Life...
Slowing down in today's society can be hard to do. It is the norm to be on the run back and forth from work to the gym to meetings to lunch/dinner dates and back home just to do it all over again. Add kids into the mix and it is magnified even more. I live this life right now; my son is 9 and it gets crazy! It started when he was around 4-5 years old and it has not stopped or slowed down. I am amazed at families that have three or more children...I can not comprehend how they manage! When do they have time to brush their teeth? Take a shower? Cook food? Read? Do homework?
I have learned over the past two years that cooking at home is not only budget-friendly and more cost effective but it is essential in having control of what is in my food. I have control of the salt, the oils, and if there is cheese or cow milk accidentally put into my meal. Cooking at home can be very rewarding (To those that do not know how to cook, there are plenty of video's at your fingertips on YouTube) as well as time spent with a loved one or children. Teaching children how to prepare food will help equip them for adulthood. Plant based whole food can be very simple and easy to make and it makes for easy clean-up since there aren't any animal fats used, there isn't any grease or salmonella that needs to be cleaned and sanitized properly.
Balancing when and how to cook meals can be challenging when there is a lot going on. Meal prep helps a lot of people...I have only tried it once and it did make life easier for that week! Purchasing convenience foods such as salad mixes and fruits/veggies that require minimal preparation to eat helps cut time. Bananas, apples, pre-cut carrots, mandarins, grapes, cherry tomatoes, fresh berries are all easy to use for school lunches for children. I typically pre-cut a couple of carrots for my son and package them for separate days, I do this with cucumber too. This helps in the morning because all I have to do is grab it out of the refrigerator. Typically, I pack 2 fruits and 1 veggie for my son. I check his lunch every day, and what he has not eaten is his snack before dinner. My son is an omnivore (I raised him Omni and my family and his father's family is too) but does eat plant based the majority of the time.
The types of vegan foods that are the easiest to prep and make ahead of time are salads, veggies, fruits, baked potatoes, whole grain pasta and beans. It seems like only a few items but there are infinite combinations. Since going vegan, my cooking has improved and branched out so in so many ways. I make veggie sushi, chili, salsas, various pastas, vegan cheese sauces, salads, potato salads....ANYTHING can be veganized and made cruelty free! Foods can be cooked while you are at work in a slow cooker..or you can speed it up when you get home and cook meals using an electric pressure cooker.
Take time to prepare your own meals...it is very important.. Our bodies are sacred; not only should we lovingly choose the foods we put inside of it but we should lovingly prepare our foods as well. The food we consume is our fuel, it is what our body uses to operate on. It even fuels our moods and emotions. Our relationship with food, as Americans, is cheap and fast...we are what we eat and that is why millions of Americans are dying of food related illnesses. The large food companies try to hide what is causing all of this sickness and so is the pharmaceutical industry.
I have learned over the past two years that cooking at home is not only budget-friendly and more cost effective but it is essential in having control of what is in my food. I have control of the salt, the oils, and if there is cheese or cow milk accidentally put into my meal. Cooking at home can be very rewarding (To those that do not know how to cook, there are plenty of video's at your fingertips on YouTube) as well as time spent with a loved one or children. Teaching children how to prepare food will help equip them for adulthood. Plant based whole food can be very simple and easy to make and it makes for easy clean-up since there aren't any animal fats used, there isn't any grease or salmonella that needs to be cleaned and sanitized properly.
Balancing when and how to cook meals can be challenging when there is a lot going on. Meal prep helps a lot of people...I have only tried it once and it did make life easier for that week! Purchasing convenience foods such as salad mixes and fruits/veggies that require minimal preparation to eat helps cut time. Bananas, apples, pre-cut carrots, mandarins, grapes, cherry tomatoes, fresh berries are all easy to use for school lunches for children. I typically pre-cut a couple of carrots for my son and package them for separate days, I do this with cucumber too. This helps in the morning because all I have to do is grab it out of the refrigerator. Typically, I pack 2 fruits and 1 veggie for my son. I check his lunch every day, and what he has not eaten is his snack before dinner. My son is an omnivore (I raised him Omni and my family and his father's family is too) but does eat plant based the majority of the time.
The types of vegan foods that are the easiest to prep and make ahead of time are salads, veggies, fruits, baked potatoes, whole grain pasta and beans. It seems like only a few items but there are infinite combinations. Since going vegan, my cooking has improved and branched out so in so many ways. I make veggie sushi, chili, salsas, various pastas, vegan cheese sauces, salads, potato salads....ANYTHING can be veganized and made cruelty free! Foods can be cooked while you are at work in a slow cooker..or you can speed it up when you get home and cook meals using an electric pressure cooker.
Take time to prepare your own meals...it is very important.. Our bodies are sacred; not only should we lovingly choose the foods we put inside of it but we should lovingly prepare our foods as well. The food we consume is our fuel, it is what our body uses to operate on. It even fuels our moods and emotions. Our relationship with food, as Americans, is cheap and fast...we are what we eat and that is why millions of Americans are dying of food related illnesses. The large food companies try to hide what is causing all of this sickness and so is the pharmaceutical industry.
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