Ready to cook your own meals? You may be a great “cook from scratch” cook, but if you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, check out our tips below.
- make extra meals and freeze them in the portions you need
- some meals that freeze well are roast, chicken, fajitas and lasagna
- use a George Foreman grill to quickly cook things like hamburger patties and skinless boneless chicken breast tenders and thighs
- freeze dried herbs available at Litehouse
- the crock pot may be your best friend
Simply Meal Prep
- Trader Joe’s has pre-cut veggies to simplify meal prep
- pre-cut frozen veggies are available at most stores
- pre-cut fresh veggies are at the salad bar
- buy a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, pull the meat off it and use in a variety of dishes. Costco sells rotisserie chicken already shredded in a package.
- buy frozen chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken – you can use as many as you need; some recipes will allow you to put frozen chicken directly in a crock pot
grill chicken breasts and use in different recipes during the week - buy bulk ground beef; season with salt, pepper, minced onion or onion powder and garlic (or whatever spices you prefer); cook it all at one time and then freeze in one pound freezer bags. Thaw in the microwave and use in spaghetti, tacos, soups, stir fry, etc.
- trim chicken breasts, add marinade and freeze; defrost in fridge a day in advance, then bake. Serve with rice and veggies
- precook on weekends for the week
- wash lettuce and spin dry in salad spinner; this will keep all week
- wash and dry containers of fruit on the weekends
- use an electric mixer to “shred” chicken after it’s been cooked
- make smoothies in a Nutribullet; buy smoothie fruit packs at grocery store in frozen fruit section; you can use large chunks of fruit with the Nutribullet
- freeze leftover smoothie in ice cube trays
- make smoothies at might with protein powder, quick shake in the morning to mix it back up
- ripen bananas; peel and break into chunks then throw into freezer bag and freeze for smoothies
- kitchen gadgets to use with one hand
Easy Meal Ideas
- packaged rice and noodle pouches + frozen veggies or pre-cooked chicken chunks (or canned chicken)
- grilled cheese sandwich and canned soup
- quesadillas
- chicken breasts cooked in crock pot with barbeque sauce; “shred” the chicken with an electric mixer
- microwave a baked potato
- bean burritos
- crock pot dump meals – google this for recipes
- cook pasta and add sauce – a varitey of sauces are available. Try pesto in a jar, spaghetti sauce or make your own sauce in bulk and freeze to heat up later
- some Pinterest recipes combine just a few Trader Joe’s ingredients
- pick up a few prepared salads and keep in the fridge
- search for “crock pot dump meals”
- easy marinade – Italian salad dressing
- Trader Joe’s soyaki marinade for chicken
Delivery and Take Out
- Freshly delivers healthy refrigerated meals that can be heated
- Blue Apron provides pre-measured ingredients that you’ll need to make a meal
- Schwann’s online grocery delivers products to your home
- Most grocery stores have fresh prepared foods in their Deli area
Cook Books with Simple Recipes
- How to Cook Without a Book – teaches you to cook with items you already have and how to have a well stocked pantry so you don’t have to shop that often, saving time and energy
- A Man, A Can, A Plan
Easy Recipes
Sausage Pasta by Rashae
1 package Kielbasa sausage, sliced
1 bag frozen peppers and onions
1 box rotini noodles
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 large scoop sour cream OR cream cheese
Boil noodles.
In a medium size stock pot, saute sausage until hot. Add peppers and onions until fragrant, draining excess liquid if necessary. Add noodles to sausage, pour in jar of spaghetti sauce. Heat until warm. Add in a scoop of sour cream or cream cheese, stir until incorporated. Super simple “home cooked” meal in 20 minutes.
Southwestern Taco Toss
ground beef
tomato sauce
taco seasoning – can be purchased in a packet at grocery store
tortilla chips
shredded cheddar cheese
Brown ground beef. Add tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Simmer. Crunch up tortilla chips in a bowl. Add meat and cheese. Toss.
Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili – uses mostly items in a can
Easy Meals Using a Rotisserie Chicken
Smoothie Recipes
- 1/2 cup milk; 1/2 cup ice; 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, little Greek yogurt to thicken and fruit
- Chocolate smoothie – 1 frozen banana, cocoa, black beans, 1/2 cup milk
- Strawberry smoothie – 1 frozen banana, strawberries, 1/2 cup milk
- Green smoothie – 1 frozen banana, spinach and mint flavor; 1/2 cup milk; sprinkle with chocolate chips
- Peach smoothie – 1 frozen banana and peaches, 1/2 cup milk
Choose Simple Sides
Add simple side dishes like fruit or a salad.
- whole apples or pears
- fruit salad
- apple sauce
- bagged salad
- coleslaw from the deli
- baked beans from a can
- sliced avocado
- canned or frozen veggies
- baby carrots
More CHASA in the Kitchen Ideas
Learn more about cooking with one hand
Join our CHASA Hemiplegia Parent Group on Facebook
Join our CHASA Adults Living with Hemiplegia Since Childhood Facebook Group
