Hello, and apologies in advance for a long post.
I live in work-provided accommodation with a central kitchen. This limits me with what I can cook so I'm looking for ideas for what I can make with the following:
-Halogen oven (not strong enough for baking, brownies and flapjack failed to cook through but for most food it works pretty much as a standard oven, though size is limited)
-Air fryer
-Microwave/Kettle/Toaster
-George Foreman.
Hobs are not allowed, nor are slow cookers, steamers, etc. which limits my ability to make rice, pasta, soups/stews, stir frys, omelettes, basically anything you would need to boil or fry in a pan. I've compromised with microwavable rice in packets or cous cous/pasta you make with boiling water but it'd be nice to be able to make it properly.
I've tried to revamp my diet as I'm normally a picky eater so am trying to mix healthy food in in a way that it still tastes good. I don't have any specific allergies to avoid but am looking for ideas for recipes people may have. I'm not a fan of salads though I know they're good, the leaves are fine and I can handle cucumber but I don't like onions raw or tomatoes, carrot doesn't bother me too much. If I have enough meat/other stuff in the salad to wash the flavour down I can manage more stuff. I've very much got a sweet tooth which is a blessing and a curse since sweetening stuff makes it more edible but normally sugar isn't great for you.
I'm not vegan or veggie, I'm good with fish and always willing to try variety in seafood (though a lot of stuff I don't know what to eat it with) I like salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel and pretty much any white fish as well as prawns and similar. Meat-wise I'll eat anything bar lamb (don't really like the taste).
When it comes to veg and salad I really struggle with expiration dates. Everything I buy is just for myself and nothing ever comes in small sizes (and it's usually more expensive if it is) with short expiration dates - I bought a bag of salad today and the latest expiry was in 2 days' time... I know stuff usually lasts a few days after its date but it becomes a race against time to eat it the second I buy it and I have to have it for pretty much every meal to avoid waste. I've resorted to frozen veg and peas (not sure how healthy that compares to fresh) but salad and things like mushrooms I can't do that with, so if anyone has any ideas to help stop food perishing as fast that would be much appreciated!
I've tried to avoid tinned food as best I can as I know you can get tinned veg but I always assume it's not that great of an option.
If anyone has any ideas for recipes that might work or things I can look for that would be really helpful, I've tried googling stuff but I always find recipes that require way too many niche ingredients that only end up going out of date, or that need more equipment than I have.
Apologies again for a long post and thank you in advance for any help!
B&M would very likely sell the knock-off versions!
What would encourage you to post photo's of your meals on HE?
Breakfast - what's the best option?
Hi and welcome to the Healthy Eating group, Screen77. Thank you for introducing yourself to everyone.
Do you microwave the salmon? You can always add it with quinoa as a rice substitute.😀👍
Hi there, and thank you!
I usually cook salmon in the halogen oven (wrapped in foil with lemon juice) since I can't fry it, I have microwaved it in the past but it tended to be a bit dry.
I've considered quinoa, how would you cook it? I've seen a lot of stuff about boiling it in water which I can't do without my hob. Would it work putting it in a bowl and putting boiling water in with it? Or can you boil it in a microwave?
Quinoa would need to finish in a microwave - it doesn't cook through with just boiling water and time. You can get microwave packs, just as you do with rice though.
That's good to know, I'll have to try them both out, see how well it works. Thank you
As Cooper27 had said, put the quinoa in the bowl/packet and then microwave it for as long as the packet/ container says on the directions. 😀👍