Are you trying to poison the poor man? All these things that only women eat!

Meat - grilling is easy. Watch it all the time and then if it catches fire it's a small enough fire to blow out. Line the grill pan with two layers of tin foil and throw it away every use - saves washing up. For pork, remember to finish the side with the crackling on at VERY high temperature (still watching) to make it scrunchy. Lamb, put some crushed garlic on and pour some mint jelly on before grilling.

Parsnips roast nicely and are probably easier (and sweeter) than roast potatoes.    Enough meat to roast nicely will feed one old person like me for days and days so grill a little bit of meat and roast some parsnips if you fancy them.

Veg - shit, anyone can boil veg! Courgettes are nasty. Aubergines are nasty. Boiled cabbage is almost wholly free of calories and if not boiled too long can be nice - but the amount of fibre in it (and in therefore coleslaw) can be - er - motivating to an elderly digestion.

Pulses are mostly vile and poisonous if not soaked. Avoid until expert.

Salad is mostly nasty, but raw onions and sliced tomatoes are nice in a ham sandwich. I like watercress but it does not keep well.

Slow cooker will cook anything. Pepper, chili and garlic will make anything nice and tasty (even veg on their own). Pearl barley is good for thickening. A useful cheat for thickening is instant mash. Go easy on mushrooms, they can overwhelm.

Tomato sauce is full of sugar and salt. Avoid.

Spagh bol is easy.

Almost instant is spaghetti al'olio arrabiata. Spagh, boil, olive oil, chili, garlic. It's all she wrote.

Porridge at breakfast is cheap easy and keeps you going - with hemp hearts if you can afford them. Little bit of milk, little bit of demerara sugar - nearly as easy as toast and far more sustaining.