Life gets overwhelming sometimes—we find we run out of time every day or we just don’t have the energy to do certain things.
I find that on days like this, the one thing that always gets put on the backburner is cooking.
It is a hard thing to want to do after a long and stressful day.
But within this month’s blog I will provide you with the tools you need to be a successful lazy cook and a master meal prepper even when you have no time, no energy, or no desire.
So, let’s dive in.
First things first, here are the items you NEED have in your kitchen at all times:
- Protein sources that don’t expire quickly:
- Dry or canned beans
- Frozen meat/seafood
- Vegan proteins: Tempeh, tofu, vegan sausage
- Protein Pasta
- Carbs/starch
- Pasta
- Dry Rice
- Potatoes
- Frozen rice
- Vegetables
- Frozen vegetables
- Canned vegetables
- Sauces/spices
- Soy sauce
- Taco sauce
- Cheese
- Red pepper flakes
- Favorite salad dressings
- Hummus
Having these components in your kitchen will help you cook nourishing, filling, and delicious meals every night.
Along with this, another way to be a successful lazy cook is to have meal items prepped ahead of time.
- If you’re a meat eater, cook your meat in a crock pot or InstantPot and eat through the week, making it into different meals each night.
- For example, cook chicken breasts in the crockpot and use for quesadillas one night, on a salad another night, and on a sandwich the next night.
- Make sauces, dressings, or dips ahead of time to last you for the week.
- For example, make my cashew cheese! It is a staple in my kitchen to use with lunch and dinners. This sauce is a great substitution for a cheese sauce but it is delicious in its own way. This sauce is best over pasta, as a salad topper, or dipped with tortilla chips (or licked with a spoon). And the best thing about this sauce is that it is nutritious, containing whole and natural ingredients!
Cashew Cheese: Serves 6 What you’ll need: · 1 1/2 cups raw cashews · 2 garlic cloves · 1/4 cup nutritional yeast · 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, plus more to thin if necessary · 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric · 1/2 teaspoon paprika · 1/2 teaspoon onion powder · 1 teaspoon dijon mustard · 1 teaspoon salt, to taste · Freshly ground black pepper Directions: 1. Soak the cashews using one of two options: a. Soak cashews in room temperate water for at least 2 hours and drain. b. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add cashews and take off heat. Let sit in hot water for 30-45 minutes and drain. 2. Once the cashews have finished soaking and are drained, add all ingredients to a blender-soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, unsweetened almond milk, turmeric, paprika, onion powder, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Add more almond milk to thin if desired. |
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Finally, here are some general tips to keep you cooking at home:
- Go to the grocery store or utilize delivery services like Walmart Pickup, Instacart, or Whole Foods delivery one time a week to restock on essentials
- Eat meals! Avoid snacking all day as a form of meal replacement
- Wake up 10-15 minutes earlier each day to give yourself some more time to prep if needed
Now the spotlight is on you!
What will you do this week to keep yourself cooking at home? What will you implement now?
Get started and experience the difference!
Macie Thornhill, RDN, LDN, RYT
Founder & Owner of The Mindful Eating Dietitian
Itís hard to come by well-informed people in this particular subject, however, you seem like you know what youíre talking about! Thanks