Does anyone have any ideas for easy dinners for someone who doesn't like to cook. I've never liked to cook and I don't think I ever will. I've been eating sandwiches, cereals, but I'm getting sick of eating the same thing over and over, so I'm looking for new dinner ideas. If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them. Thanks!
Dinner salads can be nice. I have a love/hate relationship with salads but you can really dress them up and get creative. One of my favorites is grilled chicken with montreal steak seasoning or lemon pepper seasoning, feta, almonds, grapes, apples, cucumbers, red onions, and olives with a balsamic dressing. I also like an asian pork style salad - you can get any kind of glaze you want from teriyaki to curry to thai peanut sauce and grill or oven bake the pork cutlet then shred it over the salad. You can add some asian chow mein noodles, almonds or peanuts, chopped pineapple or mango, onions, and diced peppers. If you have peanut sauce left over you can go ahead and use that as a dressing too for the salad
I second the idea of getting a crock pot. You should also look into one pot and casserole recipes. There's one casserole I've made a few times that requires you to basically just brown some chicken and then put kalamata olives, sliced lemons, the chicken, a bunch of orzo and chicken stock in a pyrex and bake for a half hour. About 10 mins of prep and then the baking time. Easy
I'm a calorie counter and use the microwave alot. I usually eat 300 to 400 calorie meals focusing on a protein, dairy, veggie/fruit, and a grain. I'm vegetarian so I substitute with vegetarian/meatless protein options (cheese, vegetarian cheese, beans, meatless cutlets) but anyone who likes meat can use low-fat cheese, chicken breast, and beans. I often have to travel to nearby cities for a meeting so I pack easy meals so I keep my plan going (4 meals at about every 4 hours for about 1300 calories/daily). Here're a couple examples:
Veggie Nachos
1) Count out 11 Utz Baked Nacho Chips on mic safe plate
2) Cover with 1/4 cup shredded cheese (I like veggie shred; alternative cheese) and microwave for about a minute until cheese is melted
3) Cover with a cup of favorite salsa (I like Peach/Mango)
Potatoes, Veggie and Something Strong
1) Dice up a potatoe and mic for 5-8 minutes (depending on quantity) until softened
2) Dice up giant portobello mushroom, add to potatoe, salt/pepper to taste and mic for 2 minute intervals until mushroom has softened and moisture released
3) Add something strong: shredded cheese, diced vegetarian chicken, diced pre-cooked chicken breast, stir into mushroom/potatoe dish, add salt/pepper, spray a bit of oil, and microwave for about 2 minutes
Bread Pudding
1) In casserole dish, combine 2-3 teaspoons Truvia with either 1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon or cardamom powder with one large brown organic egg
2) To egg mixture, mix in one cup unsweetened almond milk until well incorporated
3) Stir in one diced sweetened bun (King's Hawaiian or Portuguese Sweet Buns) (try for 200 calories or less for entire bun) until bun is completely moistened by egg/milk mixture
4) Microwave for 5-7 minutes depending on preferences, microwave (I do 6:45 minutes until most moisture is removed)
5) Optional: sprinkle with a little more Truvia on top before eatting
Yogurt and Granola
1) Microwave frozen peaches, strawberries, blueberries (whatever I have in freezer) for about 3 minutes (stirring every minute)
2) After fruit is cooled, add a cup of low-fat plain yogurt
3) Sweetened with Truvia
4) Add Kasha Granola options (I like a Crunch and Original mixed so each serving is less than 100 calories)
Peanutbutter and Jelly with Cut Veggies
1) On low-cal, high fiber hamburger bun, add 1 Tbsp organic peanutbutter (all peanut only) and 2 tsp low-sugar jelly
2) Clean and slice up one carrot, bell pepper, cucumber
3) Drink one cup milk (I prefer unsweetened almond milk with a little truvia)
Hotdog and Veggies
1) Microwave low-cal hotdog (I use tofu dogs) for about 30-60 seconds
2) Use low-cal, high fiber 80 calorie bun
3) If desired, sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese and mic for 30-60 seconds
4) Clean and slice up one carrot, bell pepper, cucumber
5) Use mustard and ketchup sparingly
Make large quantities and then freeze individual portions. If you have three or four different types of meals in your freezer at once, you shouldn't get too bored. Right now I have Thai curry, mango Indian curry, minestrone soup, and stuffed peppers (basically corn and beans for the filling).
I know the sodium in frozen dinners (Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Smart Ones, etc) scare some people off, but I love them. Take any of these meals and bulk up with steamed veggies!
For example, I love Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli. 260 calories! but I love big dinners! So I take about 3-6 ounces of either asparagus or sugar snap peas, throw in the microwave for a minute of two, then add to a frozen dinner. Try adding broccoli to the marinara or alfredo ones, carrots, asparagus or sugar snap peas to the asian ones, the possibilities are endless.
I make a lot of easy meals to supplement the more time-intensive meals that I freeze into portions on weekends. I cook big batches of tomato sauce, jar them, and freeze to have on hand. I do the same with zucchini turkey meatballs, curries, spicy beans, casseroles, burritos, portions of soup for daily lunch, and all kinds of things that I'd want to eat. I often make instant brown rice to mix with some of the aforementioned meals.
-Make a little chicken when you can - grill, bake, crockpot, whatever. It helps to have it cooked when you're going for quick
-Salads are always easy, and can vary
-Soups with some veggies, broth, maybe pasta, maybe rice, maybe chicken (that you would have already made).
Asian noodle bowls are another variation. I use tofu noodles, but you can use rice noodles or anything around, some sriracha, hoisin, etc, and mix with your veggies and sauce.
-Flatbread pizzas. Take flatbread (I use flatout), bake, cover with toppings of choice, bake. I've made BBQ chicken, Thai chicken, regular pizza varieties, buffalo chicken.
-Tuna cakes - like crab cakes, but with canned tuna
-Roast your veggies. It's simple and tastes delicious with little to no prep
-Quesadillas are easy and delicious - I use Trader Joe's low carb
-Sandwiches and wraps
-I use barley as a "pasta" and mix with veggies and tomato sauce, maybe a little parm.
Many of the other mentioned meals I do too - loaded microwave "baked" potato, stir fry over quick cooking brown rice. Trader Joe's has a nice frozen stir fry mix in which the veggies taste much better than some of the others.
Easy dinners for someone who don't like to cook?
