Meals for one for lazy cooks

so, I've been living an unhealthy lifestyle a bit recently, and it's time to crack down

thing is, I keep planning all these healthy menus for me to cook for myself, but when push comes to shove it's not often realistically the case that I will actually roll my sleeves up and spend yonks cooking in my tiny kitchen just for myself, when there are far more pleasurable ways for me to spend my time...

so i'm ashamed to say i end up legging it downstairs to the supermarket (yes, i have one in the ground floor of my apartment building) and buying a microwave meal instead... and eventually chucking the healthy stuff i'd bought full of good intentions in the bin - I'm aware that this is just wrong in many ways, and regularly beat myself up about it.

so does anybody have any good tips for dead quick and healthy/not-fattening meals or snacks that I can cook myself of an evening?

i'll eat anything, really, but i'm not too keen on salad (hurts my teeth)
don't mind a nice bit of veg, as long as it doesn't take too much preparation or anything

Willpower lass. Willpower.
Good intentions aren't enough.

I use my wok a lot... you can just throw whatever veggies you have in there and it only takes about 15 minutes to prepare a whole meal, including chopping...not very exciting, but healthy.

thanks for your support, as ever

get a griddle (UK style one, with ridges), bash a chicken breast flat and thin with a mallet and cook it on that. have with couscous and salad.

total time 10 mins

Good old italian standby simple dish - pork chops with vinegar peppers.

The fenook Vito from the Sopranos cooked this up for his boyfriend in one episode. It's really easy, and tastes good - my version is just a little better.

Pork chops (or pork minutensteaks, they're fine) seasoned with salt n pepper
Garlic, mashed up
Pickled peppers - any type really, something fleshy is better, but its not that important.
Capers
Green olives

Could not be easier - heat up a pan, add a splash of oil, and chuck in your meat. After 2 minutes or so, chuck in half the garlic, and turn the meat. 2 minutes later, chuck in the rest of the garlic, a handful of peppers, a few capers, a couple of green olives, and a goooood good glug of the pickling liquid the peppers were in - it ain't pure vinegar, more briny really.

Cook for a couple of minutes, then remove the steaks to a plate, reduce the sauce a bit, and pour over the meat. Eat with loads of bread, and a nice bit of insalat'

Another good one person dish, is to get a load of peppers, fresh tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines, garlic, thyme and olive oil - chop up the veg into big lumps, and mix all together in a roasting tray with a goood sprinkling of sea salt. Roast for about 1 hour, then whack a cod fillet on top, and roast for another 20 minutes. Dead easy, little thought or prep required, and always works.

Have a packet of cigarettes - should adequately kill your appetite.

well you will have to clean out your kitchen as well so that you can get in there to cook.

Ach she has about 3 just to be sure...

thanks grenouille, lassie and don_riina
all sounds good (except that salad bit)

any more bright ideas?

one thing I do is a tin of tomatoes, some frozen seafood from a packet and some of them chilli doodahs - but I'm getting a bit sick of having that every other day, tbh...

Stop only going to Tenglemann - get on that bike and cycle down to Plus on Landshuter Allee.
Viva Vital range has stuff like these microwaveable frozen steamed veg packs for only 99c.

No chopping, no nasty sauce, just veg - 4mins in the microwave.
I also really like their frozen fish filets - just slabs of tuna or panagius, no batter, no sauce, quick to cook, easy to change the taste to suit. The frozen chicken breasts also cook from frozen. Plus also stocks Frosta Fruits de mer - not frozen in a block, you can take out as much as you need and keep the rest frozen until you need it. Their portioned wee Vollkornbrot also keeps for ages. And that's a portion of exercise getting there as well.
At Penny, the frozen king prawns are cheap at well under 5€ for 250g - defrost under the tap and either stir-fy or curry or grill.
At Kaufhof, the Bonduelle salad-in-a-bag are more than acceptable and marinated fish or meat are available (ooo steak salad). Actually, marinating your own and freezing can be tons cheaper but you are time-poor not cash-poor.
From Aldi (isn't Hopfenpost your nearest?), as much as I hate to admit it, the soja nuggets and burgers actually are really tasty and keep for ages, plus you can eat them cold.
By keeping some frozen stuff on hand and just topping up with fresh plus just trying to get a bit of veg into every meal (cut up a tomato with that ham roll at breakfast, have the side salad at lunch, making a curry? Stick in some frozen spinach) you can improve your diet a lot without a lot of hassle. And you'd have to take the bin out less often by not chucking out fresh stuff that you've forgetten about.
Avoid Edeka - I miss Spar *sigh*
This has been a local posting for local people - sorry.

EDIT: don's fish on roast veg is another one that I do as well

thanks, Katrina
you're right, actually, Tengelmann is pretty rubbish
it's just downstairs, though...

that viva vital stuff sounds good, though

poor/lazy man's tuna casserole:

1 tin of tuna + packet of noodles and sauce (like the "KNORR Spaghetteria Ai Funghi") + tabasco

ready in 10 min.
(note: i'm *not* saying that this dish tastes or looks very good; but it is quick, easy, cheap, and fills you up.)

Those microwave steamed veg things do come in at 300g - quite a big portion for one person, but you can always use any leftovers in a frittata (ok, omlette). Tins of refried beans and frozen buckwheat tortillas (bought fresh from Mercado de Mexico) is another desperation dinner, some plum tomatoes (for some bizzare reason Plus does a lot of Spanish stuff and always has good fresh plum toms for silly cheapness, their bottled Pepperdew peppers are also fab) and onion up the veg content.
For Me magazine's Easy Eats section has some good ideas.
I'm just trying to think about stuff I buy myself for weeks when I don't know how much I'll be eating at home - my main problem is that I forget what I've got in the fridge.

Are we reading the same thread?!?


Pff, madonn'..

I mean, I'm an instant food fan really, I should own shares in Ginsters, but nukeable frozen steamed veg??!?
Where's the meat, WHERE'S THE MEAT

i can't live without getting a nice juicy piece of meat inside me on a daily basis, either, don...
but it's nice to have a bit of veg as an accompaniment, innit
and all the better if it doesn't need any chopping

That's where the Mohel comes in.

Meat or fish are the main, this is just Beilage - can you really imagine me without meat, darlin'? It'd be not good at all. By having nuked veg it means that you can spend your time and care on the interesting bit

EDIT

hahahahhahahahhahahahahahahhaha

jewish boys' foreskins?
no thanks, I'm not keen on pork scratchings
*shudder*

Try some of these.

One Word: Bofrost.. They even Deliver to your door.

Get a juicer.

Then you can make some "juice the meat " gags.

juicing the meat... mincing... gagging...

where is your mind Don Riina?!

dunno, but i reckon he'd fit right in on an NNO

there is also a biomarkt around the corner where you can buy fresh organic vegetables etc...

Cheese on toast...

Ah a cooking thread after my own heart. Topsy I travel a lot so I have to have the a few of these "go to" meals. One standby is lazy ass fried rice. I should trademark that name but anyhoo what you need is:

1 Egg
1 Uncle Bens Microwaveable Rice Packets (Available in most Munich Supermarkets)
1 handful Frozen Pre-Cooked Shrimp
1-2 handfuls Frozen Peas or Mixed Vegetables (no sauce)
Garlic
Green Onions (if you have them)
Soy Sauce
Oil, preferrably Sesame
Spices to taste: I like red and black pepper

-Cook the rice in the microwave, let cool in the packet. No need to get another bowl dirty eh. (Note fried rice works best with leftover rice, so if you have it from takeout that works too).
-Defrost the vegetables also in the microwave. Take care not to actually cook them, especially the peas.
Saute the shrimp in the green onions and garlic, set aside.
-In a bowl, mix the egg with soy sauce and a drop or two of sesame oil plus your spices. I just eyeball the soy sauce til its a nice light brown colour. Don't overdo it, you can always add more later.
-Add a bit more sesame oil to the pan, add the cooked rice, the vegetables and the shrimp. Add the egg mixture. Stir it around good so it distributes evenly. Make sure to keep stirring so the rice doesnt burn or stick to the bottom of the pan.
-When the egg is cooked through and everything is warm finish it off with another swirl of sesame oil.

It takes a bit of trys to get it to your liking but the great thing about fried rice is that its easy and you can add whatever you like, especially if you have left over bits of what was it you like so much, juicy meat. It also keeps and carries to work decently if your into that sort of thing.

Sorry, the old grey matter has gone all weird and funny of late, because I stopped smoking dope. The irony is delicious.

Heh withdrawl can be a buzz in itself

i will bring you a book tonight. "you are what you eat"
it is not the best book, but it gives a good understanding on what different foods stand for and what you should try to include in your diet.

btw, sushi is very healthy
try to eat fish
white meats
no pasta or white bread
no butter
if oil, then olive or sesame oil
grilled meats and veggie
little sauces

if you still want to eat out, just make a habit of taking the healty options (grilled food, fish...) they are usual the more expensive ones, but are better for you.

Jeeeeeeeeesus. What a load of absolute shite. Sorry, but it is. How come Italians are not extinct?

don_riina: are you an expert or what? you don't sound like it.

the italian food i know has a healthy balance of salads, fresh veggies, meat and fish. pasta is part of their meal whereas we tend to cook a big bowle pasta with a bit of sauce. that is not a good diet.

Bananas on toast

Isn't beer included in one of the nutritional food groups in Bayern?

If so, here is a very quick and easy recipe Topsy.

Go to fridge. Remove bottle of cold Augustiner. Open. Sit down and drink. Repeat as required. And the good thing is you buy several crates and the unopened bottles stay fresh for ages so nothing goes to waste.

yeah dont forget to pop a multivitamin, you know for the calcium.

For those moaning about Italian food being unhealthy please see the latest survey into health and old age in The Sunday Times:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2252638,00.html


So stick that in yer pipe and smoke it.

Personally I think the selection of healthy options in the usual German supermarkets is a total frigging disgrace. If you wanna hike around town and do all the ingredients from scratch then yeah, maybe it works.

I used to eat Sushi about once a week back home. I can get it in Augsburg (20 mins from me) but not in the sticks out here. Managing to track down fresh fish sometimes but its hard work!!

Fish sticks. Throw them on a baking tray and into the oven, flipping once. Done in around 15 minutes. Go to the dentist I just PM'ed you (again) about and get your teeth sorted. Then pick up a pack of salad mix from Tengelmann and slap a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar on it. Dinner is done.

never realised "sod" was a swear word
soz!

Have you never read Delia's "One is fun"?

Guranteed totally free of Norwich City references

I often make a giant pot of soup/chili/dal & rice at the beginning of the week and eat my through it for a couple of days. Or else freeze individual portions, that I can later microwave.

You can also roast eggplant and red pepper slices and keep in the fridge, toss with olive oil, vinegar and salt then use in a sandwich. (Or buy them -- italian places and good supermarkets all seem to carry these.) You can add tuna or mozzarella cheese or ham to it for protein.

As for non-salad fast vegetables, green beans take five minutes to blanch if you use the thin ones, also very nice tossed with olive oil, vinegar and salt. Tomatoes are really healthy and are great with just some good balsamic vinegar and olive oil. You can grate some cucumber into yogurt with some salt and pepper for raita. Very nice on a hot day with some rice.

I keep cans of good quality tuna in olive oil on hand. That with some crushed garlic and lemon juice is great in a sandwich. Works with any good quality tinned fish, I am particularly fond of octopus.

I buy frozen potstickers or dumplings at chinese places, then either steam them for a quick meal, or dump them into broth with some green onions and other asian greens for a nice wonton soup sort of thing.

Oh, I also keep lots of asian rice noodles on hand. They cook quickly in broth spiked with a little soy, then I add slices of some leftover pan-fried protein (make a double batch of don-riina's recipe, for example), some quick cooking sliced vegetables like choi sum and green onions.

omelettes, quesadillas and stir fries are a good way to get extra vegetables into one's system. You can get sauces for stir fry at asian markets, makes prep time almost instant and with a lot of flavor. In fact, you can buy jars of garlic and ginger paste at indian groceries to keep in the fridge, thereby saving even another step.

If you are a curry fan you can buy boxes of pre-mix spices at Indian markets (Try Shan brand, for example.) With the jarred garlic/gineger paste and some form of meat, you can have a nice meal in about 20 minutes, which is as long as it takes to make the rice. They also have instant dal/sambar packets, which are surprisingly good.

My biggest problem is that I won't eat leftovers so anything I cook has to be eaten on the spot or tossed. It tends to be a terrible waste.

I hate eating the same thing twice in a row, but I've gotten really good at using old things in new dishes. E.g., fritattas, sandwiches, soups, quesadillas, stuffed pastas (using wonton wrappers!) are all great ways to make a new meal out of an old one.

For some reason I can eat the same soup several days in a row, but I really love soup plus I think it improves after a day in the fridge. And you can make a different sandwich each day on the side.

God, I feel so suzy homemaker right now...

ER, "can't" or simple don't want to?

Both I guess, it totally grosses me out. My roomate worked as a cook and told me about all the bacteria and mold that grows on food overnight in the fridge. Scared me away.

Every weekend I am eating leftovers for breakfast. Sometimes not even put in the fridge, I must be a walking germ by now

What would a cook know about bacteria and mold? Seriously, if s/he had been a microbiologist, I'd take it a bit more earnestly, but a cook doesn't have any more specialist knowledge than the rest of us. And if you think that restaurants, hotels etc simply throw out leftovers, you'd be mistaken. I'm not talking leftovers from anyone's plate or such silliness, but leftovers that have gone untouched and unserved in the kitchen.

Wee Mun I guess it's amazing what you find for breakfast in that beard of yours

Cheeky barsteward!

Regardless, I have a touchy stomach and get food poisoning often so I rather not chance it.

I have an iron constitution, and will happily sit and eat a cold curry with staleish nan, getting hungry just thinking about it!