Dinner planning can feel punishing when energy and inspiration are limited, especially with chronic illnesses that cause pain and fatigue. Lazy dinner recipes are valued when they reduce steps, ingredients, and tasks that require standing in the kitchen. Recipes that need many ingredients pulled from cabinets and the fridge are avoided. Minimal chopping is preferred, including using pre-cut vegetables from the store. Sheet-pan meals, slow-cooker meals, and one-pot recipes are popular because they simplify cooking and reduce dishwashing. Leaning on kitchen shortcuts is presented as acceptable and supportive for making meals more accessible and easier for families.
"Figuring out what to make for dinner every night for the rest of our lives feels like a punishment for something, to be quite honest. Very rarely am I inspired to head back into the kitchen and make an elaborate meal for my family; I love them, but damn, didn't I just feel y'all last night? And as someone with chronic illnesses that cause pain and fatigue, there are some days when I truly can't dredge up the energy to cook."
"To me, what makes a winning lazy dinner recipe - one that I will return to even in a flare-up - is that it's short on steps, ingredients, and tasks that require me to stand in the kitchen. If I have to get 17 ingredients out of cabinets and the fridge, it's a nonstarter. I want minimal chopping (or the ability to buy the veggies that need to be diced already cut up from the store)."
"All of this also means that sheet-pan meals, slow-cooker meals, and one-pot recipes that save me from doing dishes are very popular in my house. Here are some lazy dinner recipes I'd be willing to try - and that's saying something."
"It's OK to lean on shortcuts in the kitchen. Whatever makes cooking for your family easier and more accessible is exactly what you should do."
Read at Scary Mommy
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