When you first start eating a plant-based diet, it can feel a bit overwhelming with all the preparations. During my plant-based journey, I’ve discovered some great time-savers for those busy days or when I just don’t feel like doing a lot of prep-work. Here are some of my favorite short cuts to cooking yummy, plant-based meals in a hurry.
BAGGED VEGETABLES
Costco is one of the best places I’ve found to purchase pre-washed, organic, ready-to-go, fresh produce at a good price. However, many grocery stores carry these types of items. Note – you should eat these foods quickly because they won’t last very long in your refrigerator. I’ve been known to get carried away and buy too many. Then I end up tossing stuff in the compost bin and I really don’t like wasting food. 🙄
- Spinach & Mixed Greens – I keep a giant bag of spinach in my refrigerator all the time. Super handy for adding some greens to every meal (even oatmeal). Already prepared kale and other greens are also nice to have when you want to save time.
- Riced Cauliflower Crumbles -This stuff is awesome! It’s just finely chopped up cauliflower that comes in a bag. It can be used in recipes like the cauliflower tacos or thrown into salads, soups and stews. Psst parents….you can sneak some into your kid’s mashed potatoes and they’ll never know it. 😉
- Green Beans, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Cauliflower, etc.. – All for those days when you feel a bit lazy about cooking.
- Sliced mushrooms – I ❤ mushrooms of all types! But, it does take a bit of prep-work to get them ready to cook. Buying pre-sliced/washed mushrooms is a real time saver, but these are another item you need to eat right away.
- Salad & Coleslaw – Grab several handfuls, adds some beans & few other pre-cut vegetables for a quick lunch.
GARLIC IN A JAR
While I love fresh garlic, it takes time to separate the cloves, peel them and chop or mince. Having a jar of minced garlic (in water) in the refrigerator makes is so simple to add a spoonful or several to dishes as they cook.
FROZEN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Fresh produce is the best for sure! But, when you can’t make it to the store or market, having various fruits and vegetables in your freezer can be a life-saver. One thing I use a lot – frozen, chopped onions!
- Spinach, kale, turnip greens, mixed vegetables, corn, edamame, bell pepper strips and chopped onions are all items I keep in my freezer.
- As far as fruit goes, you can always find frozen blueberries, sweet cherries and smoothie fruit combos in my freezer. We eat blueberries in our oatmeal several times a week. The sweet cherries (no sugar) are a delicious treat for dessert either alone or on top of 100% pure applesauce.
- I keep two varieties of frozen hash browns in my freezer. The shredded type are great for adding to soups, tofu scrambles and other casseroles. The square-cut, southern-style kind are perfect for dishes like Cheezy Hash Brown & Spinach Bake.
INSTANT RICE, BARLEY, GRAINS, COUSCOUS, AND POTATOES
- Rice – Sometimes you’re hungry and don’t want to spend the time cooking rice. For those times, instant brown rice is great! It takes only 10 minutes from start to finish.
- Grains – Farro, Instant Barley and Ancient Grains all take 20 minutes or less to cook.
- Potatoes – Instant mashed potatoes (make sure the only ingredient is dehydrated potatoes) are handy to have in the cupboard. I don’t tend to make mashed potatoes with the instant flakes, but they are super for thickening soups.
- Couscous – Ready as fast as you can boil water, this pasta product works well served under gravy, sauces or soups.
CANNED GOODS
- Beans – My pantry always has lots of canned beans in it! So easy to add to your plant-based meals.
- Tomato products – Keep some crushed or chopped tomatoes (no salt) as well as tomato sauce and paste in the cupboard.
- Broth – I love using homemade vegetable broth, but when I’ve run out of my frozen broth cups it’s good to have some other choices in the cupboard.
WRAPPING IT UP
When you’re really hungry and haven’t planned ahead, having some time-saving items in your kitchen can help you resist straying from your plant-based eating plan. You can grab some frozen or pre-cut veggies, a can of beans, some instant rice and *poof* you have dinner in just a few minutes. Here’s a recipe I created a couple of nights ago using stuff I had on hand. Cheesy Mushroom & Onion Sauce with garbanzos, served on top of potatoes.
What about you? Do you have time saving hints in the kitchen you’d like to share?
