"Is there a protest tomorrow? I saw ones today but not Sunday." My clever friend replies, "I think there's a protest every day for the rest of time." Welcome to 2017!
The stakes are high, and my energy is waning as gray winter days linger and the Drumpf presidency barrels ever recklessly forward. Like so many others in recent weeks, I'm making calls, showing up at protests, signing petitions, reaching out to others to take action, trying to keep myself up-to-date and informed all the while juggling everything in life that existed prior to January 20th.
I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I have realized something's gotta give. Now is not the time to give up eating healthy meals and cooking at home - I need my strength! However, there's little energy left to devote to the kitchen lately and certainly less time.
In case it's helpful to anyone else out there, here are a few quick, easy meals I've thrown together for myself over the last few weeks which had my coworkers asking where I bought my lunch.
Mexican (No Wall) Lasagna
In a round take out container, layer corn tortillas with beans, corn (my favorite is the roasted frozen corn from TJs), shredded cheese, and sour cream. Sprinkle filling with lime juice (this totally takes it up a notch!). Feel free to add peppers, spinach (I try to always have some frozen spinach on hand), sauteed onions, leftover rice, etc.
Make as many layers as you like. I used just two tortillas - one on the bottom, one over the filling ingredients. Top with salsa or hot sauce. Fast, portable, perfect for lunch. When ready to eat, microwave and top with avocado. The avocado is optional, but it really adds some great color and texture to this dish.
Faux (Facts) Pho
This one has been my "I really don't have time to make lunch" go-to for several years. In your Tupperware of choice, combine frozen corn, peas, carrots, etc and a bit of either veggie broth concentrate or your preferred teriyaki/gyoza dipping sauce/hoisin, etc and red pepper flakes. For added protein, I also throw in either veggie frozen meatballs or Trader Joe's veggie chorizo (if using chorizo, you can skip the other sauce). Bring to work along with either a package of Vietnamese rice noodles or Ramen (no sodium packet needed).
When ready to eat, microwave noodles with enough water to cover for a few minutes. I shorten cooking time by using hot water from our office industrial coffee maker or water cooler (both have hot water options). After a few minutes, add frozen vegetables in sauce and cook for another minute. Enjoy!
Resistance Ravioli
I really enjoy store-bought fresh or frozen "fancy" ravioli, but I find it's not enough by itself to feel like a truly satisfying meal. So I jazz it up.
Tonight, I made a mushroom & cheese ravioli. While it boiled, I microwaved some frozen peas for a minute, topped with a bit of ricotta, and microwaved another 30 seconds. Four or five raviolis on top of the peas and ricotta sprinkled with a bit of olive oil (I had some truffle oil - yum!) and some bleu/blue cheese turn this ordinary pasta dish into the oh-so-soul-soothing comfort food we could all use right about now.
Additional Pro Tips
Save precious time and energy peeling and chopping by using canned and frozen veggies. They're fast, affordable, and you still get your vitamins. I also appreciate that they're shelf stable and won't go bad on you in a matter of days like fresh spinach for example.
I've also been mostly buying root vegetables and squashes - great hearty food for winter, and they keep in the fridge for quite a long time if I'm too busy to get to them for a week while out at meetings or you know say protests every weekend.
Bon appetit! Fired up - ready to go!
