Meal Ideas that Require Minimal Cooking

by Gaby Olguin-Flores, RD

Email this article to yourself and save for later, you'll be happy you did!

And no, this article is not endorsing or referring to “girl dinner”- the popular social media trend where under a comedic guise, femme people eat very small amounts of food or sometimes no food at all when they are not feeling up to cooking. I do not endorse restricting intake when there is limited energy or capacity to get food together. I completely understand why it happens. Instead, I endorse getting majority if not all our energy needs meet any way we can. If you are the main cook in your family and are experiencing issues with executive functioning, there are many strategies to this dilemma that will not be discussed in this post. We encourage to work with a dietitian and therapist on how to build a support network when issues like this arise.

There are hundreds of reasons why someone may not want to cook. Here are some of my own personal, shameless reasons:

1. I just don’t want to cook.

2. The pan I need to cook is dirty and washing dishes are the bane of my existence.

3. I’m overstimulated and standing for long periods of time in a warm kitchen does not sound helpful or fun.

4. I am hungry, verging on hangry, and do not want to wait 30+ minutes for a meal to come together

5. It’s been a long day and all I want to do is relax. Unfortunately, cooking may not sound relaxing today.

Whatever the reason may be, we are all still deserving of a satiating meal. Notice, I did not say satisfying. Of course we are deserving of satisfaction always, but sometimes we need to sacrifice a gourmet experience for the sake of our capacity and energy levels. There are some staple ingredients you may want to consider always having on hand that I’ll include later in the article as well. Here are some ideas to consider the next time you want to skip cooking.

Adult Charcuterie Plate Meal

This requires a 10 inch dinner plate and the following can be adjusted to your own needs and access.

- 2-3 carbohydrate options

- 1-2 fat options

- 1-2 protein

- 1-2 fiber/volume options

You load up the different food groups until you have a full plate. This option is nice because you only get 1 plate dirty (or keep paper plates on hand so you can skip washing altogether) and can use your hands or toothpicks to save utensils for a different meal. Example plate could look like: Handful of goldfish crackers, Ritz cracker rounds, grapes/ fruit cup, baby carrots, cubed cheese, jerky, edamame, nuts, trail mix, and some kind of dip like hummus, tzatziki, guacamole, or a nut butter.

Quesadillas

This one does require some of those staple ingredients on hand that I mentioned earlier. If my abuela ever read this article, she would probably shake her head in disapproval, but desperate times call for desperate measure, Abuelita.

You’ll need flour tortillas, whatever cheese you like in your quesadillas but if unsure I’d recommend Supremo brand Chihuahua cheese or a shredded Mexican blend, sour cream, and enchilada sauce.

For this minimum cooking meal, I’d suggest putting a flour tortilla on a plate, then adding as much cheese to cover it until you can’t see the bottom/until your heart’s content, adding another tortilla on top of the cheese and microwaving for 20-30 seconds. That may do the trick but you can flip it and microwave for an additional 20 seconds. Then repeat the process until you have enough quesadillas to get closer to satiation. The sour cream and enchilada sauce would be toppings encouraged to make it a more savory experience. Unfortunately, not all food groups are represented but this is a good entrée to consider. My Abuela would make quesadillas to go with the refried beans she spent so much time laboring over. In this case, I’d encourage to keep a can of refried beans so one could heat it up on the stovetop and tortilla chips + salsa for some crunch.

Breakfast for Dinner

On the Sweeter side: Big Bowl of Cereal with milk + yogurt + fruit + chocolate chips

On the Savory side: Bagel + microwaved egg + breakfast sausage or smoked salmon+ slice of cheese or cream cheese. If on hand, spinach could be a nice crunch to this otherwise softer sandwich.

A combo: Toast Eggo Waffles and use them to make a breakfast sandwich or pair them with any of the above ingredients to make it as sweet or savory of a meal as you want.

Frozen Entrees or Pizza

I encourage keeping 2 frozen pizzas on hand if you have the room for it in the freezer. If not, some brands now make a French bread style pizza that come in packs of 2 or 4. Frozen entrees can be those that typically come with different food groups like a grain, protein, and vegetable and other times it could look like chicken patties or chicken strips which could be a good foundation to a meal. I highly encourage a trip to the grocery store just to go down to frozen section to see if any entrees stand out, because there’s usually something new that could be worth trying. The latest I’ve noticed at our local grocery are more options for dumplings: soup dumplings, veggie, pork, and chicken varieties are available and can be paired with microwaveable rice.

Smoothie + sandwich

Unfortunately, a blender will have to be washed for this, but there can be something fun about blending hot water and soap and seeing all the bubbles created. Smoothies are a great way to hit majority of our food groups but because it is liquid, a smoothie alone is not very satiating and will not have staying power for very long. Enter the sandwich to provide some chewing action that can be adjusted to whatever food you have on hand and whatever energy you have to give to make it. Maybe it’s a PB&J, a grilled cheese, or random veggie sandwich with hummus. I generally recommend eye-balling smoothie ingredients to the consistency you want them while including the following components:

· at least 2 fruits (banana and some kind of berry, preferably frozen but no biggie if not)

· 2/3-1 cup of yogurt

· as much ice as you want if the fruit is not frozen

· either milk or a fruit juice (although pricey, a little bit of POM goes a long way) as the binding ingredient.

If you’re hoping to pack more food groups these are other additions to consider that do not offer much taste but can change the texture: adding oats, chia seeds, ¼ of an avocado (creates a smoother texture), spinach, and/or protein powder.

Mac and Cheese Hodge Podge

This will depend entirely on how well a person can let go of preconceived notions of what is “acceptable” to put in mac and cheese. Essentially, we are adding different veggies and protein sources to a pot of mac and cheese. However, if you do not have the want or energy to make boxed mac and cheese, there’s also frozen varieties such as Amy’s, Stouffer’s, and Kraft are a few companies that come to mind. For protein sources, this could be adding 1-2 packs of tuna, a can of chicken, or a cup of edamame. For vegetables, you could microwave any frozen variety you think sounds good to add to the mac and cheese. If you enjoy some spiciness, I’d suggest adding Rotel Tomatoes with Green Chiles by the spoonful to your spice preference or dried red pepper flakes.

This short list only reflects what we might see in American groceries- please comment other ideas you’ve seen or tried to expand the list! Even if none of these recipes sound good or accessible to you, I hope it gives inspiration to take time to consider what could be good and accessible for you going forward. Having a list of meals that are satiating and work for your capacity is necessary for self-maintenance.

Items to Consider Always Having in Stock:

· 90 second rice mixes

· Boxed pasta or rice mixes

· Instant oatmeal

· Cereal

· Butter

· Milk or milk alternative

· Eggs

· Yogurt

· Shredded cheese

· Canned beans and vegetables

· Frozen vegetables, fruit, waffles, pizza, skillet meals, veggie burgers

· Your favorite jarred sauces to add to rice, pasta, or proteins

· Shelf-stable protein sources like canned tuna or chicken, nut butters

· Breads (whatever your preference but I’d suggest 2-3 different kinds and they freeze well)

· Spices and dried herbs

· Oils- olive and canola are common for everyday cooking but consider peanut and sesame oils for stir-fries

· Paper plates and single use utensils as back up when dishes are piled high or you are unsure when the plates will get cleaned

· Pick up a new sauce or condiment the next time you go grocery shopping- you might get inspired!