and croutons. Random recipe of it found on internet here: https://jinhooi.blogspot.com/2007/05/spaghetti-wit... - 5min prep, 25 min cooking time. Tastes even better cold the next day!
Chilli - mince, onion, tinned chopped tomatoes, kidney beans in chilli sauce + Schwatz Hot Chilli packet mix. Add rice, grated cheese, soured cream, lime if you're posh and tortilla chips or a wrap = 25mins incl prep
Nandos chicken - Sprinkle Nandos 'rub' over chicken breasts and fry for 3m, flip, 3m flip, 3m flip 3m (so 12 mins total) eat with coleslaw, Nandos sauce of your choosing and chip shop chips (top tip: also by Nando's peri peri salt for them). Cook several breasts and they'll keep you in lunch through the week.
Jamie Oliver's 'Fennel s
te' (as it's affectionately known in our house): Very hearty fennel, Italian Salami, spaghetti and croutons. Random recipe of it found on internet here: https://jinhooi.blogspot.com/2007/05/spaghetti-wit... - 5min prep, 25 min cooking time. Tastes even better cold the next day!Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff