Easy bulk meals?

[Teasel]

Am struggling quite a bit with this recently. Cooking feels like far too much effort. I can just about face making sandwiches or heating something up in the microwave. But can't live on sandwiches as it puts my blood sugar up too much.

Looking for suggestions on meals that can be extremely easily made and do multiple meals, so, can be stored in fridge for eg.

Or any very simple meals.

I can't do dairy and need to eat low carb, low fat just to make things awkward.

Any help much appreciated. I know there was a thread on this but I can't find it.

 

[Rainman8772]

Fajitas- Bag of frozen peppers/onions chicken or beef and fajita seasoning

Spaghetti using a high protein pasta.

Slow cooker beef chuck roast with onions/carrots/potatoes/mushrooms

Chicken or beef chili in a slow cooker.

That’s a few. I cook about every meal where I have some left to refrigerate or freeze. The spaghetti sauce and chili freeze wonderfully. The fajitas take literally 15 minutes 5 of which is cutting the meat.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

I tend to always cook more each meal, too, making it easy to grab and growl through the rest of the week, or freeze what we don't get to for another week or so.

Some of my favorites are:

Beans:
Chickpeas - can be made into hummus, added to salads, tossed into soups, made into desserts, like chickpea blondies.

Black beans - can be made into burgers, added to taco salads, bean salad with a southwestern flair, add some cauliflower "rice" to a southwestern style stir fry, made into brownies that are amazingly delicious.

Take the two beans above, add some red kidney beans and any other bean you dig and make a veggie chili.

Quinoa - for savory dishes, I like to toast it before I boil it, as that adds another level of flavor - but non-toasted also makes a good breakfast option with some fruit, a drizzle of maple syrup or date syrup, cinnamon, apples, etc. - similar to an oatmeal option

Walnut taco "meat" - I like to make a big bowl of it to add to marinara sauce for spaghetti (spaghetti squash is a favorite instead of pasta), add to tacos with romaine lettuce "boats instead of taco shells, add to taco salads, or any other dish you'd typically put ground meat in

Huge garden salad - I make one of these almost every week, alternating ingredients based on what's in season and what's on sale, etc. - it's so easy to add roasted tofu, or beans, or falafel, or sauerkraut, or chickpea nuggets, or quinoa, or roasted root veggies, or all the above for "buddha bowls" topped with your favorite dressings - a fun addition that packs some nutrients is sprouts and micro greens that you can grow yourself within a weeks time - so much fun and pretty damn tasty

I also keep the buckwheat/sweet potato noodles/mung bean noodles/rice noodles on hand to make fresh and add to various stir frys, sauces, and soups for quick and easy options.

That's all my brain can come up with right now. Hope that helps.

 

[Teasel]

Been quite hard of thinking. Have come up with this lit for ideas. Bought some mince beef, cubed beef and various veg this morning, was so stressed and tired, only got some of what I planned but it should keep me going.

Haven't got the energy to set up the slow cooker which I realise would be a good option but our kitchen is tiny and it would get in the way. Have pots where I can slow cook stuff in the oven or on the hob.

I'm sure I can figure out recipes that just call for stuff to be thrown in and cooked.

Breakfasts ~ Pre cook Bratwursts & Boiled eggs, breakfast sorted for 6 days. Will they be ok in the fridge for 6 days?
Have with tomatoes

Other Meals ~
Batch cook
Stews
Chilli
Soup

Have with
Microwave vegetables - wanted to buy some packs you can just put in microwave but got yoo stressed shopping and came home. Thinking maybe I could just cook a load of veg n put it in fridge / freezer
Tinned Ratatouille

Salads ~ Mixed beans, lentils or chickpeas,
Ready cooked Pouch of grains
With cucumber lettuce tomato n spring onion. Maybe tinned fish too.

Snacks Granola, Chia pudding, Fruit & Nuts

Thanks @Rainman8772 I've never had a fajita (am in uk) I looked up recipes and they seem a bit more than I can manage at the mo. But I do have sone chicken, peppers n onions. Could maybe chelyck em in oven n roast?

Thanks @Tornadic Thoughts I bought some tins of mixed beans and chickpeas. If you make up a salad how long does it keep in the fridge?

Am a bit miserable- seems to have taken me a while to recognise that I'm not functioning.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

I wish I could heart hug your miserable feels away. ❤

The salads easily last us a week, and beyond. I use greens, like romaine, kale, spinach, etc. so they don't wilt quickly. I also use a salad spinner to clean and dry them. Drying them really well before bagging them, or putting them in a bowl, helps to slow the wilting process, I've found. I also put a paper towel in the container I'm storing them in to absorb moisture.

Even after spinning them dry, I let them set underneath the ceiling fan for a while and toss them a few times so they get even more dry. Using a dish towel to pat them dry could help also, in the absence of the fan option.

I also never trust the store bought greens that say "fully washed and ready to use". I wash them again for my own peace of mind.

I also love the butter lettuce varieties and arugula, etc., but add those per serving rather than mixing them all together. Same goes with the sprouts and microgreens. I make a lot of smoothies, so I like to be able to reach in and grab the already washed greens rather than having to wash them each and every time. Arugula is too bitter for smoothies, so I keep it in its own container.

Any veggies that have a high water content, especially cucumbers and tomatoes (they'll wilt everything overnight and make it super mushy), and even bell peppers, onions (especially if they're super strong - so they don't overpower other flavors), and such are kept separate and just added in per serving.

Other things like carrots and celery can be mixed in without fear of them causing the greens to get mushy. I tend to keep them all separate and have a salad buffet, so to speak, so I can still use all the prepped ingredients for other things if I wish, like stir frys and soups.

I use the tinned chickpeas (drained and rinsed really well) to make veggie versions of:

-chick'n salad (made with all the typical ingredients except using chickpeas instead of poultry)
-tu-not salad (using all the typical ingredients except using a nori wrap instead of a can of tuna fish)
-eggless vegg salad (using all the typical ingredients except using a small amount of kala namak salt rather than eggs)

I also substitute vegan mayo instead of regular mayo. They last 4-5 days, easily, and make great salad toppers, romaine boats, lettuce wraps, sandwiches, etc. Slice a cucumber in half, scoop out the seeds, and make a cucumber boat. Or slice a cuke and make cuke sammiches. Stuff small sweet peppers, use as a cracker/veggie dip, etc.

A favorite bean salad we make is a mix of whatever beans we have on hand (drained and rinsed really well) with chopped red onion (or sweet), chopped bell peppers (if we have any), chopped celery, and a generous portion of white balsamic vinegar (or regular balsamic). Parsley and green onion make good additions, also. Some folks add green beans, too, but we don't. Stir really well and let it set for a while to absorb the flavors. Tastes even better the next day. Lasts a week, easily.

 

[Teasel]

Thank you @Tornadic Thoughts ?

I managed to make a salad yesterday that fee me for the day. Just finished the lady of it actually.

Used a Jamie Oliver pouch of grains, finding them really helpful at the mo as just open em n add salad to em and they taste good.

Used the Moroccan with chickpea pouch, added a tinned of mixed beans, chopped tomatoes, green beans, olive oil n lemon juice. Was good.

Am thinking I could cut up various salad things and keep em in separate containers easily enough. I've hot plenty plastic tubs so shall get some chopped n filled today. :)

Whenever I've made coleslaw I've stored it in the fridge without the mayo as it keeps less that way. See of I can do some.

Was thinking too I could cook some veg and store it in the fridge too. I've got onions, peppers, tomatoes, courgettes. Carrots, Runner Beans, cabbage, celeriac, swede, sweet potatoes. And melon raspberries n bananas.

Maybe could roast the onions peppers n courgettes easily enough. Could make mash out of the celeriac, sweet potatoes and spuds. Been adding olive oil to it instead of butter and it's surprisingly nice.

Thanks again :)

 

[Teasel]

I managed to cook something! Almost broke down part way through cause I realised I'd forgotten to put a timer on. Forgetting to put a timer on isn't something that would normally bother me at all but I did nearly lose it and give up.

Am a bit worried about my mental health.

Anyways, I carried on - and it wasn't made as well as ot could but it tasted amazing and there's another meal or two left for tomorrow.

Courgette, yoghurt and runner bean salad recipe | Angela Hartnett I didn't have any mint but no matter and I didn't use yogurt. I might another time just not got any vegan yogurt in at the mo.

Now to get myself to cook some brats for breakfasts.

 

[Friday]

My freezer usually has a 5-10kg bag of gyoza, a few dozen hum bao, a few hundred tamales &/or chicken taquitos, several bags fillled with soup cubes (cook soup when able, freeze in ice cube trays, pop out into ziplock bag), & curry cubes, & single servings of already cooked rice, cooked rice & beans, ... and a good many kilos of already cooked chicken (plain, for adding sauce to, like Piri Piri/teriyaki/fajita/whatever), puercos masitas & plantains, smoked salmon, cooked hamburger patties (marmite is the secret ingredient to those! I don’t use it when cooking fresh, but it makes frozen burgers badass, just add about a teaspoon per 500g of mince), & Salisbury steak.

Because there are just times I can’t boil water. Much less anything more complicated.

When my freezer is pulling an Old Mrs Hubbard? And I can’t think my way out of a wet paper sack? That’s what the Orgain Vegan Meal Replacement Shakes are for. They taste like 1980s slimfast... but I buy them by the dozen, and slam them.

 

[Changing4Best]

This is an old time Polish grandma's recipe. You will need a quarter of a head of cabbage, half an onion, hand full of egg noodles and a couple of sause pans. Also, salt and pepper and some butter and cottage cheese.

Shred one quarter head of cabbage. Cut up half an onion. Simmer these while you prepare the egg noodles as directed, probably two hands full dry. As the veggies simmer down, put some cottage cheese and butter on top to melt. Salt and pepper to taste.

This is supposed to be good for one person, however it was too much for me. I guess we have to adjust it to family size and how hungry everyone is.

 

[Teasel]

Ordered some vegan slimfasts :)

 

[Teasel]

Also, just remember I bought a packet of vegan protein powder I've never done anything with. Could see if I can find any easy recipes.

 

[LuckiLee]

With just the 2 of us I try not to cook too often because it goes to waste. When I do cook I make enough for leftover meals and enough to freeze.

I make bigger batches of chili, spaghetti sauce, taco meat, soup... and freeze them.

My favorite thing to have on hand is taco meat. It's great for so many different meals. Tacos, quesadillas, nachos, taco salad, enchiladas. All quick, easy and so yummy.

I like to bake whole chickens. Eat a couple of meals, maybe make chicken salad for sandwiches then freeze the extra meat for soup or quesadillas.