I Hate Cooking

rykabyka
rykabyka Posts: 3
edited January 4 in Food and Nutrition
sorry if this is a redundant post, i haven't seen it but i didn't look far.

i hate cooking, and among the term cooking i also mean preparing, baking, everything that has to do with spending time to make food for myself. a microwave is my best friend. is it realistic for me to make a goal to change this, has anyone changed it, or at least found ways to manage it that worked LONG term?

i am good for cooking breakfast in the morning. at lunch i usually grab a sandwich and after that i eat very random things around the house, like i'll throw a potato in the microwave. eat some deli meat. have some cottage cheese and an apple, and that is supper. i know i am not getting proper nutrition and my weight loss is suffering because of it.

i'm looking for things that are realistic for me, because i have a very hard time even eating the food i make when i do decide to cook (because it is disgusting).

anyone know dieting for the lazy??

Replies

  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    I'm right with you. I eat lots of sandwiches and premade salads. Sometimes, I just buy a bag of salad mix, dump it in a big bowl with dressing and have that for lunch. So far, I haven't had a problem losing weight. Living alone exacerbates my not wanting to cook because one meal like spaghetti or chili lasts a whole week and if I don't eat it all, it goes bad. Do what keeps you within your calorie goals. Trying to adhere to crazy diets or doing things you don't want to do just equals failure in the end.
  • Game8
    Game8 Posts: 442
    I don't know how to cook and never learned to, but making simple things to eat is a task every non-disabled adult should have. How hard is it to cook rice, roast chicken and sprinkle seasonings on top? If you wanna make things even simpler, buy ready-to-cook meals that usually have a 3 step preparation.
  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
    I love cooking, however, I don't have time to do it all the time.


    Precooked rotisserie chickens are going to become your best friend.
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
    Would you consider cooking more if you had a CrockPot?

    It is really hard to mess up a simple slowcooker recipe, you literally just turn it on, throw in the ingredients, add water and walk away. The most work you'd have to do is maybe chop up some vegetables, which, if you did ahead of time and in large quantities and froze the extras, you wouldn't even have to do all that often. Make enough for several dinners, and you'd only have to make a batch 2 or three times a week.

    You can find some really delicious recipes online, just take a look and try a simple one to start out.

    Good luck!
  • rykabyka
    rykabyka Posts: 3
    you would reconsider that statement if you saw my attempt at cooking chicken lol
    don't even bring up rice
  • spangey13
    spangey13 Posts: 294
    Nigella Lawson is a self confessed "lazy cook". A lot of her recipes are very easy - just a matter of throwing a few things together. You could look up some of those.

    Sometimes when I'm feeling super lazy, or I know i'm going to have a busy week I buy things like pre sliced mushrooms, pre grated cheese, pre sliced ham, washed spinach in a zip lock bag...get that and put it in a tortilla and in the oven for 5 minutes and it is done!

    You could also buy "diced beef" or "stirfry chicken" and a bag of stirfry veges and that's dinner done in about 10 minutes.
  • rykabyka
    rykabyka Posts: 3
    never thought about a crockpot, that might be a good idea. thanks!
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
    Buy a rice cooker. They can be really inexpensive and when the rice is about 1/2 way done add vegetables on top. It makes this steamed vegetable-rice meal. Add some store-bought low-sodium teriyaki or soy sauce and it actually tastes delicious and is virtually easy to make.
  • MissJanet55
    MissJanet55 Posts: 457 Member
    Cooking is a lot more fun when you know a few basic techniques; it's a skill that can easily be learned. If you don't know some simple ways to make food taste good The Joy of Cooking is a good place to start, it explains everything from how to boil an egg to how to cook rice and vegetables to roasting a chicken and more complex recipes.

    I never used to cook for myself, but came to see it as a way of taking care of myself. Now I make meals that are healthy, almost never use packaged food, and have figured out how to repurpose leftovers.

    A good basic cookbook (or maybe a cooking class) will take you a long way. Good luck!
  • shirleygirl910
    shirleygirl910 Posts: 503 Member
    Costco has brown rice in the freezer section that takes 3 min in the microwave. Frozen veggies are simple. Just plan your whole day at once so that after lunch and you are "grabbing" things you already know what you are eating and you don't go over on your calories.
  • hiromim8
    hiromim8 Posts: 3
    try cooking bunch of chicken tender in microwave - soak them in cooking wine for moist, lightly season - then wrap one portion, put them back in freezer! you just take out, microwave again for salad, sandwich, chicekn alfredo....

    frozen veggies are good too! microwave, season with herbs, finish with olive oil, then eat with your chicken :o)

    it is good that you are concerned about nutrition and weight loss, so i am sure you will feel so much better when you start cooking little more at a time... i hope this helps!!
  • maryjay52
    maryjay52 Posts: 557 Member
    i cook up about 3lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast a week...i slice it and i dice it up and put it in containers. then ill cook up some whole grain pasta and some brown rice... i put that in containers too. with the chicken you can grab some and put it over the rice or the pasta and add sauce or whatever else you want on it..sometimes i have bbq sauce and just dip the chicken for taste..sometimes i make chicken salad or throw it on a bed of spring greens ... the possiblities are endless .

    taking a few hours over the weekend to prepare for the week is well worth it ..especially if you are busy like i am. makes it easier to plan your meals for the week too
  • grrlgeek
    grrlgeek Posts: 17 Member
    I love cooking, but I admit I can be lazy about it. I don't eat a lot of meat, so tossing something together is pretty easy. Here's a few of my fast and very easy favourites: Most of these you can be eating within 10 minutes.

    Rice. I love rice. On Sunday I cook a big pot of basmati rice. (2 cups uncooked.) stick in fridge and use it for lots of things. Hubby likes it warmed as a breakfast, stir in raisins, with a little milk on top. And raw sugar. But we're trying to break him of the sugar topping.

    Frozen veggies. I get the big bags of stir fry mixes. All different varieties. Throw away the sauce packets. Nuke a few cups-worth for 6 mins, covered, with a tablespoon of water. Drain the water, add some rice, nuke another 2 minutes. I try to go for a ratio of at least double the portion of veggies as compared to the grain/starch.

    Red Potatoes in the microwave. Frozen baby peas (i let them un-freeze in a bowl of hot water while waiting on the potatoes. Ranch dressing. (I don't like "lite" Ranch, so I try to stick to under 2 tbsp. If you leave a little water in the bowl, it thins it out to make less go further. I slice/cut/smash the potatoes in the same bowl I cooked them in, and that's the same bowl I eat it from. (I hate doing dishes too. In fact, hating doing dishes is the main reason I am lazy about cooking.) To change it up, instead of peas and ranch, add a chopped tomato, some cilantro, and salsa. And a bowl of veggies on the side.

    Rice (that you already cooked over the weekend), chopped cucumber, diced tomato, fresh parsley, fresh mint. Warm up the rice, top with the cold veggies and herbs. Add a dollop of plain greek yogurt. Ultimate cool, fresh, summer supper.

    Instead of rice, cook a full box of "hidden veggie" pasta... I like penne myself. Nuke some veggies (yellow squash and peas are my fave) and toss into the pasta with a bit of olive oil, some fresh mushrooms, and a bit of grated romano or parmesan cheese.

    Spaghetti squash. Cut it in half the long-way. Place one of the halves in a shallow baking dish with about 1/4 cup of water. Cover with saran wrap and nuke for 15-20 mins (depending on how powerful your microwave is). (Repeat for the other half) With a fork, scrape out the squash from the skin. It looks like spaghetti. Top with the pasta sauce of your choice. Add some parmesean or romano cheese. Add some veggies.


    Tuna sandwich with lots of pepper and a little mayo, and a bowl of tomato soup.

    I get my hubby to grill a bunch of chicken and a few pork roasts about once a month. Then I slice and chop and refreeze it in baggies. For his dinners at work I just assemble the rice and veggies and meat, cold and frozen alike, and by the next day, he just has to nuke it for a few minutes to reheat. If you eat meat, you could try some of the frozen pre-cooked strips at this stage, and work up to cooking your own some day in the future. These also work great for chopping up to make a chicken salad. Serve on lettuce, or make a sammich.

    Whole grain bread (the more sticks, twigs, and seeds the better). Toast it. A little bit of butter (or not), sliced tomato - (i usually throw the tomato slices in a hot skillet for about 20+ seconds, but you can nuke them to "just warm" on a plate too. Put the tomatoes on the toast, sprinkle with pepper. Better than it sounds. Much better. I think I am going to go make some.

    Hope that gives you some inspiration!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories