I feel like it must really suck for people who don’t want to cook for themselves. Most of the time when that happens it’s because no one cooked in their family so there isn’t a reality check on how to put a meal together. Of course we all know that’s why fast food does so well. I’ll go to Chipotle if I really don’t want to cook but that’s as far as it goes for me and that will happen once in a while because I don’t go to any other fast food restaurant. It seems pretty obvious that self esteem and a desire for quality in life are closely linked. What we put in our bodies is always going to contribute to the value of our daily living and food has a huge effect on our energy.
I’ve got a couple of ideas to suggest for a few quick meals that can help out when you really just don’t want to cook.
1) If you spend 20 minutes once a week and sauté up a boatload of greens with some onion and you can always pop a couple of fried eggs on top of some of them after they’re re-heated for a quickie dinner. Use the rest to make a bowl soup with rice noodles and a no-salt bouillon cube. Throw some soy or fish sauce in for flavor. The thinnest rice noodles cook in a heart beat. Boil some water while you’re changing out of your work clothes and toss the vegetables and noodles in the pan of boiling water, add the bouillon cube, turn off the heat and let stand for a few minutes. Stir to combine and break down the bouillon cube. Red pepper flakes at the last minute should do the trick.
2) Another idea is to prep whatever vegetables you’ve got in the fridge. Take a few minutes over the weekend and blanch them individually so you don’t over cook any of them. You might have part of a head of broccoli and a handful of Brussels sprouts, maybe a carrot or two and some cauliflower. Cut them into bite-sized pieces and blanch them till al dente. Cook enough to cover yourself for a couple of meals because a couple of home cooked meals is better than none! Throw them in a container and put them in the refrigerator until ready to use. Later in the week you might want to cook some rice or pasta and season the rice or pasta, add the prepped vegetables to your pan, reheating and then grate some cheese over the top and you’ve got dinner.
3) Snag a Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store on your way home from work and re-sauté those blanched vegetables to have with your chicken. Season them with ginger juice or Mirin, toasted sesame oil goes a long way too (spend a couple bucks getting your condiments in the house). Then use the leftover chicken the next night with some salad greens and salad becomes another meal. It is totally worth it to have a box of organic salad greens around. I’ll put them in a bowl and put every meal I eat on top of the greens whether the meal is hot or cold food. That way you will also get lots of raw food in your diet.
I know this might sound too easy but sometimes we just need to be reminded about how easy it can be to nurture ourselves. No one is going to take better care of you than you……you know how to be committed to quality. AND, you know you’re worth that quality. Hope this helps and remember to take good care of you.
