This is an excellent thread.

Low carb zero effort food is why I always have a jar of natural peanut butter in the fridge. When I'm having a "so depressed that getting out of bed is a monumental task" day, I can ensure I don't starve.

The benefits of a rice cooker cannot be overstated

Hot fresh rice, tuna in olive oil, soy sauce to taste

Miso soup with a scoop of 3-4 day old rice in it

celery and peanut butter

bean burrito but on those small wheat tortillas with hot sauce and salsa

Hummus and pita
Tomato and olive oil on toast
Refried beans and tortilla chips
Carrot

Diced cucumber and tomato, dash of olive oil, Italian seasoning, toss in a bowl. Can add cheese.

Yogurt, sliced banana, granola

Arroz congri lazy edition:

• 1 cup dry rice
• 1 can black beans

Get the rice going in a pot the usual way for your specific rice, once it’s done just warm up the can of beans in there for maybe 5-10 minutes and season to taste. I like putting Tony Chachere’s in it, but anything works. Recently I’ve seasoned it with some oregano, dash of cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, nutritional yeast, and red pepper. There was a period in ‘21 when I was only able to afford 1 meal a day and this was usually it

You can spruce it up if you have the energy by pan frying a bag of frozen peppers and onions and adding that at the end, or even adding some tofu if you want extra protein. It’s traditionally made with steak but we don’t eat animals in this house

Can of baked beans, loop sausage, potatoes.

Simmer beans in pot. Slice up sausage and fry in pan. Put potatoes in microwave 3-5 minutes, flip over and give it another few minutes, chop them up and fry them in a pan. Mix it all together for a lazy meal prep that sticks to your ribs

Almost any pasta with pre-made sauce

Rice (made in rice cooker), can of beans, salt, pepper, hot sauce, and maybe an avocado if you got one = lots of food for no effort. Can also put frozen veggies in with the rice like others are saying if you want even more food for minimal effort.

I think hummus is pretty low effort, especially if you can just get cans of garbanzo beans (I have to buy mine dry and soak them overnight)

Peanut butter and saltine crackers

Someone said silk tofu with some kind of sauce (usually soy sauce and maybe pickled or regular ginger thrown on top), this is also really good and extremely low effort

E: additionally, it's really easy to make some chocolate pudding using silk tofu and chocolate (preferably melted dark chocolate), can also be used as a pie filling if you want to put in a little more effort

Scrambled tofu is pretty good and low effort if you have frozen veggies, but it's just a little bit more effort since it's best to cook it in a skillet and maybe caramelize some onions to go with it

overnight oats are pretty low effort albeit with the whole making it the night before thing, just throw vegan or non-vegan milk, rolled oats, and whatever the heck you want as a flavor into a jar and leave it in the fridge overnight

Ham and cheese sandwich made of rye bread

seconding chickpea from a can, but fried with a bit of oil and drowned in whatever spices or sauce is suitable. i like cumin-forward for a "meaty" vibe, pesto is great for a fatty hangover breakfast.

e: also pre-minced pickled garlic that you can just scoop into things without dealing with the garlic press is a great elevation of the lazy cooking game

Drained can of chickpeas in a pan for a few minutes

Indiomie Mi Goreng with frozen vegetables is my go-to no effort meal.

Silken tofu with a sauce on top. Paired with rice made in a rice cooker (a worthwhile investment, get one if you don’t have one.) Or just eat it on its own, I’ve done that lol.

Raw baby carrots and hummus is my go-to. It's healthy, and it's genuinely tasty.

On top of that, I also love incorporating s into my snacks. I will put things like cucumbers, carrots, red peppers, and some other nice raw veggies on top of one and dip it in the hummus.

Mix and match many different kinds of hummus and figure out which kind you like best. Dill pickle hummus in particular will never cease to amaze me.

Cacio e pepe. Takes some learning, but it's essentially just butter, garlic, and parmesan cheese. Also, just smash garlic super hard and it's minced

Also recommend looking into dishes you can freeze and have on standby. I did it with my spaghetti sauce and it's absolutely amazing.

Hummus. I make so much hummus ahead of time and always have it handy. Bread Dip, veggie, Dip, grearwith pickles, filling but not like, .iss your next meal filling.

Bean burritos are extremely good for lunch, also tostadas. Some great lazy sandwich options I do all the time: peanut butter and banana, also peanut butter and jelly, and when they're in season tomato sandwiches

Idk, sometimes I cut up a cooked soy patty and put it in a tomato, onion, and spinach salad. Usually it's good with some sort of oil-based dressing. That's basically lunch.

I also really appreciate shirataki noodles as a low-carb pasta substitute.

Also Kalamata olives marinated in brine. I could eat those like candy (so eat them sparingly). Generic pimento-stuffed Spanish olives give the other olives a bad name.

Chicken Breast (oven) with rice. Simple as that.

I love rice, even without seasoning. So, if i'm short of time/energy, this is my comfort food to go.

Oh, I almost forgot: Mate with crackers, as a breakfast, as a snack during the day, during a lecture, etc.

Rice and steamed veggies, using a rice cooker with a steamer basket, and cheap frozen veggie mix.

Rice cooked with a pat of butter and bay leaf. Top it with some baked beans. Add some chili paste or hot sauce and it can get you through some rough times.

One pot lentils and rice is a good go-to. Cup of rice, 2/3rds cup of red lentils. Rinse a few times if you want. Fill with water to one knuckle above the top of the rice/lentils. Cook til water is gone or mixture is soft enough to eat (prolly twenty mins). Then add a jarred sauce like korma or one of the canned curry mixes you just mix with coconut milk. If you're feeling a little more ambitious look up a recipe for kitchedi. As a vegan it was practically my Kraft mac n cheese

Lentil tacos! Cook some lentils in a pot, once they’re done mix in a pack of taco seasoning, eat on tortillas. If you have some lettuce or other veggies just pop some on there, same goes for vegan sour cream etc. it smackss with low effort and low cost

Can of sardines in oil with hot sauce

Packet of cream cheese, sub for vegan if you'd like

One drained can of black beans

Any diced veg you've got the spoons to prep (ie onion or peppers) optional

Hot sauce to taste

Mix all the above into a bowl, use it to fill a tortilla in whatever shape you'd like (usually small taquitos or folded quesadillas works best for this), pan fry the assembled tortilla until brown

Here's a few vegan quickies: rice from a rice cooker and firm tofu, crumbled into it. The tofu doesn't need to be cooked. Add soy sauce, and/or some chili paste, maybe some garlic salt. Whatever you think goes good with rice. Plenty of protein, pretty filling, no effort.

Spaghetti and premade pasta sauce. That's it.

Rice and beans (drained) made straight in the rice cooker. Just like the tofu one add whatever seasoning you want.

Hummus and basically anything you want to dip in it.

Classic PB&J.

Not vegan, but was my goto when I still ate eggs: rice from the rice cooker, with an egg cracked straight into it when the rice is still hot. Whatever seasoning you want. This is a very popular Japanese one called Tamago Kake Gohan (Egg over Rice).

Also, pack your favorite protein bars. If you're a lazy dumbass like me, sometimes you don't eat before work. A quick protein bar saves you til lunch.

Kimchi in a wrap with other veggies and mayo (vegan options are available at my local Asian mart). Honestly kimchi on almost anything is good.

I eat popcorn on my stove four times a week, its cheap and if you eat them one at a time its almost like stimming