I call this recipe Baja balls

Get a crock pot and fill it with some plain frozen meatballs.

Dump the entire contents of a can of crushed pineapple in there, maybe a can of pineapple rings too if you’re feeling fancy.

Cover with low sodium teriyaki sauce and cook on high or medium depending on how much stuff you have to do today.

Cook up some rice when it’s looking done.

If you want it to be extra fancy you can garnish with some chives and sesame seeds

Takes literally no effort to make (especially if you have a rice cooker), kid friendly for all of the parents out there, nothing too expensive goes into it, and literally everyone I’ve given it to went crazy over it.

sad bastard cookbook. Recipes start from basic survival level and you can add more depending on how you feel.

Rice (rice cooker or microwaved from the fridge) + frozen vegetables + hummus/canned beans/edamame + fridge sauce such as chilli crisp, soy sauce, sambal oelek, etc.

Hummus + crackers

Big ol bowl of lettuce, store bought dressing, a fuck tonne of nuts.

Eggs and preshredded hash browns or toast. Both are basically one step each and I have to be there the whole time so there isn’t anything to forget.

Not healthy necessarily, but it can easily be one of two meals for the day as it is very filling even in small amounts.

I just heat up some frozen veggies, pretty good with kimchi!

Raw porridge is a good breakfast (and lunch) option, but you need to put it in the fridge the night before. I mix some oats, seeds, nuts and berries or fruit in a container and add soy/oat milk and some yoghurt (high protein soy yoghurt is best). Fresh dates are a superior sweetener and cinnamon + cardamom give a nice twist. 1/2 container of dry stuff and fill it up with liquid. I used to live on this stuff.

• Clif (or whatever you prefer) bars
• Protein shakes
• Scrambled eggs
• those small plastic boxes of pre-washed lettuce + a comically simple vinaigrette
• whatever vegetable you like, olive oil spray, salt pepper garlic, roast at 425 until you crisp it to your liking (optional hot sauce to give it a kick after you pull it out)

Also: get a sous vide machine and prep some stuff in your freezer. I’ve got several steaks with shaved garlic, s+p, rosemary and thyme in the freezer for when I just want to not care much about cooking, but want something meaty. After the main cook, just blot it dry and sear it real quick on a rippin’ hot skillet (stainless or steel or cast iron is going to give you better results, and also not give you cancer).

I’ve also got spatchcock roast chicken down to a science - WAY less effort than most people think it is.

Lentil soup.

• rice
• bag of frozen vegi
• protein

meals for months, just rotate the veg and meat you’ll be gold.

go to an Asian grocery store and get some sauces to add a whole new combo for more meals.

Boiled chicken + premade salad bag.

Creamy Tomato soup with onion, bell pepper, and basil

Rice from the rice cooker, fry an egg on top. Pretend you’re in a Ghibli film and crush that shit, instant mood boost.

Bag of lettuce, two premade hard boiled eggs, microwave bacon and half an avocado. Nice, easy cobb salad. Or Rao’s jarred soup

If you don’t have one, buy a good sized freezer. It takes just as long to cook a meal for six people as it does for only one. Freeze the extra and nuke it when you’re not in the mood to cook.

I have a five quart pot; I’ll make a big batch of chili or soup and freeze it in pint containers.

You can cook a whole roast chicken on Sunday, and use that as a meal base for the week. Chicken tacos, chicken sandwich, chicken and rice.

A rice cooker with a steam basket is great for this. Rice down below with some marinated protein and a courtesy vegetable up top. Think chicken thighs and sweet potato, sliced beef and broccoli, tofu and edamame, etc. To marinate just put your protein in a ziploc bag with equal parts olive oil, lemon juice and soya sauce.

Japanese curry is another nice easy one. Boil your protein with potatoes and carrots for 20mins, add the package of curry blocks, stir and let it sit for 10 mins. Serve it with rice or udon noodles. Pretty minimal effort and can be done in a large batch like chili

Pasta with pesto. But it’s healthier and more fancy looking than you’d think …

• my grocery sells “fresh” stuffed tortellini and ravioli in “family” sized packages that are good for more than a month
• I prefer pesto over marinara, but they each come in a jar and lasts a long time

1. Brown some meat. I like found Italian sausage meat when my grocery has it. I’ve also pulled the skins off (spicy) Italian sausage, I’ve used ground beef, ground turkey, or chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces. It doesn’t matter which
2. Slice a red pepper into chunks
3. Cook the pasta - remember to save a little pasta water (I always forget)
4. Dump into a colander
5. Put the pot back on the stove
6. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil, a couple shakes of crushed red pepper, and a tablespoon or two of garlic, and cook a minute to draw out the garlic
7. Dump in the pasta, the meat, the peppers , half a jar of pesto and mix it all in.
8. Add the pasta water (you remembered to save it, right?) shaved Parmesan and a handful of baby spinach and mix (this should be right before serving so the spinach is not over done)

Now you have simple pasta but it’s colorful, looks fancy, has vegetables.

Egg roll bowls:

1. In a bowl: Mix 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp mirin (or rice vinegar if it’s easier to find), and sriracha to taste (can omit) ** I usually eyeball this mixture. You really can’t go wrong with this combo.
2. Fry up ground protein of choice until it’s fully cooked (I do small cubes of tofu personally), add salt and pepper
3. Add a bag of cole slaw mix (I use broccoli slaw) to the pan and fry up until the veggies start to soften
4. Add the sauce mixed in the bowl and cook until the veggies are softened to your liking
5. Top with wonton strips and/or chili oil if you’re feeling fancy

Hard to mess up and even if you do it’ll still taste good and takes maybe 15 minutes tops.