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Cook Once ... Eat All Week

Cook Once and Eat All Week

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This post was originally published on Beyond the Gold– NY International Ballet Competition’s blog. It’s on how you can cook and eat homemade meals all week without spending your life in the kitchen. It’s easier than you might think….!

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I happen to love the phrase, “Cook once, eat twice.” But in my kitchen, it’s cook once, eat four or five times. I love to eat well, but I am not willing to spend a lot of time cooking during the week unless it’s a family event. So, here are some of my tips for cooking/prepping once and eating many times- these are very simple ideas, but I hope they get you thinking!

I usually pick a day when I cook three or four main ingredients and then have them in the fridge as building blocks for the week. My trick is that I cook them in the simplest way possible, usually steaming for veggies and greens and basic prep (without flavoring) for beans and grains. That way, every time I eat, I can add different flavors to create a whole new dish.

For example: Ingredients:

  • Kale: steamed
  • Wild Rice: boiled
  • Cannellini beans: soaked for 24 hours, then boiled until soft.

Meals

Warm or cold

  • Mix kale, wild rice and cannellini beans
  • Toss with tahini, splash of lemon, ground black pepper, salt

Cold

  • Slice up and add cherry tomatoes, avocado, pine nuts (toast them if you like)
  • Add cold kale
  • Toss with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper

Cold

  • Cannellini beans and wild rice
  • Add feta, cucumber, kalamata olives, tomatoes
  • Toss with olive oil, vinegar, fresh oregano/basil, salt and pepper

Warm

  • Saute cannellini beans and wild rice with sesame oil, salt and pepper
  • As a side, sauté the kale in sesame oil with some sesame seeds

In addition to these simple ideas, you now have a green, a grain and a protein, all ready to be eaten in any other creative way you want.

Some other staples that are great to cook ahead of time and keep on hand as building blocks are:

  • Quinoa (good cold, hot and as a breakfast cereal)
  • Brown Rice
  • Kasha (Buckwheat)
  • Steamed broccoli
  • Roasted red peppers
  • Chard
  • Kale
  • All beans: so good hot or cold and very easy to dress up in different flavors

 

 

 

 

Breakfast Ideas: Steel Cut Oats

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Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day for a dancer because it usually happens before your first technique class of the day. Just like you can’t drive a car very far without gas in it, you can’t expect much from your body if it hasn’t been filled with nutrients since the night before.

Finding good breakfast options that give you energy without making you feel sluggish or overly full can be challenging. If you haven’t found what works for you, start experimenting! This is one of my go-to favorites.

Steel Cut Oats

Steel Cut Oats get absorbed slower by the body because the oats have not be refined or heavily processed, like “quick-cook” oatmeal. Slow-absorption foods means longer-lasting energy for you. So, even though steel cut oats take longer to prepare than their quick cook counterparts, I suggest you give them a try.

I like McCann’s and  Bob’s Red Mill, which you can find in any large grocery store. Trader Joe’s carries them as well.

Recipe

  • Boil 4 cups water in a saucepan.
  • Add 1 cup steel cut oats.
  • Bring to a boil.
  • Lower heat and give it a stir.
  • Set timer for 25 minutes.
  • Oats are finished when water is mostly absorbed and oats are a springy, creamy texture.

Add-ins

And here comes the fun part: add-ins to oatmeal can and should be delicious so that you enjoy eating it. Mix and match some of these:

  • Berries: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc. If you can’t get them fresh, try Trader Joe’s frozen berries- take out only what you need for each morning. They will thaw when mixed into the hot oats.
  • Nuts: almonds, walnuts
  • Spices: Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom
  • Sweetener: if you need it, try a Tablespoon of maple syrup or honey.

This will make about 3-4 servings. Make it at night and reheat in the mornings for breakfast. What’s easier than that?