I am absolutely garbage at cooking nor do I have the desire to get better at cooking intricate dishes. But I still prefer making food at home as much as possible. So I was wondering what your favourite easy dishes are.
I don’t value taste too highly. But I prefer that have relatively moderate to low carb content. But don’t wanna be picky so anything goes. Please feel free to share.
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These aren’t necessarily low carb, but they’re my gotos for when I have no time to make something good.
- Avocado toast. Two minute meal. Sprinkle some garlic salt on top.
- Baked potatoes. There is a right way to do it. Vegan cream cheese + squeezed lemon, or really anything you want to top it. Prep is like 30 seconds, then set a timer and go do whatever you like.
- Rice + de-shelled edamame. Optionally fry it and go as advanced as you like.
- Lazy tacos. Can of Black beans, some onions, any tortillas you like. Get a powdered seasoning you like ( I use chipotle ). Optionally put vegan cheese on top. 10 minutes max.
- Cheap vegan ramens from the store.
When that woman scoffed at baked potatoes in the microwave it felt like a personal attack.
lol potato snobs do exist apparently. They go hardcore in that video, even making sure the potatoes are the right internal temperature. They are really good tho.
That’s usually for convenience. I can throw something in the oven and forget about it. The alarm will tell me when it’s reached the right internal temperature and is cooked.
You need one with a cable so the machine sits outside the oven.
I’ve written the right temperatures for common foods on the machine.
Smart move on writing the temps down, I always forget.
curried lentils over rice - buy the yellow curry (not dark brown Indian stuff). If you soak the lentils a few hours first, you minimize your cooking time and a bit of labor. Almost all beans should be soaked at least 12 hours (24 hours is best), then prefereably cooked in a pressure cooker, and then frozen or left in frig 2 days. best advice for anyone wanting to eat more veg: Spent far more effort on finding the best tasting vegetables and varieties and which stores have the best. If the variety is the best (ex: pumpkin, a c. pepo, isn’t nearly as tasty as any c. moschata, one of which is butternut), you may not even need salt or seasonings. Second advice: try out as many sauces and seasonings as possible (mainly for dark leafy greens) so that eating healthy doesn’t feel like a chore. My faves are peanut satay sauce, faux oyster sauce (tends to be too salty), heavy CHinese-style soy sauce (must be bought at an Asian store), hoisin sauce, and the combo of fresh garlic, ginger, and either soy sauce or salt.
Impossible Sausage (I prefer spicy), diced bell peppers, diced onion, maybe mushroom. Saute the veggies first and set aside on a plate. Cook the sausage, breaking it apart, until browned. Good toppings are guac, avocado, salsa, Chinese chili garlic paste, or salsa. It can also be served on a bed of brown rice, as a burrito, or in taco.
Soy curls are a nice replacement for chicken. I buy them directly from the manufacturer, Butler Foods. They soak up marinades very nicely and provide plenty of protein. A strong sauce works as well.
Roasted veggies: cut up, toss with olive oil, roast for 30-40 minutes turning every 10-15 minutes with a spatula. Za’atar or ras al hanout seasoning blend both work well with a wide variety of vegetables.
Scrambled tofu with spring onions. It takes 10 minutes and only requires a pan and a surface where to cut the vegetables. You need one spring onion, 300g of tofu, nutritional yeast, turmeric, salt, oil, garlic powder, soy milk (sugar-free), any vegetable (I usually use peppers, but also broccoli, spinach or any other vegetable, or beans are good too)
- cut the spring onion very thinly (just the “white part”). I usually cut a few of them and then freeze (or put in the fridge) the rest
- also cut peppers in cubes. Again, I usually cut 3/4 peppers at time so I’m good for a week or more. You can freeze what you don’t need right now
- scramble the tofu (I do it with my hands, I usually cut it in smaller blocks first)
- pour one spoon of olive oil on the pan and heat it for one minute
- add spring onions and tofu, and cook the thing for 3-4 minutes or until the tofu starts to gain a darker color
- add two spoons of nutritional yeast, one teaspoon of salt, 1/4 spoon of turmeric, a sprinkle of garlic powder, add the vegetables
- cook it for 4/5 minutes
- turn off the fire, add 4/5 spoons of soy milk, and mix everything
A baked sweet potato is a perfectly sized lunch, and one of my favorites on weekends. Stab with a fork several times on each side before baking ~20 minutes at 175 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) or until soft.
Baked squash (butternut, acorn, spaghetti, Hokkaido, etc.) is also excellent, though it must be halved, cleaned, and lightly oiled before baking ~40 minutes at 175 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) or until soft.
Most people aren’t as big a fan of sweet potato / squash as I am, but meals don’t get much easier than this.
For a mostly worry free soup, here’s my take on dead simple minestrone:
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A few small handfuls of macaroni or similar sized pasta
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1-2 cans of crushed tomatoes, optional tomato paste to taste
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1-2 bundles of swiss chard, and/or kale
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1/2-1/3 head of green cabbage
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1-2 cans of beans, most kinds work, including cans of mixed beans.
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1-2 carrots
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3-5 celery stalks
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1-2 onions
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1 bulb of minced garlic
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Whatever other vegetables in your fridge you need to get rid of. Soup is a great way to use them!
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Herbs: thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil, paprika. More or fewer kinds depending on taste and what you have in the pantry. Add a bit and taste, repeat until you think it’s good enough.
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Water or vegetable broth
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Salt and pepper
I’ve made it several times already. To be honest, I don’t even measure stuff. I just chop everything to about fingernail sized, throw it all in, boil it for a half hour or so, and it comes out great. Dip some bread in and you’ve got dinner figured out!
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Rice and beans! https://lemmy.ml/post/145425
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Sounds delicious and I learned what pulses are. Pulses=beans for any one else wondering.
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Saved, thx.
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Making flatbread yourself is surprisingly easy. Really good with hummus or guacamole.
https://spacepub.space/videos/watch/0656038d-7255-411b-beff-2d652e71d804
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Can’t believe I forgot to mention this one!
Mapo tofu, a Chinese classic. Depending on the exact recipe, is either already vegan or dead simple to turn vegan. It’s also insanely savoury if you’re ever missing the taste of meat.
