It is no secret that cooking from scratch is the best way to ensure that the food you're eating is whole, clean and healthy. It is also no secret that cooking takes time, and these days, time is something we all wish we could purchase in bulk.
There are some "convenience foods" that I keep on hand for when I am in a pinch & short on time. Foods that are "okay" in terms of taste, ingredients and health. Way better than hitting the drive through, but not as good as preparing it yourself. Most of these foods tend to be a bit high in sodium, but if you're not eating them all the time, it's not anything I would worry about.
Things such as:
-Amy's Organic Frozen meals. I love that most of Amy's stuff is meatless and are made with whole/natural ingredients. They taste really good too. The only downside is that they tend to not be super filling, so if I didn't have time to pack a lunch and take one of these to work, I usually eat something with it, on the side. Such as a baked sweet potato, small salad etc.
- Amy's Soup or Pacific Natural Foods Soup. Again, a bit high on the sodium and no where near as tasty as homemade soup, and, well not always a filling meal either, so sometimes I have this on the side of my organic frozen meal. ;)
- Organic Oatmeal. There are lots of varieties of organic oatmeal that are tasty. If I eat two, my hunger is satisfied. This will do in a pinch but they tend to be pretty high in added sugar so I try not to rely on it for an every day breakfast.
Then there are lots of quick & healthy snack items such as raw almonds, pistachios or other nut of choice, organic/natural tortilla chips with salsa, half of an avocado, whole wheat pita bread with hummus, half of an almond butter and jelly sandwich, a bowl of granola with almond milk, an apple, banana, or orange, Lara Bars etc.
But for meals, you can also get them to be healthy AND quick/easy/convenient. How? By preparing things that can be made in a "batch" ahead of time.
Breakfasts
Oatmeal, for instance, I sometimes cook a huge batch of (from regular, plain ol' oats) and then separate it in to 3-4 separate containers (all, still large, and are 2-3 servings each) and make each bowl a different variety. I sweeten it with different combos of the following: raisins, apples, cinnamon, maple syrup, brown sugar, stevia, bananas, almonds, walnuts, peanut butter or almond butter. Then I keep one batch /bowl in the fridge to eat from each morning and freeze the others, and take them out at as I need them. So it's all healthy & convenient and you only need to do the work once.
I also just discovered "Baked Oatmeal Bars" this weekend. I will post the recipe and pictures later, but it basically takes an oatmeal recipe, combined with some non-dairy milk and some other stuff to make your pre-made oatmeal portable as well ;) The only thing I'll do differently next time is double the batch and freeze half of it so it's even less work and more convenient... ;)
Egg Bake - I know a lot of people make "egg bakes" but the majority of them are not very healthy. Typically made with about a dozen whole eggs, bacon (and/or sausage), cheese, milk, hashed browns and who knows what else. Well I like to make a healthified version. (I know that's not a real word) I truly do enjoy the taste of veggie omelets but instead of taking the time to make one every day, I just put all the ingredients together (usually I do 6 eggs and 6 egg whites, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms and a little bit of reduced fat cheese and then bake them in an 8X8 baking dish on about 300° until done (about 30 mins). Cut in to squares and have 1-2 per day for breakfast. You can also bake these in muffin tins with the little paper muffin cups if you like.
So the key is making larger batches of something that can be eaten through out the week. You can do this with all kinds of dishes. Make a large batch of whole wheat or brown rice spaghetti and have leftovers to take to work for a couple of days, or a large batch of soup and freeze some either in to individual portions size jars, (I do this allll the time!!) or bowls that have several servings. A large Black Bean & Quinoa Salad will last 3 days in the fridge and can be your take-and-go lunch, or get-home-and-eat dinner. Bean Burritos are always fast, easy and healthy. I like to make big batches of beans on the weekends and then freeze them in to smaller portions to be used later on, but canned, organic & low-sodium beans are sufficient too.
I have more options too, but these are the ones that came to mind right away. I will post & link recipes to the dishes mentioned here too.
Question: What is your favorite thing to make ahead of time that can be eaten for several meals?
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