EASY, healthy recipes to cook???

[TheReader]

With my oldest still in the hospital (see my other threads around here), we are only allowed to visit from 7:45 to 8:45 each night. We have to leave our house at 7:00 for this; DH gets home from work around 6:00. 

Neither DH nor I feels much like eating most days, but of course, our kid(s) at home still do. Half of the time it's us + our 19 yr old + our 14 yr old; the other half of the time, just us + the 14 yr old (the 19 yr old attends college locally, so lives on campus Mon-Thurs, is home Thurs night to Mon morning). 

All of my "fast/easy to make" meals are junk food type things --- spaghetti, tacos, mac & cheese with ground beef mixed in, pick up a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store.....and we did all those this past week. 

I need ideas. Easy. Fast. Healthy, so that whatever amount of it DH & I eat, it's good for us. Tasty, so the 14 yr old will eat it (he's not exceptionally picky, so doesn't need to be "kid friendly" in the sense of picky eater level, but....)

We do have friends we can ask to bring us meals......and I toy with the idea, but then I'd have to see/talk to people, so I'd rather just cook. Plus it gives much needed structure to the day. I just have zero brain power to think of anything. Last week I bought groceries, and forgot them in the car when we got home (the 14 yr old reminded me). I filled a water bottle for him....and never gave it to him. I tried 5 times to make one simple quilt block, and messed it up so badly all 5 times that it had to go in the trash.  Tried to pour the water for coffee into the bean grinder.  Made iced tea, put the sugar in the bottom of the pitcher.....never stirred it. So we have a pitcher of "unsweet" tea in the fridge with a half-dissolved clump of sugar in the bottom of it.  So, when I say it needs to be easy......it needs to be easy. 

I did since make 9 of the quilt blocks, correctly....but still. 

Suggestions???

[mmasc]

I’d be thinking crock pot in your situation. Everyone can eat when they are hungry, and it’s pretty hands-off except for a few minutes of prep. This is one of our favorites. 
https://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2014/06/best-crockpot-bbq-chicken.html

 

I serve this with shredded slaw mix, either on top of the meat in the bun, or as a side. 
 

You could also do a pot of veggie heavy soup if your people like that. In your situation, I wouldn’t think twice about going to a nice grocery store and buying pre-made items if finances allow. 
 

If your family likes salad, you could buy that mostly ready-to-eat. Throw on some protein (beans from a can, chick peas, tuna, etc). It could be quite filling and easy with the right toppings. (Nuts, Seeds, cheese-feta is yummy on salads). 
 

if you have the energy, you could make up some wraps ahead of time so they would be grab-n-go/easy. Flavored tortillas, shredded lettuce or spinach, turkey, cheese, cucumbers, shredded carrots. Another favorite is hard boiled eggs (sliced), baby spinach, Italian dressing, fresh Parmesan. 

Tuna salad is easy and keeps well in the fridge. Could be served with some crackers, carrot sticks, and fruit.

I think you should go as easy and healthy as possible, and not sweat it if you just don’t get anything done about dinner. People can always eat fruit, raw veggies, cheese, nuts, whatever, without it being a ‘meal’. (Assuming no allergies obviously)

[Pen]

Soup, stew, especially if you have an IP.  Stir fry.(you could use frozen vegetables to make prep much easier but still healthier than junk food).  Smoothies if you have a blender. Salads with cheese or chicken or canned salmon or tuna.

I don’t usually use recipes for these types of cooking.

I would put a pack of stew meat, or a part of a chicken into IP add water and vegetables - packs of frozen, or packs of baby carrots and minimum cutting of onion, celery etc-  some salt and maybe a mixed spice—and cook it. 

I think you can make home tacos be healthy— organic corn taco shell, fill with a meat, mixed greens (bought as mixed greens), shredded cheese (bought that way), and salsa on top.  Only meat needs to be cooked. Or heated if pre cooked and frozen.

stir fry a little harder but probably your 14yo could do it.  Start with oil,  meat if any — add the vegetables (consider frozen stir fry mix for ease, plus maybe broccoli or snow peas) - cook .  Frying pan is fine (don’t need wok), my son prefers avocado oil to sesame oil or olive oil will work if you keep temperatures below its smoke point.  Season as desired.  

 

I strongly agree with raw foods (fruit and vegetables) and cheese approach.  

Also a big roast or two could be made in oven purposely way too much for a single meal and then from left over part , slices could be eaten cold cutting down daily work for later meals. 

Could you use instant coffee at this time? I like Mt Hagen.  

 

Edited February 1, 2020 by Pen

[TheReader]

41 minutes ago, Pen said:

Soup, stew, especially if you have an IP.  Stir fry.(you could use frozen vegetables to make prep much easier but still healthier than junk food).  Smoothies if you have a blender. Salads with cheese or chicken or canned salmon or tuna.

I don’t usually use recipes for these types of cooking.

I would put a pack of stew meat, or a part of a chicken into IP add water and vegetables - packs of frozen, or packs of baby carrots and minimum cutting of onion, celery etc-  some salt and maybe a mixed spice—and cook it. 

I think you can make home tacos be healthy— organic corn taco shell, fill with a meat, mixed greens (bought as mixed greens), shredded cheese (bought that way), and salsa on top.  Only meat needs to be cooked. Or heated if pre cooked and frozen.

stir fry a little harder but probably your 14yo could do it.  Start with oil,  meat if any — add the vegetables (consider frozen stir fry mix for ease, plus maybe broccoli or snow peas) - cook .  Frying pan is fine (don’t need wok), my son prefers avocado oil to sesame oil or olive oil will work if you keep temperatures below its smoke point.  Season as desired.  

 

I strongly agree with raw foods (fruit and vegetables) and cheese approach.  

Also a big roast or two could be made in oven purposely way too much for a single meal and then from left over part , slices could be eaten cold cutting down daily work for later meals. 

Could you use instant coffee at this time? I like Mt Hagen.  

 

re; the bolded, Ha! Umm, no. But thank you; that really is a good suggestion. I am just a bit of a coffee snob. DH usually makes it, so that works. We did sleep last night, and hopefully that helps. 

We are thinking of doing a "bulk cook" this weekend between stuff so we can grab and go. 

 

[TheReader]

These are all good ideas, thank you! 

I'm not a recipe-user either normally, and usually just pull out whatever meat from the freezer, grab a veggie (whether fresh or frozen), play with seasonings, etc. I am just lacking the brain power just now.

Pre-made items from the grocery is a great idea; I think our budget can manage that. DH also suggested picking up an Olive Garden "catering" meal, which we've done before in other things. 

Salads are a good idea, and soups. I don't have an IP, but do have a crock pot and can make use of that. 

Thank you!

[ktgrok]

Bake up a bunch of baked potatoes for the week, and maybe some sweet potatoes if you like them. On day of eating bake some chicken breasts or thighs or whatever you like and throw a bag of steam in bag veggies in the microwave. Or if you want to be fancier partially steam them in the microwave, then throw them on the same pan as the chicken breasts and bake it all together for a roasted veggie flavor instead of plain veggies. Way taster. 

Same theory with pork chops. Or frozen fish fillets. 

Basically, some seasoned but plain meat, some veggies, and a baked potato or a sweet potato, or a can of baked beans. Done. 

Feel free to throw in bagged salad in place of veggies. Or an apple. 

[Laura Corin]

Pasta (wholegrain if possible) with a natural-ingredient jar of tomato and veg pasta sauce with a can of cannelini or similar beans mixed in.

[Chris in VA]

A super easy granola type bar I made yesterday from a Pinterest recipe--

1 c peanut butter

2.5 cups oatmeal (I used regular)

.5 c maple syrup

Stir it together and pack into an 8X8 pan. Freeze 30 mins to firm up for a soft bar or bake 30 mins at 350 degrees for a crunchy bar. 

I added .5 c almonds, chopped roughly, about .5 c dried cranberries, and idk, maybe .5 c chocolate chips to the batter. 

Delicious and not horrible for you. 

[KungFuPanda]

Think of those Pick-2/Pick-3 menus at restaurants. Any combination of soup-sandwich-salad works and you can prep them early in the day before your brain crashes. I teach most evenings, so I moved our main meal to lunchtime and we eat lighter stuff in the evening. 

The meals you listed aren’t so bad if you make sure they have plenty of vegetables. Maybe add smoothies to breakfast to help with the deficit. 

Don’t be afraid of planned leftovers.  1-2 soups will get you through the week. Get bagged salads and crack open a different one each night. (Or set up a salad bar and use it all week. Stir fry what’s left at the end of the week.) Sandwiches are elevated by grilling them. If you don’t have a panini press, put a heavy pan and a full kettle on top for weight. Reheat them in foil in the oven if you need to make them ahead. 

Do you have a Trader Joe’s? Their frozen Chinese food is decent and you can pair it with steamed veggies. If you have a rice cooker, steam the veggies over the rice. 

Costco’s frozen lasagna is decent. It takes forever to bake, so you may need your 14-year-old to do it while your out if you don’t have a programable oven. 

To me, healthy is lots of veggies. If you’re eating that, you can get away with some pasta or bread on the side. If you like roasted veggies, you can prep and oil them ahead of time and roast when ready.  Just pre-scrub the red-skinned potatoes and cut them just before baking. 

Maybe put the 14-year old in charge one night a week. He might surprise you. 

[Jaybee]

This might not be easy "enough," but if you use some frozen veggies from the grocery, that will simplify it a lot. Our whole family likes this:

Bake potatoes (in the microwave). Steam plenty of broccoli, carrots, onions, cauliflower, and mushrooms (if desired). Cut up the potatoes with skins on into either halves or smaller pieces and put them in a baking dish. Toss the veggies with a liberal amount of soy sauce and layer over the potatoes. Add any additional salt or pepper if needed. Sprinkle liberally with grated cheddar cheese, and put in the oven until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream if desired. So yummy.

 

[TheReader]

These are all really good ideas; thank you!! 

Yes, the 14 yr old can help. That's a good idea. He's been wanting to learn more/practice more. 

Some of this is stuff that my brain knew, but couldn't access right now, so....thank you. Roasted veggies is an especially great idea, b/c when I tend towards "fast/easy" I always just skip the veggies (not good). Roasted with potatoes & cheese on top, even better. YUM. I've a feeling we'll eat that for sure. 

And I had just thought to myself while out "oh, pulled pork; you can turn that into lots of things" so that's going in the crockpot tomorrow and will def. serve for Sun, Mon, probably Tues and Weds as well. Then we can do sandwiches one day, over rice w/veggies another, in tortillas with coleslaw another, in a baked potato another......very versatile meat to cook (moreso than a brisket, which was DH's idea). 

And yes to the baked chicken ideas, whoever said that; I do chicken w/BBQ sauce that way, but hadn't thought to do *other* things too and toss the veggies in at the same time. Like I said...my brain is just not firing on all cylinders right now. 

Thanks, you guys!

[Pen]

45 minutes ago, TheReader said:

These are all really good ideas; thank you!! 

Yes, the 14 yr old can help. That's a good idea. He's been wanting to learn more/practice more. 

 

My son liked / likes Great Courses cooking course, Gordon Ramsey,  this cookbook:

Good Housekeeping Step by Step Cookbook: More Than 1,000 Recipes * 1,800 Photographs * 500 Techniques https://www.amazon.com/dp/1588167607/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_5HoKxQe5gnjJQ

(All recipes he has made from the book turned out good.) 

If you are homeschooling and he does enough to be a half credit or more, it is “culinary arts” in schools in our area. 

 

Edited February 1, 2020 by Pen

[Farrar]

I don't think of rotisserie chickens as junk food... I mean, pull the skin off if you need to. We have it cut up into a giant salad pretty often. Or we serve it hot with steamed green beans and you can just buy the "steam in bag" beans for the microwave and top with a bit of salt and pepper and a smidge of olive oil or butter.

[TheReader]

1 hour ago, Farrar said:

I don't think of rotisserie chickens as junk food... I mean, pull the skin off if you need to. We have it cut up into a giant salad pretty often. Or we serve it hot with steamed green beans and you can just buy the "steam in bag" beans for the microwave and top with a bit of salt and pepper and a smidge of olive oil or butter.

oh, ha, me either actually. Just meant...I don't even know what I meant. We do homemade for tacos and sort of homemade for spaghetti, and those aren't horrible either, that way, but.....I guess I was more just talking about my personal tendency to go "here is a meat and a starch, enjoy" -- we need to for sure not be skipping the veggies. 

BUT, thanks to this thread, DH and I went grocery shopping this morning. Got the following:
-rotisserie chicken for today
-sushi tray for today
-football shaped cakes tray for today
-2 packs of vacuum packed pre-seasoned fajita meat (chicken), those will be 2+ meals each when we cook them
-2 large packs of boneless, skinless chicken brsts (cheaper than thighs), split into 4 meals worth of packs, for crockpot stuff
-2 packs of shelf-stable "steam & serve" potato combo things (roasted garlic, and a garlic rosemary)
-3 or 4 frozen veggie "steam & serve" combo things that sounded good
-regular potatoes for today to cut into homemade potato (baked) chips, per the kids' request; dinner tonight will be "loaded chips" with that, the chicken, shredded cheese, done
-regular potatoes for baking (and sweet potatoes) later this week

Also took inventory of the freezer and we have:
-1 family serving of homemade, previously frozen chili 
-2 family serving sizes of homemade, previously frozen brisket from when our deep freeze first died and we cooked Ev.Ery.Thing.
-assorted amounts of ground beef, pork roasts, chicken legs, Italian sausage, etc.; pulled out a pork butt to use for pulled pork tomorrow which will make lots of different things
-regular bags of frozen veggies that we can microwave and serve with rice, etc. fairly easily

Overall -- thanks to this thread, now I have a plan. I cannot say Thank You enough. 

[TheReader]

17 hours ago, Pen said:

 

My son liked / likes Great Courses cooking course, Gordon Ramsey,  this cookbook:

Good Housekeeping Step by Step Cookbook: More Than 1,000 Recipes * 1,800 Photographs * 500 Techniques https://www.amazon.com/dp/1588167607/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_5HoKxQe5gnjJQ

(All recipes he has made from the book turned out good.) 

If you are homeschooling and he does enough to be a half credit or more, it is “culinary arts” in schools in our area. 

 

Oh, this is good; we've used some of Jamie Oliver's stuff in the past, but I'll take a look at this too. He'll probably enjoy this. It will also be a good activity that I can have all the boys do once oldest is home. 

[Liz CA]

Don't know if this is too much work but this is what I do since I am gone Monday through Friday from 730am -730pm. 

I slice / shred a variety of vegetables on the weekend, put them raw in a large bowl and put it in the fridge. I precook rice (whatever quantity you need for several days in a row) and store cooked rice in another large bowl in fridge. When I get home I can throw veggies in a cast iron pot with some olive oil and simmer them, when they are done, add rice and tamari sauce or just a bowl of veggies with French bread. Or buy good quality links / sausages like Amy's or Adelle's and add those to the veggies. The ones we have are already cooked so they just get warmed up with the veggies. The actual cooking process is less than 20 minutes, prep time is more. I do the prep on weekends.

This gives me control over the quality of food I eat yet it's fast when I need it.

[Pen]

2 hours ago, TheReader said:

Oh, this is good; we've used some of Jamie Oliver's stuff in the past, but I'll take a look at this too. He'll probably enjoy this. It will also be a good activity that I can have all the boys do once oldest is home. 

 

There’s a YouTube vid of Jamie Oliver versus Gordon Ramsey making scrambled eggs he might like.  And I think guy chefs are inspiring for teen boys.  Gordon is also athletic which is another help. 

[TheReader]

2 hours ago, Liz CA said:

Don't know if this is too much work but this is what I do since I am gone Monday through Friday from 730am -730pm. 

I slice / shred a variety of vegetables on the weekend, put them raw in a large bowl and put it in the fridge. I precook rice (whatever quantity you need for several days in a row) and store cooked rice in another large bowl in fridge. When I get home I can throw veggies in a cast iron pot with some olive oil and simmer them, when they are done, add rice and tamari sauce or just a bowl of veggies with French bread. Or buy good quality links / sausages like Amy's or Adelle's and add those to the veggies. The ones we have are already cooked so they just get warmed up with the veggies. The actual cooking process is less than 20 minutes, prep time is more. I do the prep on weekends.

This gives me control over the quality of food I eat yet it's fast when I need it.

That.Is.Genius. 

It's late this weekend for doing that, and I bought frozen veggies, but I can do some rice up today/tomorrow to have. It stays good in the fridge for a few days?? DS14 in particular loves rice over potatoes, so that would be brilliant.  Thank you!

[TheReader]

1 hour ago, Pen said:

 

There’s a YouTube vid of Jamie Oliver versus Gordon Ramsey making scrambled eggs he might like.  And I think guy chefs are inspiring for teen boys.  Gordon is also athletic which is another help. 

Oh, fun! I'll look for that. 

Middle DS had a major fanboy thing for Jamie Oliver as a kid; when he was 8 yrs old, he saw some videos in the store and begged for them (we'd seen his show, believe it or not, on our flights to/from Brazil/US....)  We got them for his birthday that year and he was SOoooo excited to have "the Jamie Olivers" and proclaimed he'd been waiting "his whole life" for them, LOL! 

We love his style of cooking. I'll check out Gordon Ramsey, too, though; he's so good with kids on his kids cooking contest show. 

[mmasc]

3 hours ago, Liz CA said:

Don't know if this is too much work but this is what I do since I am gone Monday through Friday from 730am -730pm. 

I slice / shred a variety of vegetables on the weekend, put them raw in a large bowl and put it in the fridge. I precook rice (whatever quantity you need for several days in a row) and store cooked rice in another large bowl in fridge. When I get home I can throw veggies in a cast iron pot with some olive oil and simmer them, when they are done, add rice and tamari sauce or just a bowl of veggies with French bread. Or buy good quality links / sausages like Amy's or Adelle's and add those to the veggies. The ones we have are already cooked so they just get warmed up with the veggies. The actual cooking process is less than 20 minutes, prep time is more. I do the prep on weekends.

This gives me control over the quality of food I eat yet it's fast when I need it.

This sounds yummy. I’ve never used tamari but want to give this a try. Can you tell me what veggies you typically use for this?

[Liz CA]

1 hour ago, mmasc said:

This sounds yummy. I’ve never used tamari but want to give this a try. Can you tell me what veggies you typically use for this?

 

Seasonal veggies pretty much. Today, it was rutabaga, beets, carrots, celery, then I added onions and ginger root (to boost my immune system). I toss some kale or chard in with it for a little greens.

[KungFuPanda]

I found the world’s quickest meal. If you don’t count rice steaming time, it’s about 5-6 minutes. For dinner tonight I served trader joe’s Potstickers along with their Asian veggies. The veggies came with a (Beijing style) sauce packet. Both of those items fry up in about five minutes with clear, easy directions on the bag. There were about 6 different types of veggies in the bag so I was happy. Steaming the rice was the longest part.