What is a cheap and lazy way to shop for and prepare healthy food?

Rice cooker and a bottle of soy sauce.

Own a farm.

Let the servants do it

Move in with relatives or friends too docile to complain.

Arrange to be jailed in Portland Oregon.

Your food can be cheap, easy, or good. Pick any two.

Inexpensive healthy food is possible, but you have to work for it. Lazy healthy food is possible, but you have to pay for it. Or you can live on fast food dollar menu burgers and microwaveable Salisbury steak and forget the healthy thing.

Your choice.

@Seek I pick good and easy.

Put some fruit or vegetables or a combo in a blender with combo of either yogurt, milk, almond milk, OJ, oatmeal, some kind of seeds, and blend it all up. Try various combinations to see what you like. One combo that’s really easy is an orange and a banana, or a banana and some OJ.

Another vote for the blender. I buy bananas, a half gallon of orange juice, spinach or kale (frozen or fresh), and yogurt every Sunday. That is breakfast for a week for about $10.

Buy a slow cooker, which allows you to follow really easy recipes (layering meat and vegies and a few seasonings in the pot and then turning it on). At the end of the cooking time you have one-pot meals like beef stew, pot roast, roast chicken and vegetables. Simple.

Salads in a jar.
Dressing at the bottom, then stack the ingredients, wet/dense ones first. Then when you are ready to eat, just shake it up.

They stay good for about a week, so you can make them on the weekend for easy lunches/dinners. Tons of recipes online, only about an hour of prep for an entire weeks worth.

What you do is is you buy fresh and raw ingredients—and cook them.

Hit your local farmers markets if you have any. Network with them, they usually have contacts for other stuff like local meat, cheese and eggs. If you have space keep a garden. If you don’t at least keep a few herbs in pots. It’s amazing what fresh herbs will do to a meal. Learn to cook with simple wholesome ingredients. I just learned how to bake good bread. It’s amazing what you can do with $1 worth of ingredients.

Cook with someone else. Buying larger quantities is usually better value plus you get to try someone else’s cooking half the time. You don’t have to eat together but that might be nice.

Doubt if there is a lazy way. Unless you don’t mind eating the same healthy foods over and over again. And using the microwave to cook.

Go to the Farmer’s Market. Take a lazy stroll around picking up fruit, veg, meat, cheese, bread as you go. You’ll be healthier for it too.

If you really want to be lazy, use a food delivery service. You can have all your food delivered to your door. It might actually work well for you. Someone asked a question about this in General last week. Healthy food, in appropriate portion sizes, and a diverse range of meals, to your door.

Crock pots are awesome for lazy cooking. Prepare enough to feed yourself for a few days and then there is even less work. As for shopping, canned and frozen fruit and vegetables last longer than fresh.

It’s pretty darn easy to make soup. Carrots, celery, and onion are cheap and make a base for just about anything. For whatever kind you’re making, the process is broadly the same:

Start with everything chopped into bite-sized pieces.

In a large pot, cook meat of your choice on medium until it is no longer raw.

Add chopped vegetables, stir around on medium heat.

Add chicken, beef, or vegetable stock and seasonings, simmer.

You can do pretty much endless variations.

Unfortunately, I have absolutely no experience with personal chefs or meal delivery services.

My expertise is more in making pennies scream for mercy.

If you ever give up an hour or two a day of sleep and decide to dedicate that to shopping for and preparing healthful meals, if be more than happy to share some tips and recipes.