8 Serious hacks to make your food from scratch quicker!

8 Vegan Hacks

Who has time to prepare fresh food form scratch everyday?  I don’t!

I do want to eat healthy but honestly?  Twenty, no twenty five OTHER things take precedence over making something from scratch everyday.  

That said, the desire to eat with your body’s health is mind is a serious priority.  I have spent several years figuring out how to do this in a time saving way.  The goal was to be able to throw together a meal in less than 5 minutes if I was in a rush, or less than 20 minutes if I was tired.  

Relate? 

If you are looking for some ideas, here’s some that have helped this gal out. 

Remember the rice cooker?  I cook 2 rice cooker cups of some sort of grain up at the beginning of the week. This grain can be used in lots of ways:  monk bowls, making a soup denser, for breakfast with tofu eggs, underneath stir fried veggies. Trade up your grain each time.  Store it in the fridge and pull it out when you need something quick. 

By pre-cut squashes from the store.  Trader Joes, New Seasons & Whole Foods all carry pre-cut butternut squash.  Roast your favorite squash in the oven with just salt & pepper and your favorite oil… Make enough for several meals.  This can be seasoned with your dish when you reheat it.  You can do it savory or sweet, depending on your mood at the time. Squashes are so versatile.  You can also take that roasted squash and mash it up and put it into enchiladas or tacos. Roasted Squash is awesome for breakfast. 

By pre-made soups in your favorite flavors. I like the Imagine brand & Dr. McDougall’s soups.  I take that soup and put it on my grain and microwave it.  It also throws together awesomely to be taken as a lunch to heat at work.  Throw in your squash of choice that you roasted or your sauted veggies you did in the beginning of the week. 

Satay a bag of precut veggies. I have learned to adore a lot of different kinds of veggies. I buy pre cut bags of veggies in different blends:  kale, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower to start with.  Costco, Trader Joes, and Cash and Carry have these regularly.  Seasonally, options will surface, don’t be afraid to try to cook the new veggies that you come across and store them for your week.   Vegetables satay nicely with a little veggie broth and store beautifully in a clear container so you can see what it is easily.  I try not to season it too much unless I know what I am going to use it for in the long run. This keep the versatility there.  From the satay state I can add this to the grain, with the squash, or with the soup to “beef” it up. (see how I did that!) 

Buy or make hummus or veggie pates ahead of time.  Chickpeas are very cheap and quick to make in a pressure cooker.  You can use hummus in tacos, wraps, in a bowl with the grain, or with cut veggies or chips for a snack! You can even make or grab different flavors: lemon, chipotle, balsamic, the list is endless. 

Corn Tortillas and Coconut (Paleo) Wraps keep forever.  Keep some nearby to fill with your favorite fillings. Some of my go to favorites are hummus, pate, stir fried veggies, and hot sauce or squash, stir fried veggies and pate). 

Containers or bags of prewashed baby spinach or super greens are awesome to add to bowls, throw into a smoothie, or add to the soup. If adding to soup, just throw in and stir when it’s hot, often you don’t have to cook these for very long. 

Buy 2 or 3 varieties of fruit each time you go shopping to take along when you need something for the road.  I like to see what is in season and then actually grab those. This avoids food fatigue.  I buy 2 of each kind because each day my tastes change.  Plus if you are still hungry after you have eaten, often the fiber in a piece of fruit at the end of a meal will bridge the gap between hungry and full! 

So here a few starter ideas! This is totally doable  

Good luck and you can totally do this! 

Terradon