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One Bag of Rice, Five Easy Meals (That Will Save Your Week)
If you follow me over on @boredoflunch, you’ll know I’m all about keeping things simple, affordable and realistic. Because let’s be honest – most of us don’t have time (or money) to be cooking something different from scratch every single night of the week.
That’s where this blog comes in… showing you how to turn one bag of rice into a budget-friendly, time-saving, family-approved, high-protein, easy dinner solution for the week.
Why Rice?
Rice is one of the most underrated ingredients when it comes to creating easy meals. It’s cheap, filling, versatile and it works perfectly in both the air fryer and slow cooker – which if you’ve read any of my books, you’ll know are my two favourite kitchen gadgets.
So today I’m going to show you how to turn one standard 1kg bag of rice into five completely different recipes that you can use for:
- Midweek easy dinners
- Lunch meal prep
- Fakeaway nights
- Family-friendly dinners
- High-protein meals
Let’s get into it 👇
Why Rice is Perfect for Easy Dinners
When I talk about creating easy meals, I’m always thinking about three things:
- Cost
- Convenience
- Calories
Rice ticks all three boxes.
It’s one of the cheapest cupboard staples you can buy in the UK right now and it pairs with literally anything – chicken, beef, prawns, veg, sauces, spices… you name it.
Better again:
- It batch cooks brilliantly
- It reheats perfectly
- It freezes well
It bulks out meals without bulking out calories
Meaning you can cook once and eat multiple times across the week – which is ideal if you’re trying to stay on track without living in the kitchen. So here’s how I would use one bag of rice to create five completely different easy dinner recipes this week.
Slow Cooker Taco Rice
This is one of those easy meals where you literally throw everything into the slow cooker and let it do its thing. Perfect for busy midweek evenings when you want something comforting but still relatively healthy. You’ve got yourself an easy dinner recipe that tastes like a fakeaway but costs a fraction of the price.
Slow Cooker Chicken Curry and Rice
Another one-pot wonder. This chicken curry and rice recipe is ideal if you’re trying to avoid ordering a takeaway but still fancy something warming and flavour-packed. An absolute staple in our house and one of my go-to easy meals when I know it’s going to be a busy day!
Air Fryer Chicken Fried Rice
A lot of people don’t realise you can make chicken fried rice in the air fryer. It’s genuinely one of the quickest easy dinner recipes you’ll ever make. Better than a takeaway fried rice and far healthier too!
Sticky Lime & Honey Burrito Bowls
Rice is cheap, filling, and incredibly versatile – the perfect base for meals that stretch your budget. These Sticky Lime & Honey Burrito Bowls use rice to bulk out sweet, sticky chicken and colourful toppings, giving you a takeaway-style dinner without the takeaway price.
Air Fryer Chicken Skewers and Rice
These air fryer chicken skewers are a really great fakeaway style dinner, perfect for a Friday night. Serve with rice for a high protein meal, perfect for the whole family.
Final Thoughts: One Bag, Endless Easy Meals
If you’re looking for:
- Easy dinner ideas
- Budget-friendly recipes
- Family-friendly easy meals
- High-protein midweek meals
Then hopefully this has shown you how far something as simple as a bag of rice can go.
With just a few extra ingredients, your slow cooker and air fryer, you can create five completely different meals that will keep you on track without the stress of cooking from scratch every night.
And if you enjoy these types of recipes, keep an eye out for my upcoming book Healthy Fakeaways, launching this October – packed full of easy dinner recipes just like these.
Let me know if you try any of these over on Instagram @boredoflunch 👊
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