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I prep(boil) my potatoes and beans since they take the longest to cook. but other times I'm too tired to prep and just make it a fruit and juicing night.
what is your routine? I could use some more ideas.
I usually don't prep ahead of time unless you count my chopped salad toppings. I don't like soggy salad, so I keep my veggie toppings separate, like chopped green bell peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, little green onions and chopped tomatoes. Then I make everything else from scratch like the main dish and dessert (which usually consists of fresh fruit in a variety of ways).
However, this fall I'm starting a new shift at work and I won't be able to cook at my leisure anymore. So, most likely I'll have to do more prep than I'm used to. But I still don't mind so much that I would stoop to pre-packaged, over processed, unhealthy, expensive, fattening food from a box or a fast food place. No way. I enjoy cooking and I like feeding my family good, wholesome, yummy food. I really like to see everybody migrate from their rooms or away from their TV's to the kitchen to see what I'm making for dinner. Their eyes light up and they can't get over how good it smells. I don't want to take that away from us.
I've been vegetarian for 11 years and have been slowly making the change to being vegan over the last few months. I prefer to cook my food myself 90% of the time and reserve going out as a social activity no more than 2 or 3 times a week. My body is EXTREMELY sensitive to sodium, fat, cholestorol, and processed foods, and the fact of the matter is that the vast bulk of restaurants - even vegetarian-friendly ones - don't really cater to any of the above issues. I don't add salt to anything in my diet, ever (I don't even own a salt shaker!), because it saps the energy out of me, but it's probably the most common ingredient you'll find in most prepared foods!
I make my own protein patties out of grains, hemp powder, and fresh veggies and usually make about 5-6 of them at a time, so I can refrigerate or freeze them and eat them over the course of the next few days. They're pretty versatile, and can be eaten in a tortilla or lavash, or crumbled up into a soup or chili. I also make my own salsas and hot sauces (these are the condiments that I'm probably the most guilty of buying off-the-shelf!). 3 or 4 nights a week, I'll have a big cooking night where I spend 2 or 3 hours of prep so that I have an abundance of stuff I can just throw together over the course of the rest of the week, so that I don't have to waste any time.
For instance, a couple nights ago, I made (vegan) kimchi pancakes using a Korean pancake batter, substituted 1/4 of the flour for hemp powder and crushed flax seed (makes no impact on the flavor but gives you essential aminos and TONS of protein!), fresh green onions, and kimchi. Fried up like normal pancakes, and then served up with a homemade radish kimchi, fresh jalapeno, and tomato salsa with protein patties (I roll them up kind of like a tortilla) with some sriracha and a dash of Bragg's liquid aminos (which tastes mostly like soy sauce) heated with sesame and diced green onions. One pancake/taco thing is absolutely enough for one meal.
Wow! Thanks for the awesome ideas "415_s2k"! C-D told me I couldn't give you anymore rep points right now. I stay away from salt too and I don't cook with it at all. I'm so impressed that I learned something new today! *Adding to my grocery list as I type this.*
Wow! Thanks for the awesome ideas "415_s2k"! C-D told me I couldn't give you anymore rep points right now. I stay away from salt too and I don't cook with it at all. I'm so impressed that I learned something new today! *Adding to my grocery list as I type this.*
More than happy Salt is really unnecessary for the most part. I don't miss it in the least. It's super-easy to substitute other spices and herbs that give your dish more flavor, and may even have some added health benefits!
Take, for instance, refried beans. Look at most cans, and salt is an added ingredient. Consequently, each can is about 1200-1500mg of sodium. Even a can of better, organic (and more costly) refried beans are going to ding you 550-800mg/sodium a can. However, when I make tacos, I add a twist of a half of lime, diced onions, diced tomatoes, chili powder, and cinnamon to the beans. There is absolutely no need for any salt to be added! It makes more sense just to go ahead and soak/boil my own, mash them up in olive oil, and add all my ingredients. After all is said and done, an entire bowl has maybe 5-10mg of sodium!
For that matter, I use whole wheat or corn tortillas - I like making my own burrito-sized corn tortillas, since it's impossible to find such things anywhere... but if I'm feeling lazy, I just buy a pack of burrito-sized whole wheat tortillas. Buying tortillas, you run into the same problem... most of them are going to have 200mg of sodium each :/ It's offset somewhat by the fact that you're getting a serving of whole grains and it's not affecting the flavor adversely.
All told, I try to keep my sodium intake below 1400mg per day, except those two days a week I go out... and those days, I usually just have fresh juice with hemp protein and added vitamin extracts, which keeps me energized and full for about 6 to 8 hours. You can make a smoothie/shake/juice with whatever you want and add a tablespoon of hemp powder, and for maybe $2, you just made what most juice bars will charge you $7 for, and you got to tailor it to YOUR preferences!
I cook for myself about 95% of the time. Most of the things I cook take about a half-hour or less to make. I try to use weekends or 'not-so-busy' nights to make bigger batches of food to last a few days. During the winter I make big pots of chili, stew, or soup. I also make big batches of taco 'meat', or tofu scramble that can be incorporated into other meals.
Little things like chopping two whole onions when the recipe only calls for a half an onion )so that I can store the rest) also cut down on prep time. If I do a 'big shop' on the weekend, I try to wash and prep as much of the fresh stuff as possible so that I can use it more quickly when I need it during the week.
Little things like chopping two whole onions when the recipe only calls for a half an onion )so that I can store the rest) also cut down on prep time. If I do a 'big shop' on the weekend, I try to wash and prep as much of the fresh stuff as possible so that I can use it more quickly when I need it during the week.
Me too. I drive my family crazy because I have little storage dishes and ziplock bags full of fresh veggies scattered throughout the fridge on "shop and prep day". It really cuts down on cooking time when everything is already washed, chopped and ready to go.
But when they're trashing my fridge looking for something in particular, then it gets a little annoying (for me and them). I probably buried their bacon flavored cheese whiz on purpose. *gag*
More than happy Salt is really unnecessary for the most part. I don't miss it in the least. It's super-easy to substitute other spices and herbs that give your dish more flavor, and may even have some added health benefits!
Take, for instance, refried beans. Look at most cans, and salt is an added ingredient. Consequently, each can is about 1200-1500mg of sodium. Even a can of better, organic (and more costly) refried beans are going to ding you 550-800mg/sodium a can. However, when I make tacos, I add a twist of a half of lime, diced onions, diced tomatoes, chili powder, and cinnamon to the beans. There is absolutely no need for any salt to be added! It makes more sense just to go ahead and soak/boil my own, mash them up in olive oil, and add all my ingredients. After all is said and done, an entire bowl has maybe 5-10mg of sodium!
For that matter, I use whole wheat or corn tortillas - I like making my own burrito-sized corn tortillas, since it's impossible to find such things anywhere... but if I'm feeling lazy, I just buy a pack of burrito-sized whole wheat tortillas. Buying tortillas, you run into the same problem... most of them are going to have 200mg of sodium each :/ It's offset somewhat by the fact that you're getting a serving of whole grains and it's not affecting the flavor adversely.
All told, I try to keep my sodium intake below 1400mg per day, except those two days a week I go out... and those days, I usually just have fresh juice with hemp protein and added vitamin extracts, which keeps me energized and full for about 6 to 8 hours. You can make a smoothie/shake/juice with whatever you want and add a tablespoon of hemp powder, and for maybe $2, you just made what most juice bars will charge you $7 for, and you got to tailor it to YOUR preferences!
I don't use salt either for the most part (which means usually not buying anything processed), a pinch of sea salt once in a when I'm cooking for somebody else (like my SO, although we usually eat separate food -he's omnivorous-), and my taste buds have grown much more appreciative or original taste.
I usually make a pan of something and eat it for a few days with the occasional something here or there. For example I made a pan of rice and onions with broccoli, cauliflower, and black beans. I hate having to actually cook or create meals everyday so I just use my trusty microwave.
Last night I worked for a couple hours making eggplant cutlets. After all of the prep work and baking, I froze a whole stack of them. It took some effort, but it'll be so nice to just grab one or two in the future, heat them up and eat them on sandwiches or in pasta, etc. Just Google the vegan, whole wheat batter for the eggplant cutlets. You'll find some great variations and learn how to make these in advance. A nice time saver in the long run. And they're delicious!
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So, most likely I'll have to do more prep than I'm used to. But I still don't mind so much that I would stoop to pre-packaged, over processed, unhealthy, expensive, fattening food from a box or a fast food place. No way. I enjoy cooking and I like feeding my family good, wholesome, yummy food. I really like to see everybody migrate from their rooms or away from their TV's to the kitchen to see what I'm making for dinner. Their eyes light up and they can't get over how good it smells. I don't want to take that away from us.
Salt is really unnecessary for the most part. I don't miss it in the least. It's super-easy to substitute other spices and herbs that give your dish more flavor, and may even have some added health benefits!
