Food & Cooking✓ Follow-up at 4 weeks2,080 views
I hate cooking but I need to stop eating out every night
A cooking-averse person's guide to feeding yourself with minimal effort using sheet pan meals, dump dinners, and a rotation of 5 dead-simple recipes.
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Follow-Up Result
4 weeks laterCooking 5 nights a week using 10-minute meals and actually enjoying some of them
The Problem
I genuinely hate cooking. The prep, the cleanup, the planning — all of it. But I'm spending $400+ a month on takeout and my health is suffering. I've tried meal kits but they still take 45 minutes and create a mountain of dishes. I need to eat real food without it consuming my entire evening. I own a pan, a pot, and a baking sheet. That's it.
The Plan
Week 1-2: Master 5 Lazy Meals
Sheet pan dinner: throw protein and vegetables on a sheet pan with olive oil and seasoning, bake at 400°F for 25 minutes. Zero skill required
Quesadillas: tortilla, cheese, whatever leftovers you have. 5 minutes in a pan
Pasta with jarred sauce: boil pasta, heat sauce, add frozen vegetables. 15 minutes total
Rice bowl: microwave rice packet, canned beans, salsa, cheese, avocado. No cooking at all
Stir fry: frozen stir fry vegetables + protein + bottled sauce in a pan. 10 minutes
Week 3-4: Optimize for Laziness
Buy pre-cut vegetables, rotisserie chicken, and microwave rice — paying for convenience is still cheaper than takeout
Cook double portions and eat leftovers the next day — cook once, eat twice
Invest in a slow cooker ($25): dump ingredients in the morning, dinner is ready when you get home
Keep a stocked pantry: pasta, rice, canned beans, jarred sauce, frozen vegetables, eggs, cheese — you can always make something
Accept that "good enough" home cooking beats expensive takeout every time
Resources
Budget Bytes — simple recipes with cost per serving
"Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat" by Samin Nosrat — understanding WHY food tastes good (makes cooking less mysterious)
r/EatCheapAndHealthy — community of people cooking simple, affordable meals
Tasty one-pot recipes on YouTube — minimal dishes, maximum flavor
Follow-Up Result
4 weeks in: cooking 5 nights a week now, spending about $60/week on groceries. The sheet pan dinner is my go-to — I've done chicken and broccoli, sausage and peppers, salmon and asparagus, all with the same method. The slow cooker changed everything — chili, soup, and pulled chicken basically make themselves. Takeout spending dropped from $400 to about $80/month (weekend treat only). I don't love cooking but I don't hate it anymore either. The key was accepting that a 10-minute meal that's "fine" is better than a 45-minute meal I'll never make. Lost 6 pounds as a side effect.Know someone with this problem?
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