I don't like preparing food...

SteveHunt113
SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've always been the kind of person who wants to eat when I get hungry. Because of this, I've never been one to prepare meals ... at least not until after 15 years of marriage when I started taking turns with my wife cooking dinner. But even then, I always love an easy-to-prepare meal - and my wife has a lot of them! But that's not the purpose of this post!

Because I've always hated even simple preparation of food, I've found that my intake of food is somewhat limited while trying to also eat healthy. Foods I can eat with little to know preparation have become a big part of my food diary, including:

Almonds
Apples
Carrots
Banana's
Nectarines
Tuna from the can
Left over BBQ chicken (yes, there's initial prep here, but I make a ton for leftover purposes)
Salad from a bag (with a fat free low cal dressing)
Protein shakes (Gold Standard protein mix, chocolate)
Think thin protein bars
Hard boiled eggs
Manderines
V-8 Juice

What are some things you folks eat that has little to know prep time that is healthy?

Replies

  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    Veggies with 100 calorie packs of guac
    PB&J
    PB with apples or celery or on a rice cake
    String cheese
    Chicken salad wrap (seriously, mix canned chicken with a little mayo, Greek yogurt or dressing (Bolthouse Farms dressings are super low cal and awesome) and stick it in a tortilla.
    Yogurt
    Granola
    Oatmeal
    Eggs (in the microwave)
    Also, if you're wiling to do some initial prep, as with the BbQ chicken, make meatloaf in muffin tins, then freeze. Yu can make muffin tin quiches, too. Stews/soups, etc. in the crock pot. Heck, crock pot anything is very little prep.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    Great ideas! Thanks for those. We actually do a lot of crock pot cooking and like you say, easy prep!
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    Rice cookers can do wonderful things. Mine can make rice and steam meat/veggies at the same time. I also use the crock pot a lot. I buy steam in the bag frozen veggies. I mean there's SOME prep/cook time, but minimal and painless (or I wouldn't do it).
  • la8ydi
    la8ydi Posts: 294 Member
    Ooooh how do you make meatloaf in muffin tins???? :-)
  • DrewMontoya
    DrewMontoya Posts: 77 Member
    I find it slightly disturbing that your bananas are so possessive.
  • DrewMontoya
    DrewMontoya Posts: 77 Member
    And to add something constructive, as vitaminddd said, a rice cooker is worth having around. You can make a lot of no-brainer meals with one. Personally, I use mine for steel-cut oats more than rice. This list has a few ideas:

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/arielknutson/surprising-things-you-can-make-in-a-rice-cooker
  • vanguardfitness
    vanguardfitness Posts: 720 Member
    those packages of trail mix from trader joes (one I like the most has dark chocolate bits with almonds and cashews).

    Most fruits.

    Yogurt.

    ...

    everything else I cook on my own
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
    I find it slightly disturbing that your bananas are so possessive.

    They hate to be separated, that's why you eat two at a time.
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
    Omelettes are quick and easy, and come in under calorie budget.
    Baked beans on toast.
    Mousetraps (grill one side of toast. Turn over. Apply marmite or relish and cheese to other side. Grill till done.
    Baked potatoes. take an hour in the oven but don't take much work.
    yoghjurt
    diet bars
    cheese and wholegrain crackers. Low fat cheese if you can.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,086 Member
    Unsweetened applesauce in individual 4 oz cups (sold in six packs) so I don't have to worry about finishing off a quart before it goes bad; accompany with a little cheese if I want protein.

    Sliced tomato with a splash of balsamic vinegar (or you could just eat the tomato like an apple, if slicing it is too much work ;-)

    Whole grain, low or no sugar cereal (e.g., shredded wheat) with low-fat or nonfat milk; if it's not too much work, you can peel and slice a banana on top, or rinse off berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are minimal prep - just toss any bad ones and keep an eye out for any stems still on the blueberries)

    Whole grain bread or toast spread with a little peanut butter (purely for taste, I prefer the peanut butter without added sugar) (or make a peanut butter sandwich and add fresh fruit --bananas or berries again-- instead of jelly) (or sub other nut butters here and in the next item)

    Apple slices with peanut butter (or eat the apple whole with a tablespoon of peanut butter in your other hand, and dab a little on the apple before each bite -- seriously, I've done this when I didn't feel like slicing an apple)

    Raw rolled oats, yogurt, fruit (fresh or dried), and nuts (I usually wait at least five minutes after stirring it together before eating, so that the yogurt can hydrate and soften the oats a bit, but if you want it "instant," you could add a little milk)

    Mix salsa from a jar with black beans (from a can or previously cooked dried beans) and a reasonable amount of cheese (I use cheddar or -- horrors! -- Velveeta); microwave until cheese is melted; stir; eat with tortilla chips (obviously, "healthy" here is going to depend on portion control relative to your personal calorie and macro goals).

    One low-fat, whole grain frozen waffle, toasted, spread with peanut butter and topped with banana; or topped with berries and yogurt or Greek yogurt sweetened with a little brown sugar; or topped with a fried egg and a little (one or two ounces) lean ham.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    More great ideas, THANKS!

    As for my banana's, I name each one before I eat them. Otherwise, they'd just be bananas. :P

    OK, I never did do well in English class, though I'm proud that I understood what you were driving at the moment I read the comment about a banana being possessive. :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I hate cooking. Lunch is always on me, so I have to figure things out though. Some ideas...

    - I buy frozen grilled chicken breasts, put it in the toaster oven for 20 minutes, then have burritos, wraps, salads, tacos, grilled chicken sandwiches, you name it. Just have to add salsa, cheese, lettuce etc. Or I just nuke some veggies or add some rice and eat it plain.

    - I made a taco soup one time. Just put ground beef, a couple cans of stuff in a crockpot and turn it on for 8 hours. I had leftovers for a week and it was delicious with tortilla chips mixed in. It was 1lb of ground beef, 3 cans of beans, 2 cans of ro-tel, 1 can of corn, 1 package of taco seasoning. Got to make that again, although figuring portion sizes was a pain.

    - egg burritos for breakfast - beat an egg, microwave for 35 seconds, add some precooked sausage and a slice of cheese, roll in a burrito. Or just scrambled or fried eggs (I fail at omelets for some reason). I've done scrambled eggs with goat cheese and spinach... delicious.

    - all kinds of salads. I love smoked salmon/goat cheese/beets with olive oil/red wine vinegar/dijon mustard dressing.

    - pasta. I just add jarred sauce, frozen meatballs and a bit of parmesan.

    If I have to I can always just cook some sausage or fish in a pan or something. Just got to turn it over at some point, and microwave some couscous/veggies to go with it.

    Honestly it's just how we do it... easy lol. Or there's always sandwiches...
  • chezjuan
    chezjuan Posts: 747 Member
    I'll have Amy's Organic frozen entrees sometimes when I don't feel like cooking. They are basically as close to freezing food I cook myself as you can get with a packaged product, and, with the exception of their Indian food*, really tasty.

    *My wife is from India, so basically any packaged Indian food I have is not up to par with her cooking, so you can take that comment with a grain of salt.
  • christianteach
    christianteach Posts: 595 Member
    I don't like to cook and when it's up to me I like quick and easy foods like salads, fresh fruits, Greek yogurt, peanut butter with an apple (I will slice the apple), cheese and Smart Ones. Oh yeah , my normal breakfast, because it's quick, easy and delish is a Quest bar. In fact , I eat 2-3 protein bars per day.
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    Ooooh how do you make meatloaf in muffin tins???? :-)

    Just use whatever meatloaf recipes you like, but instead of cooking it loaf style, spray some cooking spray in muffin tins and fill each with the meatloaf mix. I usually have to bake them about 20-25 minutes. For extra awesomeness, you can top them with mashed potatoes as "frosting" with a few minutes left to go.

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