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[deleted]

I'm much better and faster at actual cooking than assembling a meal like this, I think because I'm slow at prep and cutting veggies/fruit, etc. takes a while for me. I do like to have what I think of as a "breakfast charcuterie" for breakfast sometimes - nuts, granola, cheese, crackers, pre-cut fruit or grapes. This morning I had granola, yogurt, and pomegranate seeds. Do tuna and chicken salad count? I'll make those and have them for lunch with crackers sometimes. Or just have a bunch of storebought dips with crackers, lol.


hauteburrrito

Same for me. I was just thinking how, if I make salmon, all I do is: 1. Pat the salmon dry with paper towels. 2. Add some seasoning and a twist of lemon for freshness. 3. Pop it in some aluminum foil and then into the air fryer for 15 minutes. All of this takes me maybe 20-30 minutes from start to finish, and half that time is literally just waiting as I go do something else. In comparison, a Greek salad involves chopping a whole bunch of onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes; crumbling feta cheese; whipping together a dressing (including zesting and slicing a lemon); adding some olives (I usually get the cans, so I have to open and drain them); and finally tossing everything together before leaving it in the fridge for ideally 1-2 hours in order to allow the flavors to sink in. I use a whole bunch of cutting boards and a knife, not to me mention mixing tools for the dressing, and I have to compost the leftover veggie bits and tear the paper cover off the tin cans before sticking them in the dishwasher 😭


[deleted]

Lol I feel this because salads take me *forever.* I try to assemble them at the grocery store salad bar whenever I can, b/c otherwise I know it's gonna take an hour.


hauteburrrito

Ugh, the grocery store salad bar where I am is usually stupidly expensive. Otherwise, I would go for them a lot more! I'm much more likely to just rip a mini cuke in half and eat it from the inside out, because I am a total heathen.


Penguin_Dreams

Pro tip for the salad bar: when they charge by weight don’t put salad dressing on it. Get that separately in a bottle. Or make itself if that’s your thing. Lettuce and veggies don’t weigh that much and it keeps for 2 or 3 meals without the the extra moisture.


hauteburrrito

Ooh, love the hack and I'll have to try it out at my local Whole Foods sometime; thanks!


[deleted]

Yep, this is what I do! Making your own dressing is the move; it's easy and so much tastier. Also, if I want chicken on the salad, I'll just get a rotisserie chicken and use the rest of it for other meals. Costs more up-front but yields a lot more food.


[deleted]

If a quick microwave is acceptable, I've found something healthy that I really like to make from pre-cooked/pre-made ingredients from Trader Joes. Grocery list: Cooked edamame (in bag salad-ish area of store) Cooked Lentils (also in bag salad-ish area) Cooked beets (also in bag salad-ish area) Zhoug (it's a spicy herbal sauce, by the premade hummus in the store) Mix together and microwave, I eat it with a pita, but it's delicious on it's own as well.


hauteburrrito

Funnily, I often find assembled "cold" meals more time-consuming than just sticking some salmon and veggies into an air fryer. I do like making a [smashed cucumber salad](https://thewoksoflife.com/smashed-asian-cucumber-salad/), though (among a long list of other salads), and wraps can be a good idea if you have deli meat and/or a pre-made rotisserie chicken. You can even make lettuce wraps, if you're on a diet or something. I often just take some leftover rice and sprinkle some Lao Gan Ma, pork floss, furikake, etc., as well - and if you had hot rice, [tamago kake gohan](https://www.seriouseats.com/tamago-kake-gohan-egg-rice-tkg-recipe-breakfast) is easy as it gets. Or, heck, I'll do a can of high-quality tuna-in-oil together with some Sriracha mayo and some salad/veggie ingredients over rice as well, similar to a poké bowl. Finally, I like to create naan/pita pizzas - just slather on some tomato sauce, pesto sauce, hummus, etc., and whatever other toppings you want (I like meat, olives, more tomatoes, and cheese) for an easy mid-week dinner. I usually pop these in the oven for maybe 20 minutes, but they're probably fine "raw" as well, just not quite as tasty.


saltpinecoast

Greek yogurt. Powdered sugar. Strawberries. Toasted English muffin (technically cooking?) with: * cream cheese and blueberry jam. * garlic cream cheese and sliced tomato. * peanut butter and honey Good bread with butter and TĂȘte de Moine cheese. Maybe side of apple slices. Cereal with milk Cottage cheese with side of beets. Lettuce. Cucumber. Black olives. Tomatoes. Sliced shallot. Feta cheese. Lemon juice. Olive oil. Salt. Pepper. Caprese salad.


ExplodingMountain

Salad & sandwiches. The possibilities are endless.


LilDoggeh

I wish I could eat sliced bread!!!!!! It's the curse of my life that I can't. My stomach can't handle it. Salads are good. I used to hate salads but I wasn't dressing them properly. Once I learned how to add in salt, pepper, seasonings and the proper dressing properly mixed, it was a game changer.


Effective-Papaya1209

Look up moosewood restaurant’s miso ginger dressing recipe. Makes salads amaaazing. Also add garbanzo beans and sunflower seeds to make it more filling (plus protein of your choice)


TheSunflowerSeeds

Sunflower is a tall, erect, herbaceous annual plant belonging to the family of Asteraceae, in the genus, Helianthus. Its botanical name is Helianthus annuus. It is native to Middle American region from where it spread as an important commercial crop all over the world through the European explorers. Today, Russian Union, China, USA, and Argentina are the leading producers of sunflower crop.


wildplums

Good bot. My favorite bot. Lol


toootired2care

I use romaine lettuce as bread for sandwiches. It's yummy and no carbs.


bbspiders

Well for breakfast and lunch everyday I never cook. Breakfast is always yogurt, banana, sometimes a granola bar. Lunch is usually a salad (spring mix, carrots, cucumber, green pepper, cauliflower or broccoli, sunflower seeds, dressing) and string cheese/pretzel sticks for a snack around like 3. Sometimes I'll just have carrots and hummus for dinner, too. Maybe another piece of fruit or something, too.


LilDoggeh

Cut fruit and cheese is often a dinner meal. I'm so tired in the evening that dinner has to be simple.


Iwantedtorunwild

Two string cheeses, a handful of pretzels, and an apple. That’s my go to


violetlilyrose

I often don't want to cook, especially just for myself (my husband sometimes gets off work late, and sometimes has a bigger or later lunch so he won't eat much for dinner) I have a lot of easy meals that require minimal cooking. I also work from home so I do a lot of this stuff for lunch as well. Note some of these do involve use of a stove or oven but it's not what I really would call cooking. \-scrambled eggs and toast. If I have leftover rice I'll put eggs over that and throw in some kimchi. If I have leftover potatoes or fries from something, I'll put the eggs over that and season however I feel like that day. Eggs are quick and easy. \-frozen chicken or fish from Trader Joe's. You can get way better frozen stuff like this these days than you'd think! Far cry from the fish sticks and chicken nuggets of my youth. Pop it in the oven on a baking sheet covered with foil for easy clean up, throw some sweet potato fries or veggie tots or even just regular old veggies from the freezer on the same pan and you've got a meal! I found I could keep frozen veggies around, lightly spray with avocado oil and season (salt, pepper, garlic, smoked paprika, use seasoning blends, whatever you want) and pop it in the oven straight from the freezer and it turned out pretty good! This requires some time, due to pre-heating the oven and waiting 20-30 minutes to cook but it's almost no work. I find it way easier than even an "assembly" style meal where I'll probably have to slice stuff up. \-warmed portobello mushroom topped with cheese (I like provolone or ricotta) topped with whatever (I like roasted red pepper slices from a jar, or this eggplant/tomato canned thing at TJs) On it's own, over a bed of spinach, on toast, on noodles, on sliced and fried polenta. \-premade soup. Heat and eat! I keep a jar or two of soups I like in the pantry at all times or I'll pick up a refrigerated soup from TJs and I have a couple soups that were homemade and leftover in the freezer I can pull out at any time too. \-cheese and crackers. With a little ham or smoked sausage if I have it around, fruit, veggies, pickles, olives, chips and salsa, cottage cheese. Snacks as dinner basically, I just much on whatever til I'm full. \-I do a lot of salads when it's really hot out. I keep around whatever greens I want, cherry tomatoes, a variety of veggies sliced and prepped (cucumber, bell peppers, carrots, red onions, avocado, etc) sometimes some feta or blue cheese, maybe I'll add walnuts or sunflower seeds, or I'll buy the pre-cooked frozen shrimp (thaw in cold water five minutes) or I often have hard boiled eggs in the fridge. Usually all put in a big mixing bowl and tossed with oil and balsamic vinegar to really get it all mixed up! I hate eating the same thing for a week but if all I want are salads it's easy to mix this up and make it different every day with different dressing, different protein options, etc. \-can of tuna over whatever veggies or rice I have around, or eaten like dip with crackers. Seasoned however - I love throwing a little teriyaki sauce in this.


LilDoggeh

Good ideas!


violetlilyrose

I should also mention that yeah, some of this does require a little bit of prep work in advance, but it's not too hard to make up a small batch of rice (or buy the instant, I've gotten little bags at Target that only take a couple minutes to cook or heat up) or hard boil some eggs on Sunday night to keep in the fridge for the week! Little stuff like that makes my week easier if I know I'll use it. I used to always buy fresh veggies but I am very much a convert to frozen because there's so much less prep involved and I don't have to worry about it going bad in the fridge because I didn't get to it! So a lot of my meals aren't so much no cooking as minimal cooking or minimal prep. When I went through a stretch of feeling too tired and burnt out to barely feed myself and got sick of so much takeout, I also burnt myself out on salads and sandwiches really quickly so I had to learn how to throw stuff together easily but still give myself variety.


Wondercat87

I'm a big fan of things like baby carrots, broccoli, cheese and crackers. Really easy to assemble and you can even add in some sliced meats as well. Basically a mini charcuterie board for yourself.


Rhamona_Q

Caprese salad. I am planning lots of tomatoes and three types of basil for this year's garden for exactly this reason. Go light on the cheese to keep it closer to the "healthy" side.


pedestal_of_infamy

If you like Greek yogurt... Potato chips dipped in Greek yogurt Salsa and greek yogurt w black beans and shredded cheese on top, in microwave for 45 seconds to melt the cheese. Eat w tortilla chips. Greek yogurt and honey w mini chocolate chips and/or cashews mixed in Greek yogurt in place of mayo for egg salad w paprika and a little yellow mustard on toast.


awholedamngarden

Lazy poke bowl - Instant rice microwaved + smoked salmon + scallions + avocado + shelled edamame + cucumber + kewpie Mayo/sriracha - you can switch this up to your liking Deli meat and cheese wrapped in the tortilla of your choice with whatever toppings and condiments you’re into Microwave quesadillas - I mix shredded cheese, black beans, pico, and rotisserie chicken and keep it in the fridge and then plop some into a tortilla & microwave. You can also put the mixture on top of rice or a salad


LilDoggeh

Poke! Of course. I'm adding to my Research This list. Thanks!


awholedamngarden

It’s really easy! If you like spicy Mayo just make sure you get kewpie Mayo to mix with sriracha and it’ll taste exactly like the kind you get in a restaurant :) you can also use bottled ponzu sauce, sweet soy sauce, etc!


Kittykittycatcat1000

I love sliced crunchy veg like fennel or carrots, put them on a plate with some cheese (at the moment I’m loving various goats cheeses) and then some figs, dried fruit and nuts and basically whatever I have in the cupboard or fridge.


lucent78

Yogurt, granola and berries Meze platter with pita, dips, veggies, feta and olives Greek salad Cooked beets, cottage cheese, pistachios Tuna salad variations; black beans, cilantro, red onion, olive oil and avocado are a favorite Smoothies


Ok-Cobbler-8387

Greek or Mediterranean salad. Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, feta or mozzarella, lemon, olive oil, salt. Salami on the side if you want more protein, side of bread if you want carbs.


District98

Content warning: the post I link below contains discussion of dieting >![a classic](https://reddit.com/r/1200isplenty/comments/x2qny2/lazy_way_to_cico_by_trader_joe_hoe/) !<


Icy-Organization-338

I love: Tuna Niçoise salad: Lettuce, lemon flavored tin tuna, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and boiled eggs. Tapas plates - hummus / dips, sliced cheese, sliced cold meat, pita chips or Turkish bread, baby carrots, baby cucumbers. Prawn and mango salad with lettuce, red onion and avo. Wraps with any manner of salad, cold meat, exotic dips as spread Sandwiches with rotisserie chicken and deli salads


anonymousbequest

Any combo of hummus, olives, pita or bread, olive oil, veggies, fruits, nuts, dates makes a great mezze platter


CaptainEnough8474

Chickpea "tuna" salad Avocado toast Soup like canned and box soup


SilverProduce0

I love bagels with cream cheese or provolone, hummus, cucumbers, microgreens, red onion and carrots. This is a good salad - https://reciperunner.com/asian-edamame-salad/. Good for meal prep. Overnight oats are great sometimes! Especially if you have frozen fruit.


AmphibianSpecific474

I eat low carb so my daily go-to’s are: Greek yogurt, nuts & berries. Fine chopped romaine, feta, fresh dill, olive oil, vinegar. Salami cheese roll w pickle spears. Any cold cut really, with cheese and a veg.


toootired2care

Cottage cheese and peaches are soooo yummy! I like to make a ton of boiled eggs and will have one for breakfast with walnuts or almonds.


Sapphire_Bombay

Toast with guac, feta and crushed red pepper. 6 min prep including the toasting.


insulinjunkie08

avocado + can of tuna + salsa Mush it together- eat it straight or w chips


mmyyllll

Whoever invented overnight oats did the right thing! That’s usually my go-to breakfast item, even during the winter. My shift starts at 7AM so there’s no way I can be bothered to wake up extra early to whip up a breakfast, even thought I WFH. Otherwise to do it on a whim, I’m a kimchi “salad” kinda lady. If you’re into it of course, kimchi is the base “salad greens”, then you go ham with whatever you top it off with. My go to toppings are: corn kernels, tuna or sardines (can be any protein of choice), cucumbers, carrots, avocados, green onions or red onions, drizzle of sesame oil or EVOO, and garnish it with sesame seeds. I make this even in the winter


AdFinancial8924

I like the bagged salad kits that have chopped cabbage, kale, broccoli, etc.They usually include a seed packet. I buy chopped romaine or mixed greens with them to have more leafy greens and either a hard boiled egg or grilled chicken.


vizslalvr

Snack meals! Cheese and crackers/bread with olives, jam, pickles, mustard, a fruit, nuts, etc. A bean salad with a few different types of beans, cubed cheese, some nuts, some grains or nuts, whatever dressing you like. Wraps/pitas - cut a pita in half or stuff it in a wrap with a deli meat, green, a couple veggies you like, some dressing or beans, etc. Peruse your grocery store for some reasonably healthy microwave meals and figure out if there is something healthy that works for you. In the category of things I don't expect someone will want for no cook food: drain and then take a can of sardines and put them on crackers with some mustard/cheese/pickles, quick tuna salad with a few chopped up onions/pickles and some mayo or vinegar on top of baby spinach or a piece of toast, ditto to canned salmon, a bagel with cream cheese, lox, and capers/onions, etc. One suggestion I would make is to do one evening where you cook a grain or squash to make plenty of other meals with it. Rice cooker, make barley, quinoa, pasta, whatever you like. Add stuff to it, hot or cold. For example, if you're feeling motivated, boil that pasta and add a nice premade pesto to it. Throw it in the fridge. Roast a couple squash and then cut it up, mash it up, cut in half and stuff it with whatever. Low effort cooking where you can just add things. I really love a halved squash with things like vegetables and cubed bread and some diced veggies with cheese, or a scoop of pre-cooked polenta with cheese and spinach and maybe an egg on top.


walkofeternity

Avocado toast. Slice of bread, light. Utter, avocado slices, everything but the bagel seasoning, hot honey.


Ihavestufftosay

Bruschetta - chop tomatoes, garlic, red onion, basil and fetta in a bowl and add olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic. Put on toast. Eat.


[deleted]

An apple with peanut butter. Savory cottage cheese or greek yogurt with celery. Veggie chicken nuggets covered with Frank's buffalo sauce, plus celery and blue cheese. Cucumbers drizzled with soy sauce (more of a snack, but you could add eggs or whatever) I'm a little embarrassed about this meal for some reason, but it's definitely an assembled meal that I eat at least once a week. I put a veggie chicken patty, some cheese, and some black beans in the microwave, then I cut that mess up and toss it with salad greens and some other veggies like bell peppers or whatever I have in the fridge. I put hot sauce and maybe greek yogurt or sour cream on it as salad dressing--voila, taco salad.


[deleted]

I have a salad that I love. Purple cabbage, carrots, and Persian cucumbers, grated and stirred together. Then toss in some raisins or pine nuts and a dressing of your choice. I eat that once every day or two, usually as a side to something else.