Cooking

[whatgoingon]

I hate cooking and so therefore I don't eat half the time. When I do cook I don't like it. Does anyone have any great suggestions for me.

[Hidden]

Perhaps try the smoothie route. Not too much prep work. You can pack a LOT of nutrients in them. Done right they taste wonderful. Then if possible add other food items to your diet. When I’m feeling lazy, I go for the blender!

[whatgoingon in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. I guess I need a smoothie book!

[Hidden]

hi, i lot of us use a slow cooker. theres really not a lot of work in it..you can cut up a few veg, herbs, meat and add some spices....and you got food for a couple of days.

am just enjoying a lovely thai red curry for my lunch made with beef brisket round aubergine. that put in the slow cooker 3 hours ago after breakfast.

if i want you can freeze some.. this is also true of a rice cooker you can cook more then what will eat today you can freeze or keep in the fridge for a few days.

[TheAwfulToad]

Practice.

We do tend to hate things that we're not good at, but the only real solution is to get good at them.

You could start by watching Gordon Ramsay's YouTube video on how to make scrambled eggs (it's dead easy and has a great result) and progress from there. You'll soon start to enjoy it.

Also, as happycook said, cooking larger batches and freezing (or chilling) them is a real time-saver. For example I pre-cook my breakfast sausages, eat one portion, and keep two days' supply in the fridge. I do the same with tortilla fillings.

[Hidden in reply to TheAwfulToad]

i havent seen how Gordon makes his scrambled eggs... i made my children this this morning ...

10 eggs, a big nob of butter, one cup of full cream milk. pinch of salt.

break all the eggs into wok, put in milk and butter.

turn on heat and gentley whisk the eggs into the milk.. the butter will mix in as it warms up.

the children love it 😊.

[9stoneandcounting]

I started by compromising half-way between cooking and store bought. Then food was quick and easy enough that I wasn’t tempted by takeout but healthy enough I could lose weight. For example, you can get packet mixes of spices / herbs from the supermarket. There’s a Nando’s spice rub, just roll a chicken breast in it, stick in the oven for 30 min then serve with salad and a bread roll. Another one I like are the fajitas packets. Just chop chicken, throw in a pan, add frozen veg like peppers and onions (they’ve very cheap and you don’t need to chop, wash or anything) then add the spice mix and serve with a wrap.

On that note, frozen veg are a lifesaver (and very healthy). You get 20 or so portions of veg for £2 ish. There’s no need to chop or wash them, just throw them in the microwave/pan/oven and you’re good to go!

[whatgoingon in reply to 9stoneandcounting]

Thank you for these suggestions. I will try!

[elliebath]

Not everyone likes cooking or even wants to learn, and sadly I think that's where lots of people fall down on their weightloss journey because they think it can only work if you cook fresh food all the time.

It's still possible to lose weight with convenience foods, just be selective and read the nutrition labels eg low sugar.

I recently tried M&S Balanced for You range, Morroccan Chicken Tagine. It's a long life item in a microwaveable pouch, nice spicy citrus flavours. Got mine on a 3 for 2 offer. I added greens or you could add rice.

[whatgoingon in reply to elliebath]

Thank you.

[mdr1000]

Just eat raw. It'll take you about a fortnight to get used to it, then you never need cook again unless you really really want to/ have to.

[whatgoingon in reply to mdr1000]

Good advice. Thank you.

[mdr1000 in reply to whatgoingon]

My diet's been predominantly raw for a long time now despite the fact I love to cook. It makes you feel fab and is especially good if you have a hectic life like I do !

Best wishes

[whatgoingon in reply to mdr1000]

Thank you. What do you do for protein?

[mdr1000 in reply to whatgoingon]

Nuts, usually for lunch or occasionally a bit of left over meat or fish which I do cook. I have to cook some stuff anyway for my kids and my wife for dinner. Most of my vegan friends have beans and the vegetarians, cheese.

You can actually make quite a nice 'pate' by puréeing a tin of baked beans (no need to even heat them up! ) with a few dried herbs and some garlic powder or Worcester sauce. I'd do that occasionally before I started only having whole foods. It's nice on a bit of crusty bread (if you eat bread).

[DartmoorDumpling]

Invite a friend to dinner - it is always more fun to cook for other people. They might then invite you back which gives you a night off cooking!

[whatgoingon in reply to DartmoorDumpling]

Thank you. I don't think they would want to eat my cooking!

[andyswarbs]

Judy, apart from dinners cook a large pot once a week. Eat one portion and put the rest into separate plastic pots, one in the fridge for the next day and the rest in the freezer for future days. That way you always have a supply of ready meals, all for the sake of one cooking experience. Of course this is a lot easier with plant-based based meals since you don't have to worry about food poisoning through reheating and marking frozen foods as to the date they went in.

[BadHare]

A relative sent her husband-to-be on a basic cokery course. He only does 3 meals, but does these well. Perhaps there's a healthy cookery course near you that you could join?

My supermarket gives away foolproof recipe cards that change every month. There are lots available on supermarket websites.

It might be worth looking at the BBC website for easy recipes based on the foods you like to eat, & start making simple meals from scratch. bbcgoodfood.com/search/reci...

Soups are pretty foolproof & good for this weather. My cooker's rarely used in summer as I eat salads every day, so roll on warmer weather...