Hi everyone,
Now approaching the end of my PhD :-/ I find one of the hardest things about being chained to my computer is feeding myself. I often don't have many groceries in and I fnd it hard to tear myself away from writing long enough to make anything substantial. Most of my lunches are something on toast (which can be delish, but tedious if consumed everyday!). So I want some suggestions. Anyone got recipes that can be made in less than 15 mins? Anything you make from left overs or things left at the back of the fridge? What do you all subsist on? My favourite at the moment is garlic mushrooms on toast.

oatmeal (minute oats, brown sugar, frozen blueberries, milk, microwave for 3-4 mins).
guacamole on baked pita (1 avacado + 2-3 tbsps of salsa; lightly cover pita in olive oil, salt, broil for 3 mins)
garlic cheese bread (butter bun, bagel, etc., sprinkle garlic powder or fresh garlic, cover in grated cheese, broil)
omelette

I think taking a cooking break is healthy. You could also make things like pizza, soup, stew, given that they can last at least several meals.

I have a crock pot and at the weekend I throw loads of fresh veg in and let it cook, cool, then it goes in the fridge.  Through the week I just take a mug full as and when I'm hungry and pop it into the microwave. I eat other things but sometimes when I'm engrossed in something and don't want to lose my chain of thought - it is a handy standby.

In the evenings I always stop to have a good meal. It does your body and mind good to have a clean break so make sure you give them both a change of scenery at regular intervals throughout the day - just micro breaks (30 seconds for every 20 minutes of work should do it). Your body will thank you for it.

Thanks for the replies! the soup is a good idea, or I could even make scouse, yum yum :-)

When I get fed up with sandwiches or tins of soup I make rice with frozen veg cooked in (usually peas and corn) with tobasco and soy sauce (I used to make this with onions and green beans), or pasta salad - usually just with tomatoes and onion (and oil, vinegar and chilli sauce) but sometimes with a tin of chopped mushrooms and/or sweetcorn or some kind of beans. I find most concoctions are edible if you put enough chilli in them.

I'm currently having one of my recurring cravings for Sandwich Spread sandwiches.

I cook proper family meals in the evening - it's a welcome change of activity.

I love cooking and really welcome having something different I have to do in the evening. A few suggestions for healthy and really fast meals that I do when I know I don't have time though:

fresh pasta, which takes 3 mins to cook, with pesto (takes minutes to make at home if you have a blender or you can buy it fresh or in a jar);

salmon - sealed in a pan and then cooked in a foil packet in the oven for 15 minutes with a piece of rosemary and a slice of sweetcure bacon - and salad;

vegetable stir fry - first fry up some chopped garlic, spring onions, ginger, lemon grass and chilli in ground nut oil, remove and stir fry your veg (or veg and chicken), then put the garlic etc back in, mix up some lime juice, nam pla and sugar in a cup and add that, and eat as is or with noodles which only take about 3 minutes to cook.

Hope those tempt you. I make sure I do a big shop each week so I have fresh veg above all, but there's always meat or fish in the freezer too. Fresh pasta can be cooked from frozen so that's a good one to keep on hand, especially with a jar of pesto in the cupboard or homemade pesto in the freezer.

thanks so much for all the cooking tips and recipes. I have lost my appetite these days with the long sun hours! that happen to anyone else?

Yeah they are great! I agree Saatchi, you don't seem to realise until its too late and there are headaches/light headedness etc. Thats when I binge on jumk food - not good for the brain!

aah...sandwich spread sandwiches, one of the great nostalgic sandwiches.