What to do when you don’t want to cook rice? Introducing easy recipes

I know I should make something, but I don’t know what to make, and I can’t come up with any ideas… In such a case, why not take a break from making rice? Recently, takeout and delivery services have been increasing, so you can enjoy delicious meals without shopping.
First, let’s look at six simple ways to deal with when you don’t want to cook rice.

keep the menu simple

Some people may be hesitant to rely on eating out or take-out, such as when they have small children and are concerned about nutritional balance, or when they are eating a lot and the food costs are high. Also, there are days when you think, “It’s hard to make many items, but I think I can make one item.”
On such a day, you can count on a very simple and fuss-free menu.

For example, donburi, udon, and pasta are recommended. With simple cooking methods such as “frying in a frying pan and putting it on rice” or “just boiling the noodles in a pot”, you can reduce the amount of washing after meals.

Make preparations on days when you have time to spare

Prepping on the day you can go home early or on the weekend shortens one of the most tedious prep processes in cooking. Take your time and do it all at once.

Meat and fish are seasoned, and after that, put them in a storage bag and freeze them. The flavor permeates while frozen, and a delicious main dish is completed just by baking.
Also, for days when you don’t want to use pots, bowls, or fire, we recommend freezing after cooking. Once the gyudon ingredients, simmered dishes, meatballs, etc. are complete, put them in a storage bag and freeze them. You can eat it just by heating it in the microwave, so if it is a little big, you can ask your child to cook it.
If you cut up the vegetables and freeze them, you can easily get them by simply adding them to the soup.

Recently, meal kits that include food and seasonings are also being sold. If you think you can do as much as frying, we recommend using these kits.

Use restaurant takeout

When the child is small or when the housework is one operation on weekdays, it may be more difficult to take a bath after eating out and do the rest of the housework. Eating out alone with a child is hard.
With takeout from restaurants, you can enjoy the feeling of eating out at home. If you go to a restaurant where you can drop by on your way home from work and get takeout, you can enjoy delicious food just by warming it up on your way home.

Triggered by the corona disaster, the number of restaurants that support takeout has increased. It’s also fun to try take-out meals from restaurants that are difficult to enter, such as restaurants that are difficult to enter with children.
By tasting takeout from various shops, you may find more ideas for cooking at home.

Buy lunch and side dishes and go home

Lunch boxes and side dishes from supermarkets and convenience stores are also reliable when you don’t want to cook rice. You can buy side dishes and cook only rice, or you can have a bento box with rice and side dishes. It’s much easier than planning a menu, shopping around for food, and cooking at home.
Depending on the time of day, side dishes are sometimes on sale, so it’s perfect for those who want to keep food costs down.

ask for delivery

Delivery is the best choice when you have a lot of luggage and it’s hard to buy something and go to the store. If you specify the delivery time on the train on your way home, you can avoid making your hungry family wait. If you have enough time, you can choose it with your family after returning home.
One of the benefits of delivery is that you can do housework that you would normally do after dinner, such as bathing your child or doing the laundry while you wait.
If you order dishes that you wouldn’t normally make at home, or dishes from high-end restaurants that are difficult to make reservations for, you can enjoy an extraordinary experience. Please rest your body once in a while by indulging yourself so that you can do your best again tomorrow.

Using retort pouches and frozen foods

Frozen foods and retort pouch foods that can only be heated in a hot water bath or microwave are convenient to stock up on. Recently, Japanese side dishes such as simmered fish and simmered dishes that can be enjoyed in a hot water bath or heated in a microwave are now available at supermarkets and convenience stores.
Adults can easily finish with retort food, and there is also a method of making only for children because the amount to make and the amount to wash are small.

When you feel like you don’t want to cook anything today, stocking up on easy-to-use or easy-to-make foods can save you time worrying about food. There are four recommended food items to stock up on: “foods that are highly preservable,” “foods that are easy to balance,” “foods that are easy to eat,” and “foods that children like.”

food with a high shelf life

A day suddenly comes when you don’t want to cook because you suddenly have to work or get sick. For the day when you don’t know when it will come, prepare something that can be preserved as much as possible.
For example, we recommend canned foods such as canned tuna and boiled mackerel, frozen foods such as cut vegetables, and retort pouch foods. It is a good idea to prepare canned foods that can be put on salads or eaten with other menus, as well as frozen side dishes. Flavored canned foods do not need to be seasoned, so they are easy to use.

Dried food is also a useful food that has a high shelf life. The dried goods section of supermarkets sells seafood such as dried wakame seaweed, as well as various dried vegetables. Japanese-style and Western-style dried vegetable mixes can be added to soups and miso soups to get vegetables, so just add them to your lunch box to improve the nutritional balance. Packs containing a mixture of cabbage, carrots, Japanese mustard spinach, and spinach are convenient for pasta ingredients and salads.

Foods that are nutritionally balanced

When you want to take care of the nutritional balance even if you take it easy, it is convenient to have foods that can be easily added, such as frozen vegetables.
Especially when retort food is the main food, it is difficult to obtain nutrition by itself, and families with small children may be concerned about nutritional imbalance. In such a case, you can easily improve the nutritional balance by making a quick soup using frozen cut vegetables, or by combining cheese with a lot of protein and pickles of fermented foods with natto.
Choose and stock up on foods that can be added to a variety of side dishes.

Easy food

Having easy-to-eat foods makes it easier to prepare meals on a tiring day. It is convenient to have small portions of crab sticks that can be added to salads or eaten as they are, or boiled mixed beans.

Food that kids like

If you have children, you may find that even if you go to great lengths to take them out, they won’t like it, or they may get upset while waiting for delivery. In addition to bananas and yogurt that you can eat while waiting for rice, stock up on foods that you can eat.
Furikake can also increase the appetite of children who do not eat white rice. If it’s furikake with a favorite character, they might be more willing to eat it. In this way, it is also recommended to prepare items that you can enjoy eating.

Here are 3 easy recipes that you can make with just one frying pan or pot that will satisfy your stomach. If you buy side dishes that use vegetables, such as salads and boiled vegetables, your nutritional balance will be further improved.

[Keema Curry Recipe] Remove moisture well and use it for bento lunches and freezing

Source: Hohoemi GohanⓇ “ [ Keema Curry] A simple recipe that is easy to put in lunch boxes and can be frozen! Can be stored for 1 month ”

<Ingredients (for 2 people)>
Minced meat…200g
Onion…1/2 (about 100g)
Carrot…1/4 (about 40g) Bell pepper
…1 piece
Ginger…1 piece
Curry powder…1 and 2 tablespoons 1
tomato ketchup … 2 tablespoons
Salt … 1/2 teaspoon
Pepper … a little
Salad oil … 2 teaspoons

<How to make>
1. Chop the onions, carrots, and ginger, and cut the green peppers into 1cm cubes.
2. Heat salad oil in a frying pan, stir-fry the onions, carrots, and ginger until tender, then add the minced meat and stir-fry further.
3. When the color of the meat changes, add curry powder and fry it further.
4. Add tomato ketchup, salt and pepper to taste, add green peppers and stir-fry quickly.

[Meat Sauce Recipe] Delicious even when frozen!

<Ingredients (for 4 people)>
Minced meat…240g
Onion…1
Carrot…1/3 (about 60g)
Garlic…1 clove
Olive oil…1 tablespoon
Demi-glace sauce (commercially available)…50g

<How to make>
1. Finely chop the onion, carrot and garlic.
2. Put olive oil in a frying pan, heat it over medium heat, and fry “1”. When the onion becomes translucent, add minced meat and stir-fry to loosen it.
3. When the color of the meat changes, add [A], cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes.
4. When the water has evaporated just enough, add the demi-glace sauce and adjust the flavor with [B].

As a solution when you don’t want to make rice, there is also a way to use frozen home delivery bento.

Nichirei Foods’ ” WoodishⓇ _“ is a nutritionally balanced lunch box that uses more than 20 food items and can be eaten simply by heating it in the microwave. Staple foods such as omelet rice and rice with mixed grains are also included, so there is no need to cook rice. With a rich lineup of Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes, you can enjoy your meal without getting bored.
For first-time customers, we recommend the 4-meal trial set with free shipping.

If you think “I have to cook properly every day”, it will gradually become painful.
The family should be happy when the creator is smiling. If you get tired of making rice, take advantage of easily nutritious foods and frozen delivery lunch boxes to give your body a good rest.