The Low Effort Cookblog

-This blog is about budgeting time and energy, not money. -There are already plenty of websites for eating well on a tight financial budget, such as No More Ramen, but tips that might save a few dollars often require hours of extra work. -Please think over just how easy your quick tips actually are before you submit them! If the recipe involves pre-heating an oven it isn't low-effort enough. See also: preparing anything ahead of time, especially the day before. -Any step that requires going outside or talking to people is also pretty iffy. -Recommendations for assistive devices and appliances are welcome.

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For ramen and eggs, I just crack the egg(s) straight into the pot with boiling water and noodles. If you want the yolk cooked, crack the egg(s) into the pot as soon as you put in the noodles, if you like the yolk a little runny, crack the egg(s) one minute after you've put in the noodles. Don't stir it with spoon, it'll break the eggs apart, just swirl the pot by the handle if you need to. 2 mins later you have ramen and poached eggs.

if you want it really runny, crack it into the broth right before you serve. 

[vastderp]

HEY THIS SHIT IS SUPER USEFUL

http://imgur.com/gallery/2790n

it’s a picture-mode low spoons food/ingredient substitution cheat sheets. my favorite are the three ingredient meals with NO TEXT READING REQUIRED

and it’s very light on the diet culture rubbish which i appreciate

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It's also easier to peel eggs when they're older! The membrane between the shell and the white weakens over time; in newer eggs with a stronger membrane the white will hold faster to the shell. (The membrane around the yolk also degrades with age, which it's why it's easier to accidentally break the yolk when frying older eggs.)

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This isn't a food, but the rapid mac cooker microwaves macaroni quickly and you don't have to fuss with a pot or anything

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put some bread in toaster. apply a lot of butter to toast. sprinkle liberal amount of sugar (just granulated sugar) onto buttered toast. if cinnamon is ur thing, add some of that. bam. dessert/a delicious snack.

you can mix half a cup of sugar with a tablespoon of cinnamon to make cinnamon sugar, then sprinkle it from a bag or jar as needed. cinnamon toast is so good. cinnamon sugar is also great on apple slices. 

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two awesome "spices": Knorr brand caldo de pollo and caldo de tomate. i like to put them on rice, pasta, potatoes, really anything. caldo de pollo makes everything taste like chicken soup and caldo de tomate makes everything taste like doritos (but like, EVEN BETTER than doritos!). you can find them in any world foods/hispanic foods part of a grocery store. you can also use them for soups/stews and the like, but that gets more into high-effort territory.

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heat up one of those frozen breaded fish patty things (or multiple fishsticks) + two slices of bread (+ optional veggies) + ranch dressing = surprisingly complete meal

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Lately I've been making a lot of sandwiches by putting bread + cheese in the toaster oven. Tuna salad is also easy (if you get the mayo etc in squeeze bottles then it's even fewer utensils to clean), and if you put the two together you have a delicious tuna melt.

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For variety! Take thepioden's simple chili recipe (in one of the early posts on this blog) & replace the canned tomatoes with canned pumpkin puree. Sounds weird, but pumpkin's a pretty plain flavor on it's own, so it mostly just gives it a little bit less tangy yum and a little bit more creamy-savory yum with remarkably little effort. Opening a different can gives you a whole extra recipe, it's amazing.

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Whole milk! Barely more expensive than other milks, but so much more filling. And it works as creamer in tea and coffee. Other thing: Asian groceries carry lots of instant, just-add-water type foods besides ramen, like dry soup mixes and curry sauce packets. There's also a class of seasonings just for making plain rice less plain called furikake. Other other thing: Onion is your secret weapon. Makes things taste better and be better for you, lasts forever in the fridge.

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If you like bananas but can't eat a whole bunch before they go brown, just stick the ones you can't eat in the freezer. They'll go brown and soft really fast, then you can leave them in there forever. Thaw them out whenever you want and mix them into that store-bought muffin mix. Bam. Banana muffins that cost like $4 a batch and take like ten minutes. Also you can put chocolate chips in them.

in my experience it really helps to peel the banana peel off before you put them in a freezer bag. then you can use them still-frozen in smoothies, too. 

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Progresso or Campbell's chunky soups (or any off brand with a pop tab) are ready to eat straight from the can. They have tangible meat, veg and sometimes potato, with zero prep if you don't feel like warming it. I avoid not heating the cream-style ones but that's because I'm paranoid, but the beef stew types and the chicken noodles are perfect grab food.

you can also put in a cup of rice and some salt if you want to stretch it out

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Chop up chocolate chips (or leave them whole) and toss them into yogurt (I prefer orange creme flavored). It tastes like a super-fancy dessert!

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If you happen to live in an area with a large Middle Eastern (esp Armenian or Turkish) population, you'll probably be able to find a place to buy lahmajun (it usually comes with beef or lamb on it, but there are veggie options). Buy a box or two and stick it in your freezer. When you're hungry, just stick one or two lahmajun in the oven for five minutes. If you're feeling up to it, squeeze some lemon juice on top. It's delicious.

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I have a base waffle recipe, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of flour, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp baking soda. sometimes I make them with yeast, but that's only easier if you can't make food decisions before noon.

this amount of cooking is regular- to high-effort, not low effort. 

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I cook all pasta in a pasta boat because I hate boiling. 15 bucks on amazon, also seen them in goodwills. With mine, you measure pasta by sticking it through the handle of the boat, then you fill with water to the line the instructions say for that amount of pasta. Stick in microwave for instructed amount of time. So there's instruction following, but pretty manageable & you don't need to monitor. I just use jar sauce and add meat I cook while pasta's microwaving, or I toss in pepperoni.

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My go to food is a canned tuna in oil drained (can use the oil for cooking too), mixed with a can if sweet corn

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