THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN HEAD AND HANDS MUST BE THE HEART!
anyway, i have a question for all those of you living alone without a dishwasher.
i've always had a dishwasher, well, since i was four, except for in college, when there were usually bunches of people around to wash dishes or take turns or whatever.
anyway, i'm just getting frustrated because quick, healthy meals for one person that don't require using a lot of dishes-- well, where to start? i've been eating a lot of soup and udon, but i'm just not crazy about having to cook things that require that i wash up prep dishes or pots/pans in addition to what i'm eating out of-- takes too much time, and i wind up being a lazy ass and piling things up in the sink. soooo...suggestions? i am not a picky eater as far as types of food (there are some things i won't eat, like bananas, eggplant, or squash) but i am picky as far as quality, things like frozen TV dinners or canned ravioli just don't appeal to me and i can't stomach 'em.
ooh, and
haruspexy, i got a new brand of cheese sticks!agh, and
artdeco, thank you for pointing out that there was no commenty on this. blargh.
-Bagged salad
-Sandwiches - hot and cold... mmm veggie meatball sandwich. (I've been buying ridiculous macrobiotic sprouted wheat bread, so even PB&J makes that step up to "healthy meal")
-Wraps & not-quite quesadillas. (Pretty much sandwiches, I guess.)
-Instant beans-rice-seasoning iterations. The Goya ones are good, and the Zatarain's are pretty nice too.
-The Glad OvenWare stuff is a total must... oven to table to fridge. The best part is being able to carry your, say, pigeon peas and rice from the microwave to the table without needing a plate or trivet.
-Baked topatoes! (And sweet topatoes, but I know you hate those.)
P.S. Coco Pazzo Soup! So much beans.
My sink still fills up with glasses and prep knives, but not nearly as quickly.
My big recommendation would be to cook in advance and freeze - if you'll be wanting hamburger or cooked chicken to use in meals, cook up a bunch and freeze it in individual portions (those little ziploc containers work great for this). Cooking meat always makes a mess, so it's good to get that all out of the way at once. Casseroles, chili and such also freeze well. This takes a bit of time on the day you do the cooking-in-advance, but more than pays for itself later. Your microwave has a defrost setting for a reason!
Fat-free refried beans on tostada shells with salsa, cheese, and veggies is good and requires no cookware.
It also saves dishes if you eat out of the pot you cooked it in. :)~
Re:
Spaghetti O's and Ramen noodles can also be cooked in a bowl in the microwave, and you can even get microwave hot dogs and bacon.
Then for desert, ice cream straight from the little hagan-das cardboard container.
Edit: Oh wait, you said healthy...