Much as I like cooking, I’m not always very good at eating, at least not when I’m at home on my own. I often just don’t feel like bothering. I get distracted by something I’m doing, in the evening particularly, and by the time I think about eating, it feels like it’s too late. A few weeks ago, I was so remiss that I ended up rather unwell and having to visit my doctor, where I was prescribed something to help calm my digestive system. This seems rather silly, since the issue is completely avoidable – I just need to eat!
The solution (obviously) is to have things available that I want to eat. Things that can be prepared quickly, but that are nutritious and appealing, especially since I frequently can’t even think of anything that I actually fancy.
Ready-to-heat
So, over the past few weeks, as well as making lots of individually portioned soups for the freezer, I’ve been cooking extra so that I have some home-made “ready meals”. I’ve now got several portions of bolognaise, pork casserole and lasagne all waiting for evenings when I can’t bring myself to prepare anything. As you can see, there’s some room on the shelf for more – I’d like to be well-stocked with lots of variety.
It’s not the prettiest meal I’ve ever cooked, but it served its purpose
Indeed, yesterday I found myself not wanting to cook and not in the mood for food. However, I was able to extract a lasagne, defrost it and then pop it in the oven to warm up without really having to consider that I actually didn’t feel like eating. I’m making sure that all my ready meals contain lots of vegetables, so I get some nutritional balance. Hopefully this will prevent further medications and trips to the GP.
And now I am looking for suggestions and recipes: what do you suggest I might include in my ready meal repertoire?
The Snail of Happiness 
Wild Daffodil
/ October 29, 2019Casseroles and curries for me, both with and without meat. Fish pie is also good comfort food. I also freeze little pots of apple crumble, sometimes with custard. And little pots of parsley sauce can cheer up a few left overs.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ October 29, 2019Fish pie is a great idea. Thank you.
Next time I make a curry I will have to make extra… and perhaps I should get back to making Mexican slow-cooked dishes.
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Wild Daffodil
/ November 1, 2019Yum!
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nanacathy2
/ October 29, 2019I used to find it hard to motivate myself to eating and cooking for myself. I really had to give myself a big talking too. I love jacket potatoes, cheese omelettes, an occasional treat of bacon and eggs. salads when I feel like them with some tasty morsel, and then freezing dinners. Carrots don’t freeze well, but stews, goulash is good. Curries of all kinds.Mum swore by a recipe book of delia’s called cooking for one, Mum was fond of pieces of salmon. You do just have to make that effort, the alternative is getting run down and proper poorly.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ October 29, 2019Lots of good ideas there. Thank you, particularly, for reminding me of that Delia book – I’ve dug out my copy and made something from it this evening… she has some great suggestions for egg dishes that are quick and easy.
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anne54
/ October 29, 2019Not eating is not my problem! However, it is for my Fella. He happily eats when I cook, but never thinks about it during the day if I am not home. He will heat up soup, but the special favourite is a tin of baked beans!! Maybe having a couple of cans in your pantry will be just the thing too. ☺️
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The Snail of Happiness
/ October 30, 2019I tried some nice organic baked beans the other day and quite enjoyed them… they were a bit tastier than the usual supermarket ones and I think I will get a few more tins of them.
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katechiconi
/ October 30, 2019I like a big pot of Boston Baked Beans (https://www.maggiebeer.com.au/recipes/boston-baked-beans), which you can do with or without the bacon. If without, you need to add a good shake of smoked paprika for the necessary smoky flavour. You can portion it out, and then have it on toast with a poached or scrambled egg, over baked potato and topped with cheese, with pasta spirals if you add a bit of passata to thin the sauce, or added to minced beef and eaten over rice. If you have it cold, stir through a bit of mayo and dijon mustard and use as the base for a salad bowl, maybe with cold pasta, chopped peppers, avocado, celery and so on. I also keep leftover pasta in the freezer to be resurrected with boiling water, and I’ll take a handful of cold chicken, some finely sliced pumpkin, carrot and mushroom, sauté them briefly in butter, add a slug of lactose free cream and mix in the pasta. I could go on, but it gets a bit dull!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ October 30, 2019Not dull at all. I haven’t made Boston beans for ages… but I will do some soon and try some of your suggestions of what to use them for.
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tialys
/ October 30, 2019I’ve been having exactly the same problem as you – not helped by being a pescatarian now – which limits the choices a bit. My go to lunch is a bowl of porridge made with coconut or oat milk, a yoghurt mixed in and lots of berries but that’s just me! I find those packs of mixed rice and grains useful – you just tear off the top and stick in the microwave for 2 minutes. I usually top that with a trout fillet that i bake in foil with lemon, spring onion and a dash of soy sauce. Or, my absolute favourite. Halve a red pepper brush with oil and roast for 10 minutes or so mix together some sun dried tomatoes, a dash of harissa paste, spoon into the pepper halves, add some diced feta and sprinkle some pine nuts on top and put back in oven for 15-20 mins.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ October 30, 2019I’m going to give that pepper dish a go very soon – thank you.
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Ann Pole
/ November 6, 2019I can rarely be bothered to cook, it doesn’t inspire me. However I often do get hungry, which is why we end up eating things that are not the best for us.
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quietwatercraft
/ November 7, 2019My go-to for stocking up the freezer is chilli/bolognese. I even found how to make convincing vegetarian versions! I hope the easy meals help you feel better 🙂
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The Snail of Happiness
/ November 7, 2019I have managed not to miss any meals but one for a couple of weeks now. Sometimes I just eat soup and toast, but it’s thick homemade soup full of vegetables, so it’s still good for me. I’m still feeling a little unwell sometimes, but I’m certainly much better than I was, and off the medication now.
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quietwatercraft
/ November 7, 2019That’s good progress 🙂
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