Cooking Quick Vegan Meals Is Simple If You Stock Up
We’re hungry NOW!
There’s nothing in the fridge!
Let’s go out to eat!
Sounds familiar?
“Eating out is faster...” I feel like I’ve heard it a million times. But you know what? I don’t think it’s true.
Last Sunday I came in from walking my dog Dubi only to find a seemingly starving family and nothing ready for lunch. Naturally, the idea of going out to eat came up, but because I always stock my fridge with a variety of vegetables and my pantry with enough dried food, I could cook a meal in no time.
It was less than an hour from the time I entered the house until we were all seated at the table with our forks in hand. Our lunch--my Quick Tofu & Veggie Lunch Bowl--was delicious, fresh, and satisfying!
Cooking Quick Vegan Meals Is Simple!
Eating in isn't magic. Over the years I figured out a system that keeps my family and me on the healthy path. I have my go-to quick recipes, I make sure I have ingredients at home at all times, and when the moment comes, I make it happen.
It’s as simple as that, and you can do it too. Let me show you how!
Stock Up
The key to quick, easy, awesome vegan meals is stocking up!
Dried beans
Stock your home-pantry at all times with ingredients like rice, couscous, quinoa and dried beans.
Stock your fridge with fresh vegetables such as carrots, onions, garlic, cabbage, yams, potatoes.
Stock your freezer with frozen vegetables such as artichoke hearts, peas, corn and broccoli.
Stock your spice drawer with your favorite spices.
Spices
A Variety of Vegetables Makes Amazing Vegan Bowls
With a variety of vegetables, you’ll be able to make quick, healthy vegan bowls at home whenever you want.
Keep a stock of these vegetables year-round: onion, cabbage, cauliflower, garlic, potatoes, carrots, yams, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, and bell peppers. Except for mushrooms, these veggies keep pretty well.
Add seasonal vegetables on your trip to the store. When you go out for groceries, make sure to get fresh vegetables that are great for roasting. Any seasonal vegetable will be great, here are some examples: brussels sprout, butternut squash, delicata squash, pumpkins of all sorts, corn, asparagus, beans, beets, turnips, eggplants, and fennel.
Make It A Habit
Once you get used to buying these items, you will use them more, which will reinforce the habit of cooking at home. You will see that you naturally start eating more veggies and preparing the meals will become easier and easier. Plus, if you keep these ingredients handy at all times, planning and following a meal plan will be much easier.
Eating In Is Important
It’s not that I don’t go out to eat, I do, and I love it! However, I don’t go out to eat just because I don’t want to cook or because I don’t have anything ready at home.
When you eat in, you know exactly what’s on your plate including the quantities and the quality of the ingredients:
You decide the freshness of vegetables and whether they're organic or not.
You are in charge of the amount of fat you add in. For example, you can choose to use light coconut milk instead of the regular milk used in restaurants or use extra virgin olive oil instead of the unknown cheap oil a restaurant may use
You decide the amount of salt and sugar you put in. Many restaurants heavily load your food with salt and sugar.
If you stock up and have recipes ready (I share many quick and easy vegan recipes with you here on my blog and social media), you will be eating in more in no time, I promise!