Easy meals?

[s'nic]

Bringing this here rather than hijack the statins thread.
As the title suggests I need to check if there are easy meal options I may have missed. Sorry for the essay, but the impact of my health really is tied to this.

As a background I caught the original covid virus back in march 2020. I didn't go in hospital - the doc suggested it at one point, but I figured I didn't need it, and beds were scarce, and bodies piling up - I figured someone else needed it more than me.
So I never really got well. At my worst I could only get myself out of bed, get as far as a chair in my spare bedroom, and just rest there from the exhaustion. I improved a bit in the summer and assumed that improvement would continue, however in autumn/winter I realised the cold affects me badly. Over winter/xmas 2020 I was so rough I realised I needed to see a doctor.

What followed was waiting lists, various tests and x-rays, I was told I had residual damage to the lungs. After more waiting lists and tests was told my heart itself was ok, but I had an ectopic heartbeat (PVC) and was put on beta-blockers. Over the years it's been a case of one step forward, 2 steps back.
I've learnt that if I do just a small amount of stuff for 3-4 days in a row it's too much, I basically crash and burn. Last time I did it I walked in the house, sat down, and had neither the energy, nor the will to get to the kitchen and cook food. At it's worst I put myself in the '2 steps back' position and just have to rest and take it easy til the day I regain energy. I now factor in rest days when planning to do anything.

Even now, sometimes I end up feeling ill doing the weekly shopping, I believe I have narrowed that down to the vibration of the trolley wheels travelling up through my arms to my chest. It's happened too often to be a coincidence. I'm waiting on another 24 hr heart monitor to check my ectopics - I plan to take a shopping trolley around the store while it is fitted!

If the weather is colder my kitchen tends to be a degree or two cooler than my main room. This is enough to make me start feeling unwell after idk ... about 10 minutes. We are entering spring now, so that should stop affecting me til next winter.
Over 3 years I actually lost 28 lb in weight while eating cakes biscuits pasties, quiche, frozen meals ... anything that needed zero effort. I can only put the weight loss down to not eating / not wanting to eat while feeling exhausted or unwell.

Today I've been feeling below par, and my chest is feeling quite rough again. Maybe because I've not been sleeping well - probably due to a suspected gnat which has been terrorising me. Since 17 march I have been bitten 9 times, 6 of them on 1 foot. I react badly to bites and even with antihistamines I have swelling on my left foot and I am continuously feeling a prickly, almost painful itch. The insect repellent isn't saving me (I am the insects only available food).

That's the situation ... so meal suggestions ...
I need to plan out meals which easily lend themself to being prepared in stages, or are almost zero effort meals. I don't eat much, only breakfast plus one meal.
My natural first choice is pizza, pasta, lasagne etc. (RIP those meals). I tried tofu - that's not for me. I eat both meat and fish, I like hot pots / stews etc (but not continuously), and I like beans, lentils and pearl barley in those. I'm good with most flavourings, but not hot and spicy. I'm currently restricting saturated fats, but some are ok.

So far I used my slow cooker to make casserole type meals - I can do a bit, go sit down, do a bit more, rest again, then finish it off. I do a large pot so I can portion it and freeze it.
I did a mushroom stroganoff in the slow cooker too, portion and froze some of that too
I've also made omelettes, and pan cooked chopped meat/veg
I also seem to be lacking inspiration for a replacement for pasta / potatoes / bread (tho I've seen cauliflower rice mentioned).
Any inspiration to add variety would be awesome.
Today is one of those days I would not cook anything. However I have one of my previously cooked meals ready to heat up.

 

[Leadinglights]

As you are only in the prediabetic zone then just some modest reduction in your carbs may be sufficient.
The sort of things to use as substitutes are black bean or edamame bean pasta, it cooks very quickly 5 min boiling only needed and goes fine with either a tomato or creamy sauce.
Butternut squash or celeriac or swede can be used instead of potatoes.
Things like tinned tuna, sardines or mackerel are low carb and I would think you would be OK with 1 slice of toast.
Tray bakes are easy, using chicken, pork or lamb with veg and just cooked in the oven.
Bags of salad don't need much preparation and can be had with cooked meats, boiled eggs, cheese, coleslaw for quick meals.
You sound to have some good things you are doing already. You may find a airfryer useful, we bought a small one from Curry's at £30
Could you do an on-line shop to save the issue with the trolley.

 

[s'nic]

At the moment I'm just trying to spend my energy on bulk cooking when I can, of course it's not just the cooking, but the cleaning and washing up. I've started to feel that I'm just putting all my energy to food prep/cleanup, leaving none for anything else.
A part of the problem is I rarely feel hungry these days, not enough to make me want to get food when at low energy. I can't overemphasise the energy issues, in past years I threw away bags of ready to eat salad unused as I couldn't face the effort of getting them on a plate with a bit of meat, tomato etc. I threw away punnets of strawberries due the not getting around to washing, hulling and putting them in a bowl. I threw away so much broccoli at one point that I gave up buying it. and I HATE throwing food away lol.
I can shop online, but for fresh fruit and veg I prefer to pick them myself. Hopefully my meds will be adjusted when I do have the heart monitor. Also hopefully the weather will warm up. I noticed the temperature in this room had dropped, so that would have made my chest worse, I didn't realise until the temperature drop was enough to make me cough (I feel unwell before I feel cold).

Some of those suggestions are useful - I hadn't thought about sardines on toast - I use bread so rarely I don't have any in the house atm.
I've not seen or tried alternative pastas, but I could look for them
I don't mind swede, tho it is tough customer to chop. Never tried celeriac yet, and generally am not a fan of squash (not tried butternut). I do need to become a little more adventurous and read up on how best to prep/cook some of this stuff.

Thank you 🙂, I'm fine on general cooking knowledge, just needed ideas for low carb (particularly adds), because variety is good.
I can't wait for summer weather to come back, I'll feel so much better then.

 

[Lucyr]

I use bread so rarely I don't have any in the house atm.

Keep the bread in the freezer and toast directly from frozen

Thank you 🙂, I'm fine on general cooking knowledge, just needed ideas for low carb (particularly adds), because variety is good.

If you eat fish then there are many types of fish that you can cook from frozen, in the microwave or oven or air frier. I find them cheap at Sainsburys or Aldi. You put the fish in foil (if cooking in the air fried or oven), add some seasoning and wrap up to a parcel. I like salmon and smoked haddock. The foil reduces the washing up.

If you eat meat and are ok with a bit of washing up, then chicken breasts are an easy put it in the oven and leave it food, or can cook in a frying pan. High meat content chipolatas are good as low in carbs but cook quicker than sausages too.

For veg, the microwaveable tubs of carrot and swede mash, or the frozen ones though I find it expensive. You can roast frozen broccoli straight from frozen (buying frozen reduces the prep time and the washing up as it’s already chopped). You can buy bays of frozen roasting veg too, same point of already chopped.

If you like eggs then you can boil several hard boiled eggs at the same time and keep them in the fridge. Or you can make frittata and keep that in the fridge. Or scrambled eggs is quick in the microwave.

For steamed veg, I have a plastic soup cup with lid and a vent in the lid. I simply pour some frozen mixed veg into this and microwave. It is much cheaper than buying the steam fresh bags but less washing up than cooking it in a pan.

For salad, I put a piece of kitchen roll in the salad bag which seems to make it last longer. If I’m chopping other salad veg like spring onions or pepppers I chop extra for the next day and put the rest in a tub, lasts fine for a couple days in the fridge and reduces washing up next time

I’ve been working on cooking with low energy since the ME/CFS course I did late last year

 

[helli]

For easy to use vegetables, what about buying frozen.
As they are frozen immediately they are picked, they have much more flavour than they used to and include all the nutrients.
Some veg does not work frozen but others are fine.
I still enjoy fresh veg (I get a veg box each week) but have peas, sweetcorn, spinach and “grilled Mediterranean veg” in my freezer which can all be defrosted and cooked in the microwave in about 5 minutes.
I am sure there are others available - I think someone mentioned frozen cauli rice and broccoli.

 

[Lucyr]

I don't mind swede, tho it is tough customer to chop.

Asda sell carrot and swede already chopped up or you can get a food chopper (I have a manual one, it’s like a box with a shaped cutter part at the top) which helps with the dicing once you’ve peeled and got slices

 

[Inka]

Even now, sometimes I end up feeling ill doing the weekly shopping
Just shop online. I know you mentioned liking to choose your own veg - so do I - but you can always give back anything unsuitable, add notes for the pickers (eg on size) and frankly it’s much easier to have the shopping delivered. I struggle sometimes too and this small thing makes a big difference. It also improves your diet because you can sit in comfort and fill your online basket rather than be exhausted in a supermarket and not be able to complete a shop or choose wisely. I get ectopic beats and I find they can be set off by position. Perhaps the position of your arms holding the trolley is contributing. Cutting out this shopping will benefit that too. Even if you do have to go occasionally, you’ll just be able to take a basket and pop in and out. I don’t remember the last time I used a trolley.

If the weather is colder my kitchen tends to be a degree or two cooler than my main room
Again, if this is a big issue for you, solve it and that’s one less thing affecting you. Buy a small heater and keep your kitchen a little warmer.

Buy some fly spray for the gnat! I’m not a big fan of them but you can spray before you go out and then air the room(s).

For cooking, try the Roasting Tin cookbooks. You cook everything in one dish, there’s minimal prep, and greatly reduced cutting up. As it sounds like you live alone, you can have the meal two days in a row and/or freeze the remaining portions. I also find they scale down nicely. Stir fries are also quick and easy, and you can buy pre-chopped stir fry veg @s’nic

 

[s'nic]

Thanks for the thoughts/inputs everyone. I've just been hitting a kindof wall where all available energy was being spent on cooking and washing up (no good when you need to sort housework and laundry etc).

I think I'll definitely get an airfryer which also bakes - I looked at traybake recipes online last night, never made or eaten one of those before. I can see me using an airfryer for traybakes, the grilled Mediterranean veg helli mentioned sound nice and would work well in one I think. I figure an airfryer will also be good for something like a frittata, and for faster cooking and for a small items, where use of a standard oven just seems such a waste.

I mostly microwave, or steam veg, I shall think of what veg I like that can be bunged in the oven / airfryer. I think adding different cooking methods will help with the variety in meals, I also definitely need to experiment with new veg.
I do freeze portions of food for another day, and already make some use of some pre-chopped veg, I should probably explore more of the frozen range as well. I think my main aim currently has to be lower effort while adding variety.

Inka
I do have a small heater in my kitchen now to help prevent that problem.
The gnat ... I sprayed a load of raid around on sunday, and it bit me twice that night. Yesterday afternoon I thought about where it may be hiding and sprayed a few nooks & crannies ... no bites last night. If i don't get bitten tonight I may have killed it. Nine days of bites is too many, I thought they had shorter lifespans, but apparently not.
I do food shopping on days I feel ok, a solution may be to order the bulk of the order as click and collect, then when collecting it pop into the shop for the fresh fruit and veg. I definitely suspect my meds may need adjusting now, I've not felt too good since yesterday.

 

[grovesy]

Channel 5 have done a number of difffernt programmes on Airfryers in the last few months. It might be worth seeing if you watch them.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks for the thoughts/inputs everyone. I've just been hitting a kindof wall where all available energy was being spent on cooking and washing up (no good when you need to sort housework and laundry etc).

I think I'll definitely get an airfryer which also bakes - I looked at traybake recipes online last night, never made or eaten one of those before. I can see me using an airfryer for traybakes, the grilled Mediterranean veg helli mentioned sound nice and would work well in one I think. I figure an airfryer will also be good for something like a frittata, and for faster cooking and for a small items, where use of a standard oven just seems such a waste.

I mostly microwave, or steam veg, I shall think of what veg I like that can be bunged in the oven / airfryer. I think adding different cooking methods will help with the variety in meals, I also definitely need to experiment with new veg.
I do freeze portions of food for another day, and already make some use of some pre-chopped veg, I should probably explore more of the frozen range as well. I think my main aim currently has to be lower effort while adding variety.

Inka
I do have a small heater in my kitchen now to help prevent that problem.
The gnat ... I sprayed a load of raid around on sunday, and it bit me twice that night. Yesterday afternoon I thought about where it may be hiding and sprayed a few nooks & crannies ... no bites last night. If i don't get bitten tonight I may have killed it. Nine days of bites is too many, I thought they had shorter lifespans, but apparently not.
I do food shopping on days I feel ok, a solution may be to order the bulk of the order as click and collect, then when collecting it pop into the shop for the fresh fruit and veg. I definitely suspect my meds may need adjusting now, I've not felt too good since yesterday.

If you get an airfryer I recommend you get some liners in which you put the stuff as it makes washing up easier. You can get reusable ones which are silicon or disposable.

 

[Inka]

I hope you feel better soon @s’nic Your shopping idea sounds good. What I do is buy almost everything online to be delivered to my house, then do tiny top up shops for fresh items if needed.

If you want to explore the Roasting Tin books, they should be available from your local library. They’re also often on offer for £9 or £10 on Amazon. There are a variety of them, inc. Quick, Veggie/Vegan, World, etc. Here’s one as an example, that’s £10 for the hardback:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Quick-Roasting-Tin-Rukmini-Iyer/dp/1529110068/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=AUTHOR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.solwPKq4VyXIjfPbbKQiB8Hn5LWyheGLOk8CjJ-HP6M6t--w6ERAUNW9YxcvgbHJL2oVPalC4AIsNSXpJM-lBfgH9ngcYmlba6jFMS8OTnGeqL2AFHtqqMywyvoYQSvQ.jGXZe1Q4NcBQNUvWiXfZmONX-VIh_pyZW1wJc9Cc2H0&qid=&sr=

 

[s'nic]

I just had a look at liners - best choice seems a silicon one in B&M, I can use baking parchement/foil under food, or wrap in foil until I pop in to get a liner.

Thanks Inca, tbh I tend to do a search online, and copy/paste recipes I'm particularly drawn to. I just save them as a text file. I guess if I also want to keep a picture of the food I can just save a recipe off as a pdf file.

I have a large collection of recipes as text files on my computer - its easy to set up a laptop / tablet reasonably close in the kitchen.

 

[Inka]

There are also recipe apps that will help you do that @s’nic I’ve just downloaded one on someone’s recommendation. You can download online recipes to it and you can also take photos of recipes from your own books or library books, etc, and it will store them all for you.

 

[Drummer]

For speed, though, a pressure cooker is tops.
I cut up some already cooked beef into slices, put it in the pressure cooker with some onion, dropped in a pack of mixed veges and added the left over gravy from the previous day, topped up with hot water and dinner was ready in 15 minutes, including the heating up and de-pressuring.
I use a sieve to separate the cooking liquid and keep what I don't need for the meal to use as stock for the next reheating, it goes in the fridge once it has cooled.

 

[grovesy]

Channel 5 have an Airfryer programme on to night. It is titled have you got the right one?

 

[s'nic]

There are also recipe apps that will help you do that

Ahh, I've use quick text files for decades, and can read or transfer them to pretty much any platform to read them. All too often apps can end up not being updated, or just plain discontinued ... my system is proof against time and app developers.

For speed, though, a pressure cooker is tops.

I have to say I used a pressure cooker (just the once in school) something like 45 years ago. I've never really been tempted to buy one, tho I know some folk like them 🙂

Channel 5 have an Airfryer programme on to night. It is titled have you got the right one?

I missed about 15 mins but am taking a look, I pretty much made a decision on which one last night, but well worth checking the TV discussion

 

[Drummer]

@s'nic A pressure cooker was a standard wedding present back in the 1950s and 60s. All my aunties got one.

 

[Leadinglights]

@s'nic A pressure cooker was a standard wedding present back in the 1950s and 60s. All my aunties got one.

I was always terrified of the pressure cooker, a monstrous hissing thing. I managed to right off the one I was given as a wedding present trying to cook some black peas (that great northern delicacy) for bonfire night.
They are certainly more sophisticated these days.

 

[s'nic]

@Drummer
My mother and my friends mother had one, her mother used hers, but my mothers pressure cooker never saw daylight. I guess that kinda made me lean towards not bothering. And the school one was such a faff, having to try follow the exact instructions we were given.
It just became a case of never used one, no particular wish to start.

I have a multi cooker tho which I do like, somewhere around 10-14 functions, you can apparently even cook bread or a cake in it, but as heat comes from underneath you have to flip it towards end of cooking as I remember
It's great for the 'wet' stuff tho - slow cooker, pasta/rice cooker, make yogurt, poach, sauté etc

 

[Drummer]

@s'nic I do have a fair few 'toys' in the kitchen, but nothing beats the pressure cooker when you get back from the folk club and realise that the chicken for diner is still in the freezer and rock hard.
One of my aunties artexed the ceiling of her prefab by putting a whole packet of rice into the pressure cooker .....