Quick meal ideas whilst studying?

August 11, 2024 5:24 AM

I've got my final accounting exam in 3 weeks, very anxious to pass first time. I don't want to waste time cooking food, but equally want to avoid wasting money on Ubereats/Deliveroo (i just ordered a Mcdonalds and don't want to repeat.) Please can I get recommendations for quick batch meals or any other ideas to tide me over during this stressful period?
posted by Sunflower88 to Food & Drink (27 answers total)

One of the best solutions when I was in a similar situation was invented by a college friend of mine: mix up a jar of pasta sauce you like and a can of chickpeas. Heat up the mixture or not, it's fine both ways. Or at least it is when exams are coming. It's really healthy, cheap and simple. I'd go for a pasta sauce with a lot of different veggies in it, but it isn't very important.

Another quick food is BLT sandwiches. You need bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes, obviously and bread, maybe mayo. Buy a lot of all the ingredients and also a package of spaghetti or two and some parmesan cheese.
Fry up the bacon you need for two sandwiches, slice your tomatoes, rinse your lettuce (or buy it pre-washed) and toast your bread. Bacon is best fried on medium-slow heat, and turned often to keep it flat. When you have assembled your sandwiches, clean up your kitchen, but let the pan with the bacon fat stay on, put a lid on it or a plate, you don't need to refrigerate.

Next time you want food, you can do the same, using the same pan, and still not cleaning it. Or you can do this:

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, and add enough spaghetti to feed you -- I'd say 100 g pr portion.
Now heat up your bacon fat pan, and either add a cup of your chickpea-pastasauce mix or two chopped fresh tomatoes. Or both. Let it simmer till the pasta is cooked, about ten minutes. Put a half cup of the pasta water into your bacon-fat sauce, and then strain the pasta and add that in too. Stir vigorously. Serve the pasta with lots of grated cheese.
Why not make two portions of this while you are at it, so you can reheat some for the next meal. If you do, add in a little water. It's not a perfect meal, but it's better than anything from McD's.

I forgot to mention eggs. Buy some eggs.

You should still have some bacon. Fry it. Then in the fat, fry some halved tomatoes, and set them aside along with the bacon. While the tomatoes are frying, whip two eggs together with a bit of salt and pepper. Wipe off the pan, add in a piece of butter, and then make an omelet or scramble the eggs. Serve it all at once. If you want to, there are a ton of videos on YouTube about omelets. But the point is mostly to whip the eggs with a fork in advance and then stir vigorously for two minutes while the eggs are with the butter on the pan. Like with scrambled eggs, but a tiny bit different because you are going for the smooth finish.

For me, this could go on for three weeks just fine, but I'm sure there will be more good advice below. And also ramen noodles.
posted by mumimor at 5:57 AM on August 11 [1 favorite]

Check out this classic "Ask Metafilter" thread on preparing weeknight recipes, including batch meals, etc.

Help us make a master list of weeknight recipes!
posted by jeremias at 6:09 AM on August 11

Do you have a slow cooker or instant pot or something? (Just to help think about recs, since that's something you can set up without needing to mind it).
posted by dismas at 6:12 AM on August 11

Based on previous questions I think you’re in the UK, so I’m not sure if my USA-based answer is helpful in specifics although it could be useful in general.

Frozen prepared food from places like Trader Joe’s can be tasty and useful in situations like yours. I’ve especially enjoyed their Indian and Thai offerings but a coworker is very fond of their frozen pasta.

Frozen prepared food hits the sweet spot between the expense of delivery and the time needed to prepare your own food.
posted by sciencegeek at 6:19 AM on August 11 [6 favorites]

Here's my daily breakfast:

* 1 scoop plant OR whey / casein protein powder
* 1/2 large avocado OR 1/2 cup nut or seed butter
* 3/4 cup canned chickpeas or cooked lentils
* 3/4 cup your favorite milk or yogurt
* 2 tsp chia seed
* your favorite spice profile (could simply be cinnamon or powdered cardamom, I usually throw in caraway seed or fenugreek powder)
* 1 t. salt

If you use the unflavored, unsweetened protein powder, this easily could be a solid base for lunch or dinner. Add more protein (try turkey cold cuts or tempeh) and some sourdough bread if you want.

Many artificial sweeteners mess with your gut biome, so I'd recommend the unsweetened powder anyway.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 6:20 AM on August 11

This is old school but I used to alternate a pot of chili with a tray of baked pasta (of choice, mine tended towards macaroni and peas but these days I’d probably go for a pot of pasta e ceci. Lunches were peanut butter toast and baby carrots and snap peas.
posted by warriorqueen at 7:15 AM on August 11 [2 favorites]

I’d just make a casserole or two and then reheat a portion in the microwave for meals (but then I don’t mind eating the same thing for days at a time if it saves on cooking). Then there’s bagged salad from the grocery store which includes toppings and dressing.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 7:18 AM on August 11

Fast, easy, not v. expensive: Lean Cuisine, Boston Market, Stouffers(frozen, microwaveable meals), frozen veg, granola, boxed mac-n-cheese, Indian packet meals with rice, pasta, or potatoes, beans on toast, ramen with frozen veg and an egg.

I make large batches of red sauce(onion, mildly spicy sausage, canned tomatoes, red wine, herbs) or chili (onions, ground beef, canned tomatoes, canned beans, lots of chili powder), freeze some, eat some once a day with pasta. Unnamed curryish dish(ground meat, onions, potatoes, frozen green beans, curry seasoning, chili powder). Tuna noodle(noodles, canned tuna, canned mushroom soup, milk, frozen peas). Shepherd's pie(ground beef, chili powder, layer of corn, peas, or green beans, top with instant mashed potatoes). I always make extra rice which I'll have with kimchi or an Indian packet, or extra pasta, which is versatile, can add butter and some veg. These are old school but fast fuel, struggle meals, if you will.

Don't neglect exercise and going outside, your brain needs that, so maybe a trip to the store every couple of days to stock up on prepared food that's way more nutritious than burgers and fries. And get salad and vegetables.
posted by theora55 at 7:46 AM on August 11 [2 favorites]

In addition to several of the suggestions above, I've really taken advantage of salad-in-a-bag kits in similarly busy time. Best of luck - you've got this!
posted by capricorn at 8:20 AM on August 11

Most of my lunches and several weeknight meals are what I call "assembly meals" - pouch or microwave or frozen carb, frozen or canned vegetables, optional legume, and a quick protein either bulk-cooked in advance (then portioned and frozen) or purchased ready-to-heat.

The protein is the hard part. I think you might be in the UK, but the easiest (and most expensive, but your other components are cheap) ones I get look like this in the US, it's a cardboard container with a pull-off top, and inside is the meat in a plastic sealed pack, refrigerated and usually found vaguely near either the packaged lunchmeat or at one end of the fresh meat area.

But easier options are usually frozen - frozen meatballs, grilled strips of chicken, frozen fish. Ground beef and any cut of chicken can easily be bulk-cooked in a slow-cooker or electric pressure cooker; chicken and fish can go in an air fryer, any of the above can be spread on a baking sheet and roasted. (Yes, including ground/roasted - one of my favorite tricks is to mash out ground chicken or turkey in a baking sheet, cover it with taco seasoning, roast until it's cooked through, drain, cool, and then just hack it up into distinct chunks with a spatula and freeze those right on the pan, then pop those off and store in a baggie. Now you have grab-and-heat portions of taco/shawarma meat for making bowls or salads or tacos, or even just bulking up some canned soup.)

Once I have an array of bowl-salad-taco components on hand, I keep basic sauces/condiments for variety. I always have salsa and sour cream, peanut sauce, and some kind of "Italian" or "Greek" ish salad dressing. There's also the sesame-ginger type dressings, anything in the family I call Vaguely Asian Sauce (teriyaki, KBBQ, Pad Thai, General Tso, Sweet Chili).

You can also zhuzh up your bowl-salad-taco with quick fresh adds - bag salad or cabbage, sliced tomato, cucumber, avocado, snow peas, whatever easy raw veg you like. When I'm eating a lot of hurry-meals fiber can get neglected, so also consider adding some nuts, hemp and/or flaxseed, and use brown rice and whole-grain pasta - both of which can be bulk-cooked and frozen in portions so that you're literally just throwing all the frozen components in a bowl with a splash of water to cover and microwave together. I like to leave the sauce out and add it once I've sufficiently microwaved all the components, to keep it all from turning into so much of a sticky blob.

One thing to remember when you're making bowls with 3+ ingredients is that a little of each goes a long way. I kept accidentally making monster bowls until I started freezing my components in 1/2 and 1/4 cup portions.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:52 AM on August 11

this grain pouch mixed with this soup >> microwave >> lotsa shakey cheese. will make several serving. its quick, fairly cheap, healthy and really super yum.

(or whatever variant is available near you)
posted by supermedusa at 9:48 AM on August 11

Roast beef/chicken/lamb/pork - make a big one, portion it, use it in different ways

+1 chili

Nuts + yogurt

Roasted edamame

+1 shredded cabbage for salads
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:41 AM on August 11

Get down to your local supermarket and lean into ready meals or parts of ready meals. Buy enough for a week. You can now either heat up a meal or two meal components and eat in 10 mins.

What I mean by meal components is ready prepared veg you just stir fry and toss in some sauce, grab noodles as well. Or burgers with coleslaw or a few baking potatoes, some tuna and mayo or whatever filling works for you. The potatoes require a bit more time because they take a while to cook, but not exactly effort to cook.

Grab some bars, bananas and yogurts for breakfast.
posted by koahiatamadl at 12:18 PM on August 11

Ramen noodles - make it healthier with only half the salt package, and chuck some cut veggies into the boiling water with the noodles (baby spinach, kale, small-cut broccoli, carrot), and poach an egg in there too for protein. Also great with some cheese thrown in the bottom of the bowl before you pour in the hot soup - the hot water will melt the cheese.

Scrambled eggs with a handful of cheese and baby spinach (chop it quickly first as smaller pieces are easier to eat)

Protein powder smoothies

Melted cheese on crackers with a fruit

Pre-cut veggies and fruit and portion them into single-serving containers

Frozen thin crust pizzas, add extra veggies like chopped baby spinach and halved cherry tomatoes

Hard boiled eggs

A can of tuna or salmon with mayo stirred in, either as a sandwich or simply eaten with a spoon for speed!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 12:53 PM on August 11

Get a rotisserie chicken, a bag of nice bread buns and some salad fixings (from the pick and mix salad bar if you like).

Also get some "straight to wok" noodles, chicken stock cubes and Thai green curry paste.

When you get bored of chicken salad sandwiches, make up chicken stock, and throw in some of the curry paste plus a pack of noodles and a load of the cooked chicken. Optionally, chuck in some fish sauce and/or lime juice if you have any. Or make the chicken stock with coconut milk, maybe wilt some spinach in there. This takes maybe three minutes.

You can also heat up the chopped chicken in curry sauce from a jar and have it with a store bought naan.

Make cous cous with some frozen veg, and dump a tin of fish in it.

Put a tin of chickpeas in jarred curry sauce and microwave it.
posted by quacks like a duck at 1:22 PM on August 11 [4 favorites]

I always forget to recommend the actual easy thing: sandwiches. They don't have to suck: get the good bread, get decent sandwich meat and sliced cheese, and then also pick up 2-4 things from this list for leveling the sandwich up:
- mashed avocado (or guac, if you don't mind the way it's seasoned)
- cream cheese or cream-cheese-based dip/spread meant for bagels or raw veg
- chili crisp, roasted or pickled peppers, hot sauce, hot honey, just something with flavor and heat
- any jam that generally tastes good on a cheese plate: fig, apricot, I personally like good old strawberry
- sauerkraut, curtido, some other cabbage type slaw, pickles including non-cucumber types like giardiniera or pickled onions, chutney, kimchi
- cajun seasoning, peppercorns in a grinder so they're fresh, Everything bagel seasoning, seasoned salt, seasoning blend of choice - if you want to avoid another spicy option here, look for something with some oniony kick

I am classically conditioned to want a really good potato chip with sandwiches, but since you're at home and you will feel better if you eat a green vegetable, consider a side of canned or frozen green beans, peas, broc-cauli blend, or even a "stir-fry" type blend especially if you actually like bell pepper/capsicum - I don't and would rather have green beans or broccoli, microwaved and dressed with a drizzle of vinaigrette or oil and grated parm. You could also batch-prepare something more like shirazi salad - mostly tomato and cucumber, maybe some onion, lots of parsley/cilantro/dill.

I only just recently discovered my husband's sandwich hack: he constructs his meat-and-cheese stack first on the side of a plate and microwaves that for 30 seconds or so, and then finishes prepping the bread and sides on the other side of the plate while the stack heat-equalizes, and then he moves it to the sandwich when ready so that the inside is neither fridge-cold nor unpleasantly hot.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:53 PM on August 11 [1 favorite]

Buy a rotisserie chicken, a bag of salad and some potatoes.
Have 1) chicken, potatoes, frozen veg 2) chicken and fries and chicken gravy from KFC. 3) chicken and salad 4) chicken sandwiches.

Eggs. Use for scramble, fried egg sandwiches, hard boiled egg snacks, pasta carbonara. Egg salad sandwiches.

A pile of sandwich meat from the deli, panini buns, fixings such as lettuce, onion, tomatoes, mayo, peppers.
posted by Enid Lareg at 2:57 PM on August 11 [1 favorite]

my new thing is frozen baby lima beans. Put pot on stove with water in it on high. Open bag of beans, dump in a lot, return remaining beans to freezer, grab a bowl. After about five minutes, scoop the beans into the bowl with a slotted spoon and put salt, pepper, and olive oil on them.

Even faster, open a can of black beans, dump them in a pot, heat about two minutes, add cumin and olive oil.

Mixed vegetable surprise: chop up one broccoli head and a few cauliflower florets, dump in steamer basket over boiling water, pour frozen green peas on top, steam about five minutes, pour in bowl add olive oil, salt and pepper. What is the surprise? Well, it's mildly surprising that you can totally live on this.

Bagged salad a la chef's knife. Do you have those ridiculous bagged salads in the UK? We have these stupid things: it's basically a bunch of shredded cabbage and carrot in a plastic bag with additional tiny plastic bags containing: four tablespoons of indifferent salad dressing, and two mix-ins--like cranberries and candied pecans or croutons and cheese shreds. They're really expensive, and even if they were nearly free, it makes me insane to spend any quantity of money on something so fiddly and packed with disposable plastic, so I just buy a cabbage and cut a wedge off, then chunk that up into bits with a chef's knife and throw it in a bowl with whatever other vegetable matter is in the fridge. Et voila. Sometimes I make egg salad in the bowl first and then throw the cabbage on top of that. Add a smidge of olive oil and vinegar and salt and pepper, mix it around. Not thrilling but perfectly pleasant, very filling, not terrible for you. And cabbage lasts and lasts and lasts in the fridge.

Nuts n Temptee. Temptee is the US brand of whipped cream cheese that is the most delicious. Any delicious dippable cheese will work as long as it is yummy. Get a bunch of mixed nuts, dip them in the Temptee. Eat some, like, berries or an apple and a couple of cucumbers with.

Concur: eggs. scramble, omeletize, whatever is fastest. Throw on some cheese and a couple of button mushrooms or whatever is to hand, salt, pepper, done.
posted by Don Pepino at 5:23 PM on August 11

Ready cooked Rotisserie chicken from the store
A bag if frozen mixed vegetables, microwaved
A pot of brown rice cooked in chicken stock (or of you a really tight on time, a couple slices of wheat bread)

This should have you covered for three to four meals
posted by jander03 at 9:09 PM on August 11

Boil pasta, frozen vegetables and a couple of eggs (crack them into a bowl and then add to the water) together for the length of time recommended on the pasta box.

Drain.

Mix in chickpeas or tuna.

Stir in some hummus or any other dip you like. Season with pepper.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 12:28 AM on August 12

I am not pressed for time, but I'm burnt out and unable to muster the organisational skills to be able to cook.

My (UK-specific) go-tos are:

• ready meals
• sandwiches / something on toast
• eggs (scrambled / poached / boiled / hardboiled / fried, or an omelette if I'm feeling confident)
• hummus (literally just a pot of hummus, eaten with strips of pitta bread / cucumber / peppers)
• Crosta & Mollica mini sourdough pizzas
• filled pasta (this sort of thing) served with olive oil, chilli flakes and grated parmesan.

All of these can be prepared quickly and with very few steps.

On the ready meal front: if you have freezer space available, Cook ready meals cook from frozen (some in a microwave, some in the oven), so you don't have to plan ahead beyond preheating the oven, and are remarkably good. They do home delivery (albeit with a minimum order that does require about a shelf's worth of space in the freezer), and they've also got their own shops plus freezers in some independent shops and branches of the Co-op. They're not the cheapest, but they won't set you back as much as the likes of Deliveroo.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 1:37 AM on August 12

My go-to lunch that requires no cooking but is healthyish and tasty is buying ready made ingredients from M&S and mixing and matching them into portions.

For example, fruity couscous, beetroot and apple slaw, and pre-cooked chicken slices is a great lunch or dinner. Enough for three portions at around ~550 calories each is about £15. You can stretch that out further by adding more fresh veg of your choice or using less of the meat per portion.

It's a little bit more expensive than alternatives but it's nicer and a bit healthier than takeaway or other ready meals.
posted by slimepuppy at 2:02 AM on August 12

Ok.

1. Boil a bunch of eggs and keep them in the fridge (if you add vinegar to the water, its easier to peel).
2. Also buy green/spring onions.
3. Boil 4 cups of water (replace some of that water with homemade broth if possible for more flavor)
4. Toss in 4-5 Ramen noodles
5. Toss in 1-3 ramen seasoning(seriously, I don't understand who can eat a 1:1 ratio of ramen noodles to seasoning packets)
6. Chop up and toss in 2-5 boiled eggs and some spring onions (to taste)
7.Keep it cooking till the water level is almost nil because the noodles have absorbed it all.
8. Eat.

Its not the healthiest meal, but its so damn good. I used to eat this in college...and I STILL prefer this over expensive meals. Also, this is about 2000 calories and costs like $3-10 depending on the quality of Ramen you get.

My mouth is watering.
posted by hal_cy_on at 3:26 AM on August 12 [1 favorite]

any other ideas to tide me over during this stressful period?
you can do it!
posted by HearHere at 9:23 PM on August 12

any other ideas to tide me over during this stressful period?

oh also this. yes, you can do it. Remember there are diminishing returns to hours spent studying and scheduling in time for a walk or a jog is actually worthwhile. I hate that it's true, but it is.
posted by dismas at 7:35 AM on August 13 [1 favorite]

I realize I'm very late to the conversation so I hope you see this. If this were me studying for a big exam, and I'm super glad it's not, I would go to the higher-end grocery store once a week and buy things like pre-hard boiled eggs, Stouffer's mac and cheese or whatever entrees you like, a bag of frozen pre-cooked dumplings or potstickers, and a bunch of ready-to-eat entrees and sides from the deli counter. I know I would not have the energy or inclination to fix even the simplest things that require cooking. I'd go for the more expensive options like:

A pre-cut veggie tray, couple of containers of hummus
Your favorite box of crackers
Bag of peeled and cooked hard boiled eggs
6 pack of yogurt for breakfasts
6 pack of Clif bars for snacks
Little mesh bag of Babybel cheeses for quick protein snack, or mozzarella sticks
Bananas, apples, peaches, any fruit that requires no prep or cutting
Ready to eat tuna/chicken/egg salad from the deli counter
Ready to warm up entrees from the deli counter
Cans of hearty soup
Maybe a couple of potatoes for baking since they require no prep
Some pre-made salads or bagged salads

Basically anything that you can grab and eat with no preparation beyond a few minutes in the toaster oven or microwave. It'll be a bit pricier but your time is worth more.

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR EXAM, I BET YOU CRUSH IT!
posted by Kangaroo at 3:32 PM on August 13

good luck! you're almost there!!!!!
posted by dismas at 12:36 PM on August 27