What are you zero-brain go-to recipes for the hard days?

sad bastard cookbook. Recipes start from basic survival level and you can add more depending on how you feel.

A rice cooker with a steam basket is great for this. Rice down below with some marinated protein and a courtesy vegetable up top. Think chicken thighs and sweet potato, sliced beef and broccoli, tofu and edamame, etc. To marinate just put your protein in a ziploc bag with equal parts olive oil, lemon juice and soya sauce.

Japanese curry is another nice easy one. Boil your protein with potatoes and carrots for 20mins, add the package of curry blocks, stir and let it sit for 10 mins. Serve it with rice or udon noodles. Pretty minimal effort and can be done in a large batch like chili

I call this recipe Baja balls

Get a crock pot and fill it with some plain frozen meatballs.

Dump the entire contents of a can of crushed pineapple in there, maybe a can of pineapple rings too if you're feeling fancy.

Cover with low sodium teriyaki sauce and cook on high or medium depending on how much stuff you have to do today.

Cook up some rice when it's looking done.

If you want it to be extra fancy you can garnish with some chives and sesame seeds

Takes literally no effort to make (especially if you have a rice cooker), kid friendly for all of the parents out there, nothing too expensive goes into it, and literally everyone I've given it to went crazy over it.

Rice from the rice cooker, fry an egg on top. Pretend you're in a Ghibli film and crush that shit, instant mood boost.

If you don't have one, buy a good sized freezer. It takes just as long to cook a meal for six people as it does for only one. Freeze the extra and nuke it when you're not in the mood to cook.

I have a five quart pot; I'll make a big batch of chili or soup and freeze it in pint containers.

You can cook a whole roast chicken on Sunday, and use that as a meal base for the week. Chicken tacos, chicken sandwich, chicken and rice.

A smoothie. Banana, avocado (if they're not $1/oz), maybe some frozen fruit, 2C oats (cooked prior, 1qt in fridge), 1C yogurt, protein powder, salt (or peanut butter), fresh water

No thinking involved. Add to blender, pour into face hole. Then, coffee. Calmly. 🖖🏼

p.s. There are a lot of great suggestions & tips in the comments, so please understand that mine is especially for those times when you realize you've not had nutrients in several hours and must eat rightgawdamnednow. It'll flip those switches back to green, but there are numerous more fulfilling and dietarily sound solutions.

Canned beans on rice.

Spaghetti with jarred sauce.

Baked potato or baked sweet potato with whatever toppings are around.

If you are really having trouble, keep on hand nuts and dried fruit, Triscuit crackers (high calorie), olives and hummus. You don't have to cook any of that, and can arrange it into a few healthy meals. Keep cold oatmeal in the fridge - oatmeal, yogurt, water or juice or kombucha and some nuts & dried fruit.

A pot of chili in the slow cooker can be supper all week.

Breakfast:
Simple: Scrambled eggs on a tortilla and in a burrito
Something More:

• Greek Yogurt, similar enough to sour cream but healthier
• Shredded cheese
• Spinach
• Can add a little milk or flour to the eggs and whisk it all together before adding it to the pan to make the eggs fluffier
• Plenty of spices can be added on top of salt and pepper to give it even more flavor

Lunch and Dinner:
Simple: Penne pasta, spinach, some form of cubed or ground meat, alfredo sauce
Something More:

• Squash (Green, Yellow, Mexican - all good)
• Broccoli (I sometimes like to steam them in a separate pot, though you can grill them in the same pan)
• Mushrooms (lionsmane and shitake have some good health benefits)
• Onion
• Garlic
• Shredded cheese
• Can save some if the water you boil the pasta in to add to the final product after, apparently this adds more flavor though in all honesty, I've tried this a few times and it's adding a few extra steps with no payoff

Both of these can utilize a lot of the same ingredients, making meal prep easy. I like having big containers containing everythjng already cooked, and then I can just add to the same container day after day. Less dishes overall, and just takes the one day of cooking a bit to make the rest if the week super easy.

Super zero brain? PB&J sandwich. Or a deli meat sandwich.

Are you talking about when the executive function is completely offline? Because if that’s hitting hard and I’m going “I’m hungry but I can’t make anything” my go to is a quesadilla.
Seriously if I can stand and heat a frying pan, it becomes easygoing to warm up some tortillas in the fry pan and throw some cheese between them. Bingo bango bongo you’ve got a Mexican cheese sandwich.
And then as I’m eating the first one I can be making a second and maybe throw in some ham or some salami, or better yet some leftover taco meat. All of a sudden I’m not so hungry and I’m happier having eaten something and maybe I can be motivated to eat some veggies or fruit.

Egg fried rice. Throw some vegs and/or leftover meat in there too. It's easy, it's fast, and I can adapt it to what I have in the fridge.

Pasta with pesto. But it’s healthier and more fancy looking than you’d think …

• my grocery sells “fresh” stuffed tortellini and ravioli in “family” sized packages that are good for more than a month
• I prefer pesto over marinara, but they each come in a jar and lasts a long time

1. Brown some meat. I like found Italian sausage meat when my grocery has it. I’ve also pulled the skins off (spicy) Italian sausage, I’ve used ground beef, ground turkey, or chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces. It doesn’t matter which
2. Slice a red pepper into chunks
3. Cook the pasta - remember to save a little pasta water (I always forget)
4. Dump into a colander
5. Put the pot back on the stove
6. Add a few tablespoons of olive oil, a couple shakes of crushed red pepper, and a tablespoon or two of garlic, and cook a minute to draw out the garlic
7. Dump in the pasta, the meat, the peppers , half a jar of pesto and mix it all in.
8. Add the pasta water (you remembered to save it, right?) shaved Parmesan and a handful of baby spinach and mix (this should be right before serving so the spinach is not over done)

Now you have simple pasta but it’s colorful, looks fancy, has vegetables.

I just heat up some frozen veggies, pretty good with kimchi!

Raw porridge is a good breakfast (and lunch) option, but you need to put it in the fridge the night before. I mix some oats, seeds, nuts and berries or fruit in a container and add soy/oat milk and some yoghurt (high protein soy yoghurt is best). Fresh dates are a superior sweetener and cinnamon + cardamom give a nice twist. 1/2 container of dry stuff and fill it up with liquid. I used to live on this stuff.

I'll add one. Potato hash

Grab a bag of frozen potatoes cut into small dice - like for hash brown or O'Brien. Bag of frozen bell pepper pieces

Throw 1/4 of each onto a sheet pan. Cut up some red onion to add. Season with chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, and some paprika. Pour some oil over top and mix it all up. Cook according to potato bag instructions.

Fry an egg, throw it over the finished potatoes, sprinkle everything with cheese and add a dollop of sour cream.

Excellent and very fast food. I imagine it's decently healthy too. It can also be cooked in an air fryer, but I tend to make enough for a few meals, so the oven is my go to.

Boiled chicken + premade salad bag.

Creamy Tomato soup with onion, bell pepper, and basil

• rice
• bag of frozen vegi
• protein

meals for months, just rotate the veg and meat you'll be gold.

go to an Asian grocery store and get some sauces to add a whole new combo for more meals.

Rice (rice cooker or microwaved from the fridge) + frozen vegetables + hummus/canned beans/edamame + fridge sauce such as chilli crisp, soy sauce, sambal oelek, etc.

Hummus + crackers

Big ol bowl of lettuce, store bought dressing, a fuck tonne of nuts.

Anything in the Jambalaya, Biryani, Paella family. Cook some onion and veg in oil till starting to soften, add protein, dry rice, spice, and water. Bring to boil and reduce to low until rice is done and water is absorbed.

It's great because you can go in a ton of flavor directions and ingredient directions without getting tired of one dish. It works with almost anything you have in the house. Mastering one basic dish can give you a lot of versatility.

If you have extra energy you can do things like brown the meat first, cook the rice in the oil before adding the water, use stock, etc.

• Clif (or whatever you prefer) bars
• Protein shakes
• Scrambled eggs
• those small plastic boxes of pre-washed lettuce + a comically simple vinaigrette
• whatever vegetable you like, olive oil spray, salt pepper garlic, roast at 425 until you crisp it to your liking (optional hot sauce to give it a kick after you pull it out)

Also: get a sous vide machine and prep some stuff in your freezer. I’ve got several steaks with shaved garlic, s+p, rosemary and thyme in the freezer for when I just want to not care much about cooking, but want something meaty. After the main cook, just blot it dry and sear it real quick on a rippin’ hot skillet (stainless or steel or cast iron is going to give you better results, and also not give you cancer).

I’ve also got spatchcock roast chicken down to a science - WAY less effort than most people think it is.

Engineered staple foods. Huel, "This is Food", Soylent etc.

Also pretty nice is a hot air fryer and a freezer. Grilled salmon right from the freezer, frozen vegetables with sauce included. Kind of a luxury dish, same effort as fries.

Lentil soup.

Cacio e pepe

Bag of lettuce, two premade hard boiled eggs, microwave bacon and half an avocado. Nice, easy cobb salad. Or Rao’s jarred soup

Eggs and preshredded hash browns or toast. Both are basically one step each and I have to be there the whole time so there isn't anything to forget.

Not healthy necessarily, but it can easily be one of two meals for the day as it is very filling even in small amounts.

Egg roll bowls:

1. In a bowl: Mix 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp mirin (or rice vinegar if it’s easier to find), and sriracha to taste (can omit) ** I usually eyeball this mixture. You really can’t go wrong with this combo.
2. Fry up ground protein of choice until it’s fully cooked (I do small cubes of tofu personally), add salt and pepper
3. Add a bag of cole slaw mix (I use broccoli slaw) to the pan and fry up until the veggies start to soften
4. Add the sauce mixed in the bowl and cook until the veggies are softened to your liking
5. Top with wonton strips and/or chili oil if you’re feeling fancy

Hard to mess up and even if you do it’ll still taste good and takes maybe 15 minutes tops.

Lazy Vegan frozen food. They make single portions of nice food that you only have to fry for 8 minutes. I keep at least 1 bag in my freezer for when I get sick or otherwise can't be bothered to prepare a meal.

dal

andouille sausage and dirty rice.

Just buy a sausage and a box of Zatarains, add water and boil for 25 minutes.

It's about $6 total ($4 for the sausage, jist under $2 for the zatarains) and makes 4-5 servings.

Italian sausage + bun + onions + green olives + mustard. Easy to whip up, and reminds me of being a kid. The buns and sausages are multi-packs so if your bad day turns into a bad week, you're still good.

Egg, cheese, and potato burrito. Never fails to satisfy. Cut up and par boil a potato, toss it in the strainer to get it craggily, oil it up with spices, bake for 20 minutes. Scramble some eggs and throw it on a tortilla with cheese.

Beef brisket.

Slow cooker, 1-2kg brisket, 125ml water, 7-8 hours, low heat.

Once cooked put on roasting tray and cover with sauce (3 parts tomato sauce, 3 parts BBQ sauce, 1 part mustard). Oven at 220°C for 20 minutes.

All up about 10 minutes of work, just waiting.

Alternatively eggs. Cook 3-6 eggs to a hard boil, so about 5 mins boiling I guess, then peel and put into a big mug with some butter. Mash the eggs and butter together. Salt and pepper to taste.

I’m not sure where I got this idea or if anyone else does it, so I’ll just call it Cowboy Nachos:

• heat up a tin of baked beans in a pan
• scoop them out with BBQ chips. (I like sturdy kettle chips)
• if the the chips get too small or don’t hold up, stir them in and grab a spoon.
• wash your hands after

Taco bowl

• Brown a protein, add spice packet/blend, simmer.
• Dice some tomato/onion/peppers
• nuke a tin of refried beans
• grate some cheese (or just use pre-grated)
• Throw some greens in a bowl and pile everything else on top.
• Put leftover fixings in the fridge to make tomorrow even easier.

Coconut curry:

• Brown a protein (or not)
• Add 1/2-1 jar curry paste and sauté until fragrant (about 30sec)
• add can of coconut milk
• add diced veggies of choice
• simmer until done to your liking

Stir fry is similar, it’s just a matter of cooking hotter, staging your veg and adding the sauce at the end.

The key, regardless of what you make, is prep: cut everything first, set everything out, then start cooking. That way you only have to focus on one thing at a time, you’re not frantically searching the fridge/pantry or chopping veggies while you’re burning something on the stove.

If you’re feeling extra, you can always dress up the dishes. sauté some onions and peppers with salt and pepper for fajita veg, marinate the protein while you’re cutting up the veggies, etc.

If you want a good hyper fixation cookbook, I recommend The Wok by J. Kenji Lopez Alt

Ingredients: short pasta, frozen peas, garlic, butter, lemon, Parmesan

Get pasta water boiling, salt it well. Don't dump this down the sink until the recipe is complete, it's multifunctional.

Mince 6-8 cloves of garlic, sauteed in a hot pan with a full stick of butter and some chili flakes, keep stirring until the butter browns, but kill the heat if the garlic starts to burn. While you're stirring, zest and then juice one large lemon. When the butter starts to brown, put the pasta in the water, reduce heat on the garlic butter and deglase the pan with lemon juice as needed. When the pasta is still underdone, transfer it from the water to the sauce, it'll finish cooking there. Add the zest, the rest of the juice, and grate Parmesan over top, stirring everything in. As the sauce gets stodgy from the cheese, add some pasta water to make the separate elements cohere — you're aiming for a silky, creamy sauce. Dip the frozen peas in the pasta water long enough to turn bright green and mix them into the pasta and sauce.

Serve, garnishing each bowl with more parm and a dash of fresh-ground black pepper.

Now you can toss the remaining pasta water.

My kids would eat this four times a week if they got to pick.

For a fancier summer version of this dish, grate a couple pounds of zucchini into the garlic butter before it browns and slowly sautée it down on medium-low heat to a jammy consistency, which takes about twenty minutes. Only when the zucchini is completely disintegrated should you start cooking pasta. The rest of the recipe is the same, though you might want to up the lemon to match the additional sweetness. Corn also works as an add-in.

In the winter, you can chiffonade some kale or chard or collard greens or spinach into the sauce a few minutes before adding the pasta.

Meal prep chicken in the oven once a week, can get big bags of frozen chicken for reasonably cheap. Keep that in the fridge. Keep fresh frozen veggies in the freezer.

Microwave some veggies and chicken - instant meal.

Tilapia + pick your spice of choice.

Takes less than five minutes and it's a reasonable healthy thing