No-preparation diet

SophieSmall95

Cooking doesn't have to take a lot of time and preparation. Pretty much all my meals take 20 mins or less to make, preparation included. This honestly just sounds like an excuse to eat crap food.

stir fries are incredibly quick to make, full of nutritious ingredients and low in calories.

If you also don't mind eating the same thin every day you could look into meal prepping, check out /r/mealprepsunday on reddit. It's basically where you prepare all your meals in advance and then not have to do any prep on the day of eating except maybe reheating.

Moxie42

While I don't think being 22 means you shouldn't cook, I'm guessing you're thinking of cooking as gourmet meals that take an hour to prepare and constant vigilance, plus lots of dishes to clean...things that a lot of people don't want to bother doing, especially if they are only cooking for themselves.

I highly recommend using a slow cooker (crockpot) and finding one-dish (oven) meals. I use Pinterest to find most of my recipes but there are tons of great sites out there (skinnytaste.com is a good one I use a lot). With a slow cooker, I spend maybe 5-10 minutes at night prepping- cutting veggies, putting spices together in a little baggie, putting liquids together in a bowl, etc. In the morning I throw it all in the slow cooker and turn it on. When I get home, dinner is ready. You can easily make yourself 4-6 meals at one time by doing this, and you can freeze them to make your own convenience meals. Meat & fish with veggies, soups, stews, chili, curries, fajitas. I even made a quart of cinnamon applesauce in there the other day.

grinning_chick

I know a nearly 38 yo guy who doesn't cook beyond opening cans, too, and he's within his healthy BMI range. I learnt very quickly to just let it go even though I happen to nearly exclusively cook/prepare all my foods from ingredients to save money and always have. We're just at opposite ends of the conversation and neither is going to change the others mind. So if you can afford and want to spend more for food than you would otherwise for the convenience and/or always pay to have someone else cook for you, OP, have at it I say.

The diet you seek that fits all your requirements so you'll actually stick to it is what you are already doing. Just spend that ten minutes weighing and logging the calories for the portion sizes you are choosing to eat and stay within range of the daily caloric intake you set to lose weight. As far as eating out, I just go with the figure of the average US take out meal is 1.2K calories and either plan accordingly calorie-wise by either eating light all day or having half the order boxed to go for a second meal.

When you decide you want to learn to cook, if you ever do, you will. If not, you won't.

Christine_72

If i find a recipe that requires hours to prepare then i wont bother. The less time i spend in the kitchen the better! I have become adept at making making quick, easy and yummy meals. My kitchen is closed and dishes done by 6pm every night!

TxTiffani

I also vote crockpot! I'll cook a bunch of meat once or twice a week so there's always a protein source ready. I like to do chicken especially because it's so versatile. You can top a salad with it, top noodles or zoodles with chicken and sauce of your choice (I like alfredo, chic, and bacon over zoodles), nuke a bag of veggies to eat with it, make a chicken sandwich, shred it and make chicken salad, top with salsa and cheese and heat, cut up and add beans corn green chilies and taco seasoning and eat with tortilla or chips, top with bbq sauce and boil some corn on the cob, stir fry in butter & soy sauce with veggies and top some steamable bag of rice...the possibilities are quick and endless;)

lauraesh0384

I'm a big fan of cooking things that don't require too much time. Some example of meals I make:

Boneless chicken breasts or steak with a side (usually Cole slaw or baked potato) and veggie
Spaghetti with garlic bread
Burgers with fries
Sloppy Joe's with fries
Tacos

I don't like having to cook elaborate meals on days I work. On days I am off work I prepare meals that require more work. You can still prepare meals in a timely fashion without having to rely on frozen boxed dinners.

cwgrant67

Get the Well Fed cookbook! It is a great Paleo cookbook with a section on how to batch cook, how to make protein in advance, different spices to change things up. Everything is pretty easy. No reason not to learn to cook. I have three boys 12-17, and they all are learning. I suggest doubling all recipes, starting putting half in the freezer or better yet portion out a meal in freezer plates that you can get at Walmart. That way when you do cook, it lasts for awhile.

Gena575

The other night I fixed myself dinner in the exact same time of many microwave meals. I pan fried one of those individually frozen chicken breasts in a smidge of olive oil, microwaved a sweet potato and sliced a garden tomato. Easy, tasty and much more filling than the 8 minute Lean Cuisine would have been.

Besides, knowing how to cook is sexy when you're looking for a partner.

dmt4641

cwgrant67 wrote: »

Get the Well Fed cookbook! It is a great Paleo cookbook with a section on how to batch cook, how to make protein in advance, different spices to change things up. Everything is pretty easy. No reason not to learn to cook. I have three boys 12-17, and they all are learning. I suggest doubling all recipes, starting putting half in the freezer or better yet portion out a meal in freezer plates that you can get at Walmart. That way when you do cook, it lasts for awhile.

I love love love both Well Fed books, but some of the recipes take a lot of time. I enjoy cooking but even I get tired of recipes requiring 2+ hrs. Some of the recipes are quick, but probably a little beyond the OP at this point. However once he gets comfortable moving beyond the microwave, these are stellar cookbooks. How she gets some much flavor out of whole food ingredients is amazing. I'm making the Chocolate chili this week for my 6 yr old son's birthday, his favorite food of all time.

dmt4641

Gena575 wrote: »

Besides, knowing how to cook is sexy when you're looking for a partner.

OMG so true! If learning to cook for yourself is not enough motivation, learn it to impress your love interest!