Favorite quick meals

[pears]

Ha. I'm not sure who they'll draft, but I'm happy that Sam Shields is staying. If we lose Quarless, I'll be really bummed. Although Finley is a great player, his neck injury last season makes me suspicious of him playing again. I hear they're talking to Daniel Owens, don't have a strong opinion about that yet.

 

We do need help with tight-ends, I would want to see Packers bolster up defense first. Our defense was sub-par last season, and that's the most polite thing I can say about that...

 

Next Fantasy Football draft, I'm aiming for a Rodgers/Nelson pair. Those two... are incredible.

 

As a Giants fan, I have to be a smug jerk say thanks for the new OC (who will probably be a bit of a QB coach, too, so hooray for Eli!).. but, that said, we might be losing Nicks, whom I'm a big fan of. Derp. As my S.O. put it: "thanks for being really good, okay bye"

 

Back to food, though: lentils! Lentils are the best. Mujaddara is an awesome veggie meal that's pretty quick, & there are lots of potential variations of it, too.

[babycakes]

I am losing weight currently so I eat healthy and I count calories. I prep "toppings" for salads and just pop them into pre-made mixed green tupperwares I have. Everything is already pre-measured and pre-cooked so it's as easy as grabbing it out of the fridge in the morning. I have a costco membership too so I buy bulk frozen protein. I don't even really buy dressing anymore and just squeeze some lemon or a dash of vinegar onto my salads with some EVOO. I inhale salmon and tilapia like nobody's business and eat a lot of chicken breast too. 

 

As for carbs, I cook a batch of quinoa on sunday and dole it out. I also throw in sweet potatoes in the oven and eat half a sweet potato for a meal. I have a bento box I selected for my size and I just fill it up with as much food as I can and it usually comes out around 600 calories per meal (which is appropriate).  

 

Broccoli can be a very inexpensive and nutritious filling food that stays well in the fridge for a long time when properly stored as well as peas. And sauteeing greens like spinach or kale with garlic salt and pepper is really quick and easy so that's an easy go to green as well. I'm asian so I love me some baby bok choy, yu choy, and nappa but that's a personal preference. 

 

I usually never marinade (if I do, I stick to tandoori chicken because it's so good) so I sprinkle montreal steak seasoning or straight up salt and pepper on my meats before searing on a pan on a Sunday and I have food all week. 

 

The worst part of this is not diving head first into a restaurant at a whim but on grad school budgets it's not like you all are doing that right?  

[poliscilady]

My go-to:

 

Salmon (get it frozen) brush with some olive oil, sea salt and pepper; bake for 20 minutes at 450 degrees.

Side? Anything in the fridge - but usually roasted veg or some sort of salad.

 

Cheap and quick!

[nakuu]

My new quick fix: chickpea salad.

 

Mix chickpeas with chopped up onions and red/green papers. Add some olive oil (or whatever you like) and voila! You can also use beans.

[DigDeep(inactive)]

http://www.budgetbytes.com

 

Best. site. ever.

[slouching]

Things you need: spinach, chickpeas, tomato, lemon, feta cheese, rice, thyme, garlic.

 

-chop up about a cup of spinach and some tomato

-add about 1/4 cup of chickpeas

-add some lemon juice (I like to use one whole lemon)

-add thyme and garlic to taste

-heat in a covered pan for a few minutes

-serve over rice and top with some feta

[iPsych]

Since everyone's talking about chickpeas....

 

I loveeee making this chickpea salad.  It's super delicious, filling and requires zero cooking.  The most labor required is cutting up tomatoes and onions.

 

1 can chickpeas

2 tomatoes

1 small red onion

1 can black beans

1 can of corn

the juice from 2 limes

as much cilantro, salt and pepper as you desire (to taste)

 

Just chop up the onion, tomato and cilantro and combine in a large bowl with the drained chickpeas, black beans and corn.  Tastes great alone and sometimes I'll have some at breakfast time with egg whites

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Since everyone's talking about chickpeas....

 

I loveeee making this chickpea salad.  It's super delicious, filling and requires zero cooking.  The most labor required is cutting up tomatoes and onions.

 

1 can chickpeas

2 tomatoes

1 small red onion

1 can black beans

1 can of corn

the juice from 2 limes

as much cilantro, salt and pepper as you desire (to taste)

 

Just chop up the onion, tomato and cilantro and combine in a large bowl with the drained chickpeas, black beans and corn.  Tastes great alone and sometimes I'll have some at breakfast time with egg whites

 

Sounds good. I would make two suggestions:

1) Get rid of or find a substitute for the corn. Corn really is nothing. It's all filler, no health benefits. 

2) Drop the salt or find a substitute. Maybe garlic or something. 

Edited March 23, 2014 by Gnome Chomsky

[FestivusMiracle]

Sounds good. I would make two suggestions:

1) Get rid of or find a substitute for the corn. Corn really is nothing. It's all filler, no health benefits.

2) Drop the salt or find a substitute. Maybe garlic or something.

Corn is all filler? What does that mean?

And garlic is not a substitute for salt. This seems like Paleo inspired advice, despite recent evidence that low sodium intake can actually be harmful:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/05/15/health/panel-finds-no-benefit-in-sharply-restricting-sodium.html

Don't freak out about a little salt. It makes food taste good and is necessary for proper functioning.

[iPsych]

Perhaps instead of "as much as you desire" I should have said "to taste" and I agree that leaving out the corn would make it healthier! 

[Coffeenwhiskey]

Overnight oatmeal with nutella and chocolate chips... yum!

[ahlatsiawa]

poached eggs on toast and black coffee, with some fruit and cheese on the side

Classy!

[rising_star]

Overnight oatmeal with nutella? Recipe please!

[themmases]

Thanks to the people who suggested chickpea salad!

 

I made one Sunday with red onion, apples, goat cheese, lemon olive oil, and balsamic vinegar and have been eating it for lunch all week.

[iPsych]

Thanks to the people who suggested chickpea salad!

 

I made one Sunday with red onion, apples, goat cheese, lemon olive oil, and balsamic vinegar and have been eating it for lunch all week.

 

YUM I'll have to try that one!!

[i.am.me]

I have a go to breakfast...does that count as a quick meal?

 

I really like avocado so I slice one in half, slap that 1/2 on a piece of toasted sliced high fiber bread, and sprinkle a little sea salt and pepper on top. If I'm more hungry I scramble eggs (with sriracha, white pepper, parsley...green onions...whatever is in reaching distance...actually so it depends sometimes) and put that on the toast with the avocado. I guess for some that is a snack. But I'm full. 

 

I am trying to give up ramen...but darn it I'm missing spicy chicken ramen topped with a soft boiled egg (or 2, I really like eggs), sauteed beef stew meat, and chopped celery or broccoli (don't forget the sriracha and lime juice haha). 

 

But like some others, I generally like to have sliced, prepped, and portioned out parts of different salads ready to be mixed. 

 

Sometimes my quick meals are as simple as rice with 2 fried eggs and soy sauce, or rice with a baked Chinese sausages and kimchi on the side. And then there is congee withh shredded pork, spicy tofu, and sweet/sour pickled veggies on the side. I've decided to move away from rice for the next few months for personal reasons...so I have not had these for some time. Darn, I think I should not have written anything. But I'm taking that chick pea salad guide :-D

Edited March 27, 2014 by i.am.me

[Coffeenwhiskey]

Overnight oatmeal with nutella? Recipe please!

 

Here's the recipe: http://mywholefoodlife.com/2013/09/23/nutella-overnight-oats/

I use store bought nutella and skim milk.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Coffeenwhiskey

[Catlovers141]

I pre-make a lot of salads, and I also eat a lot of frozen foods (frozen vegetables and pre-cooked chicken).

 

I also really like the individual servings of mac and cheese that you microwave for 3 minutes.  They are really cheap, and if you get the store-brand they are only around 80 cents each.

[Djentbot]

Take one edible object (doesn't matter what it is... even some semi-edible objects like cardboard might be alright).

 

Apply sriracha.

 

Stuff into face hole.

 

Instant happiness.

[themmases]

My partner and I are making this awesome recipe tonight:

http://www.eating-for-england.com/pan-fried-white-beans-greens/

 

This is genuinely way better with cooked dried beans if you have the time. If you don't, using canned beans on cast iron is the second best.

 

The whole blog is worth a look-- we've also made and enjoyed the cassoulet.

[TakeruK]

http://www.budgetbytes.com

 

Best. site. ever.

 

Love this site!! I would say that we have pretty similar "cooking styles" so I found these recipes to be very easy to follow! But the author is way more imaginative, experienced and creative than me so I've learned a lot just trying different things from the past week!! Thanks for the recommendation

 

My partner and I are making this awesome recipe tonight:

http://www.eating-for-england.com/pan-fried-white-beans-greens/

 

This is genuinely way better with cooked dried beans if you have the time. If you don't, using canned beans on cast iron is the second best.

 

The whole blog is worth a look-- we've also made and enjoyed the cassoulet.

 

This blog looks promising too, looking forward to trying some of these!

[iPsych]

I am trying to give up ramen...but darn it I'm missing spicy chicken ramen topped with a soft boiled egg (or 2, I really like eggs), sauteed beef stew meat, and chopped celery or broccoli (don't forget the sriracha and lime juice haha). 

 

I also LOVEEE making (what I call) fancy ramen.  I throw everything in there: obviously siracha and lime juice, cilantro, any sort of protein, green onions...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it

[Ambystoma]

Anything and everything from the freezer section of Trader Joe's!