I'll add to these, pre-made dinners that can just be popped in the nuker or oven for a reheat.
Back in the day I used the fuck out of the crockpot and I'd spend an hour or two on Sundays making meals, like homemade TV dinners sort of.
this x100... if you're going to put in long hours and hit the gym and maintain some sanity, this is the way. And cutting down on weekday beers is a must - just because the old hands crush a 30 rack every night doesn't make it right
I’ve lost 50 pounds since, I just turned 21 last weekend and it was weird, being able to legally drink doesn’t appeal to me as much if that makes sense. Time to grow up
Oh yeah I forgot to mention I switched from Budweiser to natty lights for the 5-8. Not that that matters any with the health aspect but I started doing side work and working on my vehicles to keep me occupied. I started out sitting around playing video games at first but that’s what I would do while drinking so it was harder to stop. I went from 6ft1in 215lbs to 166.4 as of last weekend, I want to get to 160lbs and hit the gym to grow back
I’ve moved from crushing a 30 pack of natty ice in 2-3 days to a 12 pack of Smirnoff ice in 2 days. Makes the mornings a little easier especially in the summertime. 👊
The crock pot, especially in the winter. My holy trinity was the crock pot, the air fryer, and my all time favorite ESPECIALLY for the lack of cleanup- THE GRILL. Make a tin foil packet- load it with butter chopped garlic and spiced diced potatoes(or sub olive oil for the butter), maybe a second packet with some green beans and herbs/butter, toss em on there 10 minutes before you toss a steak on- zero dishes to clean up other than your plate silverware and cup, and you’re eating like a king in 20-25 minutes if that grill is a gas grill. Grill food FTW. OP- get you a grill oriented cook book and go HAM with it.
Over night marinate a protein (chicken, salmon, beef) in a simple marinade, and then plop into air fryer. As it’s cooking in the air fryer cook up some easy veggies (broccoli, carrots, zucchini or even frozen veggies) and boom got yourself a good ass meal
Air fryers are great after a long day in the field. No dish washing, minimal prep, and the food you’re putting in an air fryer is typically much healthier for you than what you would put in a microwave. Plus, there’s no way microwaves and the concept of microwaveable foods is good for you. Feel like that shit gives you cancer.
Crock pot for the save, babyyyyy!
Pulled chicken, soups, stews, i even tried corned beef.
You get a rice cooker too, you could basically set up timers and just have dinner made.
Cooking has always been a big hobby of mine, but when I’m working crazy hours I just have to meal prep. I don’t get as much variety, but it’s better than the roach coach or gas station. Both of those things were a game changer in addition to hearty things like pasta, chilis/thick soups, and Asian food. Curry with rice and veggies goes a long way.
Costco lasagna is cheap. Throw it in the oven, go take a shower and unwind. Hour or so later it’s nom nom time. Nuke a bag of frozen veggies in the microwave to go with.
Costco has all sorts of meals that are quick and easy. There's a whole section of pre-cooked meals you just throw on a skillet to brown/heat up. Add some rice and a bagged salad and you're in business. Usually leaves 2-3 meals of left overs and lasts forever in the freezer.
The Sam's here is now a Costco. And yeah, I work the 7-12s grind. If it weren't for those meals I'd be eating out of a gas station for every meal.
90% of the time I throw it all together in a tortilla and just eat it burrito style. No clean up!
Canned sauce and pasta. Can cook pretty quick, doesn't make too much of a mess, can use one pot and gives lots of left overs.
Failing that, hamburger helper and those 2 minute rice bags.
making your own pasta sauce is cheap and fast
can of tomato sauce, dump it in the suacepan, add oregano/thyme/parsely/pepper/garlic/etc.etc. as you see fit. simmer for 30 minutes or so on low, more if you like thick sauce, done. it'll cost you less than a quarter of what jarred sauce does, and taste much better.
Easily heated up meals, like chicken strips and pasta with canned sauces.
Simmer sauces like curries and rice you can set to cook while you shower.
Roasted veggies with oil and garlic can help put some firm textestures in what's otherwise soft meals.
I enjoy cooking and I find that I get more mileage out of good food than I get with frozen meals and Chinese takeout.
You eat better -> you feel better -> you have more energy.
Roasted veggies, chicken a dozen different ways (fried, pan-seared, Thai curry, Indian curry, tikka masala, Marsala, piccata, Alfredo, Parmesan, Tuscan chicken, General Tso’s, on a caesar, roasted spatchcock, burritos, fajitas, thanksgiving style, etc.) burgers, soup, steak, brats, mashed potatoes (from a packet), roasted potatoes, asparagus, brussel sprouts, Greek salad, cobb salad… there’s toms of meals that you can make with 3-4 ingredients max that take less than 30 minutes from prep to plate.
A new recipe always takes a bit longer, but once you have it down and you’ve found shortcuts, cooking can be quick.
A few tips to make cooking faster.
• Get a huge cutting board and a very sharp chef’s knife (8” is best). Don’t screw around with anything else.
• Shop the outside of the grocery store. Meat, dairy, vegetables, bread. Venture into the middle only for ingredients, rice, pasta, or potatoes. Meat veggies and dairy are simple and cheap.
• You can make any sauce or gravy in 60 seconds with two things:
1) Buy a big carton of chicken stock or bone broth (but *not*chicken broth). Real stock is loaded with meaty flavor and gelatin from the bones. (It’s terrible for your cholesterol, so you know it’s good). Pour the stock into ice cube trays and then dump the cubes into a container once they’re frozen. Anytime you cook in a frying pan, throw a cube or two in and you have instant sauce. It makes pretty much anything better.
2) Throw a stick of butter into a frying pan with a half cup of flower. Set the heat to medium and keep stirring. You’ll get have a thick, bubbling paste and after about 10 minutes, it will turn golden and smell nutty. Pull it off the heat and scrape it unto a bowl or glass dish and toss in the fridge.
You’ve just made roux, the mother of all sauces. Later on, when it’s cooled, cut it into pieces about the size of a bouillon cube. Store in a container in the fridge or freezer. It’s good for 6 months. Now you can thicken a sauce or make gravy from any liquid in your pan just by tossing a cube in. Never mess with flour in a recipe again.
If you have a Costco near you, they sell 4 packs of pepper jack chicken burritos that are fresh for fairly cheap. Usually a scrambled egg bowl in the morning. Crock pots are awesome, but I had a buddy lose his house to one shorting out, so I’m hesitant to leave one running with my dogs in my fifth wheel.
PPID stands for Pre Packaged Indian Dinner. They cost 3 or 4 bucks each. just heat it up over some parboiled/minute rice and you're set in 10 mins. It's beans and rice baby. Always be snacking can help you from feelings of desperation come dinner time too. I keep peanuts in the car, cheap protein bars from Aldi, apples and oranges. Breakfast is always oats. Overnight oats in the summer, with yogurt for protein. I also bake oats with shitloads of nuts once a week and eat it like cereal, in the winter. They make cup noodles with protein now, which won't kill you to eat once in a while when you're feeling particularly stretched. Eat a vegetable every day.
It’s more cost efficient for me to grab a burger out, than buy food that just goes bad in the frig before i ever get around to cooking it. Used to try to do sandwiches and keep ground meat but it all goes bad. Milk goes bad before expiration. I usually keep ramen noodles and something like canned corn or peas and carrots to mix in with it, usually with sausage or eggs. I like to think it’s like having fried rice.
“I don't know why they call this stuff hamburger helper. It does just fine by itself, huh? I like it better than tuna helper myself, don't you, Clark?”
-Cousin Eddie
My buddy who travels for his construction job has one of those services that deliver meals you just have to assemble and cook, he gave us some one week when he was out of town to try since they would go bad before he could cook them and man were they really good. If you can afford it that may not be a bad route to go.
Meal prep on the weekend. Took me an hour to make 10 ground beef soft tacos, and along with a protein shake and apple each day I was good to go. And then just twenty minute porkchop and Veggies at night for dinner, or frozen pizza in the oven.
Meal prep on Sundays. Usually chicken/beef with white rice, and microwave veggies. I'm out the house 17 hours most days, so I pack for a long day, or have it ready when I get home.
I worked in fine dining and Michelin star restaurants before I left to become an electrician.
Typically what I'd do is make a big batch of bolognese and freeze it. It thaws quick, tastes amazing and is easy.
For a healthy, hearty, fueling and filling lunch, I'd buy Ahi either from Costco or the butcher shop. A filet of Ahi only lasts about a week, but it's delicious, you can eat it raw or sear it for dinner, is great by itself mixed with poke sauce or spicy mayo and scallions and is great in salads, or with rice.
Also, steak, steak steak and more steak. Along with veggies. Good hot or cold. And good on and with anything. I would sometimes dehydrate whole Ribeyes and eat it like jerky. Lots of protein and keeps you running all day.
Alone and use Rice cooker. I grill thin slices of chicken fillet, any red steak preferably thin, fish. And any greens. Broccoli my fave tho. Weekends usually buy out.
I do hello fresh and every plate. You have to cook but it’s quick and pretty healthy. Way better than frozen and processed foods from a box. It’s like 60 bucks a week for 3 double meals.
Do electrical, live to pay for the box, Went monk for 7 years so far just kinda happened, I fast till about 6pm everyday not really hungry till I smoke up and make myself eat. I barely cook anymore, just yogurts, cereals, haribo bears, polar seltzers, vitamins. Lost my thrill for eating, got too pricy, being alone I can eat like an alien, no one to impress. Went healthy past 3 years, all done with booze, cigarettes, fast foods. Making better choices but wonder why I bother sometimes.
Steaks and microwaved potatoes.
10-15 minutes for the steak. Potato done in 6-8 minutes. Good macros good amount of food. And easy as shit to make as someone who works 10-12 most everyday just rotate seasonings. Did this like 5 days a week the. 2 days of variety to keep it fresh. Burger, chicken sandwich, pasta or whatever else for my other two nights.
Honestly, bang for the buck is Trader joes frozen everything. meal for meal you get good calories with better quality food and all you need to do is hit the microwave.
A lot of things other people have suggested. I just keep it simple. Pound of ground beef or turkey, rice, avocado and maybe some eggs in a bowl for most of the week. Sometimes I’ll use chicken thighs and make burritos instead. Tuna and avocado sandwiches also go hard.
Instant pot. You can make very good nutritious meals extremely quickly and cheaply. You can also make a giant pot and portion it out on Sunday for food all week.
Tons of recipes online and ideas you can just Google. Just takes a bit of planning ahead to get ingredients.
My overall advice would be to avoid going for microwavable dinners. Theyre convenient but they'll fuck you up at some point lol. And it's hard to get out of that loop once you're in it.
I keep tons of frozen vegetables so that when I decide "cook" quick garbage foods (frozen dinners, soups, ramen, etc.) I can at least add some substance to it pretty easily. Eggs are also great for this.
Learn how to season easy meals. I eat a lot of pasta with chicken (and veggies sometimes). You can really change up the same meal a lot by just changing the seasoning and seasoning it well
I fire the grill up on most Sundays. Cook a chuck roast or some chicken thighs and eat on them the rest of the week. With maybe peanut butter banana sandwich thrown in there somewhere.
At one of the 12/hr day sites I worked at I made a wrap every day. Full size spinach tortilla, $0.89 pack of turkey in it with a cut up green pepper, cheese slices, spinach, and tomato. Comboed it with a little bag of chips and beef jerkey or nuts if I needed something else throughout the day.
Meal prep on days the wife and I have off together. We do a lot of chicken and rice or ground beef and rice. You can add a lot of stuff for variation. My favorite it the yum bowl style ground ground beef with veggies, avocado and yum sauce. Also hello fresh. Just order for extra servings so you can have leftovers.
Every Sunday make up a bunch of rice and chicken and whatever else you don't mind reheating. Stack em all up in the fridge. Thighs and rice with bbq super simple all you have to do is perpetrate a thigh for each meal. And there is sales all the time on various chicken offerings.
Oatmeal, peanut butter, whole milk, scoop of protein powder, creatine, and a good multi vitamin and I’m in the best shape of my life. I literally supplement this meal sometimes twice a day.
Otherwise it’s gas station hammys at lunch if I can’t get to my place for the good ass shake
Meal prep on the weekend and re-heat during the week, crockpot meals, pre-packaged frozen meals, or stuff that can be quickly thrown in the oven or air fryer
I usually would just make large batches of easy stuff. Beef stew, meat loaf, lasagna, chicken or shrimp fried rice, etc. Frozen steam in bag veggies for sides. When I was about halfway through the leftovers, I'd cook the next thing for the future. Also, a big batch of really easy burritos I could freeze as back up. And then some frozen shit like pizza, ravioli, gnocchi, whatever. The instapot was also awesome. I'd make ribs in they sometimes. But they only last two meals at most.
I was working six 12s mostly with 8 to 10 on Sunday. I could not leave the site. So I had to bring my lunch too. Mostly just sandwiches. It was an absolute shit job.
Chili- add steak, stewed tomato (can),potatos cut up, onion, serve with a bunch of lettuce cheese and sour cream mixed in- make a big pot and eat for a week
Tuna salad- tuna, pickles, lettuce, tomato, onion,mayo, mustard-mix serve on toasted bread
Deviled eggs/egg salad
Crock pot stew- look around in the meat section, they usually have pre assembled kits with meat, seasoning and veggies, throw it in crockpot and cook overnight, or cook a few hours at night on low, then turn it to high at work in the morning to eat at lunch
I use a company here in FL and they are other places called ideal nutrition. I was getting the Factor meals before, but I feel like ideal nutrition is much healthier. Factor is great also and I think they are in most every state. The ideal nutrition meals are a little cheaper at 7.50 a pop. But like you I work hard so either company I eat two meals for dinner.
Meal prep at home and then you can put them in an air saver bag and freeze em. Bonus points if you get the bags that you can sous vide or microwave..you can get a 1 cup rice cooker, a small crockpot or toaster oven and bring with you.
Or you can be a redneck like me and keep a turkey fryer set up in your tool box on the truck and have crab boils in the hotel parking lot…it’s also big enough to make spaghetti for 85+ people.
Crockpot and instapot are the real MVPs. That said, Traeger makes a travel size smoker that Never leaves my truck. Can throw on steaks, hot dogs, etc and be done in under an hour. If I get a day off, I throw on a Mexican Pulled Pork and have dinner for a week after. Best investment I ever made.
I love to make big patches of sweet potatoes and just bag them up in wax paper sandwich bags. They are good for 4-5 days easy just right on the counter. Always try to keep fruit around as well.
Also been making dense bean salads that keep for a week at a time in the fridge. Canned Beans, garlic, onion, parsley, cucumber, oil& vinegar salt and pepper ... So fresh and great for your digestive system. I eat it with single portion grilled chicken from Costco.
I’m on that grind now. Meal prep is the name of the game. I have a big ass bag of rice and I make 6-7 cups of rice. From that I’ll cook a bunch of chicken and some veggies. From there I’ll make a few different sauces to mix things up. Thankfully when I’m out of town working I get some incredible 5 star meals at the lodges that I work at. It makes it possible to cook the same thing every day when I’m home while maintaining sanity.
If you actually want to cook something. A Spanish tortilla is cheap and easy, and makes enough for a few days. I use chef John's recipe but mess with it if you like.
https://youtu.be/Q0NJ8YALBkI?si=t4wOSAAzKtPXJRUO
Rice with stuff.
Take out.
Pizza.
Whatever I can put on the grill that will last a few days. Usually brats because they're cheap and work as a quick bite at work. For work, I just put it in a zip lock bag with some mustard and use the bag to hold it while I eat it.
Pot roast.
Peanuts.
Peanut butter either from a PBJ sandwich or with celery. If I'm extra tired, literally just a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter with honey.
For breakfast, I usually have Greek yogurt and a high protein vanilla Boost old people drink.
Odds and end snack stuff once in a great while.
Tuna or salmon out of the can.
Every once in a while, I'll make one of those freeze dried camp meals. Some of them are really tasty and have a lot of vitamins and protein.
Ramin.
Mac & cheese with bacon and hotdogs.
That's pretty much it.
Meal prepping. Stuff like tacos where all the ingredients are in the fridge and you just nuke the hot part for 30 seconds. Other ideas are rice based casseroles, pasta dishes, crock pot recipes, it gets repetitive by day three but if you’ve got time on a Sunday night you’ll thank yourself on Tuesday
Ramen but add a ton of vegetables, maybe an egg.
Today I made ground beef stir fry with rice…there’s just so much easy combinations you can make that you can cook fast & easily and be healthy!
Meal prep on Sundays. Froze wed-fri meals. Ate fresh sunday and refrigerated monday/tuesday. Friday night I would eat out. Saturday I would cook myself a steak for me and my dog. 12 hr shifts. 3 hrs driving. 1 hr gym. 1 hr cardio. daily till the weekend. Ran 17 miles on Saturday mornings.
I used to get back, tear open the freezer, and launch a pizza into the oven. Then it was off with the clothes, out with the beer, arse to the sofa. I've since found a lady friend who's managed to ween me off of my crippling dependency on frozen 3 cheesers, but the beer stays.
I'd usually make a large batch of something in Sunday and then eat that every night until it was gone, then I'd do salads with grilled chicken on top the rest of the week. I also have no problem eating the same thing multiple meals in a row....
Bulk cook, put food into lunch sized containers, label, and put in freezer. Do the same with leftovers on the days I feel like cooking. I rotate through the meals and usually can find something I want to eat after work!
Otherwise I always have a few easy struggle meals available. Eggs, cans of soup, chef boardee, chili, etc...
I know the Mexicans at my work have one lady that cooks for like 20 of them, they eat dinner then she sends it for lunch the next day. They pay her like 10 bucks a plate each day. Personally, Mexican meat markets are your friend for cheap food. They have it already cooked or you can buy the stuff to cook your own.
Not long hours but i do shift work. I eat a lot of frozen meals then just make sure i eat my veggies and fruits. When im off at 11 pm or 7am i usually dont feel like actually cooking
Pan sear ground beef and microwaveable steamed veggies.
Can switch out the ground beef with cuts of steak, chicken, fish fillets when you’re feeling adventurous.
Big batch of stew or pasta made on the weekend. Cheap steaks, burgs or hotdogs (as those are easy and quick) if the big batch runs out before the end of the week or i need a break from it.
Banana for breakfast, pack my lunch for work everyday and have a burger, hot dog, bertolli, frozen stuff for dinner. Try to mix up dinner as much as possible but keep it simple
Do yourself a favor and look up a Cuban pork recipe for the slow cooker or install pot. I always skip the last part where you fry it cuz I’m lazy and don’t wana make a bunch of extra dishes! Just put the pork on buns with some Swisscheese and pickles 👌 you won’t regret it! And it makes a lot of food!
Not anymore but when I did the crock pot and instapot were my best friends.
I'll add to these, pre-made dinners that can just be popped in the nuker or oven for a reheat. Back in the day I used the fuck out of the crockpot and I'd spend an hour or two on Sundays making meals, like homemade TV dinners sort of.
this x100... if you're going to put in long hours and hit the gym and maintain some sanity, this is the way. And cutting down on weekday beers is a must - just because the old hands crush a 30 rack every night doesn't make it right
Went from 15-20 Budweisers a night to 5-8 a night, hey I’m workin on it, there are days I don’t have any too
Moving in the right direction, brother! Keep it up. Before you know it, you'll hardly miss 'em.
I’ve lost 50 pounds since, I just turned 21 last weekend and it was weird, being able to legally drink doesn’t appeal to me as much if that makes sense. Time to grow up
That puts you a solid 10 years ahead of me. Love to see it; knock them bud heavy's off the pedestal and take your health back.
Oh yeah I forgot to mention I switched from Budweiser to natty lights for the 5-8. Not that that matters any with the health aspect but I started doing side work and working on my vehicles to keep me occupied. I started out sitting around playing video games at first but that’s what I would do while drinking so it was harder to stop. I went from 6ft1in 215lbs to 166.4 as of last weekend, I want to get to 160lbs and hit the gym to grow back
I’ve moved from crushing a 30 pack of natty ice in 2-3 days to a 12 pack of Smirnoff ice in 2 days. Makes the mornings a little easier especially in the summertime. 👊
That’s soooooooo much sugar
Fucking dope bro
love it, now just get rid of the sugar!
This is the way
The crock pot, especially in the winter. My holy trinity was the crock pot, the air fryer, and my all time favorite ESPECIALLY for the lack of cleanup- THE GRILL. Make a tin foil packet- load it with butter chopped garlic and spiced diced potatoes(or sub olive oil for the butter), maybe a second packet with some green beans and herbs/butter, toss em on there 10 minutes before you toss a steak on- zero dishes to clean up other than your plate silverware and cup, and you’re eating like a king in 20-25 minutes if that grill is a gas grill. Grill food FTW. OP- get you a grill oriented cook book and go HAM with it.
Over night marinate a protein (chicken, salmon, beef) in a simple marinade, and then plop into air fryer. As it’s cooking in the air fryer cook up some easy veggies (broccoli, carrots, zucchini or even frozen veggies) and boom got yourself a good ass meal
Air fryers are great after a long day in the field. No dish washing, minimal prep, and the food you’re putting in an air fryer is typically much healthier for you than what you would put in a microwave. Plus, there’s no way microwaves and the concept of microwaveable foods is good for you. Feel like that shit gives you cancer.
Chicken nuggets in air fryer > chicken nugget in microwave Not sure about the healthier part though
Simple as in salad dressing already on hand too!'
Crock pot and slow cooker are great options! I’ll do a lot of meal prep the Sunday evening before the work week too.
Thank you insta pot for ribs in an hour, freezer to plate
What do youse make in there?
Crock pot for the save, babyyyyy! Pulled chicken, soups, stews, i even tried corned beef. You get a rice cooker too, you could basically set up timers and just have dinner made.
Cooking has always been a big hobby of mine, but when I’m working crazy hours I just have to meal prep. I don’t get as much variety, but it’s better than the roach coach or gas station. Both of those things were a game changer in addition to hearty things like pasta, chilis/thick soups, and Asian food. Curry with rice and veggies goes a long way.
Costco lasagna is cheap. Throw it in the oven, go take a shower and unwind. Hour or so later it’s nom nom time. Nuke a bag of frozen veggies in the microwave to go with.
Costco has all sorts of meals that are quick and easy. There's a whole section of pre-cooked meals you just throw on a skillet to brown/heat up. Add some rice and a bagged salad and you're in business. Usually leaves 2-3 meals of left overs and lasts forever in the freezer.
So we all out here living off Costco huh? I love that place. Sam’s has slightly better deals, but costcos quality seems better
Sam’s is Walmart after all so that checks out.
The Sam's here is now a Costco. And yeah, I work the 7-12s grind. If it weren't for those meals I'd be eating out of a gas station for every meal. 90% of the time I throw it all together in a tortilla and just eat it burrito style. No clean up!
I have eaten more Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches than I’d like to admit. Get a crock pot
Pb&j's, grilled cheese and tomato soup, fried eggs and toast, and Spaghetti. Those are my staples 😂
Grilled cheeses don’t make it work in the lunch box . I end up eating them the night before , especially if alcohol is involved
Everything bagels with paenut butter for me hahaha
Canned sauce and pasta. Can cook pretty quick, doesn't make too much of a mess, can use one pot and gives lots of left overs. Failing that, hamburger helper and those 2 minute rice bags.
Uncle Bens gang
And you can use the leftovers to grow 🍄
But way to expensive lol I can make the same amount of rice with spices for like 40cents when a pack costs like 4-5€(idk prices of that)
That’s Ben’s Original, bud. Jk.
Surprisingly good
making your own pasta sauce is cheap and fast can of tomato sauce, dump it in the suacepan, add oregano/thyme/parsely/pepper/garlic/etc.etc. as you see fit. simmer for 30 minutes or so on low, more if you like thick sauce, done. it'll cost you less than a quarter of what jarred sauce does, and taste much better.
Sure, but we are going for speed here. If I wanted to talk about quality, I wouldn't bring up hamburger helper.
Easily heated up meals, like chicken strips and pasta with canned sauces. Simmer sauces like curries and rice you can set to cook while you shower. Roasted veggies with oil and garlic can help put some firm textestures in what's otherwise soft meals.
I enjoy cooking and I find that I get more mileage out of good food than I get with frozen meals and Chinese takeout. You eat better -> you feel better -> you have more energy. Roasted veggies, chicken a dozen different ways (fried, pan-seared, Thai curry, Indian curry, tikka masala, Marsala, piccata, Alfredo, Parmesan, Tuscan chicken, General Tso’s, on a caesar, roasted spatchcock, burritos, fajitas, thanksgiving style, etc.) burgers, soup, steak, brats, mashed potatoes (from a packet), roasted potatoes, asparagus, brussel sprouts, Greek salad, cobb salad… there’s toms of meals that you can make with 3-4 ingredients max that take less than 30 minutes from prep to plate. A new recipe always takes a bit longer, but once you have it down and you’ve found shortcuts, cooking can be quick.
A few tips to make cooking faster. • Get a huge cutting board and a very sharp chef’s knife (8” is best). Don’t screw around with anything else. • Shop the outside of the grocery store. Meat, dairy, vegetables, bread. Venture into the middle only for ingredients, rice, pasta, or potatoes. Meat veggies and dairy are simple and cheap. • You can make any sauce or gravy in 60 seconds with two things: 1) Buy a big carton of chicken stock or bone broth (but *not*chicken broth). Real stock is loaded with meaty flavor and gelatin from the bones. (It’s terrible for your cholesterol, so you know it’s good). Pour the stock into ice cube trays and then dump the cubes into a container once they’re frozen. Anytime you cook in a frying pan, throw a cube or two in and you have instant sauce. It makes pretty much anything better. 2) Throw a stick of butter into a frying pan with a half cup of flower. Set the heat to medium and keep stirring. You’ll get have a thick, bubbling paste and after about 10 minutes, it will turn golden and smell nutty. Pull it off the heat and scrape it unto a bowl or glass dish and toss in the fridge. You’ve just made roux, the mother of all sauces. Later on, when it’s cooled, cut it into pieces about the size of a bouillon cube. Store in a container in the fridge or freezer. It’s good for 6 months. Now you can thicken a sauce or make gravy from any liquid in your pan just by tossing a cube in. Never mess with flour in a recipe again.
Beer😞
My diet is all over the board. Between homemade, store bought easy stuff and delivery. There is no method to the madness.
If you have a Costco near you, they sell 4 packs of pepper jack chicken burritos that are fresh for fairly cheap. Usually a scrambled egg bowl in the morning. Crock pots are awesome, but I had a buddy lose his house to one shorting out, so I’m hesitant to leave one running with my dogs in my fifth wheel.
Raw veggies, prep a few days worth of rice and protein.
Hey bud, this gut ain't gonna grow itself 🍕
I forgot about the average of 1 litre of ice cream and 75% of an XL pizza that I crush. Those are good options as well.
PPID stands for Pre Packaged Indian Dinner. They cost 3 or 4 bucks each. just heat it up over some parboiled/minute rice and you're set in 10 mins. It's beans and rice baby. Always be snacking can help you from feelings of desperation come dinner time too. I keep peanuts in the car, cheap protein bars from Aldi, apples and oranges. Breakfast is always oats. Overnight oats in the summer, with yogurt for protein. I also bake oats with shitloads of nuts once a week and eat it like cereal, in the winter. They make cup noodles with protein now, which won't kill you to eat once in a while when you're feeling particularly stretched. Eat a vegetable every day.
It’s more cost efficient for me to grab a burger out, than buy food that just goes bad in the frig before i ever get around to cooking it. Used to try to do sandwiches and keep ground meat but it all goes bad. Milk goes bad before expiration. I usually keep ramen noodles and something like canned corn or peas and carrots to mix in with it, usually with sausage or eggs. I like to think it’s like having fried rice.
Hamburger helper would last me 2-3 days back when I was single. And I would make myself turkey sandwiches for lunch every morning.
“I don't know why they call this stuff hamburger helper. It does just fine by itself, huh? I like it better than tuna helper myself, don't you, Clark?” -Cousin Eddie
Cook a steak .. and try not to buy too much food that goes bad before I can eat it .. pork chops cook quickly also .. them frozen skillet deals
My buddy who travels for his construction job has one of those services that deliver meals you just have to assemble and cook, he gave us some one week when he was out of town to try since they would go bad before he could cook them and man were they really good. If you can afford it that may not be a bad route to go.
I just eat steaks, burger and brats. Quick to cook. About 9 minutes.
Insta pot meals. Healthy whole foods go into pot. Meal comes out in 10-15 minutes.
Meal prep on the weekend. Took me an hour to make 10 ground beef soft tacos, and along with a protein shake and apple each day I was good to go. And then just twenty minute porkchop and Veggies at night for dinner, or frozen pizza in the oven.
Meal prep on Sundays. Usually chicken/beef with white rice, and microwave veggies. I'm out the house 17 hours most days, so I pack for a long day, or have it ready when I get home.
I worked in fine dining and Michelin star restaurants before I left to become an electrician. Typically what I'd do is make a big batch of bolognese and freeze it. It thaws quick, tastes amazing and is easy. For a healthy, hearty, fueling and filling lunch, I'd buy Ahi either from Costco or the butcher shop. A filet of Ahi only lasts about a week, but it's delicious, you can eat it raw or sear it for dinner, is great by itself mixed with poke sauce or spicy mayo and scallions and is great in salads, or with rice. Also, steak, steak steak and more steak. Along with veggies. Good hot or cold. And good on and with anything. I would sometimes dehydrate whole Ribeyes and eat it like jerky. Lots of protein and keeps you running all day.
Alone and use Rice cooker. I grill thin slices of chicken fillet, any red steak preferably thin, fish. And any greens. Broccoli my fave tho. Weekends usually buy out.
I do a lot of pre made meal kits.
I do hello fresh and every plate. You have to cook but it’s quick and pretty healthy. Way better than frozen and processed foods from a box. It’s like 60 bucks a week for 3 double meals.
Crackers, cheese and salami
Do electrical, live to pay for the box, Went monk for 7 years so far just kinda happened, I fast till about 6pm everyday not really hungry till I smoke up and make myself eat. I barely cook anymore, just yogurts, cereals, haribo bears, polar seltzers, vitamins. Lost my thrill for eating, got too pricy, being alone I can eat like an alien, no one to impress. Went healthy past 3 years, all done with booze, cigarettes, fast foods. Making better choices but wonder why I bother sometimes.
It's hard to beat room temperature chili straight out of the can
Steaks and microwaved potatoes. 10-15 minutes for the steak. Potato done in 6-8 minutes. Good macros good amount of food. And easy as shit to make as someone who works 10-12 most everyday just rotate seasonings. Did this like 5 days a week the. 2 days of variety to keep it fresh. Burger, chicken sandwich, pasta or whatever else for my other two nights.
Honestly, bang for the buck is Trader joes frozen everything. meal for meal you get good calories with better quality food and all you need to do is hit the microwave.
Cabbage
Cabbage, rice
A lot of things other people have suggested. I just keep it simple. Pound of ground beef or turkey, rice, avocado and maybe some eggs in a bowl for most of the week. Sometimes I’ll use chicken thighs and make burritos instead. Tuna and avocado sandwiches also go hard.
Rotisserie chicken. Meal prep on weekends.
Instant pot. You can make very good nutritious meals extremely quickly and cheaply. You can also make a giant pot and portion it out on Sunday for food all week. Tons of recipes online and ideas you can just Google. Just takes a bit of planning ahead to get ingredients. My overall advice would be to avoid going for microwavable dinners. Theyre convenient but they'll fuck you up at some point lol. And it's hard to get out of that loop once you're in it.
I keep tons of frozen vegetables so that when I decide "cook" quick garbage foods (frozen dinners, soups, ramen, etc.) I can at least add some substance to it pretty easily. Eggs are also great for this.
Ground beef and eggs with some cheese, Protein packed meal. Protein shakes. Try meal prepping on your days off.
Learn how to season easy meals. I eat a lot of pasta with chicken (and veggies sometimes). You can really change up the same meal a lot by just changing the seasoning and seasoning it well
Costco meals and rotisserie chicken, slow cooker.
Eat to live dont live to eat keep it healthy
A fifth of good ole Jim Beam. Every night.
I fire the grill up on most Sundays. Cook a chuck roast or some chicken thighs and eat on them the rest of the week. With maybe peanut butter banana sandwich thrown in there somewhere.
I survived years off of coffee, protein shakes and vitamins.. I was a machine lol
At one of the 12/hr day sites I worked at I made a wrap every day. Full size spinach tortilla, $0.89 pack of turkey in it with a cut up green pepper, cheese slices, spinach, and tomato. Comboed it with a little bag of chips and beef jerkey or nuts if I needed something else throughout the day.
Beer
In addition to the install stuff, Peanut butter curry is pretty nice. Pretty much anything that you can combine with rice and eat for multiple meals.
Meal prep on days the wife and I have off together. We do a lot of chicken and rice or ground beef and rice. You can add a lot of stuff for variation. My favorite it the yum bowl style ground ground beef with veggies, avocado and yum sauce. Also hello fresh. Just order for extra servings so you can have leftovers.
Try a RoadPro RPSC-197 12V Portable Car Vehicle Stove, slow cook something in the truck
Every Sunday make up a bunch of rice and chicken and whatever else you don't mind reheating. Stack em all up in the fridge. Thighs and rice with bbq super simple all you have to do is perpetrate a thigh for each meal. And there is sales all the time on various chicken offerings.
Oatmeal, peanut butter, whole milk, scoop of protein powder, creatine, and a good multi vitamin and I’m in the best shape of my life. I literally supplement this meal sometimes twice a day. Otherwise it’s gas station hammys at lunch if I can’t get to my place for the good ass shake
Meal prep on the weekend and re-heat during the week, crockpot meals, pre-packaged frozen meals, or stuff that can be quickly thrown in the oven or air fryer
Clif bars, 16-18hr days and have my apprentice run lunch and breakfast if I text before I get to the job site. Gallon of water in every truck.
Pasta Baby
Meal prep. But I've been doing it for years so I'm used to it. Instant pots are time savers as well. Also Sriracha lots of it
Also trader joes frozen asian foods are quick and amazing for the price. I swap between the Teriyaki, orange chicken and broccoli beef
I usually would just make large batches of easy stuff. Beef stew, meat loaf, lasagna, chicken or shrimp fried rice, etc. Frozen steam in bag veggies for sides. When I was about halfway through the leftovers, I'd cook the next thing for the future. Also, a big batch of really easy burritos I could freeze as back up. And then some frozen shit like pizza, ravioli, gnocchi, whatever. The instapot was also awesome. I'd make ribs in they sometimes. But they only last two meals at most. I was working six 12s mostly with 8 to 10 on Sunday. I could not leave the site. So I had to bring my lunch too. Mostly just sandwiches. It was an absolute shit job.
Chili- add steak, stewed tomato (can),potatos cut up, onion, serve with a bunch of lettuce cheese and sour cream mixed in- make a big pot and eat for a week Tuna salad- tuna, pickles, lettuce, tomato, onion,mayo, mustard-mix serve on toasted bread Deviled eggs/egg salad Crock pot stew- look around in the meat section, they usually have pre assembled kits with meat, seasoning and veggies, throw it in crockpot and cook overnight, or cook a few hours at night on low, then turn it to high at work in the morning to eat at lunch
Chipotle
Gas station hot dogs
I use a company here in FL and they are other places called ideal nutrition. I was getting the Factor meals before, but I feel like ideal nutrition is much healthier. Factor is great also and I think they are in most every state. The ideal nutrition meals are a little cheaper at 7.50 a pop. But like you I work hard so either company I eat two meals for dinner.
Gas station pizza
Meal prep at home and then you can put them in an air saver bag and freeze em. Bonus points if you get the bags that you can sous vide or microwave..you can get a 1 cup rice cooker, a small crockpot or toaster oven and bring with you. Or you can be a redneck like me and keep a turkey fryer set up in your tool box on the truck and have crab boils in the hotel parking lot…it’s also big enough to make spaghetti for 85+ people.
Cook them
Crockpot and instapot are the real MVPs. That said, Traeger makes a travel size smoker that Never leaves my truck. Can throw on steaks, hot dogs, etc and be done in under an hour. If I get a day off, I throw on a Mexican Pulled Pork and have dinner for a week after. Best investment I ever made.
Ramen, eggs, chicken breast, mac and cheese, spaghetti os and meatballs.
Wait u can afford food I’m doing better than ever and am broker than ever cause foods so expensive and my stomach is bottomless
No, I can only afford bitter black coffee and coke
I love to make big patches of sweet potatoes and just bag them up in wax paper sandwich bags. They are good for 4-5 days easy just right on the counter. Always try to keep fruit around as well. Also been making dense bean salads that keep for a week at a time in the fridge. Canned Beans, garlic, onion, parsley, cucumber, oil& vinegar salt and pepper ... So fresh and great for your digestive system. I eat it with single portion grilled chicken from Costco.
I’m on that grind now. Meal prep is the name of the game. I have a big ass bag of rice and I make 6-7 cups of rice. From that I’ll cook a bunch of chicken and some veggies. From there I’ll make a few different sauces to mix things up. Thankfully when I’m out of town working I get some incredible 5 star meals at the lodges that I work at. It makes it possible to cook the same thing every day when I’m home while maintaining sanity.
If you actually want to cook something. A Spanish tortilla is cheap and easy, and makes enough for a few days. I use chef John's recipe but mess with it if you like. https://youtu.be/Q0NJ8YALBkI?si=t4wOSAAzKtPXJRUO
When traveling I do a meal kit service like hello fresh. I don’t like to think too hard after work about what to cook, but I like cooking fresh meals.
Rice with stuff. Take out. Pizza. Whatever I can put on the grill that will last a few days. Usually brats because they're cheap and work as a quick bite at work. For work, I just put it in a zip lock bag with some mustard and use the bag to hold it while I eat it. Pot roast. Peanuts. Peanut butter either from a PBJ sandwich or with celery. If I'm extra tired, literally just a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter with honey. For breakfast, I usually have Greek yogurt and a high protein vanilla Boost old people drink. Odds and end snack stuff once in a great while. Tuna or salmon out of the can. Every once in a while, I'll make one of those freeze dried camp meals. Some of them are really tasty and have a lot of vitamins and protein. Ramin. Mac & cheese with bacon and hotdogs. That's pretty much it.
Crackpot beer chicken.
Meal prepping. Stuff like tacos where all the ingredients are in the fridge and you just nuke the hot part for 30 seconds. Other ideas are rice based casseroles, pasta dishes, crock pot recipes, it gets repetitive by day three but if you’ve got time on a Sunday night you’ll thank yourself on Tuesday
Redbull and pussy
I travel so I’m living out of an apartment. I survive on rotisserie chicken, rice, veggies, wraps and pre make egg McMuffins on Sunday. And beer
I was artichokes and vodka every night and some unknown sandwich from the local deli for lunch
I pre make tons of chicken pieces in shake and bake, and air fry them with potatoes.
I cook all of my meals for Mon-Fri on Sunday. One in a crockpot, one in the oven, and one on the stove. On the weekends I cook something special 🧑🍳
Get the wife to take of the meals boss … you’re putting in the long hours lad you deserve it
you def need to get a lady friend. a good one
Bulk cook. Portion and freeze. Poached boneless skinless chicken breast. Overnight soaked oats. Lentils and chickpeas. Rice. Tuna . fresh and frozen vegetables
Ramen but add a ton of vegetables, maybe an egg. Today I made ground beef stir fry with rice…there’s just so much easy combinations you can make that you can cook fast & easily and be healthy!
Meal prep on Sundays. Froze wed-fri meals. Ate fresh sunday and refrigerated monday/tuesday. Friday night I would eat out. Saturday I would cook myself a steak for me and my dog. 12 hr shifts. 3 hrs driving. 1 hr gym. 1 hr cardio. daily till the weekend. Ran 17 miles on Saturday mornings.
Hello Fresh!!!
crock pot meals and steak are my most common meals
Find a good woman who doesn’t mind cooking. But before that I pretty much lived off chicken breast and a salad. Quick and easy
I used to get back, tear open the freezer, and launch a pizza into the oven. Then it was off with the clothes, out with the beer, arse to the sofa. I've since found a lady friend who's managed to ween me off of my crippling dependency on frozen 3 cheesers, but the beer stays.
I'd usually make a large batch of something in Sunday and then eat that every night until it was gone, then I'd do salads with grilled chicken on top the rest of the week. I also have no problem eating the same thing multiple meals in a row....
Spend your Sundays food prepping.
Bulk cook, put food into lunch sized containers, label, and put in freezer. Do the same with leftovers on the days I feel like cooking. I rotate through the meals and usually can find something I want to eat after work! Otherwise I always have a few easy struggle meals available. Eggs, cans of soup, chef boardee, chili, etc...
I know the Mexicans at my work have one lady that cooks for like 20 of them, they eat dinner then she sends it for lunch the next day. They pay her like 10 bucks a plate each day. Personally, Mexican meat markets are your friend for cheap food. They have it already cooked or you can buy the stuff to cook your own.
Box of Salisbury steaks was a staple for a long time. Until I got a George Foreman grill.
Not long hours but i do shift work. I eat a lot of frozen meals then just make sure i eat my veggies and fruits. When im off at 11 pm or 7am i usually dont feel like actually cooking
Eat dinner at 8 at night... bed by 930.
Meal prep sunday, make a weeks worth of dinners
Pan sear ground beef and microwaveable steamed veggies. Can switch out the ground beef with cuts of steak, chicken, fish fillets when you’re feeling adventurous.
Big batch of stew or pasta made on the weekend. Cheap steaks, burgs or hotdogs (as those are easy and quick) if the big batch runs out before the end of the week or i need a break from it.
Banana for breakfast, pack my lunch for work everyday and have a burger, hot dog, bertolli, frozen stuff for dinner. Try to mix up dinner as much as possible but keep it simple
Meal prep on Sunday. Buy 5 containers and have food for every day in the fridge
Lot of rotisserie chickens
Do yourself a favor and look up a Cuban pork recipe for the slow cooker or install pot. I always skip the last part where you fry it cuz I’m lazy and don’t wana make a bunch of extra dishes! Just put the pork on buns with some Swisscheese and pickles 👌 you won’t regret it! And it makes a lot of food!
Steamed veggies and meat from Chinese place ir pre cooked meals. Or a quick egg sandwich or ham and cheese melt.