Fried rice is my new meal, babies!

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I do not enjoy eating or cooking for myself in general. I don't have a favorite restaurant nor meal that I get really happy about. I eat because I have to. With that said, I came up with a new food system for this week that I'm trying out: fried rice for my main meal. I used the internet to make sure that the ingredients I used in the rice were providing enough of the nutrients I need. I then make a lot of rice and save it for the week, some of it frozen so I don't get poisoned with bacteria. Everyday, I eat the fried rice as the heavy night time meal.

The day time meal is still in the works. It might be some type of bean soup or tofu and lentil curry soup. I don't know yet, but it's going to be a similar thing in which I make sure the ingredients provide sufficient nutrients and then I make a lot for the week.

This the best idea I've had in a while. Benefits:
- Same groceries every time so I don't have to look all over the damn store for stuff
- Cooking become robotic, so I can watch YouTube and documentaries at the same time
- Same meal everyday
- Cheap
- Healthy
- Not cooking everyday, and I always have food ready in case I need to eat quickly
- Only use on plate and one fork because it's all one thing
- GI system doesn't have to adjust to new ingredients all the time
- Free up mental resources from not having to think about what to cook, cooking, or related frustration
- More likely to eat calmly and at a good time

I have a similar system whose main goal is to minimise the time spent on making food. I buy already prepared soup and just swap things (pasta, crackers) that I eat with it.

I too have a similar system, making jambalaya. Beef, sausage, onion, peppers, celery, tomato, mushroom, basmati rice made with chicken stock, sautéed in a pan. One batch takes an hour to make, including clean-up, and lasts 3 days. All fresh ingredients. I watch movies or tv shows while I cook.

It's the one actual meal I eat per day, supplemented with nuts, fruit, a little bit of whole milk or cheese, maybe some oats or peanut butter.

These two sounds like ideas I'd like to try out. Thanks!

If you're interested, here's my process.

I make the rice about an hour or so before I plan to cook everything else. I use long grain basmati rice. 1 cup of rice to 1.5 cups of liquid. I make 2 cups of rice with 3 cups of liquid. The liquid is 2:1 chicken stock / broth to water. So either 1 cup rice, 1 cup stock / broth, half cup water - or 2 cups rice, 2 cups broth / stock, 1 cup water. 2 cups of rice makes 2 batches of jambalaya, so one double-batch of rice covers me for the week.

Next, large pan on medium heat, big blob of real butter in the middle. 3 links italian sausage cooked in the skin. Cook the sausage till browned on both sides, and little to no pink is visible on the outside. While the sausages are cooking, start dicing one or two tomatoes. Set them in a bowl. I use 1 whole onion, a half of a bell pepper, 4-5 stalks of celery, and sometimes baby portabello mushrooms. Use whatever you'd like. Set those veggies in a separate bowl from the tomatoes. Start cutting the tomatoes first, as they're needed next.

When the sausages are done, set them aside on a plate. Still on medium heat, add the tomatoes and the beef (half a pound maybe?). Mince up the beef so it's spread evenly before it cooks into clumps. Stir occasionally, and keep chopping the veggies if you haven't finished yet. After the veggies are all chopped, the sausages have likely cooled a bit and are easier to handle. Cut them into sections of whatever your desired thickness. I usually aim for around 1/4 inch thick. Once all the sausage is sliced, toss it into the pan with the beef and tomatoes, and raise the heat up to a higher range. Not max, but fairly hot.

When all the sausage and beef looks reasonably browned with no pink visible, add the rest of the veggies. Toss and stir regularly until the veggies look a little softer, maybe half cooked. If you made 1 cup of rice, add all the rice. If you made 2 cups of rice, add half the rice. Break the rice apart and fold it in to the mixture. Cook a little longer till the rice has absorbed most of the liquid and the mix is fairly "dry" - as in not a lot of liquid pooled at the bottom. Things should sizzle slightly as you stir it around.

I do occasional taste-tests to see where the vegetables are in terms of crispness. I like the celery and onion to still have a little "snap" when you bite into them. When cooked as desired, turn off the heat and mix in garlic powder, black pepper, salt, and old bay seasoning, as desired. I use a lot of old bay, a good amount of garlic, and a dash of salt and black pepper.

One pan makes enough food for 3-4 meals, depending on your appetite. My servings are likely larger than others' might be, as it's my primary meal. Going from "rice is done, time to start on the rest" to "food's cooked, dishes are done, counter is clean" takes me about an hour, like clockwork. I do this twice a week, and I usually find it quite enjoyable to do. I either put on music or watch stuff on youtube while I do it.

At some point I plan to add shrimp.

Rice is filling and affordable. So many things can be added to it or it can be eaten plain.

I have a sensitive fire alarm that alerts to the tiniest breath of heat, so I cook with my crockpot or with an outside grill now. The meals that I make in my crockpot can last several days. I usually buy the best ingredients that I can afford with my budget that week and cook according to that. Lots of delicious savory meals.

Enjoy your meals!

Thanks! There's a crockpot where I'm at right now, and I have been seeing some pictures of stews online. It's actually a bit appealing. Let's see if I can get it together.