Easy to make meals - Cheap - Young guy living on his own

Raymond Lin said:
Do you have any evidence to back any of that up?

I am wrong, you say that like you have a PHD in nutrition, I would be happy to stand corrected if you do however.

Did your doctor tell you that you need to take some Vit D?

This sentence.



First, it is You ARE, second, how do you know it is not BS and it is for me? You are not my doctor.

I love to see some peer review science papers, not a link starts with Huel.com.

ps the reason I ask for peer review in the FIRST place is to avoid bias. There is no way a page on the website that makes the product is going to be a balanced paper.

All I really like to see is unbiased, evidence, not from Huel.com. The very fact that you linked to that really discredit your post IMO.
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There is a great site called Google, try it. Plenty of info out there. I'm not sure why my link "discredits" anything, its not a review, its a list of the ingredients, your such an expert you should be able to see its as complete a meal as your going to get.

Just to get you started though,
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/bod.../huel-review-nutrition-weight-loss-dietitian/
https://www.dietspotlight.com/huel-review/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/ar...HqgNnQ1/are-shakes-the-future-of-healthy-food

Like i said its a choice, iv had it for years now and im healthy and better for it, thats how i know its not BS.

Oh and i couldnt care less if youd prefer me to write You ARE rather than your.

Raymond Lin said:
Really, sell it to me.

Sell it to me that it is tasty, filling and you look forward to eat when you are hungry.

A meal is more than just calories. I enjoy every meal, even quick piece of butter on toast. Not just twice a week on weekends. This modern life style of quick, easy on the go like pop tart or cereal is all as a product of industrialisation.

If I goggle online Huel and effect or feedback etc, not from forums, but journals or papers, none of them promotes it like it is a total meal replacement, at most they say you can eat it a few times a week and the real benefit of it is you can calorie count easier.

But really, sell it to me.

On taste.
On Satisfaction.
On unbiased science paper about long term effect use of it.

Because it would be silly to start putting thins in my body that is man-made like that just because its own website says it’s good for you. It is akin like tobacco company saying their product did not cause cancer and their own scientist says it doesn’t. I am not that gullible, and you shouldn't be either.

Hence, peer-reviewed.
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Why would i really sell it to you, i dont care if you like it or not. But the Chocolate one i had for breakfast today, i find it tastier than say a McDonalds milkshake, with the bonus i just had a healthy meal where a year or so ago i would have had either nothing or something like a piece of toast with butter on.
I enjoy every meal, Huel is a meal i enjoy it just as much as anything else.

You say the papers dont suggest you eat it all the time, well great nor do Huel they recommend you use it to replace the meals you would otherwise make poor choices.

If you think there is a load of man made stuff in it, you clearly havent put any effort what so ever into reading whats actually in it. Im out.
 
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robj20 said:
There is a great site called Google, try it. Plenty of info out there. I'm not sure why my link "discredits" anything, its not a review, its a list of the ingredients, your such an expert you should be able to see its as complete a meal as your going to get.

Just to get you started though,
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/bod.../huel-review-nutrition-weight-loss-dietitian/
https://www.dietspotlight.com/huel-review/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/ar...HqgNnQ1/are-shakes-the-future-of-healthy-food

Like i said its a choice, iv had it for years now and im healthy and better for it, thats how i know its not BS.

Oh and i couldnt care less if youd prefer me to write You ARE rather than your.


Why would i really sell it to you, i dont care if you like it or not.
I enjoy every meal, Huel is a meal i enjoy it just as much as anything else.

You say the papers dont suggest you eat it all the time, well great nor do Huel they recommend you use it to replace the meals you would otherwise make poor choices.
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I have read all those months ago as I have looked into this before.

Not sure if you have read it though.

"Substituting meals with a product like Huel on an exclusive basis may lead to social or emotional wellbeing issues and should be discouraged," she notes. "Food isn’t just 'human fuel' and there are lots of advantages in consuming a balanced healthy diet which includes a wide range of foods from all the different food groups, but there’s nothing to say that a product like Huel cannot be included within this," the dietitian adds.
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she suggests "only using the product occasionally" or, alternatively, building up to this daily amount "gradually over quite a few days".
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They all suggest occasional use.

And all in all, none of them are what I call peer reviewed papers, they are articles, opinions and experience of a single individual really.

Anyway, OP wants to learn to cook, it doesn't need to be complicated or expensive or time consuming. Tonight I am having sardines on boiled rice with some spring onions and ginger.

Cost less than £1 and tastes better than puke Huel :p.
 
Food is a complicated topic, there are many many aspect that we don’t fully understand. I am almost offended by their "100%” in their claim of meal replacement. We are learning about our human bodies more and more every year, we learn about nutritions more all the time. The 100% claim, you and I know is PR and hence why I said it is BS. In the 60’s the promotions at the time was to eat an egg for breakfast, then industrialisation and Kellogg's pushed cereal and the quick breakfast was all the rage, but they are nothing more than sugar in a bowl. I remember about 20 years ago there were ads to say bread is good for you, I remember Linford Christie was on the advert then they tell us carbs is bad. I remember when fat was bad, now fat is good.


Food science is always on the move, nothing is 100%.
 
robj20 said:
There is a great site called Google, try it. Plenty of info out there. I'm not sure why my link "discredits" anything, its not a review, its a list of the ingredients, your such an expert you should be able to see its as complete a meal as your going to get.

Just to get you started though,
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/bod.../huel-review-nutrition-weight-loss-dietitian/
https://www.dietspotlight.com/huel-review/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/ar...HqgNnQ1/are-shakes-the-future-of-healthy-food

Like i said its a choice, iv had it for years now and im healthy and better for it, thats how i know its not BS.

Oh and i couldnt care less if youd prefer me to write You ARE rather than your.



Why would i really sell it to you, i dont care if you like it or not. But the Chocolate one i had for breakfast today, i find it tastier than say a McDonalds milkshake, with the bonus i just had a healthy meal where a year or so ago i would have had either nothing or something like a piece of toast with butter on.
I enjoy every meal, Huel is a meal i enjoy it just as much as anything else.

You say the papers dont suggest you eat it all the time, well great nor do Huel they recommend you use it to replace the meals you would otherwise make poor choices.

If you think there is a load of man made stuff in it, you clearly havent put any effort what so ever into reading what's actually in it. I'm out.
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Because it is man-made, it's not like it is grown from a tree and then picked then cooked into powder and then you add water.

I am asking you to sell it to me as to say I am listening, I know I sound like I am being difficult, but it comes from a place of skepticism (explained). I mean are you not at all skeptical from all it's claimed?
 
Nothing but Huel Monday to Friday? Are you in some type of North Korean prison camp??

That sounds like a miserable existence to be honest
 
The thread has gone way OT so I’ll continue. I couldn’t eat Huel for every meal but the Vanilla flavour is delicious, especially with some instant coffee or cacao powder added.

I love food and cooking but it has its place, especially for breakfast or a quick lunch. I’m not a fan of the joyless food=fuel marketing though.
 
Cook pot meals in large batches. Chilli is a very easy one to make. Portion into individual containers and refrigerate and it'll be good for the rest of the week, or freeze and it'll be good for months. Cheap to make, can load it with veg, and if you want to make it very cheap, drop the mince and replace with mushroom.
 
SonicSW20 said:
Cook pot meals in large batches. Chilli is a very easy one to make. Portion into individual containers and refrigerate and it'll be good for the rest of the week, or freeze and it'll be good for months. Cheap to make, can load it with veg, and if you want to make it very cheap, drop the mince and replace with mushroom.
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Things like this are great, bulk cooking saves so much effort! The Hairy Bikers have done a one pot meals book which has some really easy and great tasting recipes in it that are good for bulk cooking.

Raymond Lin said:
Jamie Oliver has a couple of books, 15 mins meals (probably more like 30 mins since he knows exactly what he is doing and some ingredients prepped already. Also his 5 ingredients meals, but he expects you to have some herbs and spicies to hand already. But both are a good starting point, perhaps more intermediate in some recipes, still. Some are nothing more than 1 pan meals.
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I was given his 15 min meals book years ago as a Christmas present and as much as he is a bit of a nob, the meals are really good to cook. 15 minutes is pushing it a bit like you say, 30 mins is probably more realistic but it does get you thinking that good meals don't have to take ages to prep and cook.
 
Look like this thread needs to get back on track!

I would second/third/fourth anything of Jamie Oliver's. His 15/30min meals are the obvious ones, but make sure you watch him do it (Youtube whatever). You'll find it much easier to know what you're aiming for and his 'bish bash bosh' (sorry :D) approach is really the spark that a lot of people need to gain some confidence in the kitchen and not worry about weighing everything exactly or timing things exactly etc. It's such a good attitude to cooking.

I would also highly anything by Jack Monroe. I only have A Girl Called Jack but we've got a few midweek staples from that book, namely the peach curry (essentially a can of chickpeas, a can of tomatoes, a can of peaches, and spices/spice paste). I like the way her recipes are so cheap and basic you can easily add a couple of things to it and you've still got the same easy/healthy meal just made a little bit better.

And good lord yes learn how to batch cook and also get down your local butchers. Brown off some beef shin, sweat some onions, carrots and celery, chuck in a can of Guinness and leave it for 3hrs, you'll think you've died and gone to cheffy heaven. It's that easy.
 
Buy a slow cooker, many recipes as simply bung things into it and leave on low for 6-8hrs.

Super convenient to sort before you leave for work and come home to a cooked meal.
 
Great thread. Learning to cook will change your life. I started with curries, stews, spag bol and chilli con carne, making large batches and dividing into portions for the freezer. You'll soon get the hang of it, it's a lot easier than you think.
 
DomBruv said:
I know nothing about cooking, literally.

I have mostly been buying takeaways and premade meals over the last 3 years,

now I live on my own I'd like to learn how to cook, more healthy cheaper and easy to make meals.


Does anyone have a good Youtube channel, website, or any easy to make meal guides that will come in handy for me?

I'm also clueless in the supermarket lol,


Thanks guys!
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You could do a lot worse than pick up Delia Smith's "How To Cook" books. It'll teach you the basics that most others don't bother with (even literally how to boil an egg), give you lots of recipes and build your confidence. A book means you can do it at your own pace and in your own way, not like Jamie Oliver flying around a kitchen at speed that's been pre-prepared by his food researchers to show you how clever he is.

I find I prefer to prep first and then cook, if you're a beginner I recommend the same so that you are not trying to chop stuff at the same time as keep an eye on what you're cooking. I'd also recommend that if there's one piece of kitchen equipment to buy, it's a halfway decent chef's knife. It doesn't have to be expensive (if you keep it sharp), but it'll be your most versatile tool in the kitchen. A set of kitchen scales to measure stuff is also very useful if you're following recipes. Following recipes will give you confidence and show you how easy it can be to make tasty food.

You might also want to get into "food prepping". It's basically nothing more than doing a big batch of cooking and keeping the excess in the fridge/freezer for later in the week. Things like pasta sauce or chilli is particularly good for that, so that when you're feeling lazy, you can defrost a portion of pasta sauce in the microwave, cook some pasta, and in ten or fifteen minutes be sitting down to a meal you effectively cooked from scratch.
 
Learn how to make sauces.

the first one being an onion based tomato sauce. Just chop and fry an onion. Add garlic. Add a can of tomatoes and herbs to taste. Voila. You can eat that with pasta or rice. You can add pretty much any meat. With that you make spag bol, lasagne or even curry. You can also add veg stock to make a nice soup.

also learn how to make a cheese sauce. Fry some butter and add some flour. Cook for a few minutes. Add milk and cheese and stir till it’s not lumpy. You can add mustard to go with meatballs, it’s nice with pasta and maybe salmon, etc etc.

tomato and cheese sauce and your set. It’s cheap and easy. You can cook things for people and they’ll actually think you can cook.

also means you buy reduced stuff from the supermarket, like prawns, fish, chicken etc and make thinks from simple ingredients you can keep in the cupboard.

frozen peas are good. Nutritious, easy and go with loads of stuff.
 
Reppyboyo said:
Buy a slow cooker, many recipes as simply bung things into it and leave on low for 6-8hrs.

Super convenient to sort before you leave for work and come home to a cooked meal.
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This is great advice, as if you are on your own you can make large batches of stew, chilli etc. and with the extra portions freeze, that way you aren't eating the same thing for days.

I always do a whole chicken in the slow cooker as well now as after 6 hours the meat just falls off the bone and tastes amazing.

I was the same as the OP but though what the hell and dove in, if I cocked it up so be it I'd just try again until I got it right, it's only you who's missing out (keep some pot noodles just in case you do ruin a meal as then you'd have something you can still eat) and then when you do find someone you can impress them with your cooking skills.
 
Efour said:
Do you eat/drink/snort it for medical reasons or you genuinely "like it" I dunno are you on a 365 day round trip around the ocean.. lol i just don't get it personally.

If so then welcome to the future, hive citizen.
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I like it. I originally got it for hiking/camping all I needed to take was the powder do saved loads of weight and space.
Then I started using it for breakfast with my current job where I start at 6am so found myself mostly skipping breakfast.
Also for lunch as work let me leave work 30 minutes early as I don't have lunch just a shake which takes a minute to drink.
Now I have a problematic child having it for dinner frees up loads of time so that's how I ended up having it for weekday meals. Weekend I'll sometimes have it for breakfast and the rest are normal meals, in having a homemade Indian feast tonight for instance.

Do you like porridge? If so that's what it mostly tastes of, I like vanilla and chocolate most. Though berry is nice as well.
 
I think with cooking a lot of it comes from enjoying the process itself. Sounds incredibly obvious but yeah. I think with dudes especially (thanks to clingy social norms that are still residual in society) cooking is a secondary skill that’s not really hammered home when you’re young. It helps if you’re raised by people who love the process and find joy in serving you something they themselves have made from scratch. Not saying this is you of course, but I think it’s quite prevalent. Again, seems obvious but I think its true. A lot of could be done to fight the obesity crisis if people where raised to respect and enjoy the idea of home cooked meals.

With regards recipes and ideas, start with big one pot meal preps that you can taste as you go along. Stews, casseroles, chillies, soups etc. Stuff like steak is really good as well. Relatively easy in theory but the process of preparing the meat (or not in some cases) and perfecting your method of cooking is really addictive and the end result is nearly always great.

Also as @inogen said, sauces are great. Even something like a gravy for chips or something is a great start. Again, super simple to make in theory but there’s so many variables to mess around with that could make it better or more interesting every time. Ive never had a solid gravey recipe that I wasn’t excited to change up in some way the next time.

Oh and one tip before you dive head long into anything. PREP. Seriously, this cannot be overstated. Chop your veg and measure your seasonings before you go anywhere near the oven. You’ll save yourself a bunch of time and hassle in the long run.
A lot of people make a big deal out of cleaning as you go along as well but I’m not a fan of that. Every time I try I just forget something with regards the recipe. Would much rather just blitz it all once everything else is done.
 
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