One of my favorite go-to one step not terrible for you snacks is petite carrots. Slightly smaller than regular baby carrots, so they're easier to chew. A little less healthy if you like to dip them in ranch, but probably still healthier than the equivalent snackage worth of chips? Frozen veggies that you can microwave in a bag and then dump in a bowl are also good. Lots of them come with things like cheese sauce or stir fry flavoring too, if you like that. For a more like chips snack, popcorn is good. Some brands sell unflavored or lightly flavored microwave bags. If you can get your hands on an air popper, or can learn how to do it in a microwave (I have never tried, so idk how spoon friendly), then making it from loose kernels is excellent.
Supposedly the crunchy=yummmm thing comes from the fact that fresh (= probably more nutritious and less likely to make you sick) plant matter has a lot of fluid-filled cells that you break open when you chew, which makes a particular type of sound that chip-makers love to capitalize on. The fat and salt also play a large role, of course. A lot of pointless rambling to say that yeah, if crunch is a factor, select juicy, firm veggies. Greek yogurt dip can be great for dressing them up while still being pretty good for you, and you can customize it. It may help to prepare snack bags ahead of time for easy snacking? Or even just pre-cutting or buying already-cut things.
yeah, i used to do carrots and dip as a snack, but it's homemade dip and i haven't found a sour cream that makes it taste right ever since moving south :c I'll try peas! I have the plague of veggies generally tasting Bad unless with something very unhealthy to me, but my taste buds are slowly adjusting over time..
how to cook loose popcorn in the microwave: 1. acquire brown paper bags, in the size that is sold as lunch sacks and sometimes used for children's crafts 2. put a suspiciously small number of popcorn kernels in the bottom of the bag (one or two layers thick - if I had to measure it out, two tablespoons maybe?) 3. fold over the top of the bag by about an inch. repeat about six times or until you run out of bag. 4. throw it in the microwave. I traditionally set it to 4 minutes, although I rarely use that much. 5. listen by microwave until the popping slows and then yank it, just like with the usual sort of bag of microwave popcorn 6. remove. nom.
Make sure not to overcook veggies, because overcooked veges a, lost most of the healthy things, and b, taste awful.
about the only vege i consume willingly that i cook is broccoli, which i cook by putting it in boiling water for ~1-2 mins when the pasta is finishing because i never on my own eat broccoli without pasta
Hey friends! I bought some shiitake on a dumb impulse because they're delicious texture heaven, but then I remembered that I can't cook worth shit ;-; Are there any nice low spoons recipes for them you recommend? I found something nice and easy sounding for sautéd shiitake with garlic, but the fact that I had to look up what "sautéing" even is and that it doesn't seem like something I can do with my shitty cheap mobile stove made me think I better ask. Also, I think I recommended this elsewhere, but one of my go-to low spoons food is heating up some teriyaki sauce and soy sauce in a pan before throwing in some chicken breasts (from the fridge section, not the freezer section). Fry them on slightly-above-medium heat for about 6-7 minutes and turn them over occasionally. At the end, I usually switch off the stove but let the covered pan stay on the still hot plate for a few minutes. No particular time, really - basically just whenever I remember I cooked something :p It's not like it's gonna burn, but hopefully the meat would absorb some more sauce. If you got chives around, cut some into small pieces and throw it on there after you put it on a a plate. Take that with a grain of salt though because I really love chives. If you don't, it probably won't do much for you. What else, what else... oh, cherry tomatoes make a great snack! They might be worth a try even if you usually don't like tomatoes, or at least that's how it worked for me.
@WinkWonk A (very high-spoons) recipe I make a lot includes fried/sautéd shiitake mushrooms - you cut them into strips, season them with salt, pepper, sesame oil, and a little sugar and soy sauce if you want, then fry them quickly. Normally they go into a bigger dish but honestly they're tasty enough to eat by themselves. Would probably go well with rice and/or chicken. They're better, I think, if they're fried really quickly at a very high temperature, but being cooked a little slower at a medium-high temperature shouldn't ruin them...? (Disclaimer: I am not an expert, I just spend a lot of time throwing random stuff into pans and going "This should be fine right?" and it's usually fine, so....)
@Elaienar That sounds delicious, but definitely something I would plan ahead for a little more :p And I did end up doing the garlic thing, though I fried the shiitake on medium heat. It did actually taste pretty good! I might try the quick/high heat thing one day though, so I can compare :D Thank you for the advice! And yeah, I'm also a big fan of classic "throw whatever in a pan" cuisine. If it does end up tasting meh, there's always chilli and lots of pepper you can use to mask the taste.
Simple veggie/potato/rice stew: Cut up some veggies you like (I used carrots, zucchini, and finely diced onion because of my restricted diet, but you could use lots of things - celery, squash, tomatoes, asparagus, whatever) and put in a big pot (if you want a lot of stew) with a clove or two of garlic, finely chopped, and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Saute on medium - med-high for five or so minutes to start softening the veggies and getting nice flavors out of the garlic. Add roughly 2 cups stock or broth in your favorite flavor and maybe 3-4 cups of water, depending on what consistency you want. Add some potatoes, cut into cubes, and 1/2c to 3/4c rice. Medium grain is nice for this. Bring to a boil over med-high heat then simmer on med-low for 20 or so minutes. You may need to add more stock/broth/water during this time if it gets too thick. At the end, add flavorings like salt (if you used unsalted broth/stock, you'll need a lot), pepper, oregano, paprika, thyme, rosemary, etc, whatever you like. Makes a lot and is pretty healthy, especially if you put a good amount of vegetables in it. Most of the actual work is in the preparation of the ingredients, once that's done it's pretty hands off. Mine turned out super thick, almost like risotto, with 5 cups of liquid, 3/4 cups rice, and 3 potatoes. Less starches will mean less thickness, so adjust liquid/starch content as necessary and to desired consistency. I like topping it with some Greek yogurt, which gives it a nice creaminess/sourness and ups the protein content. Other good additions to make it more interesting and varied (especially if you made a lot and are eating it often): Cheese (cheddar, parm, or goat would be good) Chicken in various forms, like cubed and sauteed, shredded, or those precooked strips Ham or bacon or Canadian bacon Eat with a nice roll or piece of bread Other meats, maybe even tofu or eggs (poached would be fancy, scrambled would taste good too) Sour cream or other similar products
cross-posted from my tamblor microwaved frozen peas or veggies. put some butter and salt on it after cooking microwaved frozen edamame (comes in bags, can be really cheap if you have access to an asian grocery store), douse generously with tamari (soy sauce works too but tamari is better here) if you have access to kimchi, buy a giant container of it and eat it with everything you would ever want to eat kimchi with because kimchi is delicious and goes with almost anything savory and makes low spoons meals less depressing baked chicken breast. put chicken breast on a tray (line it with aluminium foil for easier cleanup) in the oven at 350 for about 30-45 minutes, or until it’s cooked throughout and juices run clear. seasoning while cooking is for people who have more spoons, but it’s easy to put on bbq sauce or steak sauce or marinade after hard boil a bunch of eggs and eat them throughout the week, 1 works for breakfast and 2 can work for other meals. really yummy with salt, pepper, and generous amounts of mustard peanut butter on toast. sprinkle sugar to make it sweet if you want. drink milk between bites buy a big container of Ensure or Boost or generic meal replacement drink. diet drinks can be good for this too but non-diet ones taste better and are cheaper IMO TV dinners rice. put rice in rice cooker. (if you don’t have a rice cooker, it’s a bit more complicated and possibly no longer a low spoons meal.) cook it. top with soy sauce, tsukemono (japanese style pickled veggies), kimchi, or furikake (really good rice seasoning stuff, look it up if interested)
A thing I accidentally found out for soft-boiled eggs: Turns out you don't need to do the egg cup thing, just cut the egg in half on a plate with a knife and it works just as well.
A snack I like to call the I Have Lost Control Of My Life Special * take some grated (pre-grated or grated yourself) cheese (cheddar or mozarella or whatever) * put about 2-3 tablespoons worth in a tiny snack bowl or a cleaned yoghurt pot * sprinkle with a few drops of soy sauce * use a teaspoon to mix them up as much as you like * accept that this is your life now * dig in
also if u have access to an asian grocery store, in the frozen section they usually have big bags of frozen dumplings that you can microwave. they're really tasty and easy and there's tons of variety dipping sauce for dumplings: -soy sauce (a few tablespoons?) -a little dollop of sesame oil (like, just a few drops) -crushed red pepper flakes, optional, to taste put it in a little bowl (like a ramekin) or a cup if you don't have one. whisk it all together with a fork. dunk ur dumplings
It goes really well with cold salads too! I've tried it with tuna salad, chicken salad, potato salad, and egg salad, and it adds a nice punch to it. Low-spoon kimchi soup is pretty easy too. Put a handful of kimchi in a pot, put a couple of cups of broth (chicken, beef, or vegetable) over it, add some salt, and boil for, I don't know, half an hour? And voila, soup. If you have extra spoons you can add some canned tuna, or cook some rice on the side (or add uncooked white rice to the kimchi, increase the amount of broth you use, and boil until it's cooked). Also, bread-and-butter pickles have about the same texture as danmuji, and a somewhat similar taste, and I've eaten them with kimchi soup and that was pretty good.
Ate most of a bag of popcorn by dipping it in moroccan hummus. A pretty ok snack that used zero dishes Edit: oh i forgot if i've said this in another thread but i like getting those ryvita crisp things and dipping them in hummus too. And the sweet variety (muesli crisps i think?) are p good for dipping in sweetened greek yogurt.
handful of grapes handful of carrots some ranch dressing for the carrots can of tuna some mayo in the tuna some soy sauce and sesame oil in the tuna currently testing it out now
This is higher spoons for me but might be low spoons for others, my attempt at vaguely healthy meal: -put sausage or two on boiling water in stove pan -bake a potato in the microwave -wash grapes or grab an apple -eat the things
one of my go-to I Forgot To Defrost Meat, Shit meals is making broth (from carton or powder, bonus if your powder got rock-hard from humidity and you get to Mechanically Stab it with a butter knife to work off Excess Rage), dump in some frozen or canned veggies (cutting is for people with energy), add rice or taters, boil. i often add too much rice to soups but I...i don't really care. extra ricey-leftovers. i flavor with whatever but i like adding lemon flavor to beef broth for some reason. lemon juice was too lemony, lemon pepper worked pretty well though.
