Most of what I cook is some bastardized version of ethnic/regional foods. They're easy to make, take about 20 minutes from start to finish with a little practice, and are dirt cheap. The way I cook them all is pretty similar across the board:
-start a pot of rice
-saute whatever veggies you want (meat too, optional)
-add beans/lentils (from a can or cooked in a big batch earlier in the week)
-add whatever spices you feel like
--tex-mex = coriander, cumin, chili powder, something hot
--indian = curry powder or garam masala, plus plain yogurt if I want it to be creamy
--chinese = fivespice and soy sauce, maybe also some sugar to take the edge off the soy
--italian = basil and anything else that smells good
--or plain old salt and pepper is always good too
-rice is done by the time everything else is finished
leftovers become tomorrow's breakfast and lunch. I don't have a problem with eating the same thing forever, and the above meal hits all the big nutrients in decent proportions
One of my favorite snacks is rice and oil, so I always make extra rice. For the oil, just use the oil of any real food you'd normally eat. No canola, vegetable blend, or other weird stuff like that. Olive, peanut, and sesame are what I usually keep on hand. The oils all taste totally different, so it's like a different snack with each one. It's very filling, cheap, and good warm or at room temperature.
also
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