What do you eat when you don't have much time to cook?

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  • codechef
    codechef Posts: 1 Member
    Something I did last night. Took leftover chicken diced it up, cut up carrots, onions, garlic, ginger, and a jalapeno. Throw the veggies in a tbps of olive oil and cooked til soft, added in the chicken and warmed it back up. Then I took a store bought asian peanut sauce I had and threw it on top and mixed it in. Served it in lettuce wraps, with crushed peanuts, lime, and cilantro. Took about 20 minutes start to finish.
  • Jyster
    Jyster Posts: 74 Member
    frozen waffles and a tablespoon of peach jam, 190 calories 3 minutes.
  • SunnyDayzMomma
    SunnyDayzMomma Posts: 114 Member
    Large quantities of raw veggies, with hummus, tatziki, or other protein-y dip. Like I'll eat an entire cucumber, a cup or two of cauliflower, and the dip. And then if I'm not full I'll have a slice of whole wheat bread, with butter or a slice a cheese (or half whole wheat, let's be honest, some 100% WW bread is disgusting, lol) .
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    What is not much time and how can you afford not making cooking - and health - a priority?
  • okohjacinda
    okohjacinda Posts: 329 Member
    edited August 2017
    These are unhealthy choices but

    Lean cuisines
    Ramen noodles
    Instant Oatmeal
    Frozen pizza

    So I try to cook as much as possible. Plus I ate this so much in college that the taste sometimes makes me sick esp Lean cuisines.


    Healthier options would be
    Fruit and veg smoothie (which I do sometimes)
    Protein shake or smoothie
    Soup or broth (will fill you)
    Frozen veggies like broccoli and cheese
    Or cauliflower mash potatoes
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited August 2017
    BellaMermaid96 wrote: »
    rybo wrote: »
    How much time is not much? I can whip up a healthy balanced meal of a protein, vegetable & even a starch in about 15 minutes.
    I was wondering something to make in about 5 minutes if I didn't have anything prepared. It's for when I start school. I won't have much time between classes.

    In that case, you really should get into the habit of preparing food ahead of time. When I worked in an office, I used to spend a few hours on the weekends and make lunches, snacks, and dinners for Monday-Thursday. Hard boiled eggs are good snacks and can be unrefrigerated for a few hours. I like them with salted almonds or sunflower seeds (which can also be unrefrigerated), and sometimes baby carrots.

    You could also make a sandwich, either in that 5 minutes, or in the AM, or the night before if you're not a morning person.

    If you find oats and yogurt filling (I don't - not enough protein for me) you can mix them up the night before - look up "overnight oats" for more info and ideas.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    okohjacinda wrote: »
    These are unhealthy choices but

    Lean cuisines
    Ramen noodles
    Instant Oatmeal
    Frozen pizza

    So I try to cook as much as possible. Plus I ate this so much in college that the taste sometimes makes me sick esp Lean cuisines.

    None of those foods are inherently unhealthy.
  • kyubeans
    kyubeans Posts: 135 Member
    Breakfast type meals are usually quick and easy. I'll sometimes do scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese with whatever veggies I've got lying around.

    Or I'll have a meal that consists of snackish foods, like slices of cucumber, hummus, cheese cubes, turkey pepperoni and some summer slaw on a plate.

    I don't quite meal prep, but I do often have chopped veggies in my fridge from last time I cooked. These are helpful to throw into a pan for a quick saute, paired with any protein. And as a last resort, I'll have a pre-packaged soup or meal but these are high in sodium so I try to avoid them if I can.
  • jessiferrrb
    jessiferrrb Posts: 1,758 Member
    in the meal prep camp you can also premake and then freeze burritos - breakfast or otherwise. i make about 10 at a time with scrambled eggs, veggies, faux sausage and sometimes cheese and / or potatoes. they end up with about 300 calories and reheat really well. just unwrap the foil / wrap in a paper towel and microwave for one minute.
  • paggorham
    paggorham Posts: 18 Member
    Brown rice, grilled chicken, veggies ;)
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    I started eating pre-cooked meats and packaged veggies, and my stand by protein powder mixed in oatmeal. The problem with most pre-packaged foods is the sodium goes way up so look out for that! Good luck!
  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
    Eggs are my go food (it's still cooking but takes like 2 minutes). Frozen veggies in those individual packages. Sometimes when I really desparate I resort to cereal.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    Eggs. Burritos with Gardein.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    Meal prep is the key. Cook for multiple days at once. Whenever I cook, I'll usually make enough to provide for one meal of leftovers and a lunch or two. It takes just as long to grill 6 chicken breasts as it does to grill 2.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Things I like to keep on hand: frozen tilapia, salmon filets. Run under cold water for a few minutes then put in the oven (season as you like) for ~20 minutes. Pair with whatever fresh veggies you have on hand. Easy.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    edited August 2017
    Eggs. Fried, boiled, scrambled, omelettes...

    Pasta. You can make a number of quick pasta toppings in the time it takes for the noodles to cook.

    Rice with various things through it - canned fish is a good addition.

    I keep pots (about 250ml) of leftover cooked meat in the freezer, which makes it very easy to make a quick meal.
  • ivandobski2
    ivandobski2 Posts: 4 Member
    Huel? Quick, nutritious and surprisingly palatable if you hoy a load of fruit, cocoa powder, coffee etc in it.

    I generally have one a day instead of a "proper meal" more than that and I crave texture too much.
  • Kintsugi_Haikyo
    Kintsugi_Haikyo Posts: 361 Member
    What do I eat when you don't have much time to cook?

    Everything I can get my hands on.
  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
    just some veggies, rice or quinoa, and either some legumes or a meat alternative....sorta the same as i eat when I do have time
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    AlabasterVerve wrote: »
    If it's just me (and I don't feel like taking 15 minutes to cook) I'll make up a plate of snack foods. Whatever I have on hand works - nuts, cheese, leftover meat, sliced fruit & vegetables, pickles, hard boiled eggs etc.

    This is what I eat for lunch every day and most dinners if my husband doesn't cook. I also include crackers, olives, dried fruit, and cured meats. And I keep around some commercially made "snack packs" for when I'm REALLY lazy or just want a change. I like the P3 packs in particular.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
    sandwich, this summer it's been tomato sandwiches or BLTs
    scrambled eggs
    frozen meal although I won't eat them often due to the sodium in them
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,797 Member
    protein bar
  • Goober1142
    Goober1142 Posts: 219 Member
    I cook and freeze brown rice in half cup portions then microwave with frozen or canned veggies. And rotisserie chicken. I hate to cook....
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    edited August 2017
    I mix up portions of ground turkey with onions and garlic and have it in my freezer and 1-2 in my fridge at all times. I just mix it up into an omelette. High fat (im low on fat if your not just remove 1 or more of the egg yolks) and high protein. Way i make it is under 300 calories to not a bad meal and delicious + almost perfect macros (for me).

    Half a can of tuna/ flaked chicken or turkey works in a pinch to if you dont want to prep the ground meat beforehand i just prefer to avoid the excess sodium
  • RedSierra
    RedSierra Posts: 253 Member
    BellaMermaid96 wrote: »
    I'm trying to find healthy ideas. I can only think of tuna or salads.

    I make several small takeout spinach salads at the local grocery and load them with shredded carrots, black olives, chick peas, etc. Each salad is enough for one meal. I also buy Amy's brand canned soup (low sodium). That's an organic brand that's sold in most grocery stores inthe US and on Amazon.

    I agree with the people who said to make meals ahead of time and freeze them.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Vegetarian here. Bag of microvave broccoli (cooked) , half can black bean from can, diced peppers or pepper rings (prepared veggie area of grocery), sprinkle of walnuts, raisins and squirt of sriacha. 5 minutes and filling.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    How much time do you need cooking? Prepping, cooking and doing the dishes never takes more than 30 minutes for me. And I always cook from scratch. There are some exceptions of course: tinned chopped tomatoes taste better than the watery things you can get at supermarkets here for example. If I buy something convenience'd I always look at the ingredients. a tin of tomatoes is fine. I would not buy a tin of tomatoes with sugar or herbs added.
  • alexialmann
    alexialmann Posts: 36 Member
    Favorite meal on the go: Lenny & Larry's Snickerdoodle Protein Cookie and a banana, with coffee & half and half. Right at about 500 calories.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,142 Member
    The food I have prepped in advance - I normally have a couple of meals in the fridge/freezer (such as Chilli, Thai Green Curry, Beef Strogonoff, Saag Paneer, Salmon Fishcakes, Falafel, etc) that can be quickly re-heated or cooked through and eaten with some steamed veg/microwave rice. I prep workday lunches for Mon-Fri - usually some homemade soup (takes about 25 mins to make 4 portions), pasta or salad (cooks whilst making the soup) or some leftovers from the freezer with some salad or microwave rice.
  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    super quick - Instant cup of noodles, bag of microwave veg, stir all together after cooked crack an egg in and microwave again, bish bash bosh job done ;) shove a bit of extra soy or sweet chilli too after it's done. (obvs instant noodles are processed and salty but meh ;P)
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