Are You Too Busy To Cook?
I GET IT!!!
Sometimes, getting dinner on the table can be challenging, especially now with this global pandemic. Many of us prepare more meals than usual, shop, and plan. No matter how good our intentions are, it can be exhausting! It does require having a conscious system in place to make it doable...most of the time.
I also know that nourishing MY OWN body and the bodies I feed is always the best choice for my and my family's overall health. I like to know and choose the ingredients that are going into our bodies and the fridge...most of the time. That said...I have nothing against eating out (or now ordering in)... once in a while. Many restaurants offer delivery, and the options are endless, from vegetarian, vegan, organic, etc., and food choices worldwide. But...ideally, I want 85% of my food to come from my own kitchen...or at least out of my own hands.
Introducing...drumroll, please...
KITCHEN SADHANA
I LOVE the words"Kitchen Sadhana". Sadhana means spiritual practice. Kitchen Sadhana invites you to have a discipline, a practice, around how you keep your kitchen and how you use it to create your body (and the other bodies you feed). The goal is simple- make your kitchen functional and your foods intentional, aligning with who you want to become. The energies that you bring into your kitchen, from your ingredients to your attitude, contribute to the energies and attitudes you experience from what you eat and how well nourished you feel.
For more on "Kitchen Sadhana" click HERE to read the article.
So what do you do when you feel too busy in your life to practice Kitchen Sadhana? First, click HERE to read how almost everyone can design the time to organize their kitchen to create more time, space, and ease.
I get it, though; there are so many fast and easy ways to put food in our mouths, and often this may seem the only way. Fortunately, with a bit of discipline, planning, and creativity, there are many ways to nourish yourself when life gets busy. The following tips will help you enjoy vibrant, nourishing, and yummy meals straight from your own kitchen with love.
Easy Breakfast Options
Mornings are often the most hectic time of the day for most people. You may find yourself racing out the door, having not fueled your body to carry you through to lunch. Whether you pressed snooze one too many times or the kids are moving one step forward three steps back, you may not always have time to sit down to enjoy a meal. However, you want to ensure you eat a nourishing breakfast each morning. Ayurveda promotes eating a light morning meal around the same time each day, preferably between 7 am and 8 am, as long as you didn't eat too late the night before (giving your body at LEAST 12 hours between supper and breakfast is optimal). Doing so sets yourself up for the day, and you can hold yourself through to lunch without snacking. Keeping it simple yet nourishing will start your day off right, light, and ready for action.
Simple Smoothies
I prefer to start most mornings with a chlorophyll-packed green smoothie- heavy on the greens, light on the sweet fruits, and fancy additions. The simpler, the better. Smoothies can be a real time saver in the mornings if you only have five minutes to get out the door. All you need to do is add your ingredients into a blender and press GO- that's it! Blending ingredients makes them more digestible, which is necessary when stressed and on the go, as stress weakens your digestion.
Click HERE to learn more about what makes up a well-balanced and healthy smoothie.
Make the Most of Toast
Whole grain toast is a blank slate offering diverse, quick & easy breakfast options. Team it up with nut butter, such as almond/sunflower seed or peanut butter, or mash some avocado with a squeeze of lime juice and black pepper. Warm up your body on a cool fall morning by spreading ghee on your toast and a sprinkle of cinnamon- delish!! By adding a healthy fat, aka. nut butter, avocado, and ghee, to the dry rough qualities of toast, help to make this a better, more easily digestible, and nourishing option.
Dark Whole Grain Toast with Avocado and Boiled Egg
Top Breakfast Picks
For more inspiration, here are some of my top breakfast recipes.
• Whole grain (the darker the better) organic toast with almond butter
• Whole grain toast with avocado & sunny side egg, garnished with cilantro
• Vegan Overnight Oats
• Chia Seed Breakfast Bowl
• Basic Chia Seed Pudding
• Oatmeal with dates and almonds
• Coconut Milk, Almond Butter, Date and Vanilla Bean Smoothie
• Banana Smoothie with Lime & Cardamom
• Applesauce with Ginger & Ghee
• Grapefruit with Honey
• Papaya Sprinkled with Ginger & Lime
• Superfood Oatmeal
Click HERE for more yummy recipes.
Easy Lunch & Dinner Options
Most lunch and dinner recipes are interchangeable. To save yourself valuable time, get into the habit of preparing extra food to have the same dish for both lunch and dinner. It keeps cooking stress- free and straightforward. I recommend prepping lunch/dinner at the same time in the morning for busy people. Get lunch/dinner started as soon as you wake up. Then, as lunch/dinner is cooking, prepare breakfast. You'll have all your meals done for the day before you leave the house in the morning, and you'll only have to cook and clean the kitchen once.
In my Be BOLD & THRIVE habit-changing course- we spend an entire week on how to become a master of your kitchen, prepare your daily meals, and make life simple around feeding yourself and the bodies you feed.
Rotisserie Chicken, Salad and Roasted Vegetables
If you're short on time, one of my favorite go-to meals (the family loves) is buying an (organic) roasted chicken at the local supermarket and some fresh salad greens. If I have a few minutes in the morning and have planned just a little, I'll cut up sweet potatoes, carrots, brussels sprouts, or any roots and roast them in the oven while getting ready for the day. To make it even easier, I'll cut the veggies the night before and have them in the fridge to toss on a baking sheet with a good oil (olive, avocado, or ghee) and herbs. Add a sprinkle of nuts or seeds and a little olive oil to a salad - you'll have dinner on the table in minutes. Shred the leftovers and have them on whole grain bread, or add them to a salad for lunch the next day. Toss a few pieces into some rice and vegetables or add to a soup pot to make any meal delicious.
PREPPING FOODS FOR THE WEEK
Leftovers aren't optimal as they lose life force with re-heating. But if you know you have a busy week ahead, you may want to prepare some of these options in advance to enhance a meal or use as a base.
• Wrap two or three sweet potatoes, beets, or squash in tin foil and bake in the oven. These can be stored in the fridge for a few days until needed. Use these roasted vegetables as a side dish or to a salad, and voila- yummy meal.
• Boil eggs and store them in the fridge. Have them on hand to add to a meal or make an egg salad sandwich with avocado.
• Slice and dice peppers, zucchini, red onions, beans, carrots, and beats to add to salads or cooked to add to rice dishes or pasta. Store in sealed containers in the fridge.
• Pre-wash lettuces and greens and store them in plastic air-tight bags for instant salads
These are just a few ideas...Again, click HERE for more food prep. suggestions.
Fresh vs. Frozen
If preparing fresh vegetables is too time-consuming, choose a good quality frozen variety. Frozen vegetables (especially if you choose organic) often have higher nutrient levels than fresh produce. This is particularly true if the fresh vegetables have been shipped long distances, sat on a grocery shelf for a while, and are now sitting in your fridge all week. In contrast, frozen vegetables are often frozen at the farm, locking in nutrients at peak freshness. Cook up some rice and add frozen vegetables in the last few minutes - just enough time to soften. Serve with an egg on top, a little dash of soy sauce, or some miso for a simple Asian-style dinner.
Side note: Organic, local, and seasonal produce is ALWAYS the BEST option when available.
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Soups, Stews & Crockpot Meals
Just in the last few years have I established the habit of using a crockpot. As life with kids gets busier, evenings are often spent at games, practices, or lessons. One-pot meals have been a lifesaver on nights when I know my time will be limited.
A crockpot can help you prepare delicious soups and stews with minimal effort, plus are easy on digestion. Fire up the crockpot in the morning and return home to a hot meal in the evening. It's a win-win. Another option is to turn your crockpot on before bedtime and have your meal waiting for you in the morning.
(Always read the safety instructions on your particular appliance).
For more yummy crockpot meals, click HERE.
Top Lunch/Dinner Picks
Looking for some inspiration for your lunches and dinners? Here are some of my favorite recipes. Some require a little preparation, and others not as much. I love to take an hour on the weekend to choose a handful of recipes for the week that sound yummy and easy. I'll make sure I have the ingredients or hit the market with a list in hand, and voila- a little forethought can help streamline the weekday menu and make life easier.
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Vegetarian Bibimbap Bap, Korean Rice Bowl with Vegies and Egg
Vegetarian Cobb Salad
Top Dessert Picks
If you're eating a substantial lunch, which Ayurveda recommends being your largest and most nutrient-rich meal of the day, the urge to snack (which spikes blood sugar) can often be pacified by sipping warm or room temperature water between meals. Two to three healthy meals (depending on your constitution- take the quiz HERE) should keep you from experiencing the afternoon sugar/caffeine lull.
If you have a sweet tooth, Ayurveda recommends eating dessert immediately after your main meal...not an hour afterward. We want our bodies to have time to digest our food completely to experience fat-burning mode, not just the last almond, cookie, or Starbucks you took in.
Here are some of my favorite homemade treats to satisfy a sweet tooth.-
Detoxifying Matcha Green Tea Chocolate Balls
Detoxifying Gee Tea Matcha Balls- YUMMY!
A Few More Tips
Keeping well hydrated throughout the day is absolutely essential. When you're busy, it's really easy to forget to hydrate. Water is always the best option. Without enough water, you'll feel tired, depleted, and hungry. Buy a sustainable water bottle you can fill each morning and bring on the go. Sipping room temperature to warm water throughout the day allows you to absorb the water more efficiently instead of guzzling it all down in one go. Whenever you feel hungry, and before reaching for a snack, drink water as you may just be thirsty.Ayurveda ("the science of life") is amazingly flexible, simple, and adaptable to any lifestyle. Ayurveda uses many tricks to help you stay healthy no matter how adverse the circumstances and uses whatever tools are at hand to quickly and easily maintain your health.
Eating quick, easy, and healthy meals on the go is doable simply by making a few changes. Ayurveda recommends carving out the time (15- 20 minutes) to eat, enjoy, and digest our meals, but sometimes we're too busy to do so.
When we can see the bigger picture and set our intentions for what we eventually want to have happen around nourishing ourselves, how we operate in our kitchens, and how we deeply want to feel daily, we have a goal to shoot for. In the meantime, baby steps. Ask yourself, what is physically and emotionally doable? How can I set myself up for small improvements? What can I do at the beginning of the week and in the mornings to make feeding myself (and the bodies I feed) easier and more nourishing?Choose 1-2 actions that you can take and try it out. Remember, the goal is not perfection; just small steps and notice the difference.
