Help! I hate cooking... food ideas?

MissFlab2Fab2014

I hate cooking. I can cook, and pretty good or so I am told but I hate cooking I hate every part of it. I love eating obiuously why I am on here, but hate cooking. Any tips for healthy eating? Or maybe tips to enjoy cooking?

Ely82010

I hate cooking. I can cook, and pretty good or so I am told but I hate cooking I hate every part of it. I love eating obiuously why I am on here, but hate cooking. Any tips for healthy eating? Or maybe tips to enjoy cooking?

Just do it!!

I don't like cooking either but I like nice, simple and healthy food and the only way to get it is by cooking it myself. So I just grind my teeth and do it. And I been doing it for more than 50 years...

Grilled or baked lean meats (chicken, pork, fish), steamed vegetables, lots of salads, side dishes of quinoa or brown rice, baked yam, saute vegetables, etc. For desert (I don't bake or care for sweets), fruit with greek yogurt or cottage cheese or once in awhile some ice cream.

Just keep it simple and think that by cooking most of your meals at home your save money and calories.

anonymousgirl143

I don't enjoy it much either. How about just marinate your meats before cooking them with steamed veggies? Also I am sure you can find many simple recipes on this site or browsing the internet. I do agree that eating in is better on calories and money. I also found that maybe one a week you can have a sandwich or leftover night. There are easy recipes out there, you just have to look for them. I tend to have very simple meals and then one night a week try a recipe that involves a little more. Low calorie meatloaf is pretty easy to make. So are things in the croak pot or casseroles.

melimomTARDIS

Frozen meals? Smart ones, lean cuisine.... Canned soup, bagged salad with light dressing.... Cereal and almond milk?

Itskaleena

Pick one day of the week when you have the most free time and meal prep all of your food for the week. That way during the week you'll either have minimal cooking or just heating some stuff up the day of. saves time too.

TinaFromEFC

You took the words out of my mouth, Itskaleena! We do this as a family on Sunday then we get hot meals all week. And with our busy schedules, we are thankful to be able to eat quick and right.

053069

Yes, spend one day cooking and if you have any surplus put it in the freezer. NO to any kind of frozen cooked meals from the grocery stores due to unhealthy and unnecessary ingredients.
Experiment different kind of dishes, there might be some you love to cook more than others. Take cooking classes, regardless what you are told, see why others enjoy cooking.
Good luck.

dsalveson

Look up crock pot/slow cooker recipes on Google

Basically just spend 5-10 min tossing everything in the pot, turn it on, and in 4-6 hours you'll have a meal that is probably way more flavorful than what you could have cooked otherwise. Virtually impossible to screw up, you don't have to be home while it's cooking, and you can make large quantities so you can eat from it for a while.

GenZombie

I also hate to cook (although I do love to bake) and there are just so many great ideas here! :drinker:

I don't know if this is helpful or not but my new favorite recipe requires cooking on the stove but it only takes minutes...
Black Bean Quesadilla:
large tortilla (I like the Ole Spinach and Herb wraps)
black beans
fresh salsa
pepperjack cheese (I use one slice and cut it up to spread it out)
Fold over the tortilla and brown in a pan (cooking spray, nonstick pan-whatever)



--I add jalapeno to mine and it is delicious but certainly not something you have to do.

pastelrosedream

Ugh! I hate cooking too, which is why I stick to simple recipes. I mean, I can go to a restaurant of I want something different, but to be honest if it's not something I like, I won't eat it. I have a hard time eating foods that I don't prepare, not sure why, lol. What I do is stick to simple things like tacos, stir fry, pizza, burgers, chili, soup, kabobs etc. I stick to things like that and change them up when I want to. They don't require much cooking honestly, and can be made on a stove top. One recipe I highly recommend is white chicken chili. For the chicken you can use breasts or canned chicken in a bpa free can if you care about those sort of things. Also look into lasagna rolls, which are also pretty good and a cinch to make. A salad you might like is a bean salad, and any veggies you like can go into it. A bit long winded, but hope I could help.

kommodevaran

Eat raw food.

AwesomeSquirrel

I 2nd a lot of what was said above.

- Do a big batch of cooking eg. Sunday that you can eat for lunch or dinner during the working week. Or if you have a lot of freezer space, freeze a lot of it and then you can alternate with different food on different days after a few weeks of stocking up. Good things here are soup, bolognese sauce (add pasta when eating) & fish pie. You can also marinate your chicken before freezing it making it no effort when it comes to sticking it in the oven.

- Eat more raw food. Seriously, I hate washing up so I eat a lot of salads. Cook 1 pot of quinoa beginning of the week and then it's me, my chopping board and a knife for the rest of it.

- Eat omelettes. One pan dish for the win.

wannakimmy

Lot of good ideas here.

We all do things in life we don't like to do, that's life. If you want to eat healthier, cooking for yourself is the best way to do that. Knowing exactly what is going into your mouth and being able to track it will be very beneficial to your healthy lifestyle.

Try to find some easier recipes, like slow cooker ones, or ones you can cook ahead and freeze the extras. It will seem like a pain at first, but you will adjust. Your weight loss will be your motivation to continue to do so...

Good luck

AlysonG2

Make a whole bunch of whatever you're making so you have lots of leftovers. That way you only have to do the actual cooking part once, but you can eat off of it for several days.

My problem is not with the actual cooking. I hate having to clean it all up once I'm done.

KayJaMikel

I hate cooking too, and I have zero imagination in the kitchen. So, I feel ya. Other than buying it premade at the store, frozen foods, I really have no ideas.

I have been at the maximum cooking broccoli, carrots, mushrooms in water so that they are not so hard for my salad. I made a bunch one day so I have it for a few days. Lately for my protein, I open a can of chicken 98% fat free and put it on top of my salad. Again, I have no imagination and am boring in what I eat.

I am the microwave queen.

KayJaMikel

Look up crock pot/slow cooker recipes on Google

Basically just spend 5-10 min tossing everything in the pot, turn it on, and in 4-6 hours you'll have a meal that is probably way more flavorful than what you could have cooked otherwise. Virtually impossible to screw up, you don't have to be home while it's cooking, and you can make large quantities so you can eat from it for a while.

I find the slow cooker makes much of whatever I put in it. But, that is probably because I am doing something wrong, being such a horrible cook.

lorrennon

I completely agree.. I live alone and HATE to cook. Tried the crock pot but I find it too difficult to keep track of calories. Im real bad about simple meals when I do cook (one item) so I'm careful to mix it up, for instance, I'll have a can of tuna for breakfast, a bowl of corn with a slice of cheese melted over it for lunch, then a TV dinner for dinner. I know its bad but I eat a lot of budget meals. They are high in sodium but otherwise a good meal. Really that's the key... if you're gonna go with prepackaged foods, just watch the sodium. Veggies for instance should NEVER come out of a can. They should either be fresh or frozen. I see nothing wrong with prepared food as long as your careful about it. Either that or get a neighbor to cook for ya.

Swiftlet66

I do what a lot of other posters here already suggested. I meal prep one day for the rest of the week. But as for easy recipes? I just made Japanese nimono--super easy simmered vegetables in broth/seasonings. You can just chop and add any type of root veggies (ie. carrots, taro, sweet potato, bamboo shoots, etc) and your "protein" (tofu, fish cakes, chicken, etc.), add stock/broth/water just to the point that it covers the mixture, let it come to a boil, cover the pot, turn heat down to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the root vegetables are soft, stirring every now and then. You can also add zucchini, different types of squash, broccoli or any "soft" vegetables halfway through to cook as well. No oil needed and it's very good for you!! It's also a great way to make chunky curry too. Just add the curry roux/seasoning 5-10 minutes before it's done.

There's also recipes like tuna-avocado mix with a bit of lime, jalapeno, salt/pepper, wrapped in butter lettuce and nori. Super easy. I found it here: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/17420518139/tuna-and-avocado-wraps

Love that website!!

I'm Vietnamese so I also eat very easy to make, fresh things such as spring rolls. I season sliced beef very well and then stir fry it. Slice cucumbers/carrots/steamed or stir fried broccoli slices in a little bit of butter or oil, gather fresh cilantro/herbs, lettuce leaves, maybe boil rice noodles. I wrap everything in the lettuce leaves (and sometimes rice paper) and eat it just like that. If beef is not your thing, you can buy pre-cooked frozen shrimp, thaw it under cold water and eat that instead with the veggies. Super easy and minimal cooking. You can make a sauce for it too but I like to keep my sodium levels low.

Once you get into the kitchen and keep cooking, you'll see that it isn't actually that bad. I never cooked until I turned 21 years old... and now I'm 24 and I realize, it's so easy; why had I not done it before?? Lol. That being said, there's recipes out there that requires a ton of stuff to make it flavorful but I prefer simple, fresh foods with minimal processing.

47Jacqueline

I completely agree.. I live alone and HATE to cook. Tried the crock pot but I find it too difficult to keep track of calories. Im real bad about simple meals when I do cook (one item) so I'm careful to mix it up, for instance, I'll have a can of tuna for breakfast, a bowl of corn with a slice of cheese melted over it for lunch, then a TV dinner for dinner. I know its bad but I eat a lot of budget meals. They are high in sodium but otherwise a good meal. Really that's the key... if you're gonna go with prepackaged foods, just watch the sodium. Veggies for instance should NEVER come out of a can. They should either be fresh or frozen. I see nothing wrong with prepared food as long as your careful about it. Either that or get a neighbor to cook for ya.

I hate cooking too! Eating out is expensive, but I do it a few times a week: Thursday and Sunday to read the nytimes mostlly. Sometimes after a noon workout to get my protein in fast.

I am a dedicated microwave user: fish, frozen foods, veggies (actually the best way to cook them - don't lose the nutrients.

Found that some frozen foods are cheaper than the effort I'd put unto making.

Have a toaster oven and just pop chicken or beef into it.

add a tablespoon of protein powder to oatmeal to beef it up. Instant oatmeal. mircorwaved.

read labels on prepared for salt and protain counts.

There's no getting around cooking for the best prices, but I don't think I've ever taken more than a half hour to prep and cook except for the toaster oven and then I just pop it in and set the timer.