Eating healthy when you hate cooking

SophieB99
SophieB99 Posts: 34 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi! Anyone have any tips for someone who hates/sucks at cooking? I really want to eat healthier but its hard for me to find the motivation to cook things, I even dislike going to the grocery store. I feel like I end up going out to eat/getting take out a lot which isn't always as healthy. Suggestions?

Replies

  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    I don't hate cooking but after a long day at work I don't want to spend hours cooking. My weekday meals all take minutes. Steamed or griddled vegetables with pan fried omelettes or vegetarian 'meat' (obv you can use meat or fish) takes no time at all and only uses one or two pans so not much cleaning up.

    In the winter I put my crock pot on at weekends to batch cook for the week days. All in one pot and reheating to eat after work takes no time.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    Hi! Anyone have any tips for someone who hates/sucks at cooking? I really want to eat healthier but its hard for me to find the motivation to cook things, I even dislike going to the grocery store. I feel like I end up going out to eat/getting take out a lot which isn't always as healthy. Suggestions?

    I hate cooking, too... that's basically how I got overweight. I would eat takeout, eat out, or eat junk. I'm a Junk Food Queen of the First Magnitude. Most of my meals are at home now, though. They're healthy.

    I'm eating a simple diet based on brown rice, lentils, and veggies, with boiled eggs and apples for snacks. Every 2-3 days I cook a batch of brown rice in the rice cooker (it cooks itself, I don't have to watch it), cook several cups of lentils, and store them in the fridge. I add steamed or blanched veggies to those meals. I also cook up a batch of steel cut oats and add diced apple and have that for breakfast for several days -- I just add water and heat it up. I use tamari and toasted sesame seeds for condiments and drink a lot of filtered water with lemon slices. I've cut out all junk food and 99% of processed food.

    So far, with meal planning, my meals take 5 minutes or less to put together, I'm losing weight, and meeting all my protein, etc. requirements. If I can do it, you can do it, too. Find healthy food you know you will eat, cook batches of it ahead of time, and always have some easy snacks around.
  • adairbrum
    adairbrum Posts: 68
    Oh boy , you hate cooking! That is kinda hard to get around ,maybe you just hate because as you say you suck at it .well
    You need to make a list of healthy things you like and that are easy cooking and get someone to show you an easy way to cook
    Maybe cooking classes or just start slow you can get a soup pack that you just add water and make it better add some extra water and veggies you can get a mixed pack in the frozen area of the grocerie store when you master that get fresh veggies or get an already baked chicken and a salad pack but you do need to go grocerie shopping , but I think if you learn to cook you will enjoy what you make
    The best of luck!!
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    Hungry Girl has a lot of relatively healthy options that usually take 5 minutes to make. Many require nothing more complicated than a microwave.
  • lisaabenjamin
    lisaabenjamin Posts: 665 Member
    I love cooking! Maybe you should take a cookery class to improve your skills. If you are better at cooking maybe you won't hate it so much! That said, there is a lot you can eat without requiring complicated skills - e.g. chuck a chicken breast under the grill and steam some veg in the microwave - easy peasy!
  • wonderbolt
    wonderbolt Posts: 48
    Buy a blender :)

    My favourite breakfast is 2 handfuls of spinach, half a cucumber, strawberries, half a banana, greek yogurt and a teaspoon of honey. Blend together and drink! Obviously this is 4 of your 5 a day before you've even left the house.
  • piratesaregrand
    piratesaregrand Posts: 356 Member
    I cook once every three weeks.

    I spend a day making stuff I can divide up into 300 calorie meals and freeze. Then I just get one out before I leave for work, come home microwave it and add some salad
  • MizPassion
    MizPassion Posts: 245 Member
    MichaelKoryFitness on YT has some quick and easy recipes.
  • LadyPakal
    LadyPakal Posts: 256 Member
    What I do? I have a small halogen oven for meat and a steamer for veg. Quick, easy and nutritious.
  • Shadowknight137
    Shadowknight137 Posts: 1,243 Member
    Learn to like cooking.

    Seriously. It's fun.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    I cook once every three weeks.

    I spend a day making stuff I can divide up into 300 calorie meals and freeze. Then I just get one out before I leave for work, come home microwave it and add some salad

    This is a fantastic idea. You've inspired me to cook like crazy this weekend and freeze it all.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    As someone said above the slow cooker is brilliant - throw it in, go and do some exercise, (or work) come back and portion it up. Job done.

    Or do you have a George Foreman grill (or similar)? Stick a piece of meat or fish (salmon works well) with some veg - bell pepper, onion, mushrooms - until done and eat with a green salad, or some boiled new potatoes, or mix it into a portion of pasta with a tin of chopped tomatoes.

    WW did a recipe book "Food in a flash" which had simple and healthy meals in it.

    For quick meals you can't beat an omlette, or how about some steamed asparagus with poached eggs and rocket salad?
  • AA1ex
    AA1ex Posts: 223 Member
    Rice/ veggie steamers are cheap and easy to use so try getting one for that stuff. Ziploc steamer bags are also cheap and easy, the directions are on the bag buy pre cut veggies and fruit to save on prep time.Then get meat that is already cut and cooked like Tyson grilled and ready, John Souls. Hope this helps you!
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    I have this cookbook of "20-minute meals", and they really are. So it's cooking, but it doesn't take hours like some of the fancier stuff I make sometimes does. Maybe look for something like that, a book of quick healthy recipes.

    Also, I live by myself and usually make things that are supposed to serve 4, so some days I eat leftovers instead of cooking something new every day.
  • Brunner26_2
    Brunner26_2 Posts: 1,152
    It takes only about 10 minutes to cook a piece of meat in a george foreman grill or microwave a potato. Only 5 minutes to boil a bag of frozen veggies or slice some fresh ones.

    It's really not that bad.
  • BananaFaceFace
    BananaFaceFace Posts: 70 Member
    This was my exact problem when I began. So when i decided i wanted to get healthy i searched for the easiest recipes i could find and basically I ate raw food most of the time, raw veg and fruit and nuts in as many variations as i could find and then i would grill some chicken in the oven when i could be bothered. it was a good way to start and I felt full and the weight started coming off. Then as my confidence and energy grew I slowly started to research recipes and now i'm teaching myself to cook and enjoying it a lot. Even though I hated it before and never used to cook, i'm loving it now.

    Might work for you as well..
  • MsStang02
    MsStang02 Posts: 147 Member
    I loathed cooking...hate was an understatement. Mostly because I sucked at it, and everything I cooked tasted like...well...you know :sick:
    However, I have made myself cook every day. Experimentation is your best friend. Find what you like, and always remember what you don't. Try new things. Now I am at the point where I "dislike" cooking, but I am slowly coming around. There are tons of options out there that many people have already named off. Stick with it, and eventually you'll learn to love it :bigsmile:
  • climbamnt
    climbamnt Posts: 190 Member
    I started by swapping lunch at work for a lean cuisine, and I bought bags of frozen veggies. There calories are almost all int he 250 - 350 range. I know the sodium in pre-packaged meals isn't perfect but it still beats eating out. Once I made a habit out of not eating out, I realized I wanted more variety and started cooking my own meals. It is about making life style changes so focus on finding something that works for and you can stick to it! Good luck!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    It's hard for me to relate because I love to cook. But you sound a lot like one of my daughter. She doesn't like cooking and really isn't very good at it. But, she had become fond of crockpot meals. She looks for online recipes that don't require a lot of prep. Put everything in the pot in the morning and dinner is ready when she gets home from work.

    Roasting everything is pretty easy too. Most non-leafy vegetables are good roasted. Just toss in oil and spices, dump onto a baking sheet and put in hot oven until browned. You can even add still frozen white fish (tilapia, roughy, flounder, etc.) for the last 15-20 min and have a full meal sith very little actual cooking.
  • SophieB99
    SophieB99 Posts: 34 Member
    Wow!! I was not expecting so many wonderful suggestions! Thanks everyone! :)

    Well, I finally went grocery shopping yesterday and tried to make it as quick and painless as possible. I stocked up on a lot of healthy soups that I can microwave and some things to make sandwich wraps. I figure it's pretty hard to eff up a sandwich haha. I think what I hate most about cooking is the prep work involved, the time it takes, and the dishes. I absolutely suck at cutting up things and it takes me fooorrever! I think I'm going to try what someone suggested and cut up/prep everything all at once the freeze and refrigerate it for quick use. I really suck at meal planning too, how am I supposed to know what I'm going to want to eat a few days from now? and if you make the same thing for the whole week, don't you get sick of it?

    I like the crockpot idea, and I do have one...I just never use it haha. I'll have to check out some easy recipes and try it again.

    Hopefully this will get easier with more practice. =/
  • taidasrictar
    taidasrictar Posts: 100 Member
    one thing i like to do is make a big pot a spaghetti sauce using jarred sauce (i like Prego Light smart) with a little ground turkey and mushrooms garlic

    i usually water it down a little and get get 6 under 100 cal servings out of 1 jar

    then when i need it just spend 10 mins boiling pasta and steaming veggies and feed off it for about a week :smile:
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    I eat lots of premade deli salads, sandwiches, chips and popcorn. Easy peasy

    Also precut and washed fruits and vegetables. Open and eat.
  • Sharkington
    Sharkington Posts: 485
    I used to hate cooking too, but eventually had to learn to like it when I started living on my own. (I had gotten used to my family cooking and my exes were all good cooks who cooked for me, so it was an adjustment), but I am happy I did. I guess you can try by looking up simple recipes. Sauteing food is very quick and a method I use to cook a lot of my food and most of my dishes are healthy (just throw in a small amount of olive oil and you're good to go). I think maybe once you start cooking simple dishes and seeing how delicious they come out, it will make you curious about trying other things - with new spices and flavors. :) Once I started enjoying my own food and feeling proud of what I made, i started to enjoy cooking much more and I haven't touched a frozen dinner since.

    But I may be underestimating your hatred for cooking, though. Haha.One thing to make healthier meals quicker is microwave steaming veggies - which is really not a bad way to cook veggies despite popular misconceptions. Another suggestion is to throw in baked sweet potatoes/yams into oven for 45 minutes to an hour and go off to do other things you need to do in the mean time.

    A slow cooker might be another option for you. There is preparation time, of course, but you can usually leave it alone for awhile.

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