What to eat when you hate cooking!?!??

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Replies

  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    I like to cook, but I do have a few quick go-to meals. The easiest throw together dinner for me is veggie and cheese omelets or egg scrambles. Just saute whatever vegetables you want ( I like spinach, grape tomatoes and mushrooms), add eggs, cook and top with cheese. Also, par boiled rice, canned beans, pre cooked chicken, jar of salsa and frozen corn thawed under running water. Boom! Burrito bowl.

    The thing is, once you get in the habit of cooking most of your meals, you will probably become more adventurous and maybe even find out that you enjoy it. :)
  • MommysLittleMeatball
    MommysLittleMeatball Posts: 2,064 Member
    I love to cook because I love to eat. However, cooking can seem like a chore. If you feel that way start small and nothing fancy. Look for meals that do not take a lot of time or fineness. Watch some cooking videos or tv shows (geared toward easy, fast meals - Semi-homemade, 30 Minute Meals, etc), they will teach you some things, make cooking easier, and maybe you'll hate it less once you got a hang of it. Binge watching Food Network is an education, I swear.

    You can buy some pre-marinated meats/poultry if you don't feel like messing with it yourself at first. Steamer veggies from the freezer are fast and no-hassle. You can find fresh veggies prepped for cooking/steaming as well.

    Make things that you can stretch to other meals, so you don't have to worry about cooking each night. I will get a use out of whatever meal I cook for multiple days, be it leftovers for lunch or using the protein I prepared in another recipe.

    Crock pots/slow cookers are so easy. Just look at the ingredients of the recipes because many do involve a lot of "processed" foods and you seem to want to avoid that. There's plenty without and over time you'll end up tweaking recipes to your liking.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,455 Member
    You've gotten some good suggestions about meal prepping, crock pot cooking, and easy recipes that you can rely on. I would also look on Pinterest for some ideas, but a really popular site with healthy recipes is skinnytaste.com

    You mentioned lean cuisine meals that you pop in the microwave, have you tried any of the various frozen skillet meals that are available these days? There are ones from Bertolli, PF Changs, Evol, I've found some that are quite tasty and they all run about 500 cals/serving. I keep a bag or two of those in my freezer for nights when I really don't have time to cook, they are a little light on the protein, but sometimes I will throw in some chicken strips or other meat that I have in the freezer. Also if you are single, they are usually a two serving bag, so if I'm just cooking for myself I eat half and save the rest for lunch the next day.

    Lastly, not sure if they have any of these around you, and they can be sort of expensive - but I've gone to meal prep places where you spend about 2 hours putting meals together (and it is completely foolproof, if you can read and tip a spoon you can do it) and walked out with 12 meals that I could put in my freezer for busy nights.
  • mtruitt01
    mtruitt01 Posts: 370 Member
    I don't like cooking either, especially not the clean up! Sunday mornings I make a large pot of vegetable soup using my favorite veggies from Trader Joe's (already chopped!) like mirepoix, spinach, carrots, cabbage, yellow pepper and tomato paste from a tube, sun-dried tomatoes, and whatever meat I want to add that week. Sometimes I buy a pre-cooked chicken and shred it up, sometimes I make miniature cumin meatballs (93/7 sirloin), or maybe buy a small pre-cooked roast. Trader Joe's is great for almost-ready-to-go meals. I also do take the time to chop up kumato tomato and cucumber salads to add champagne or balsamic vinegar and salt to, and I love jicama, so I take the time to buy that and chop it up and put it in small snack containers. I always have baby carrots for the crunch. Oatmeal pre-packaged, plain, I eat anytime. I add cinnamon, stevia drops and vanilla (alcohol-free, less calories). I eat strawberries and chop up melons and ruby grapefruit.
  • mistikal13
    mistikal13 Posts: 1,457 Member
    I love to cook/bake, and it gets easier with practice. I can't do the whole cooking only on the weekend thing, I like to cook my meals fresh every night. Try to research a few 20-30 minute meals and start with the one that seems easiest to you. Eventually you will work your way up and may actually enjoy cooking. Good luck!
  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,592 Member
    im not a big fan of cooking so i keep my food pretty simple

    i like tossing stuff in with my rice while it cooks to make a really easy one pot thing. i add stuff like diced tomatoes,spices,beans,frozen veggies or sometimes i get crazy and add blueberries,sugar,cinnamon,some coconut milk,pineapple or whatever fruit i have it sounds weird but its good

    i find roasting veggies to be really easy to do. you just toss cut up veg in some oil and whatever spices then roast them in the oven for a while. lots of recipes out there for this

    smoothies are super easy and basic & you can add whatever you like

    making a big pot of soup takes a bit of effort i guess cutting up stuff but you will have lots ready to go for the week so try that same with chili make a big pot of chili and you can have it for a week and even freeze some for later too






  • rachael00679
    rachael00679 Posts: 186 Member
    Homemade pizza on pitta bread
    Baked spuds and coleslaw with cream cheese and avocado
  • ccourcha
    ccourcha Posts: 316 Member
    I would suggest learning to love it for meats and things that require to be cooked and exactly what BillyB says above.
  • Hearts_2015
    Hearts_2015 Posts: 12,030 Member
    edited June 2015
    salembambi wrote: »
    im not a big fan of cooking so i keep my food pretty simple

    i like tossing stuff in with my rice while it cooks to make a really easy one pot thing. i add stuff like diced tomatoes,spices,beans,frozen veggies or sometimes i get crazy and add blueberries,sugar,cinnamon,some coconut milk,pineapple or whatever fruit i have it sounds weird but its good

    i find roasting veggies to be really easy to do. you just toss cut up veg in some oil and whatever spices then roast them in the oven for a while. lots of recipes out there for this

    smoothies are super easy and basic & you can add whatever you like

    making a big pot of soup takes a bit of effort i guess cutting up stuff but you will have lots ready to go for the week so try that same with chili make a big pot of chili and you can have it for a week and even freeze some for later too






    Actually I think it sounds fabulous :)