"Those people"

I'm not "one of those people." At least, I never was. You know, the ones who love cooking.  I used to say, "I'd better marry a man who cooks or we're both going to starve because I hate doing it." The word "foodie" was a foreign concept that I thought I would simply never relate to. I was raised being told to eat vegetables, go easy on the junk food and fast food, and opt for fruit before candy when I wanted a sweet snack. But beyond that I considered cooking as simply an added step and waste of time between the moment I decided I was hungry to the moment I could start shoveling it in. "Besides," I thought, "how will I know what I'm going to be hungry for until I'm hungry for it?" Thus I would resort to chicken wraps, salad, cereal or whatever else was the pick of that week. And from talking to people, I don't think I was alone in this ideology. Then a crazy thing happened. I decided to try something new. At first it was just an occasional experiment. And then the constant pain I was in fueled me to finding a new way of looking at things. I decided to take matters into my own hands. I'm still very much a novice and have loads to learn. But if I can do it, anyone can.

My husband and I both work fulltime. My job can be emotionally and/or physically taxing (but I love it) and I understand wanting to come home and just be done thinking. That's the beauty of planning ahead. I plan all my meals for the month so I don't have to worry about thinking of something when I'm already tired. Some people (who shall remain nameless) have said that they just can't mealplan, so I'm going to share my secret now.

I essentially just open my google calendar (so that I can access it on my phone and even get reminders of what's for dinner tomorrow) and fill in a template. During the week it can be hard to cook because of late work, wanting to have family time once I get home, or going to the gym. I make sure that I cook big meals on Saturday and Sunday so that each will last for at least one night of leftovers. I then make sure that my husband (and I) knows that it will be a two day dinner and we need to only eat half and then fill up more on salad, fruit or other sides if we're still hungry. Then I only have to cook one (worst case scenario: two) nights during the week. I also know that by Friday I'm tired, my husband is tired and we're almost definitely out of leftovers. So, in my house, Friday is breakfast for dinner. Whoever gets home first can start whipping up some scrambled eggs with toast, pancakes, smoothies, oatmeal or whatever other hot breakfast we can think of. Basically here's my template:
Sunday: Big dinner
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Something quick and easy
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: "Experiment" (which means leftovers or use up whatever ingredients are left in the fridge)
Friday: Breakfast
Saturday: Big dinner

I plug everything in and only have to pick 3ish things to make each week. Ta-Da! That's how it works for me. Your schedule is probably different so arrange it however works for you. This is just an example, and it makes evenings so much easier. Of course things are subject to change for various reasons, but at least I'm never surprised or feel like it's down to the wire and we're either going to starve or eat out.

The other question/concern that I want to address is "How do I know what I'm going to feel like eating on that day?" This is a valid concern and one I used to have. I can't speak for anyone else, but now that I plan ahead, I crave whatever I planned on making that day. I only cook foods that I like (for starters) and I switch it up so that I can look forward to it. I decide what I'm going to crave. I'm the master of food. Not the other way around. (Caution: I have no scientific basis for what I'm about to say, it only makes sense in my head.) Also, because I'm not as many eating highly processed, addicting foods, I don't have as many cravings. I enjoy food and feel pleasantly satisfied. End of caution.

My last plug for meal plans is the ease of grocery shopping. I just look at my menu and buy exactly what I need for the week (taking into account lunches and breakfast stuff). It makes the list-making process easier, I don't waste as much, and I don't overspend.

In a nutshell, I'm a strong endorser of meal planning. It seems daunting at first, but it is worth it on so many levels. 

Rainbow Chili

Last time I made this my husband said we should have chili every week (yes, even without meat). I don't know that I would go that far, but it's definitely filling, nutritious (depending how much cheese and how many chips you add) and delicious.

Rainbow Chili

3-4 Bell peppers of different colors

1 onion (or 2 halves of different colors, or even a leek)

1 small or ½ large yam (that’s the one with orange flesh)

Lentils

Beans of choice

2 large cans of tomatoes

2-4 cloves of garlic (depending on size)

Cumin

Coriander

Salt

Pepper

Chili Powder

(Optional) chilis to taste

Olive Oil

You’re also welcome to add meat of your choice-I don’t simply for aforementioned reasons

Toppings:

Lime

Plain Greek Yogurt

Cheese

Rice

Chips

Avocado

1.     Pour some olive oil in a pot and turn the heat between medium-low and medium

2.     Chop vegetables and add to pot (I prefer my vegetables to be in smaller pieces, but do it however you prefer)

3.     Allow the vegetables to sweat until they start to appear soft, and the onions begin to appear transparent

4.     Chop garlic very fine or use a garlic crusher and add to vegetables

5.     Add cumin and coriander- I use a lot. As in I take off the lid part with holes and dump a small pile on. Yum!

6.     Blend canned tomatoes to desired consistency (We don’t like tomato chunks so I always make it pretty smooth)

7.     Add blended tomatoes to vegetables

8.     Chop the uncooked yam into bite-size pieces

9.     Rinse beans and lentils (the lentils can be added uncooked since they will cook in the chili) and add to the pot

10.  Add chili powder and a pinch of salt and pepper

11.  Cover and allow to simmer for as long as you have patience-the longer, the better. In fact the leftovers are always even better than fresh.

12.  Check on it and add seasoning according to taste (I always add more cumin and coriander)

13.  Cook rice (I recommend brown but use whatever you have/prefer) either in a rice cooker or on the stove

14.  Dish up your rice and chili, add a squeeze of lime, a dollop of greek yogurt, and avocado. My husband loads on the cheese and chips. But this last time, everything else was so good that I forgot to add cheese and chips. And when I later added them on, they actually took away from the deliciousness, but do what you want.

I've seen several different recipes on chili and I'm not saying this one is all that revolutionary, but it serves us well in our home. I heard once the phrase "eat the rainbow" and no, it's not talking about Skittles. It's talking about PHYTOCHEMICALS! The different colors of fruits and vegetables means that they have different nutrients and health benefits. So my challenge in this chili is to get every color. I usually use anywhere from half to all of a pepper to get a little bit of everything in.

This is one combination of vegetables that I used. I'm missing blue/purple which is found in things like blueberries (which I will not put in chili) and red onions (which I will put in chili but didn't have on hand that particular day). Use up any odds and ends that you have laying around. Do people normally have parts of onions and peppers in their fridge, or is it just me? On this day it looks like I had white onion, leek, and all four colors of pepper. The yams add some sweetness, and the beans and lentils provide protein and make it hearty. Just remember to make a big batch, because it's always better the next day.

Also, be sure to wash your hands after handling the chilis. I've forgotten. Twice. And suffered the consequences. Twice. Bad News.

Dirty Lunch

When I need to whip up and cheap and easy lunch that will last most of the week I turn to dirty beans and rice. My husband works with a lot of international students (and loves it). Last time he had this for lunch they asked him where he was from because he was eating like the Latinos. They were impressed. Street cred for us.

Quick Dirty Beans

2 celery stalks

2 bell peppers (preferably two different colors)

Black beans (about 2-3 cans worth, but I just use my own frozen)

1-2 cloves garlic

½ onion (any color, I usually use yellow)
½-1 yam (depending on size)

Cumin

Coriander

Salt

Pepper
Chili powder/fresh chili (optional)
Cayenne pepper (optional)

Red wine vinegar

Olive Oil

Rice

Lime

Plain Greek yogurt (optional-I use this is lieu of sour cream)

Fresh cilantro (optional)

Cheese

(1a. Optional-cut up some ham or bacon and cook that in the pot before moving on to step 1)

1.     Get a pot going with 2ish tablespoons olive oil on a medium-low to medium heat

2.     Chop vegetables except, and add all except yams to the pot

3.     Start cooking rice (I almost always recommend brown)

4.     Once vegetables have softened (appear translucent), add chopped or crushed garlic, cumin and coriander

5.     Sweat vegetables with spices for 3-5 minutes

6.     Add beans including liquid (don’t drain)

7.     Blend up 1 can of tomatoes

8.     Take a few scoops of beans out of the pot and add to the blender (this is up to your preference-it gives it a thick sauce that soaks into the rice rather than just biting into beans and then rice. You can also partially blend some to have the full range of the spectrum)

9.     Season with salt, pepper, optional chilis and 2-3 splashes of vinegar (also add more cumin and coriander as needed) and add chopped yams

10.  Let it simmer for as long as you can stand to wait-the longer the better (this will help the flavors soak in and also help reduce it if it is too liquidy)

11.  Dish up rice, and top with beans

12.  Add lime, yogurt (unless you’ll be reheating later, then obviously wait to add), chopped cilantro and cheese.

This feeds my husband and I for lunch for about 2-3 days.

There's not a whole lot more to say about this. It's relatively fast and super easy and keeps me from having to come up with something for lunches every night. Also, I just discovered the wonder of using my cast iron pan in lieu of a normal non-stick pot. I highly recommend it.