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You’ve likely been in a situation where you plop on the couch and veg in front of the TV, exhausted after a long day at work. You suddenly hear your stomach grumbling, but the lack of energy has hindered you from whipping up a nice home-cooked meal.
In these situations, we always have the internet to call on for help. But if you have no time to watch a full YouTube recipe video, here are some lazy meal suggestions from the Reddit community.
Whether it’s beans and rice, a unique twist on avocado and toast, or a bowl of Honeycombs, these are guaranteed to curb your hunger with almost zero effort.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Frozen vegetables is the ultimate shortcut in cooking.
I have been dealing with depression for a long long time in my life. Sometimes I wouldn't think about feeding myself for weeks. But, this one thing has changed things momentarily.
Don't get me wrong. All those microwavable meals and instant ramens are always in my pantry. But there is one thing that really helped me to break my depressive routine. I could so easily cook meals and prepare a main dish without thinking more. I don't have to make sure that the vegetables haven't gone bad by sitting in the fridge for too long. I don't have to think about if I can use the whole head of cauliflower before it goes bad. I don't have to think about chopping the vegetables. And I don't have to think about dealing with the rotting remains of the vegetables.
I just want to highlight something that has really worked out wonders for me. Hope some of you can benefit from it.
Love to all.
Gémeaux jumeaux 8 months ago
Such heartfelt advice... And bless my kids, they take it one step further and will eat them frozen right out of the bag.
RELATED:
#2
Snack dinner. Salami, cheese, crackers, olives, nuts, glass of wine. I’m happy.
Cindy Brick 8 months ago
Mavis on her blog, ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH, calls this pickety bits.
#4
Egg roll in a bowl - ground meat of your choice, and a bag of two of coleslaw or broccoli slaw mix, sautéed with some soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and a splash of sriracha. Good stuff, and takes like no time.
#5
Pesto pasta.
Pesto, penne, cheese. Boil pasta, drain and add cheese and pesto. Love it.
Gémeaux jumeaux 8 months ago
Variation: dump jar of marinated artichoke hearts and can of olives over pasta, top with grated parmesan. Feel tired AND fancy.
#6
Meals that I freeze when I'm not too tired to cook for exactly that purpose.
The Doom Song 8 months ago
We call this "container roulette" Also great for those weeks when you are a little strapped for cash
#7
Pasta with jar sauce.
Lila Allen 8 months ago
Rao has a bolognase that is so packed with meat. Serious jar of that, noodles, and cheese and you are happy
#8
Beans and rice. The added bonus is it means I know I won't have to worry about tomorrow's lunch either which is comforting on those kind of nights.
#9
Instant ramen with an egg thrown in and chopped romaine lettuce.
Huddo's sister 8 months ago
I can't do instant because of allergies, but I usually have a pack of low-cal noodles in the pantry as well as tins of bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and bean sprouts. Just add a few spoons of miso paste and some boiling water.
#10
Frozen pizza, just slap that bad boy in the oven, hop in the shower and it's done soon after you are.
Gémeaux jumeaux 8 months ago
Just be careful with all the shower hopping. You might slip, and then your pizza will burn.
#11
Pita pizza— pita bread, tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella. Bake til crispy like a thin crust pizza!
#12
Breakfast for dinner, and there's a good variety for that.
Soup and PB&J sandwiches.
I also keep several (homemade in advance) containers of pasta sauce in the freezer. All I need to do is heat up the sauce and make whatever pasta and dinner is done.
My husband's favorite 'meal' as a kid was mac and cheese and baked beans. So, sometimes we do that. (yeah, I know, but he loves it and I don't mind)
And when all else fails, Chinese or Mexican food.
The Doom Song 8 months ago
Oh I love breakfast dinner, we do bacon, eggs, fried mushroom and a hash brown
#13
Two fried eggs on toast. If I can muster up the energy to dig thru the freezer, I toss some tater tots in the pan too.
#14
Costco has like a 5 lbs. bag of gyoza that take like 10 minutes to make and very little effort. Eat with a side salad, EZ meal.
edit: here’s my not so secret anymore dipping sauce recipe, a couple bits of bacon microwaved for 10 seconds, combined with dark soy sauce, normal soy sauce, hot sauce, and a couple drops of rice wine vinegar. It’s very meaty and savory.
#15
Some sort of pasta aglio olio. So much better than the sum of its parts and the most tedious part is waiting for the water to boil.
#16
Cereal. No cooking involved and it's ready within 2 minutes depending on how fast you get the bowl, spoon, milk and cereal of choice all together.
Honeycombs! Dinners done!
#17
D**n guys, I just throw frozen chicken nuggets and fries in the oven for 20 minutes. That or a frozen pizza.
#18
Tacos.
Boop the Snoot. Pound the Paw. 8 months ago
I eat cheese quesadillas. Layer tortilla, shredded cheese, red pepper flakes, tortilla. Put it in the microwave for 1.5 minutes. Warm cheesy-cheese and carbs in less than 3 minutes from start to finish. Don't need utensils to eat them either.
#19
We don't have central a/c, so in the summer time, it's anything that won't heat up the kitchen. Breakfast, pork bowls, sandwiches, oatmeal and fruit, etc.
#20
A nap usually.
#21
Microwave a hot pocket (bacon egg and cheese) for 2 minutes. Go sit on the couch. Forget about the hot pocket in the microwave. Go to bed hungry 4 hours later. Wake up. Open the microwave to heat up yesterday's coffee. See hot pocket. Scoot it over and put coffee next to it. Heat both up. Cry. Go to work.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 8 months ago
I would cry if I had to eat hotpockets for necessity. I tried them once - NASTY!
#22
Avocado toast made with naan and avocado mash. Or grilled cheese and tomato soup.
#23
Everything In The Fridge Salad + canned chickpeas
I always have veggies around, and a can of beans somewhere. Leftover roasted veg or whatever i made last night goes in too
Or- microwave baked potato + canned black beans + salsa, and avocado if it’s around.
M Whee 8 months ago
My mom used to make "refrigerator stew" with all the leftovers. Usually had some pasta, mac and cheese, peas and cut up hot dogs. It was edible, and was something that was done during the depression. Now I just put all the leftovers on the table for my kids to pick from when we have enough for a meal.
#24
Tuna melt. Whip up some tuna, I always keep caramelized onions on deck. slice of cheese, on the panini press. Takes maybe 5-7 minutes.
#26
Annies box with frozen veggies.
Barbara Wilcock 8 months ago
All these are American. Yes I eat ready made food. But not to this extent. 🤢
#27
Spaghetti or raviolis - if kids are home. If kids aren't home, some combo of string cheese and nuts and a salad.
#28
I'll make a jazzed up ramen; often times it's just ramen with some leftover chicken and some fancy garlic oil I keep in the cabinet and a soft boiled egg. Other times, I'll chuck some garlic in the oven to roast, pour myself a drink, and then add that to the concoction. You can level up depending on how fancy/tired you're feeling. Want some scallions cut on a bias? Go for it! You got furikake laying around? Hell yeah!
Other times, I eat a can of tuna over the sink with some cajun seasoning and a glass of wine.
#29
Alfredo, but even less complicated than the one above: just cream, garlic, parmesan, tomatoes.
#30
I always keep ingredients for udon on hand: frozen udon noodles, frozen shrimp and fish cake, a supply of boiled eggs in the fridge, and bottled udon broth concentrate. Topped with fresh green onion which is one of the easiest things to grow from scraps.
Other easy Asian meals that require little planning (we usually have a pot of rice going): frozen gyoza, frozen mackerel (just pan fry from frozen a few minutes on each side), noodles topped with shrimp/chicken and any veggies we have with a soy sauce/sesame oil sauce, bibimbap with any meat/mushrooms and veggies we have with gochujang/sesame oil.
If I didn’t need to cook for my family most nights I’d be fine with just eating cheese lol.
#31
Omelette - cheese and mushroom, some mixed dried herbs. Bit of decent buttered bread along with it, and some sort of salad with a bit of vinaigrette.
Ten minute meal.
#32
I just made a pb&j.
Huddo's sister 8 months ago
I've thought about trying a pb&j but I don't want to waste it if I don't like it. I'm pretty sure I won't because I don't like sweet things with peanut butter. I'm currently eating peanut butter and lettuce on rice cakes.
#33
Nachos, I buy pre shedded cheese. And make a "7 layer dip" but just with what I have in the fridge...guac, salsa, sour cream, pepers ect.
Upstaged75 8 months ago
I used to microwave refried beans, then add sour cream and cheese on top. Filling and easy. Not the healthiest though. :)
#34
Egg rice! Just a fried egg over rice with soy sauce and sesame oil. Or frozen dumplings with some miso soup.
#35
Panini sandwiches on my George Foreman grill! We have them so often, I could make them in my sleep.
Also, Target's store brand makes frozen ravioli and tortellini. They're super good and cook in no time!
#36
Crustless quiche. 20 minutes to put it together. Take a shower, make a simple salad and pour a glass of wine while it's in the oven. It's a go to weeknight meal for us.
#37
Probably Mac and Cheese
Nimitz 8 months ago
I mastered the art of making it quickly from scratch. Set pasta to boil, while that goes, make a quick roux, grate cheese while that cooks, add milk, cheese, seasoning, drain pasta, combine, more cheese on top, toss under the broiler for 3 minutes. Amazing, and satisfying. About 12-15 minutes for the good stuff. Yum
#38
Jimmy Dean pancake sausage corndogs. Tastes great and makes the entire house smell good in the process.
#40
Cereal while standing over the counter or a popsicle lol
If I’m marginally less tired, I like a pan toasted sandwich (like Cajun turkey breast with provolone and a light drizzle of bbq sauce or rosemary bread with pesto and mozzarella) or scrambled eggs on a toasty corn tortilla with cheese and Cholula is fast and tasty. Fruit smoothies with almond butter in them is another good easy one.
#42
Stay with me here: Risotto.
Me and my SO tried out one of those recipe delivery services, mostly just to make decision time in the evening a bit better. It was OK, but the thing I'll ways take away from it is that you can bake a risotto.
Chop everything up, fry it off a little, dump the rice in, put the stock in, bring to a boil then whack in the stove til it's done.
It's certainly not a super super lazy dish, but if I'm much lazier than that it's usually just takeaway.
#44
Salad, cereal, or pasta, sometimes i just go straight for dessert.
#45
Grilled Cheese.
Boop the Snoot. Pound the Paw. 8 months ago
Cheese quesadillas in the micro are just as good, quicker to make, and you only get one plate, minimally, dirty. 10/10 recommend!
#49
Costco almond butter and a spoon
#51
Surprised to see everyone's naming foods that still require some cooking. If I'm too tired to cook that means I'm ordering food 😂.
#52
Tuna cassarole
Frozen burger & onion rings
Kasias frozen meat pierogies
Frozen dumplings from asian market
if alone
Mcdouble and small fry $3
Salami sammich with mustard and fake cheese over the sink, no plate
Grilled cheese ,,& tomato soup (last time added gnocchi to the soup), pretty tasty.
Progresso soup and cool ranch doritos
rice & black beans
Leftover tortilla chips with a sprinkle of cheddar and a touch of salsa.
Cereal, anytime
Edit:
Flour tortilla, buttered one side, put on pan, add fake cheese and fold it 3 times, repeat and fry both until brown.
Eggs, i can do eggs and the eggo frozen pancakes and be happy.
What do you think ?
Surly Scot 8 months ago (edited)
Make 2 slices of toast. Put 3 eggs in a microwaveable cup, microwave for about 45seconds, use a fork to flip the half cooked egg mixture over, cook a further 30 seconds (depending on the microwave, takes a few practices to get the timing perfect). Take the cup out once the eggs are done (I like the yolks still slightly runny), dump a 1/4 stick of butter into the cup, use a fork to mash it all up into tiny bits, slather it on top of the toast and enjoy with a cup of tea. It's like a warm buttery version of egg salad. Grandad taught me that when I was a kid, never found anyone else who does this.
Surly Scot 8 months ago (edited)
Make 2 slices of toast. Put 3 eggs in a microwaveable cup, microwave for about 45seconds, use a fork to flip the half cooked egg mixture over, cook a further 30 seconds (depending on the microwave, takes a few practices to get the timing perfect). Take the cup out once the eggs are done (I like the yolks still slightly runny), dump a 1/4 stick of butter into the cup, use a fork to mash it all up into tiny bits, slather it on top of the toast and enjoy with a cup of tea. It's like a warm buttery version of egg salad. Grandad taught me that when I was a kid, never found anyone else who does this.
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