For ideas on meals and recipes check out this list.
We define efficient recipes as ones that are nutritional, fast to make, and tasty. Additionally we challenge ourselves to find affordable and mostly vegan recipes.
Oatmeal is the king. It is the most affordable, nutritious and flexible breakfast you can have. Oats are composed of 17% protein, 7% fat and 11% fiber. Combine that with cinnamon, cocoa, any kind of seeds (flaxseed is my pick) and nuts and you have a great breakfast. The key to making the nuts taste great in dishes is toasting them a lot, preferably with some suggar or maple syrup. My secret weapon for oatmeal is adding natural peanut butter or bananas or home made jam. PB gives you extra proteins and healthy fats, while banana makes it much easier to get down. However there is a downside to oatmeal. If you have a sensitive belly like me, it might me difficult to get down.
Bored of oatmeal? Spreads to the rescue! A great alternative that I love is to eat whole grain bread with a good spread. Humus and beans spread are probably the easiest to get a hold of in a supermarket. But I would highly suggest to invest a few minutes and prepare a chickpea “tuna” spread which will last you a few days. The recipe is simple, smash the canned chickpeas to the consistency you like, mix with mayonnaise, salt, and pepper and you are done. To get even better tasting spread add finely chopped onion if you don’t mind the stench, or just use garlic and/or onion powder.
Lazy one is any kind of pasta you like (try the protein pasta made of peas or lentils) with any kind of pesto you like. There are olive or tomato pestos which are vegan. Also there are many vegan bolognese sauces now available. Use nutritional yeast to get that Parmesan cheese flavor and extra vitamins.
Make vegan carbonara sauce. There are many versions but I prefer the simplest one where you fry zucchini, add vegan cream with turmeric, salt and pepper and done! Also make white sauce by blending soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, and salt. You can use this for a week with anything!
Microwave oven potato are the best way of preparing baked potatoes fast. Combine it with anything you like. Simple idea would be to fry mushrooms or any veggies and put them around the open potato cover with sriracha mayo.
Another idea is to fry mushrooms with vegan cream or peanut butter to get a thick savory gravy to use on anything.
If you have more time, make seitan at home and use in chili or sandwiches. It can also be frozen and used in many different dishes.
When you are really tight on time, a can of baked beans goes with anything.
And if you are in the mood for something light just make a salad, slice some avocados on top, spread some fancy oils (like pumpkin seed oil, this is a must if you never tasted it!), chia or other seeds, and some fried onion pieces from a can. This is awesome tasting and filling salad that you will crave forever after trying it once.
Another very important thing to learn is the couscous salad. My favorite is a simple version with parsley, mint, balsamic vinegar, onion, and peppers.
Nuts and seeds!
Carrot sticks with hummus dip!
Fruit! Dates test better then a cake!
This way you never have to lose muscle mass or get low blood sugar while working late and skipping a meal.
Stockpile your kitchen with great ingredients that do not perish and make your meals taste way better. The following are my weapon of choice:
Always consider the versatility of the ingredient you are buying. So highly specialised ingredients like fish sauce and alike should not have a place in your kitchen.
And with all of that, I wish you happy and efficient cooking!