r/IndianFood • u/Own-Cash-1901 • 12h ago
How do you guys handle an 11-hour gap between meals when you're too lazy to cook, hate tiny portions, and get hungrier from fruit?
Hey everyone, I’ve hit a bit of a weird schedule rut and could use some real advice.
Because of my internship routine, I eat lunch super early, usually around 10:00 AM, and very rarely past 12 PM. However, my dinner doesn't happen until around 9:30 PM. That is an eleven-hour gap on most days.
Here is what I’ve been dealing with:
Milk used to be my go-to, but I dropped it because of the early lunch schedule, and honestly, I don't even like milk anymore unless I'm starving after playing tennis.
The Muesli Trap is a real issue. On tennis days, I come home ravenous and grab muesli. I have zero portion control with it because eating a small bowl feels like my brain is screaming "hey slave, eat less," so I end up devouring two massive handfuls. The result is a huge glucose spike that knocks me out and makes me completely sluggish by 7:00 PM.
I tried eating fruits like apples, but for some reason, they just make me even more hungry instead of keeping me full.
Because putting healthy food into my body feels so difficult, I've drifted into bad habits. I end up eating Munch chocolates, Snickers, and recently I started eating Kurkure whenever I watch a movie.
To make matters harder, my mom isn't a great cook, and no one at home really tries or experiments with new dishes. On top of that, I just can't cook for myself. I'm so damn lazy that I need something super easy, convenient, and items that don't spoil quickly once opened. I also don't drink tea or coffee.
I am vegetarian. I tried adding eggs to see if they fit my schedule, but they just gave me a stomach ache. Also, we cannot eat roasted peanuts for a whole month straight without getting sick of them, and I really do not like the taste of roasted chana.
What do you guys eat when you have a massive window between meals that doesn't trigger a huge carb crash, and how do you handle evening snacks without needing to cook or eat tiny rabbit portions? Looking for practical, lazy-friendly ideas!
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u/fishwithbrain 6h ago
How old are you? See you will have to take some efforts.
Take equal quantities off all the nuts, roast them, chop them in the food processor, don’t make a paste. Them blend some soft dates and knead it with the nuts, you can add some ghee or some flavoring cardamom/cinnamon/ fennel seeds. Make laddu or bar as per your choice. Great for between times.
I also prefer avacado salad, just tomato,cucumber, avacado and some pumpkin seeds. Chop everything and have it with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
How did you eat the eggs? Did you cook them well?
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u/just_a_coginthewheel 12h ago edited 12h ago
My go at internship days was: toast, eggs, cucumber, carrot, curd (with chat masala if I want spicy or with little sugar if I want sweet).
You can try this minus the eggs and try some kinda protein shake maybe? Protein is important to feel full and not have a crash.
You can also make "overnight oats recipes" in the morning and have them when you get back home.
Else: Make tonight's dinner into tmrw's dinner. Let's say today, dinner at your house is rotis and dal. Put it in fridge. Have it tmrw for dinner at 7. Do the same with tmrws dinner.
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u/Own-Cash-1901 12h ago
toast with? or just simple one
its work from home, so i can just have it at anytime between lunch and dinner, except before 4pm, where i go for tennis.
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u/just_a_coginthewheel 12h ago
I usually used to put like bread omlette. Very easy to make and I really like it.
You can try bread and peanut butter maybe?
Or some kinda protien shake and electrolyte drink instead of water?
I also play tennis and that's what I take.
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u/Own-Cash-1901 12h ago
hmm, got it.
i have the myfitness chocolate peanut butter, but got bored of eating it.
ok, got some ideas,
will do the bread omlette, and protein shake.
thanks!
how long have you been playing tennis?
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u/just_a_coginthewheel 11h ago
Bread ommlette is very easy. Plain eggs, bread, salt, pepper, whatever masalas you like. You can add cheese, onions, corriander, tomatos if you feel like chopping else leave it.
Also, if you are bored of plain peanut butter, you can try overnight oats versions with it.
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u/SmexxyTaco 12h ago
Milkshakes. Fruit + milk only. No sugar. Stevia if you must. You will get protein. And fruit will make it tolerable.
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u/just_a_coginthewheel 12h ago
If you are too tired to cook and you can only eat dinner at 9, try to grab something light on the way back home. Chaat like bhel puri, fruit juice, veg/paneer sandwich. Something that will keep hunger in check for a few hours.
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u/umamimaami 12h ago
Protein shake (just do whey protein, cocoa powder and sweetener, in hot water, it feels like a very satiating hot chocolate).
Makhana. Popcorn.
Cheese toast. Bread omelette (although this might count as cooking).
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u/SheddingCorporate 2h ago
Keep it super simple.
Once a week, make a hummus-like dip. Get your mom to boil some beans (the whole soak overnight, then just pressure cook until done deal) once a week. Traditionally, hummus is made with chickpeas, aka kabuli chana, but there's no rule that you can't use another bean to make the same recipe.
Garlic, tahini if you can find it, otherwise plain old peanut butter, oil and blend until smooth. This is a fair amount of protein. Add salt to taste. Add a squeeze of lemon juice (well, as many squeezes as makes it taste good to you). Refrigerate (or, if you've made a huge batch, portion it into smaller portions and freeze.
Any day you come home hungry, you now have super easy options. Grab some roti or dosa or even just plain white bread and serve yourself as much hummus as you want. You can eat this cold, or warm the hummus (on medium heat) in the microwave and warm up the bread/roti/whatever on the tawa.
Or just grab some carrots or cucumbers and use those to dip into the hummus.
This is tasty and healthy and will keep you full until dinner time.
PS: given that she's cooking for you - don't say bad things about your mom's cooking. That's just ungrateful. Either learn to cook, or learn to appreciate that she is putting a lot of effort into keeping you fed.
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u/Ok-Wafer509 12h ago
I make myself a protein shake with yogurt and a banana. Keeps me satiated for a couple of hours, gives me about 25-30 grams of protein. Take 2 minutes to make once you create a recipe you like.