When the pandemic started, I initially embraced cooking. If we couldn’t order food or go out to eat, I was going to make the best dinners. I love cooking, but by month four I was started to hate thinking about meal preparation. Delivery seemed safe again, so for an entire week we ordered everything we had missed for those months. But delivery is expensive, so it was back to the kitchen.
If you’re also getting tired of cooking and are looking for some healthy, easy dishes to make, Redditors have your back.
Apparently, sheet pans and crock pots are necessary, so stock up!
1.
“Crock pots are your best friend. Trust me on this. Crock pot recipes are STUPID cheap and easy. Hell a decent crock pot is like 20-40 bucks. Get some meat, some broth, some veggies, and some seasonings. Throw it all in and mix it up. Put it on low and let it cook while you are at work. You come home and the crock pot still has like 2 hours left to cook the food. Stupid easy and cheap to do and tasty too.” — TheLightningCount1
2.
“Start the week by roasting two trays of vegetables. I typically do eggplant, broccoli, brussels sprouts, zucchini and mushrooms. Some times a sweet potato. Also prepare 1.5 cups of a dry grain – rice, quinoa. Buy pre-cooked chicken filets and another protein of your choosing. Mix and match through out the week. A – top chicken with mushrooms and cheese then reheat. Add some honey mustard and serve with veggies and a salad. B – make a veggie bowl. C – make a wrap with the roasted vegetables and protein of choice. D – use frozen vegetables and make a quick fried rice with your pre-cooked grains and protein.” — tabmesomemore
3.
“Buy an air fryer. You can cook a ton of different things relatively quickly and easily and they’ll be crispy without being greasy.” — HoopOnPoop
4.
Curry. So many options from Japanese style curry cubes (the premade stuff is ok, but I prefer cubes) or bottled Indian or Thai styled curries. Really there are no rules with this. You can add whatever meats you want or veggies. Eat with rice, on its own or with bread. You can go low and slow in the crockpot make early in the morning and by the time you come home it’s ready to eat (though if you use chicken it’ll dry out if you cook it longer than 4 hours on low) , on the stove or instant pot. Really you can just make it your own thing.” — brittwithouttheney
5.
“Practically any style of eggs made with garlic, onion, spinach, bell peppers & cheese.” — pato-perdido
6.
“Dump dried garlic, onion, olive oil and salt in a pan. Let it all get golden. Throw some diced chicken and a little water in. Cover and let boil until the chicken is all white. Put some whole rice and some lentils. Cover with water. Carrots are optional. Put some black pepper, correct the salt, add any other seasonings you want to. Let it boil until lentils are cooked. Voilà, there you have a lazy and very nutritious meal in one pan, in about 40 minutes, 30 of which you will just wait while you scroll through cat videos.” — OphrysAlba
7.
“For easy breakfasts you can pre-make it, pour your oatmeal/grain of choice into a bowl and add milk, when you get up in the morning just pop it in the microwave. When it’s done add frozen fruit. This’ll cool it a bit and add tons of nutrition and vitamins. The heat will also thaw the fruit. Vice versely you can go with an omelette or scrambled eggs. Add some pre chopped onions or peppers or spinach and sauté for a few minutes before adding eggs.” — oniiichanUwU
8.
“Pasta salad. Make it about half veggies- tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, avocado etc, and half or less pasta. I like using a black bean pasta. I’ll chop up spinach and add it right before eating too bc I make this frequently for weekday lunches. always satisfying.” — cozyintherocket53
9.
“A couple of key pieces of equipment and some specific cooking methods were game changes for me. An air fryer, a rice cooker, a big deep frypan and a big baking/roasting tray is what I make 99% of my meals with. In terms of cooking methods, you can put pretty much any meats or vegetables on trays and cook them in the oven (separately of course) you just need to know how long they require and at what heat, and there’s plenty of that info online. This means you just prep the food, chuck it in the oven, and then use that time to do something else. I usually do this right away when I get home, then use that time to get out of my work clothes, feed the dog, and browse socials while not straying too far from the kitchen for safety reasons.” — _mattsredditaccount_
10.
“I’m a God awful cook. My wife went out of town for a few weeks. After the fourth or fifth burrito, I finally broke down and asked how she made her salmon because it’s one of my favorite dishes. ‘Salt and pepper. Broil for about 7 or 8 minutes. Put some lemon on it when it’s done.’ It was that easy this whole time?!?” — H-Christ