Cooking. It’s either you love it or you hate it. Many people want to bring lunch to work or eat a hearty dinner after a long day but struggle with the actual cooking part. Luckily, there are ways to enjoy a home-cooked meal with less fuss. The key is in preparation. Dividing and doing the work before the cooking itself. So, how to meal prep when you hate cooking? These tips will help.
How to Meal Prep When You Hate Cooking: Utilize Different Meal Prep Supplies
The best thing about today’s culinary world is the availability of convenient tools. Either it cuts off cooking time or makes it less complex. It basically helps you on how to not hate cooking. Here are some examples.
Pressure Cooker
Okay, so you want to try a meal but it says you have to boil the meat for 2 hours. Would you?
Pressure cookers help you make stews in less time. Using pressure, they cut off cooking time compared to just stovetop boiling.
Slow Cooker
The ultimate “set it and forget it” appliance is the slow cooker. This is great for people who hate to cook since you just dump everything in and turn it on. A few hours later, your food is done.
As you start looking for slow cookers, you may see Crock pots being advertised. You may be wondering, is a Crock pot the same as a slow cooker? The short answer is yes. A “Crock pot” is a brand of slow cooker, and there are different types of slow cookers.
Air Fryer
This is one of the newest and most popular cooking appliances around.
It will cost you about $100 for a decent brand, but you get so much out of it. The air fryer is a way to cook food that is crispy and tastes fried, without actually being fried.
No oil has to be used, and it cooks everything very quickly. You can make “fried” chicken in as little as 8-10 minutes, without ever turning on the stove. Healthy and quick!
Non-Cook Lunch and Dinner Options
If you want lunches and dinners that require absolutely no cooking at all, but don’t mind very minor prep work, here are some recipes for those who often find themselves saying, ‘I hate to cook:’
Salads
Salads are healthy, pack a lot of vitamins and minerals, and are also something you can make without cooking anything.
Want chicken on your salad, but don’t want to cook it? Just get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and shred it up. Doesn’t get easier than that!
Sandwiches
This might sound boring, but there are many ways to make sandwiches. You can use bread, rolls, tortillas for wraps, and so many other items for a sandwich.
It is all customizable, from the protein to the veggies, and you don’t need to turn on the stove or oven if you don’t want to.
Pasta or rice in a cup
Yes, these require a microwave, but that’s it I promise! These handy little cups usually don’t even require water, though some do so read the instructions.
Takeaway
If you’ve always wondered how to meal prep when you hate cooking, we hope these tips will help you. If you often find yourself asking why is cooking so stressful, it could be because you’re taking on too much. We hope this meal planning guide helps you on your cooking journey.