Calling all Anti-cooks - fast, easy food?
#261721 - 05/05/06 05:32 AM
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Memmles
Reged: 04/07/06
Posts: 101
Loc: Silicon Valley, CA, USA
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OK - I admit - I am not Betty Crocker nor Martha Stewart, but it's by choice. I HATE to cook. I HATED to cook when I was well, before all this IBS craziness started, so this isn't new. Anything that requires more than 3 ingredients (& I count water as an ingredient) is a big turnoff to me.
I'm a big fan of immediate gratification, thus I lived on frozen dinners/food - good stuff from Trader Joes, Lean Cuisine and the like mind you - but nothing was prepared from scratch. By the end of the day, I just didn't have the energy. Seriously, even the boxed flavored rice stuff that required you to brown the rice first, then add the water & seasoning was too much for me. I'm super impatient apparently. I just want to throw it in the microwave and forget it.
Thus - I'm really looking for the ready-made food that will jive with the EFI diet, particularly for me who is just starting out and trying to regain stability. If the only way to wellness is to FORCE myself to cook from scratch, then I'll have to bite the bullet. But I'm thinking acknowledging how I am and working with it is the best way to consistent success, right?
Have you found good, safe, ready-to-eat frozen or other foods that are quick? I'm single, so I'm only ever cooking for me. BTW, I'm fortunate to live in CA and have both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods right nearby.
WARNING: I'm posting this same topic in the "Recipe" forum too - so don't freak out if you see the post twice. I just didn't know where it was best placed.
Thanks!
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East Palo Alto, CA (San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley)
IBS-C, pain, nausea
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Can you handle small amounts of avocado? My new favorite meal is 1/2 avocado sliced up in a bowl of white rice with a little bit of salt and cayenne pepper. You can also do a sushi bowl where you mix rice, avocado, imitation crab or shrimp, ginger, wasabi, soy sauce, sesame seeds, cucumber (in whatever proportions are safe for you). Tastes just like a California roll, if you're into those.
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~jules
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Amanda
I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin
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Trader Joe's has a very tasty Vegetable Egg Roll that you can put in the oven or toaster oven and bake. They also have dried fruit. The "Just Mango" is safe and tasty.
Turkey, avocado, mayo sandwiches are easy and good. Use fresh white or sourdough bread. Trader Joe's carries different types of mayo spread. (Soy/Veganaise) Things like that.
Pastas are easy. Boil the pasta. Add the sauce. Del Monte makes spaghetti sauces that don't have HFCS.
Get yourself a steamer you can use in the microwave. Add the water and the veggies and set the time on the microwave and you're set. Get a rice cooker that can go in the microwave, too. Add the veggies to the rice and you have an easy microwave meal.
Trader Joe's has great bagels. The onion ones are very good and safe to eat. They also carry Tofutti Cream Cheese.
I buy the majority of my food at Trader Joe's. Take some time to wander around and read cooking instructions on stuff that looks good. A lot of it is easy to heat and serve.
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If you're not dead, you've still got time.
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Hey guys,
Thanks so much for the tips & tricks you've offered already. I'll be heading to Trader Joe's (&/or Whole Foods) this weekend...I need to start eating again, and look forward to trying some of your suggestions!
And for anyone else who checks out my original post - keep those suggestions coming, if you've figured out how to be a non-cooker AND eat well for IBS! 
~ Emily
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East Palo Alto, CA (San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley)
IBS-C, pain, nausea
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I am so glad to hear that you hate to cook! I do also and find the meals for me and my family are the same week to week. I am new to this site but not new to IBS. Just didn't know where to find some guidance and help until I found this website. i am going to read what people have posted for replies to your question as I am curious too on what i can cook.
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You could check out this thread and see if any of the ideas in there will work for you.
On those nights when I just can't face real cooking, I make one of the following:
spaghetti noodles with Ragu's 7 Herb Tomato sauce
IBS safe hot dogs on IBS safe buns
the Crispy Pizza with Shredded Chicken, Scallions, and Smoky Sweet Barbecue Sauce from EFI (I use store-bought
IBS safe pizza dough but I do make the barbecue sauce)
I should warn you that I used to hate to cook, too, and, like you, I had a strict limit on the number of ingredients I was willing to deal with. (I said in another post that as far as I was concerned, DeeDee McCall was right: the four basic food groups were eat-in, take-out, canned, and frozen.) Since finding Heather's EFI Diet, I have gone over to The Dark Side and now cook quite a bit. It's been great for my IBS, but a little hard on my self-image. I hope some of the suggestions you get here help you manage your IBS and still avoid the kitchen.
Oh, and one last link.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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Read the "Martha's Way" joke - LOVED IT!!!!!!
Thanks so much for the links and suggestions. I'm going to be printing (or copying down) like mad later today!
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East Palo Alto, CA (San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley)
IBS-C, pain, nausea
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Nobody's mentioned breakfasts, but they are the only meals that I don't ever really cook, as I'm always out the door to class in the mornings.
I love cereal and soymilk, or soy yogurt, and sliced banana and/or berries...prep time for this is literally under a minute, and it's super healthy and IBS safe! Toast with Earth Balance buttery spread (which you can get at TJ's or Whole Foods--my favorite stores ever!) and some seedless jam is also good.
For lunch, get some prepackaged chicken or turkey deli meat, and make sandwiches with lite mayo, mustard, and a bit of lettuce and tomato...I like to add avocado, but some people say they can't tolerate it. You can also make wrapps with tortillas, or use pita bread. Carrot sticks (pre-washed and bagged) and lowfat hummus are great as a side.
Trader Joe's also makes already cooked packages of rice that will keep in the fridge, and a ton of other "quick" products like pouches of washed and cut veggies for stirfries, etc. Canned or boxed soup is also a great non-cooking meal...add some crackers, and you're set for lunch or dinner. I like Amy's and Imagine brands, but there are lots of other safe kinds...just read the labels. Oooh, and you can also pop a sweet potato in the microwave, and put a dab of Earth Balance and maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon on it for a really satisfying meal or snack.
Hope that helps! I'm not usually a "non-cooker," but I often get really busy with school during the week, so these are my quick and easy stand-by meals...my "midterm mealplan!
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Julia
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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