Work, and life in general, have really ramped up in the last few weeks. I’ve also been traveling way more than normal this past month (taking trips to Richmond, Florida, and NYC [recap coming soon!] in three consecutive weeks).
As a result, I haven’t been doing a ton of cooking, mainly because I don’t want to leave leftovers sitting in the fridge while I’m away, but also because the idea of keeping things super-simple is just so attractive when you’re going through crazy times.
My days have been looking something like this:
Breakfast: Smoothie, made with all frozen ingredients. This is a departure from my normal practice of combining fresh and frozen ingredients, but I have resisted buying a lot of fresh produce lately, because I’ve been out of town so often.
Morning Snack: Grapefruit or a navel orange. My mother-in-law receives shipments of the most wonderful citrus from Florida all winter long and generously shares these with us. This comes in super-handy for quick snacking.
Lunch: Soup or a tofu sandwich. Soup is either defrosted from our freezer or from a can (I always keep a supply of Amy’s soups on hand).
Afternoon Snack(s): I almost always have two snacks in the afternoon, one at work and the other pre-workout (if I’m hungry then) or post-workout while I’m getting dinner ready. The standard of late has been 1/4 cup of homemade hummus with carrots and sugar snap peas (one of my favorite foods!), and 1/8 cup of soaked raw almonds (I just put them in a small container with water in the morning and they soak through the day).
Oh and if you have never had soaked almonds, you are missing out big time!
Dinner: Whatever is around! On the nights I have cooked, it’s been something really easy, tried and true that H also loves (so I know there won’t be too much left over), like my Easiest Lentil Soup or the Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry from Veganomicon (one of the best recipes of all time). I also always have cooked brown rice available (often in the fridge but always in the freezer) for making ultra-lazy “bowls” where I heat it up with some canned beans, spices, and steamed (or defrosted) veggies.
In this one I used Gardein buffalo “wings” that had been in the freezer for a while and added a lazy man’s “ranch” sauce that I made out of reduced fat Veganaise (which is unbelievably good, btw) mixed with some lemon juice, cumin, and dried dill. [Note: these are not affiliate links, just links to the companies’ websites so that anyone who’s not familiar with the products can see what I’m talking about.]
It’s not the most exciting or glamorous daily menu but it’s been working fantastically for me during these busy times.
What simple meals help you through busy times?
A.Cook in the Making 
Your simple food looks so good! We are getting the floors redone in half of our house, so I have also been living on food a lot like this. Whole Foods prepared food bar is my best friend right now. And any veggie or fruit that can be eaten with zero prep. Hang in there! We’ll both have our semi-normal lives back soon. Right?
Ahh home renovations always cause so much displacement–good luck! Whole Foods prepared food is absolute best. Perhaps I should add it into my rotation 🙂