StirFrys, get a pan screaming hot, chop veggies, chop meat, wack them in, stir em up, add a sauce packet (black-bean/hosoin&garlic whatever you like) chuck noodles on top, 12 minutes top, serves 2.

Any veg and any meat will work, the sauce packets and noodles (not the dried type!) will keep for ever

Wood science.

Poorly.

I’m reading this while at the localctavern bar having a chicken wrap. My ability to make a meal depends on what I have on hand and whether I feel I can take the time to make it.

When I succeed, it is becausevi gave myself plenty of time where I did not feel pressured to get things done, cleared my mind, and chose some recepies I want to make. Then I get the groceries and ‘just do it’. That last part is hit and miss z but it is glorious when I can do it.

I slam my head into the plate or bowl and then suck everything up like one of those bottom-feeding fish.

I just don’t do like once a week shopping. I go out every single day to get what I am going to eat because when I buy stuff in advance to just keep at home, I end up not wanting it and it goes bad. I also have a hard time thinking of meals to get and make when I am not hungry. So it’s easier to just go out and get what I want, when I want it. Most of the time, it’s a premade dinner or sandwich from the grocery store across the street I just have to heat up.

You just put one foot in front of the other

I don’t eat all day then at 11pm I microwave some frozen thing or pickup halal or fast food. I want to eat better and more consistent but I can never get myself to cook or figure out recipes etc. I love the food I cook I usually make stuff that I really enjoy but its super hard to get myself to keep up with it all.

There’s a startlingly large quantity of meals that start with olive oil and seasoned meat in a pot and end in being served over a carb that you can make ten pounds of in less than an hour. I keep dried onion flakes and a jar of minced garlic on hand for when (buying and) cutting fresh aromatics is too many steps. But really, skipping enough “you should do this it makes the dish better” steps can turn everything from beef stroganoff to japanese-style curry to cottage pie into one-pot meals that provide “leftovers” for a week or more. If you crave variety, you can compress the effort and do the same amount of work “per week” but commit more time to one day: this lets you make three or four ten pound Meals that are then divided into freezer-safe portions that can be defrosted or reheated as desired. So instead of “red sauce pasta week, teriyaki chicken week, bacon and egg and hashbrown bowl week, etc” you spend a day per month prepping 3-5 meals and then just microwave those meals for the next month. This strategy basically requires a chest freezer though. Pairs well with compressing your month of grocery shopping task into one big trip to Costco where you can buy 40lb of raw meat to prep into meals.

Take shortcuts, be lazy, compress all the effort into one “task” (“meal prep for 2h a week” or “meal prep for 6 hours once a month” instead of “make 3 quick meals every day”). Basically ask yourself “what is actually wrong with eating hot pockets for three meals a day” (expensive, not actually that good tasting, lacks a lot of important nutrients) and fix that problem by making something better that takes just as little effort as a hot pocket does when you’re actually hungry.

Cook a huge amount when you can, eat leftovers forever.

You’re a student? I guarantee someone on campus has already done the hard work of making a calendar with all the events with free food for students on it. Subscribe and dine.

Me, I have a job that feeds me at least one meal a day. I eat what I can there.

Sandwiches

I have a wide variety depending on whether I’m cooking for myself, eating with others, and what is going on.

Generally in the mornings I make either over easy eggs with toast or breakfast burritos as both csn be whipped up in about 10 minutes with minimal cleanup. If I’m lazy in the evening I might make a can of soup with crackers, or beanie weenies that I can eat over a few meals. If I get some time and motivation on the weekend I will cook down onions, bell peppers, and jalepenos to use on the eggs and breakfast burrito during the weekdays.

Other than that it is fast food/takeout if I’m busy or unmotivated and if motivated I will make something random that takes around 6 ingredients because that is about my limit. Home made burgers, grilled vegetables, steaks with a side of broccoli or corn, etc.

Then if I have workplace appropriate leftovers I take those, although they also have salads for sale. I work from home 3 days a week and heat up whatever leftovers are around.

If you are absolutely unmotivated then simple sandwiches with an apple on the side worked for me when I didn’t cook enough for leftovers.

What worked for me is marrying someone that is a phenomenal cook. Have you tried proposing to any chefs?

First off is taking some of my meals as a liquid, Protein powder plus iced coffee has been doing wonders for me in the morning and it takes seconds to assemble. The other one is made a deal with my roommate that I’d cook dinner most nights if I never had to mow the lawn so the subtle pressure of not just needing to feed myself helps as well.

Another thing is you can’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Some days if its calories that isn’t pure sugar then I count that as a win and promise to try to do better tomorrow. I still skip meals on the regular to the point that my name has become a verb to describe the phenomenon but we do our best right?

“Dad’s Lava Chicken” (my kids call it that); it takes about 30 minutes from start to finish (depending on how much I have to trim the chicken), and makes tons of left overs. Pro tip: don’t cut the asparagus, break the ends of with your fingers.

A super easy Tuna Casserole (if you’re into that sort of thing).

A White Bean Chicken Chili. Tons of left overs.

My personal fave: Balsamic Vinaigrette Chickenin the crockpot.

Ps. I also buy ready-made salad and use just balsamic vinegar and pepper as the dressing for my veggies.

Main strategies right now:

• engineered staple foods always available in stock (Jimmy Joy, Soylent, Huel, “This is food”, …). So always the option to have a somewhat healthy meal with 0 effort.
• big freezer & hot air fryer. Good compromise of taste & health: salmon with vegetables in cream sauce. Less healthy: Fries (still best-health fries), fish sticks, vegan burger
• healthy-enough snacks. Currently binging on high protein, low sugar cookies. Obviously not that healthy, but otherwise I’d binge the really bad stuff when I lose control
• healthy snack plate with carrots, apple slices etc.: Just set it up at the desk and see what happens. Thinking about actually eating it is too much mental effort, and it happens automatically anyway.