How to survive the week with minimal cooking

Anyone who knows me knows that my love of cooking is only second to  my love of food itself; however, for many of us the times are just too busy for cooking... or we simply want to focus our energy on something else than preparing three meals and five two snacks a day.

Spinach-brown bean coconut-y curry topped wtih avocado and a soft-boiled egg: 5 minutes fridge-to-plate

I've recently decided that while I want to keep eating healthy, home-cooked, wholesome and delicious food, I don't want to spend much time worrying about it. So how do I do it?


-I make a list (planning is kind of important) and do a weekly shop. I include lots of ingredients that I know I can eat as-is or turn into a meal very easily: rocket or spinach or kale, avocados, lots of fruit, eggs, and canned legumes, so that when I open my fridge I know I can be eating something yummy and healthy within minutes. Some ideas: avo on toast/rye bread with eggs, a huge salad (you can add pasta or cous cous or bulgur to make it more substantial), a quick stir-fry... I like smoothie breakfasts if I'm not extremely hungry (otherwise, porridge, yogurt and muesli, or eggs), and for snacks I'll have fruit, yogurt with tahini and cinnamon, crackers, hummus...

-I take some time (doesn't take me more than an hour) to cook one or two things in bulk: usually a curry with lots of vegetables that I can warm up and pair with some yogurt and avocado or boost with some chickpeas or anything else I want later, or soup, veggie burgers, stuffed peppers... think of things that can last a little longer than a salad. It doesn't have to be anything complicated, I just usually combine the ingredients I have in a pot, add some seasoning and forget about it! This is my base recipe for curry (this week it was spinach-carrot-beans: the things I had lying around the cupboard/freezer, combined into a delicious hot dish) to get you started:

-Chop and fry an onion in some olive/sunflower/coconut oil on medium heat until soft.
-Add two chopped garlic cloves, some minced ginger if you have it, and chopped carrots if you're using them. Stir for a couple of minutes.
-Add curry paste, fry for another minute, and boil the kettle in the meantime.
-Go crazy! Add whatever ingredients you like/have: pumpkin, sweet potatoes or normal potatoes, lentils, canned tomatoes. (frozen or fresh) spinach, kale, aubergine, cauliflower... Top up with boiling water, add a good chunk of coconut cream (it makes everything amazing) and simmer, covered, until everything is nice and soft. If you add canned legumes, throw them in during the last 5 minutes.

My favourite is spicy lentil curry: lentils, canned tomatoes, some carrot and potato if you want, and lots of spicy curry paste and coconut. Top with chopped coriander before serving. Another combo could be pumpkin, sweet potato and chickpea -but the sky is the limit!

-Cheat: If you know you don't want to/can't eat home-cooked food, it's good to have a couple of go-to places that you know have good and healthy options for you to reach for -just be prepared to pay for the convenience. That way you'll avoid ending up in McDonald's ;) For those in The Netherlands: I really couldn't be bothered to cook the other night so I bought a ready-meal at Marqt . My chicken roti was full of flavour, good quality and with NO nasty stuff added!