LAZY GIRL MEALS suggestions?

Super lazy girl here as well. I am more the type to make up recipes than follow them, so I follow some basic guidelines that I feel are very easy.

1) Roast and bake nearly everything. Potatoes, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, beets, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, corn, whatever veggie is in season or on sale - heck, eat fruit this way, too - although I tend to eat fruits fresh. Cut up into manageable pieces, toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper, maybe some herbs like rosemary or thyme, spread them on a lined sheet pan, bake @ 450F until tender. No mess, 5 min of work, done. For greens like spinach and chard, I stream them with water, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

2) Meats - buy precut portions of chicken, pork, streak, whatever - brown in cast iron, bake covered at recommended temp for that meat until done. You can also shred up chicken or pork cuts with a fork and bag that for sandwiches. Make a sauce using meat juices.

3) Some sauces I buy, some are mixed with 3 or 4 ingredients, like a honey mustard sauce or cream sherry sauce for chicken. Sauces can be very basic. All you need is a fat, an acid, spices, and a little sweet for depth. Butter + rice vinegar + salt/garlic/pepper, for example. An extra liquid can make them more substantial, like adding cream or yogurt or coconut milk. Vegetable or meat broths are a good liquid base, too. Additions like capers, fresh herbs, raisins, dates, shallot, cherry tomatoes, etc make it fancy without much effort besides rough chopping, tossing it in and cooking a couple minutes. Mix all the ingredients together and cook them down to the consistency you want.

My go-to is a lemon yogurt sauce (no cooking needed) that takes 2 minutes to make: 1 cup Greek yogurt, juice of 1 lemon, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 clove minced garlic (can be purchased in a jar if you want), salt and pepper to taste. Slather it on meat, cooked veggies, grains, pretty much anything.

4) Grains - rice, farro, quinoa, millet, barley, couscous - simmer with water, salt and pepper until cooked according to the type of grain. Top with sauce used for meat, or coat with butter, olive oil, coconut oil, whatever sounds good to you.

I tend away from beans because I cannot tolerate them very well. If I do eat them, I buy them canned/precooked and heat and mash them on the stove with spices.

Meals with zero cooking:
Popcorn, cheddar or jack cheese and apples with peanut butter

Popcorn shrimp and cocktail sauce on cream cheese and crackers (watch out with this one, a little goes a long way)

Tuna fish sandwich - tuna mixed with mayo, chopped nuts, chopped olives, parsley, salt, pepper, relish - whatever else sounds good

Accompany everything with a salad (my salads have spinach, romaine, spring greens, shredded carrot, cucumber, tomatoes, blue cheese, chopped apple, dried cranberries, a nut (walnuts/almonds/pecans/cashews), shredded sharp cheddar). I prep the toppings ahead of time and pull them out to use over a week, or if I am too lazy for that I just use the toppings that require no prep like cherry tomatoes and blue cheese crumbles.

I hope this is helpful - we all have our histories and familiarities with how food should be, but this is how I have come to feed myself that works pretty well and doesn’t require too much effort.

1. Huge salad topped with drained 5oz can of salmon and ranch dressing.

2. Peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat and an apple.

3. Soup, salad and sandwich; (usually tomato or veg soup, small garden salad and tuna or cheese sandwich)

Freakin’ baked turkey burgers over a giant bed of greens. I wouldn’t say I’m lazy, but I’m a mom and I like to be efficient and straight to the point. I’ll usually boil some whole wheat penne to add to the plate-o-fuel. Super easy.