Kim Davis

Here’s what I do (’cause I’m still lazy, afterall!): Keep salad in your fridge at all times as a side dish for all meals.

Cook up a big pot of brown rice–takes about 20-30 minutes. Spread on cookie sheets and freeze. Scrape the rice off the sheets into freezer bags. Repeat process using various types of cooked dry beans (i.e beans that come in a bag, as opposed to canned), chopped up chicken breasts or marinated tofu. Maybe get a bag of cooked cocktail shrimp if you’re into that, too. Y’know, proteins.

By the way, Dried beans can cooked quicker than your grandma probably did it by doing this: bring to a rolling boil, let boil for 1 minute, then turn off, remove from heat and cover for an hour. Drain, refill with water, add a couple of vegatable bullion cubes, salt, onion powder and garlic powder and simmer till beans are easy to smoosh a little (about 45 min to an hour). To heck with the old fashioned overnight pre-cooking soak.

Store everything in the freezer. Buy bags of inexpensive frozen vegetables, including onions and bell peppers.

Get a bunch of your favorite bottled sauces (like soy sauce, jerk sauce or that Indian paste that comes in a jar). Store them in the fridge Keep various spices on hand, such as garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, Italian seasoning, taco seasoning packets, “curry” powder et al.

So…When you’re hungry, throw a combo of the frozen rice, your frozen protein of choice, and frozen veg into a microwaveable bowl (or in a pot on the stove) with seasonings,a bit of water, and cook. I recommend a pyrex bowl if you’re going to microwave; a plastic bowl would make your food kinda gross.

When the food’s done cooking, drain and add your sauce. Mix and eat.

You might think you don’t have time in a busy day for the initial cooking of the beans or rice, but really, think about it: they can be put on to cook while you’re watching tv or doing laundry or something. Just use a timer so you don’t forget they’re on.

Thanks EG