If you’re feeling pressured to make a super gourmet meal, don’t feel that way. Your body doesn’t care how fancy the meal was. It just wants to be fed. Not all meals need to be hard. If you’re not feeling creative or are in a rush and don’t have time to spend on making things pretty, just get it done.

One thing I need to work on is meal planning. I’m very much a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of cook. Shannon loves this about me because I can look at a pantry full of ingredients and usually come up with something that tastes good.

Let me give you a scenario. Today, I had a strenuous workout focusing solely on legs, and when I got home I wanted to eat something protein rich, but more importantly something hearty enough to squash the hunger. What I found was 2/3lbs of 93:7 ground beef and some leftover potatoes from the other night. In fancy terms, we call this Chopped Steak with Roasted Potatoes. I didn’t worry about a vegetable for this meal because I’m going to double down on vegetables tonight.

The beef cooked down to 1/2lb of actual food and with 100g of potatoes, which is more than a proper portion of both of these items, but I was still right around 500 calories. The difference is great between fast food and home cooking in terms of general calories. You can still eat out and make smart decisions while doing so, but it is easier to make those decisions when you’re in control of the ingredients.

How I prepared

The beef I thawed halfway — I store them flat in freezer bags for efficient storage and fast thawing — before seasoning with Uncle Chris’s Steak Seasoning (by Fiesta) then topping with Sam’s Choice Dill Mustard (because it’s awesome). The potatoes were basic seasoned and already prepared so reheating was all that was needed there.

Preheat your air fryer or broiler, then drop the beef in. I cooked mine 5 minutes on either side, but monitor yours closely. What you’re looking for is overall doneness, firmness of the patty, and does it have crisp edges. Unlike a steak, you should at minimum be cooking these through (medium well to well).

NOTE: If using your oven’s broiler, DO NOT walk away from it. They cook hot and fast and run a risk of overcooking or worse — starting a flame up.

This meal can be done with any combination of meat and starch, meat and vegetable, starch and vegetable. Just find what works for you and don’t overcomplicate it. Remember that not all meals need to be hard.