Hello! Unfortunately, I am one of those people that just despises cooking! I live on my own, so never saw the need of going through the process of cooking a meal. I know that should change (and hopefully it will), but after 4 years of going to school full time as well as working full time, I am just not in the habit. The microwave is a good friend of mine. In the mean time, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for quick, protein heavy, healthy meals? I thought lean cuisines might be a good idea, any others? I have not yet had surgery (only 24 days away!) so am just trying to think ahead. Thanks!!

i'm 11 weeks out and live a life very similar to yours, work full time, work part time and i live alone, and i've got the same question. i live on a budget so it would be an even bigger help if the meals were fairly cheap.

i hope we get some answers!

I'm gonna say any meat/veggie, egg/veggie combo is gonna work for you. Nothing is easier or faster to make than an egg and you can mix tons of veggies, cheese, and other things into them. Most meat can be pan seared in a little cooking spray really quickly, or baked in the oven. You could even Foreman Grill it. Wrap a piece of your favorite whitefish in a piece of tin foil (like a tent, sealed well with no holes) with a couple of circles of sliced lemon and your favorite spice and bake for 15 minutes. It'll be perfect.

Do you live near a Fresh & Easy? They have really fantastic prepared meals that you can microwave. The plus is that it's fresh, not frozen and it tastes much more like home cooking than manufactured food. The downside is that because it's not frozen, it doesn't keep for as long. My husband and I shop there almost exclusively. I'm only recently learning to cook and he doesn't have time to cook, so we eat F&E meals a lot.

I eat a lot of their fish (ahi, salmon, etc) instead of buying the full meals because the meals aren't practical for me anymore. They also have beef, chicken, pork, etc. that are quick to cook or microwave depending on which preparation you get. I also eat cheese (they have great cheese) and crackers, cottage cheese, yogurt, and eggs with lots of veggies mixed in. The other thing I do is make something that will last for a bit (crustless quiche or fish stew, stuff like that). That way I don't have to cook so much.

I'm not sure that'll be much help, but I don't plan regular meals anymore since I can't eat them. I might have salmon for dinner with two bites of mashed potatoes or ahi tuna with the very bottom of one piece of baby bok choy.

I do not cook either. I find that Protein shakes are great for an easy meal when in a hurry. I keep peeled, sliced, ripe bananas in a ziploc in the freezer and use these instead of ice to make a frozen smoothie with high protein mix (either choc or vanilla).

I eat alot of yogurt, and find the greek types ot have more protein per serving. I really really love plain greek yogurt or vanilla, with honey drizzled on it. It is delicious!

You can microwave eggs BTW, just spray a small bowl with Pam, use a fork to scrample the eggs right in the bowl, and nuke for 1 minute or so- be sure to take it out and mix it some more every 10 seconds to keep it cooking evenly. Egg w cheese in it is a great easy high protein meal. Boiling 6 or 8 eggs is also easy and you can either make egg salad or just save them in a ziploc whole and peeled. Another easy thing is tuna - either eat it right out of the can or make a little tune salad. I eat it plain, with a bit of light mayo, with out crackers or bread. Same with eggs salad. Just portion a few spoonfuls into a tiny little bowl and eat with a spoon. (So thankful to not be craving or missing bread at all since my surgery!)

I also eat cheese sticks or sliced cheese as a snack or even a meal.

And yes you can eat tv dinners - just be sure to get all your protein in either thru shots or shakes, or by eating only the meat in those tv dinners.

I also find that frozen pre-seasoned seafood Entrees (not fried) are a great easy dinner choice. Talapai fillets are my fave along with shrimp scampi. I do not eat anything with them usually but sometimes add a few bites of cauliflower or broccoli (also frozen, single serve, w/ cheese on it).

I don't live alone, but my son and I are both very busy, so we often end up eating at different times.

If you can find a small George Foreman grill (or are willing to turn on the stove for a few minutes), you could do up a couple of chicken breasts and chunk them into pieces. Keep the extras in a ziploc bag in the fridge or freezer and reheat them in the microwave. I like canned chicken breast as well, but sometimes I just want that grilled taste. The little grill is also good for doing a piece of fish, a small steak, or a burger and it doesn't take long. IMO, the food tastes better than in the microwave.

Soups are great, although I usually end up dividing one can into four or five servings. I like the meat from dinty moore beef stew and a can of that takes me several days to eat as well.

Some of the fishes come packaged in individual servings. My local Save A Lot sells 8oz Tilapia filets for 99 cents. I get two, sometimes three servings from that, depending on how hungry I am. That is a really cheap meal, too! I usually buy a bag of precooked shrimp for about $5 and then have 4 or 5 at a time with a dollop of cocktail sauce. The bag is resealable and lasts a LONG time.

Good luck on your journey!!