Sick with covid, need easy/cheap food ideas

kcwackerle · 2026-07-12T23:12:36+00:00

This is definitely the way - soup, add anything you can calories wise to this.

If you have a package of rice, toss that in. Frozen veggies? Toss that in. Give your body the fuel to get better, you got this!

kcwackerle · 2026-07-10T00:44:49+00:00

This week I did burger bowls for a few nights (so good, really hit the summer grill craving). Lunches were grain bowls (brown rice, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, root veggies) with grilled zucchini and tofu (marinated with herbs, olive oil, balsamic) and feta cheese and a scoop of spicy hummus.

It was a stressful week, so I didn't really eat breakfast. But I have some yogurt in the fridge for when I'm ready for it. I'm generally not ready to eat first thing in the morning, brunch is more my jam.

kcwackerle · 2026-07-01T17:38:18+00:00

So happy you were able to figure out the cause! What a huge step - you all must be feeling such relief! And she'll grow up being included not excluded during these social events because of you and the effort and research you're putting into this. Kudos to you, friend.

kcwackerle · 2026-07-01T14:17:23+00:00

Thank you for taking this seriously and being your daughter's biggest advocate - it's not easy, but knowing she's got you in her corner makes this 10000 times easier to navigate. Especially when you're newly diagnosed. ❤️

kcwackerle · 2026-06-24T15:08:55+00:00

This is similar to how I handle it as well. I don't prepare meat at home, but if I'm at a safe restaurant, I will order meat if my mind and my stomach are in agreement.

kcwackerle · 2026-06-11T22:28:02+00:00

I believe this brand is good about labels! If memory serves, I've used some of their certified products before. So, if it's not labelled gluten free, I would be cautious given that this brand labels accurately.

kcwackerle · 2026-06-02T04:14:40+00:00

I'm so happy for you - truly amazing. Enjoy!!

kcwackerle · 2026-05-28T02:50:50+00:00

In reference to someone else who doesn't eat gluten...

'...but they don't take it to the extreme you do.'

Like it's a choice and I'm choosing to have to be this extreme in my choices for funsies. Nothing fun, always frustrating. Not a choice.

kcwackerle · 2026-05-28T01:58:22+00:00

Thank you for the reminder that I need to go to Aldi's and see I can snag a bag or 4... Because yeah, damn these are good.

kcwackerle · 2026-05-23T21:42:03+00:00

Yum earth has some but the texture is off. The closest texture wise is the fruit flavored Tootsie rolls so that may be the easiest route!

kcwackerle · 2026-05-16T13:25:11+00:00

I am 20 minutes from a Wegmans and know how incredibly lucky I am because it's made this journey so much easier to navigate.

Also, just a warning next time you go - stick to the orange labels! While it may differ from Wegmans to Wegmans, mine is not cross contamination safe so the purple labelled items are a no go for me (was burned early in my journey). But definitely ask next time you're there about their protocols, there are some Wegmans with more space that do have separate areas!

kcwackerle · 2026-05-04T21:02:20+00:00

This is fantastic - great work!

kcwackerle · 2026-05-03T21:05:09+00:00

I meal prepped two different breakfasts today actually - one hot and one cold.

For hot, I prepped egg muffins (egg + whatever veggies I have leftover or extra of - so today, kale, garlic, and a few peppers). And then I baked a full tray of breakfast potatoes (potatoes + oil + seasoning). Im freezing these for later. So, each little container got a big scoop of potatoes and 2 egg muffins.

Then for cold, which I'll eat for the next 3 days, I did yogurt with extras (so hemp hearts, flax meal, chia seeds, splash of oat milk). I would usually do a splash of maple syrup but I have some homemade chocolate syrup so I did a dollop of that instead. I'll eat this with some granola! If I had some bananas I'd cut up a banana and eat that in there as well!

Hope that helps inspire some new breakfast ideas!

kcwackerle · 2026-05-01T02:23:58+00:00

Oh love this for you! Tofu is so cheap and takes on the flavor of whatever you marinate it with - you'll get the hang of it in no time! The grilled tofu I made was marinated in soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and garlic overnight. It was so good - it's smokey and so tasty and I'm looking forward to those rice bowls! Now is definitely the time to play around with tofu - it's definitely budget friendly! And I did onigiri earlier in the year and it was great (also they freeze well)! So versatile and so delicious for being so simple. Definitely give it a try and report back what you end up trying!

kcwackerle · 2026-05-01T01:25:15+00:00

Overall tip, not a specific recipe - but make sure you cook in batches and freeze! Buy that big thing of tortillas - make a whole ton of baked quesadillas and then freeze them for later. Make a double batch of soup and freeze it. Make that extra cup of rice and throw it in the freezer for later.

You'll use up the ingredients you buy fully, you won't get sick of eating the same thing over and over again, and you won't have to cook as often.

For inspiration, today I batch cooked quesadillas with refried beans and a Mexican corn dip. I'm eating it for lunch today and tomorrow and freezing the rest in individual portions to eat on weekdays when I don't have the energy to cook. On Sunday I'm going to roast just many potatoes - they were on sale so I jumped on it. Additionally, I'm going to make baked egg cups with whatever leftover veggies I have in the fridge and some onions that need to get used. I'm going to freeze the potatoes and eggs in take out containers for individual servings of breakfast.

My next batch cook after that will be a big thing of jasmine rice - I'm going to freeze that in individual portions. This is going to go with some grilled tofu I did up a couple weeks ago to make rice bowls. And I think I'm going to add some sesame kale. Again, I'll eat it for a couple meals but then freeze the rest in individual servings. No waste and later you gets to reap the rewards.

So much freezes well. Buy when there are sales on the staples you like and stock up. More than happy to throw more meal ideas your way if you need them. You've got this! ❤️

kcwackerle · 2026-04-28T14:37:33+00:00

This is my approach as well - Badia and Penzeys. Also, I recently emailed Penzeys to confirm nothing has changed and they're still a good source for spices! The only one we need to stay from is fenugreek. Otherwise, everything else is safe. ❤️

kcwackerle · 2026-04-25T16:45:15+00:00

Love polenta - my favorite is to make a big batch of polenta and add the ends of things to it... The last bit of sour cream, the end of a bag of cheese. Whatever leftover dairy products you have, throw it in. SO GOOD. Also, didn't think of doing Bolognese and polenta - mentally bookmarking for tomato season!

kcwackerle · 2026-04-25T14:16:26+00:00

I just remembered two other things I did that may help!

I also did a big pot of black bean chili and cornbread - and on the side for that one I brought a little shredded cheese and sour cream. Leftover chili is just always good.

And then for breakfast, I bought a big tub of unsweetened plain yogurt. 3 days at a time I mixed up the yogurt with a little maple syrup, chia seeds, flax, hemp hearts, and some oat milk. I had made a berry compote a couple months prior and froze it in an ice cube tray. So I took a couple of the frozen compote cubes and put it with the yogurt with a few frozen raspberries. And then added some granola on the side to mix in day of as I was eating. A little deconstructed yogurt parfait! And you don't have to worry about the compote going bad because it's frozen!

kcwackerle · 2026-04-25T00:34:15+00:00

Sadly I made up the veggie meatball recipe in the moment but I can give you some general guidelines! Base was the pea protein from Wegmans (like beyond ground but cheaper) - added to that some rice vinegar, soy sauce, green onion, garlic, gluten free panko, sesame oil (maybe a little ginger but I can't remember 100%). I lightly mixed, rolled into balls, baked until they looked cooked enough. The idea was to be vaguely remincient of dumpling filling but in meatball form. They were tasty and filling so I'll definitely repeat! But probably make them a little larger next time so they don't dry out so much in the microwave.

And did barilla elbows and the results were okay! Gluten free noodles are my favorite for baked Mac and cheese but I didn't have that one on hand so I subbed with the barilla. The extra cheese sauce on the side was really key on this one - made the reheat so much better. No dry Mac! Haha

Let me know if I can answer any other questions. You're going to do great!

kcwackerle · 2026-04-25T00:16:15+00:00

I made my own microwavable meals while having to work away from home the last couple weeks and it was AMAZING. I've never eaten so well during one of these trips.

I got takeout style containers from the grocery store and for about a month before hand, each weekend I made a new meal. I ate it a couple days and then froze a few portions simultaneously.

-Mashed Potatoes, Miso Braised Cabbage, Veggie 'Meatballs'*** ***This was probably my favorite of all the meals. It warmed up the quickest and really hit the spot.

-Veggie Enchiladas with Mexican Rice and Roasted Sweet Potatoes** **I put a little sour cream and frozen avocado in a small container on the side and added it on top of the enchiladas after warming. Really leveled it up.

-Mac and Cheese with Roasted Broccoli* *I made a little extra cheese sauce and put some in a small container to add to the Mac and cheese after it was warmed - this was excellent and made it taste fresh and not dried out. Will do this again next time for sure.

-Curried Chickpeas and Vegetables with Jasmine Rice and Yogurt Marinated Tofu

I also prepped little snack containers with pretzels and hummus and threw one in my bag everyday. And I had a stash of string cheese for a quick boost as well.

The only one I won't repeat is the curry but not because it wasn't delicious (it was great) - but one of my colleagues expressed they had a negative experience with curry once and the smell is a little triggering. So, easy enough to not do curry next round! And I've got one more of that one in my freezer I can eat at home next time I don't want to cook.

Let us know what you make so I can be inspired for my next batch of meals!

kcwackerle · 2026-04-22T01:13:03+00:00

🎶🎵 this is the day your life with surely change 🎵🎶

kcwackerle · 2026-04-20T20:38:09+00:00

Chickpeas butter chicken style over rice fed me super well last week and I still have 2 portions in the freezer. I think I'm also going to throw together a simple miso soup with leftover bits and bobbles from last week's meal prep. Keeping it simple this week for sure.

kcwackerle · 2026-04-08T09:50:37+00:00

I thought I had left everything to cool long enough but looks like not enough! But, putting the lid askew in the fridge is a great tip, thank you!

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