I hate cooking.

kayleek4426

Hi everyone,
I hate to cook, and have a tight budget. I need tips for easy things to cook that isn't time consuming. I'm a senior in college so I am always on the go.

Elise4270

I bought a good cookbook and try to stick to foods from there. Er, that what I should be doing. Not sure your pallet, but I like the Runners World Cookbook for starters.

I also use a rice cooker much like a crock pot. Rice, canned chicken, lemon pepper, ground ginger, and peas or something like that is cheap and easy to cook and clean up.

leighsnow

A few quickies that I like that deliver a good bout of energy are Ezekial Bread toast (frozen section of the natural food section or store - pricey at $5.99 a loaf but you get quite a few meals with 2 pieces of toast at a time) with half avocado spread on it and a drizzle of honey. Spaghetti squash and a quick home made marinara sauce (I am a simplest, sauté minced garlic in olive oil and add canned crushed tomatoes, if you are doing meat sauce, cook the lean ground beef first then remove on a plate and do the sauce then add meat back in for a simmer. Can freeze and will last you a few days. Send me a msg if you want guidance on quick spaghetti squash. Big tub of plain Greek Yogurt with fresh blueberries and/or strawberries. Scrambled eggs with sliced tomatoes and avocado is another quick go to in the morning to sustain you. My kind advice when budget isn't as tight after you graduate, learn to LOVE to cook, it's a wonderful gift to yourself and to the people you love... Good luck!

KyleGrace8

Same, except the college part. I pretty much only use a rice cooker (do they all come with the steam tray on top?) and the microwave. Occasionally the good ol' george foreman grill. You can cook bulk items like brown rice, quinoa, beans and such in the rice cooker itself and in the top tray at the same time, your chicken, potatoes, veggies. I buy a lot of steam bags of veggies and cans of tuna. Maybe look into a crock pot that you can just throw some items into and cook all day while you're in class. Salmon cooks fast as most fish does in a skillet.

HeidiCooksSupper

A new fad/trend on the cooking sites is "Sheet Pan Dinners." You throw everything on a sheet pan and bake it. Voila, dinner! Google "sheet pan dinners" and you'll find lots of suggestions.

sammyliftsandeats

You might benefit from doing all your cooking on one day of the weekend. You can plan out big batch things to cook that will make you multiple meals. You do your cooking all in one day and save money if you plan around sales and don't waste anything.

kommodevaran

Make food you like, and it will be more rewarding. Almost any recipe can be tweaked to fit your taste, schedule and budget. Simple ingredients are cheap and can be used in a multitude of ways. Just plan so you use up everything. Cooking good food takes time, but only a small amount of time hands-on will be needed if you plan and prep in advance - getting meats out of freezer to thaw, soaking beans and grains.

lizandrashaw

I love to cook, but oh my gosh, the dishes! I hate doing the dishes afterwards. Seriously though, I love my pressure cooker for meat, and I love roasting vegetables in the oven. Both are super simple to do.

Lounmoun

kayleek4426 wrote: »

Hi everyone,
I hate to cook, and have a tight budget. I need tips for easy things to cook that isn't time consuming. I'm a senior in college so I am always on the go.

Look up no cook recipes.
Eggs
Pasta with jarred sauce
Oatmeal
Grilled sandwiches
Chili
Tacos
Grilled sandwiches or quessadilla
Pizza with a tortilla, pita bread, etc as a crust. Cook 350 F for about 8-10 minutes.

I love to cook. I don't love cooking and cleaning up all day. This is how I typically eat:
Breakfast- Greek yogurt, granola bars, cereal with milk, sandwich, dinner leftovers, fruit, cottage cheese (about 200-300 calories)
Lunch- sandwich, salad, or dinner leftovers (about 300-500 calories)
Dinner- This is when I cook. I have something different every night of the month. (about 500-600 calories) I have soup once a week usually which is very budget friendly.
Snacks- things like fruit, chips, popcorn, pretzels, chocolate, cookies, granola bar, carrots, celery, broccoli, trail mix, deviled eggs, pickles, cottage cheese (about 100-300 calories)

Francl27

I hated cooking too... but I learned, because eating tasty food was the best way for me to stick to this.

vikinglander

As noted above, invest in a crock pot. You can dump stuff in it in the morning and have dinner ready when you come home. The web is full of great recipes.

Cook for a day, eat for a week. Or a month. If you have freezer space, do up a few pounds of chicken breast and bag and freeze them in meal-sized portions. Same thing with chili, stews, burgers, etc.

As far as budget goes, fresh produce is the cheapest source of good micronutrients, as long as you eat it before it goes bad. Good quality frozen vegetables are typically as nutritious as fresh, and won't go bad. Canned, not so much.

For protein, nothing beats meat, but it's a heavy budget item. Chicken is cheapest, but some of the less popular cuts of beef and pork are cheaper and work wonders in a crock pot. Gary Null published a book years ago called 'The Egg Project' in which he used egg white as the standard for quality protein, and created hundreds of recipes using grains, legumes and seeds to match the protein quality of the egg. If you can find a copy of the book; I don't know if it's still in print.

And then there are eggs. Cheap, versatile, yummy.

Coupons. And sales. Put 'em together you save more. There are apps out there that will find coupons and discounts for just about anything you buy. Honey.com is a browser plug-in.

And another thing: shop online, yes even for groceries. Amazon, or Thrive Market, among others. Buy in bulk and save more. Just remember that if you buy one protein bar every day for $2, and decide to buy a box of 24 bars for $36, you've saved $0.50 a bar, but you can't eat three a day just because you have so many!

Hopefully, some of this makes sense to you and helps...good luck to you, and congratulations on your upcoming graduation!

mylifeisbeautiful

The crockpot/ pressure cooker is your best friend. Seriously, try making meat in it once and you will be sold.

Try this:
Cut up a few potatoes, carrots and an onion into chunky pieces- put in crock pot.
On top of this put a cut of beef like a pot roast or brisket. Season with salt and pepper. That's it!
Put on lid and turn to high. In 6-8 hours you will have a meal so good you won't believe that you made it.

It's basically cooking for lazy people or people who don't have time to cook.

Sara1791

A rice cooker might be a good investment. Not too pricey, I don't think. Add seasonings, a can of beans, some veg and you've got a meal. You can vary this kind of thing quite a bit to keep up variety.

yayamom3

My son is a college student, and he and his girlfriend love using their crockpot. You can usually find them cheap at thrift stores. Or ask your family. I had an old one in the garage that I gave them. One of their favorite crockpot dishes is to throw chicken breasts, a can of Rotel and some black beans in there. Then they eat it over rice or quinoa, in tortillas, on a bed of lettuce, on nachos.