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Quick but wholesome meals?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I'm feeling really run down and i haven't been eating that well of resent, so apart from making meals in advanced and putting them in the freezer (because i don't have time for doing that atm), what can be making that requires minimal effort and time...i.e 15 min food or less...baked potatoes seems to be the staple...

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    if youre eating so badly its actually making you ill, then i suggest MAKING time to cook properly.

    Things like baked beans on toast, or jacket potato with tuna and sweetcorn etc are pretty well balanced meals. I would make sure you snack on nuts, fruit and vegetables too.

    I would also suggest a multivitamin and mineral supplement.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Pasta
    Couscous
    Stir fry
    Stuff on toast (beans, egg etc)
    Salad - a mixed bag plus lots of veggies (raw or cooked), meat if you like, any leftover rice, pasta, eggs, can of beans and some dressing

    I think 15 mins is a bit short to cook a proper meal in - 30 is a better timescale. Why don't you cook 2 portions every 2 days and then have one in the fridge for the next day. It's easier to cook for 2 than it is for one anyway. Chilli and rice, soup/stew and curry all keep well for the next day

    Or try some of these:
    http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3589/quickestever-pizza
    http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2781/orient-express-omelette-
    http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2059/creamy-polenta-with-spinach

    I think the last one would work better with ready made polenta and be much easierf
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    if youre eating so badly its actually making you ill, then i suggest MAKING time to cook properly.

    :yes:

    To be honest having just read your post in the weekend thread I find it hard to believe you haven't got an hour spare this weekend to knock up a couple of meals for the freezer
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What she said.

    However i would also suggest that you make double the ammount when you do get the time to cook and then freezing half. Or quite often i make a giant vat of soup on a sunday night and then eat it as my lunch throughout the week - it takes about 20 mins to make carrot and corriander soup and then just a few mins to heat it up again each tday and its nice and warming in the winter and you can have it with a nice lump of brown bread and some fruit.

    There are also ways you can make normally bad food better by using things like wholemeal pasta or brown rice or bulgar wheat instead of cous cous.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    kangoo wrote: »
    :yes:

    To be honest having just read your post in the weekend thread I find it hard to believe you haven't got an hour spare this weekend to knock up a couple of meals for the freezer

    Agreed.

    TT - you're posts are inconsistent. You should definitely have time to cook up some stuff this weekend, going on what you are writing. Just make huge portions and freeze them.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ok fine i'll be honest...

    I'm getting really fucking depressed, i am spending most of my time in my room crying cos i feel so isolated and i people just don't want to spend time around me. I haven't got the motivation to cook properly, and moveover the motivation to go the the supermarket and buy food because i keep having panic attacks there. I am taking a good multi vit but it's not keeping the dark circles and spots at bay...

    I'm trying i'm really trying...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ok fine i'll be honest...

    I'm getting really fucking depressed, i am spending most of my time in my room crying cos i feel so isolated and i people just don't want to spend time around me. I haven't got the motivation to cook properly, and moveover the motivation to go the the supermarket and buy food because i keep having panic attacks there. I am taking a good multi vit but it's not keeping the dark circles and spots at bay...

    I'm trying i'm really trying...

    I know its hard but you need to start helping yourself, but not eating properly you're only going to make yourself feel worse. By cooking two portions at a time you only need to cook every two days so that takes some of the pressure off

    Supermarket shopping is a nightmare, even the best of us get a little stressed out when it's busy. Why don't you do your shopping online, there's normally discount codes for free delivery knocking around and you can get delivery slops quite cheap if you don't mind them coming at 12 o clock at night. Do a big shop once a week and then you can relax for the rest of the week and not worry about having to go shopping

    If you really are struggling then buy some microwave meals, there are some really healthy ones around although you do end up paying £3-£4 for them. Have a few in the freezer for emergancies where you don't have time to cook

    And finally - the key to eating properly if you're short of time/money/motivation is PLAN PLAN PLAN! Faced with a fridge full of ingredients and no idea what to do with them is completely uninspiring, and you'll end up with waste. Plan your meals for the week and then stick to it. E.g. order on a Sunday night and plan right up until next Sunday. You'll know what you're cooking and how long it will take and you won't spend 10 of your 15 minute timeslot deciding what the hell you're going to make

    I'm still a bit confused because in your first post you said that you haven't got the time to cook, but then you said that it's because you haven't got the motivation? These are two different problems and need tackling in completely different ways
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Find some way of getting the ingredients, be it online shopping, or the local co op (far less grief than big supermarkets) and make yourself a big pot of bolognaise, choc full of veg.

    You'll need:
    Mince
    Onion
    Oil
    Mushrooms
    Courgette
    Aubergine
    Carrots
    Peppers
    Tinned chopped tomatoes
    Random herb/seasoning

    I'll assume you know how to make bolognaise, if you need more detail shout.

    Chop all the veg up, the carrot needs to be pretty thin, or cooked in advance of adding to the rest.

    Dice and fry the onion in a tiny bit of oil, add the mince and fry until brown, then add pretty much everything else, tins of chopped tomates and all the veg bar mushrooms and peppers (add those later otherwise they go really mushy, unless that's how you like them).

    Bring it up to the boil and turn down to leave simmering with a lid on for about 45 mins, stirring occasionally.

    If you've got the thick kind of chopped tomatoes you'll need to add some extra liquid, but you can judge that.

    Then you have lots of lovely portions of:

    Bolognaise: Add pasta
    Meat sauce for Jacket potatoes
    Cottage pie (add mash, you don't have to make it into a pie, looks the same on a plate)

    You can even be really clever, and split into two pans at the adding veg stage and add chilli and kidney beans to one, which then gives you:
    Chilli (add rice)
    Buritoes (wraps)
    Jacket and Chilli filling

    By making sure you make it choc full of veg it's a really good balanced quick and easy meal to defrost/warm up the portions to go with whatever you add them too. And because of the range of stuff you can do with it, add cheese, not add cheese etc you don't end up eating the same thing 3 days running because you made big portions.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ok fine i'll be honest...

    I'm getting really fucking depressed, i am spending most of my time in my room crying cos i feel so isolated and i people just don't want to spend time around me. I haven't got the motivation to cook properly, and moveover the motivation to go the the supermarket and buy food because i keep having panic attacks there. I am taking a good multi vit but it's not keeping the dark circles and spots at bay...

    I'm trying i'm really trying...

    Hey Luby I think this is really common for first-years to feel isolated at university especially after the freshers weeks when everyone is being ultra friendly. I got it both my first and second years actually! You're right in that you need to keep eating healthily and another thing would be to try and keep engaged / busy with university stuff. Giving yourself something to do gives you opportunities to meet new people but mainly it saves you sitting and feeling miserable - something which I spent weeks doing in my first year.

    My quick and simple recipe which is relatively healthy is as follows:
    - Cook lots of pasta
    - Open tin of tuna
    - Mix tuna and a very generous amount of balsamic vinegar
    - Add salad cream / mayonaise
    - Add to pasta
    - Stir

    It's stupidly cheap, really filling, and has your protein / carbs in there for keeping your energy up. Critics would argue it doesn't have veg in but personally I don't think I ate any veg my first year cooking alone except for the stuff on pizzas.

    What is really good for me this year is living in a house we cook our evening meals together and actually sit round a table and talk and it's a godsend - I know some people in their first year used to either cook a sunday dinner together or go get a sunday dinner together on campus where it's pretty cheap - good excuse to get some food in you and mix at the same time.

    As for Scary Monsters bolognese recipe -

    Mince
    Onion
    Oil
    Mushrooms
    Garlic
    Courgette
    Aubergine
    Carrots

    Peppers
    Tinned chopped tomatoes + tomato puree
    Random herb/seasoning


    My amendments :p (green: additions, red: leave out)

    Kangoo - I think the problem is tt is feeling really depressed and I can sympathise completely when you end up not having the motivation to cook, but at least for me it was easier to say I didn't have the time because people then think its an easy fix of 'shake yourself out of it' and it can end up making you feel worse...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i put a handful of frozen peas in loads of dishes for extra veg, or tinned sweetcorn is great in tuna dishes
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    Hey Luby I think this is really common for first-years to feel isolated at university especially after the freshers weeks when everyone is being ultra friendly. I got it both my first and second years actually! You're right in that you need to keep eating healthily and another thing would be to try and keep engaged / busy with university stuff. Giving yourself something to do gives you opportunities to meet new people but mainly it saves you sitting and feeling miserable - something which I spent weeks doing in my first year.

    My quick and simple recipe which is relatively healthy is as follows:
    - Cook lots of pasta
    - Open tin of tuna
    - Mix tuna and a very generous amount of balsamic vinegar
    - Add salad cream / mayonaise
    - Add to pasta
    - Stir

    It's stupidly cheap, really filling, and has your protein / carbs in there for keeping your energy up. Critics would argue it doesn't have veg in but personally I don't think I ate any veg my first year cooking alone except for the stuff on pizzas.

    What is really good for me this year is living in a house we cook our evening meals together and actually sit round a table and talk and it's a godsend - I know some people in their first year used to either cook a sunday dinner together or go get a sunday dinner together on campus where it's pretty cheap - good excuse to get some food in you and mix at the same time.

    As for Scary Monsters bolognese recipe -

    Mince
    Onion
    Oil
    Mushrooms
    Garlic
    Courgette
    Aubergine
    Carrots

    Peppers
    Tinned chopped tomatoes + tomato puree
    Random herb/seasoning


    My amendments :p (green: additions, red: leave out)

    Kangoo - I think the problem is tt is feeling really depressed and I can sympathise completely when you end up not having the motivation to cook, but at least for me it was easier to say I didn't have the time because people then think its an easy fix of 'shake yourself out of it' and it can end up making you feel worse...

    No no no you gotta have Courgettes and Aubergine in. Yum :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I love the Kashi frozen entrees. They are quick, have good proportions, and are healthy (whole grains, veggies, lean meat). Just make sure you read the ingredients so that you don't get the ones that have sugar in 'em.
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