I dislike cooking. I don’t know what it is exactly but it has always felt both boring and tedious. To me, doing the cleaning and washing up is highly enjoyable in comparison. But, we all need to eat. And so over the years I’ve ‘mastered’ a small collection of dishes that involves minimal effort, requires no real cooking talent or skill, but tastes good enough even for someone who’s pretty picky with food like myself. A number of dishes don’t even require any heat – it’s more assembly rather than cooking!
I’ve made some suggestions below of ingredients to include in the dishes but feel free to add, take away and mix it all up!
1. BREAKFAST SHAKE
I like my breakfast in liquid form as I’m usually not hungry yet (but often get hungry as soon as I leave the flat!). So I slowly sip on my breakfast shake as I’m getting ready in the morning. My base of choice is dark chocolate soy milk, and I add stuff like banana, spinach, peanut butter, chia seeds or protein powder depending on how I’m feeling that day. Add everything you want into a blender with some ice and you’ve got yourself breakfast in no time.
2. CHUNKY TUNA MAYO
This dish requires no cooking. All you have to do is chop up the veg and assemble. I personally like my tuna mayo with lots of veggies (i.e. crunchy) and not much mayo. Suggestions for veg: tomato, cucumber, pepper, gherkin, olives, celery. I usually use vegan mayo (feel free to use whatever you like) and season with salt, pepper and paprika powder. After chopping, mix everything up! Enjoy with bread of your choice, or a jacket potato.
For a quick and easy jacket potato: Take a potato, stab with a fork several times, shove in the microwave for 10 minutes (or until it’s ‘cooked’ enough for you), checking every few minutes.
3. EASY PEASY PIZZA
If you prefer thin crust pizza or like to play around with toppings, you’ll want to try this. For the base, you’ll use a tortilla/fajita wrap of your choice. I like to use a whole wheat wrap. If you don’t like cooking, you probably won’t be up for making your own tomato sauce? Feel free to get a jar from the supermarket. I personally just use simple tomato passata. Chop up the toppings you’d like to put on. I like vegan cheese, red onions, pesto, tomatoes, kale. Leave in the oven for about 15 mins, or until you’re happy.
4. HOMEMADE CHIPS
You’ll need an airfryer for this one, but I swear it’s a worthwhile investment. Skinny chips, chunky chips, sweet potato chips, swede chips… anything goes! How? Peel, chop up, boil for about 10 minutes, shove in the airfryer, season, spray with oil, set the timer to 15 minutes (or longer if you prefer it crispier). Enjoy alone or with your meal.
5. ONE PAN STIR FRY
I like a dish that requires just one pan to cook in. Not only is it just so much easier to just throw everything into one pan but it makes the aftercare quicker with only one pan to wash up!
Spray the pan with some oil, add in some chopped garlic (they also come in a jar or frozen already chopped up), and then add any vegetable or protein you like. Feel free to experiment and come up with combinations of food! I’ve added some photos below of some I’ve cooked recently. My favourite vegetables include peppers, kale, carrot, onion and broccoli.
6. A FUN SALAD
Yes you can have a salad with lettuce, tomato and cucumber, but wouldn’t it be more fun with maybe some olives, gherkins, sun dried tomatoes, shredded carrots, kale or broccoli? It’s quick and easy to chop up some veg, and mix up with some dressing. I personally like it simple: lemon and lime juice, olive oil and seasoning. Eat alone, top with some smoked salmon, add some pesto, or enjoy with a veggie burger, smoked salmon or leftovers!
I hope you find something new to try, but feel free to change it up and do whatever works for you!
** Header photo credit https://www.freshnlean.com/recipes/**