I'll be having a hot pot with dumplings ready meal. Highly processed and with enough salt to transform your bloodstream into the Dead Sea, but 10 second prep time and 7 minutes in the microwave.

You should try a slow cooker. Dump a bag of prepared veg, two glugs of wine and a lump of meat in it in the morning. Eat a yummy dinner in the evening. Freeze another dinner or two for another time. Prep time 3 mins, cook time 7 hours. You can get fancier if you want, but you don't really have to.
Sent by thought transference.

I wandered into Morrisons today. It's the only one of the Big Four supermarkets I rarely visit. Well, of of the three we have in town - I hardly ever get to Asda.

Only to find that the wonderful packet mix vegetarian meals I've been buying from Sainsburys are actually 20p cheaper in Morrisons! Hmmmm. Having stocked up on five recently I feel cheated out of a pound. Still - I know where to go in future.

Also got some chapattis for 65p - haven't seen them on sale in the other two places. Of course I should make my own but... well, I just can't be arsed. Much healthier for me than naan bread - much as I love it.

AND, best of all, I found Gits ready meals! And yes, we've pretty much exhausted all the jokes about the names in the last month I've been searching for them...
They are half the price of the packet meals I've been buying and only require reheating. Trouble is they are twice as high in fat. Still, given they are my main meal of the day, 18g of fat or lower is a lot better than I was consuming previously.

So I have Punjabi Chhole, Pau Bhaji and Methi Matar to try. And again, I know where to go to get more. Shame they don't carry the whole range - some are healthier than others. But most Indian vegetarian food carries benefits - not least the fibre and flavour. Better to consume fat this way than in a Big Mac.

Packet mix-wise I've been eating Simon Rimmer's meal range Si - Meat Free Cuisine. My restocked cupboard has the Mixed Bean Chilli which is GORGEOUS, Chickpea Tikka Masala which even Mum liked, even though she generally dislikes chickpeas and in the fridge is half a portion of Tomato Biryani leftover from tonight (that one's a two serving pack).

These all have to be cooked/ simmered in a pan. 15-20 minutes, so hardly "cooking". Just a little more washing up.

I will report back on my Gits meals for you.

Are going veggie?

All your talk of Indian food made me crave paprika. :)

I have some salmon in the freezer, so I searched for paprika and salmon recipes. Think I will try this tonight:

Smoked Paprika Roasted Salmon with Wilted Spinach

• Low Calorie • Low Carbohydrates • Low Fat • Low Sodium

1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons thyme, divided
2 pounds salmon fillets
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika, smoked
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag (10 ounces) fresh spinach leaves

I'm out of smoked paprika but regular should be OK.

Are going low fat. I have veggie intervals anyway.
The recipe sounds teh yummy, but that's a LOT of salmon!

It is! I have less than half that, so will make do.

I'm just jeal because it costs so much here - 2lb is nearly 1kg and the average price for that would be £12.50. Not putting it in the realm of Kobe beef, just making it something you keep for special occasions.

Yeah, if I buy salmon, I buy one or two fillet portions. And that's a treat.

If that equals about $20, then it's the same price here. I paid 7 bucks for 0.7 lbs. of sockeye salmon. Blegh.

Ah there you go then.
I suppose the difference is that Dani and I generally cook for ourselves.
If I had £12.50 to spend on one ingredient I'd probably go out for a meal :)

I'm a bit ashamed to say it but I LIKE my bloodstream that way.

with freshly cracked coarse black pepper, too.

give me a choice between salt and sugar and I'll take salt.

I even wrote a poim about salt, I love it so.

Of course I'm bloated like a blowfish, but I loves me some salt.

I like it's magical properties, too. And the fact that you can foil your enemies with it. It's handy stuff to have.

eta: interesting note got from bill bryson --- the world salary is derived from the word salt---which is what roman soldiers were sometimes paid in.

Made a very salty/peppery home-made chicken and rice (with hausenpfeffer! [carrotts]) soup today. And triple choco chip cookies; may make hamber/cheese/salsa mix-up for later. Nothing to do today but cook and laundry.

ugh. clouds and rain coming. could use a good book.

I've always suspected that the whole British Empire thing wasn't so much about world domination as a country desperate for take-out.

I actually love Indian food myself. Right now my freezer is stocked with three different flavors of frozen samosas. Never heard of Gits. For ready made Indian I buy MTR, Tasty Bite, Kitchens of India, and one other I can't remember.

The pouches are OK, but really more of a sauce with some chunks of veggies or cheese than a stew. I usually pour over chicken strips or turkey meatballs and microwave.

Can't move for tripping over an Indian takeaway round here :p