Most times when I have bad rheumatoid arthritis flareups I don’t want to cook. I’d much rather not eat at all or have takeout food, but that obviously makes my body feel much worse. Here are some examples of lazy meals I make when I don’t want to cook but need to eat something relatively healthy.

Tortilla pizza

This one is super easy to make. I took a tortilla (this one’s a spinach wrap) and topped it with with leftover marinara sauce, Daiya mozzarella style shreds, and Yves veggie pepperoni. I popped it in the oven and baked it at around 300° until the tortilla was crispy and the cheese was melted. Some additional topping ideas: leftover veggies, spinach, basil, nutritional yeast, and tofu scramble.

Creamy hummus pasta

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I’ve been making this a lot for dinner since it is so quick, easy, and delicious. First, I boil some pasta and microwave some leftover veggies. (I also like having just noodles and spinach). While the pasta is boiling I scoop out 2-3 tbsp of hummus into a cup (we usually have red pepper or garlic hummus at the house), add a splash of water, and mix it together to make a simple sauce. It’s tasty like this but sometimes I’ll add some black pepper, nutritional yeast, or paprika to spice it up.

White rice, avocado, spinach, and nori with hummus (sushi bowl)

This one is especially easy if you have cooked white rice leftover. I’ll put some white rice in a bowl, microwave or sauté some spinach, cut up half of an avocado, and place some nori sheets on the side. I also top the bowl with hummus and sesame seeds. When I eat this I’ll take a spoonful of a little bit of everything and lazily roll it into a nori sheet like a little sushi burrito. Optional: Gardein chik’n, leftover tofu, or any other veggies you want to add.

Avocado toast

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Avocado + toast. I usually like to have it on mini bagels or Dave’s Killer Bread and topped with any combination of lots of nutritional yeast, paprika, black pepper, cayenne pepper, or garlic powder. Pairing it with a chickpea salad and tomatoes is really good too.

Peanut butter on toast with bananas and cinnamon

Peanut butter + toast + bananas + cinnamon.

Sandwiches and wraps

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Whenever I make a sandwich I’ll throw whatever we have in the fridge together and hope for the best.

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One of my new favorite combinations that resulted from random ingredients is a spinach wrap, purple hull peas, spinach, pumpkin seeds, almond slices, and sriracha.

Stuffed sweet potato

I had this for breakfast one morning with a smoothie and I felt energized and full for most of the day. I baked a sweet potato and put some peanut butter and dried cranberries in it.

Those are some of my go-to meal ideas when I’m having a bad day or having a bad flareup. I hope this helps and inspires, and if you want more easy meal ideas check out my Instagram.