The Easiest Hack for a Healthy Lunch or Dinner While Working From Home
I have a confession to make.
I spent almost 3x more on groceries last month than my average month. I’m still trying to pick my chin up off the floor, while simultaneously trying to give myself a bit of grace. Working at a major tech company in San Francisco for the last two years, I’ve learned how to budget for a few dinners per week and then a little extra food fun on the weekends. Now that I’m working entirely remote, it’s not crazy to find that a 3x increase in meals cooked by yours truly would result in a 3x increase to the grocery budget. But damn, I didn’t exactly spend nothing before.
Needless to say, part of my monthly intentions for July are to be about 1,000% more mindful about my grocery spending habits. In case anyone else is running into a similar problem, I thought I’d share one of the best hacks I’ve found for myself that balances cost, time and flavor for a healthy lunch or dinner. It’s this simple:
The hack for your next healthy lunch or dinner while WFH
Heat up a can of your favorite soup on the stove, toss in basically any fresh or frozen vegetables, simmer, and enjoy!
Why is this hack so amazing? This “recipe” takes about 10 minutes total, is vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, nutrient-rich and so filling. Oh, and it costs like $3-4 per serving.
I personally love Amy’s organic soup varieties, because they’re plant-based, have only a few ingredients, low sodium, and so flavorful. I especially like the Thai Coconut, French Country Vegetable, or the Thai Curry Sweet Potato options.
As for veggies to mix in, I almost always have a variety of frozen mixed veggies in my freezer. Ever since I read in Tim Ferriss’ “Four Hour Body” that frozen veggies pack the same (if not stronger) nutritional punch as fresh ones, I’ve started tossing them in anything that I can possibly argue makes sense. I’m especially fond of throwing mixed carrots, peas, corn, and green beans into a soup or chickpea pasta primavera.
Recently, I’ve also been trying to buy more fresh veggies from the farmers market, since park dates and walks to the farmers market are the new social outings du jour. It’s been something of a fun challenge to learn more about how to best tend to the veggies after I purchase them, how long I have to work with them while fresh, and what exactly I can do with these beauties when they come in their full, raw glory.
This week, I purchased six different types of veggies for $10 at the farmers market - a load that was almost too much for me to carry home (#smartspending). My haul included the most beautiful dino kale, swiss chard, red lettuce, celery, carrots, and sweet potatoes :) See more of my kitchen staples for mindful eating.
To make the week a bit easier, I used Sunday to wash everything off (important because me and my roommate have been finding little worm friends in a few of our farmers market flowers and produce lately; harmless, but not welcome!) and chopped up half the carrots and potatoes for roasting.
The next day - knowing my swiss chard only really has the first few days to live a bright and cheerful existence before it starts to wilt - I chopped up my chard and grabbed a can of Amy’s Sweet Potato Curry soup. As it was cooking, I stripped a few kale leaves & added them. Then, it struck me - my pre-roasted carrots and potatoes would add amazing bulk and texture to an already sweet potato-laced stew. I dumped a few in and let them heat through.
The end result was nothing short of delicious. I taste tested side by side with my roommate’s infinitely more impressive homemade thai curry, and to be totally honest, this hacky recipe of mine held up pretty well against that gorgeous multi-hour dish of hers.
So here’s the hack made even easier, in step-by-step instructions:
Veggie-Loaded 3-Minute Hearty Soup
Makes 2 servings
1 serving = ~350 calories
Ingredients:
2 swiss chard leaves & stems, chopped
2 dino kale leaves & stems, chopped
½ sweet potato, chopped & pre roasted
1 carrot, chopped & pre roasted
1 can of Amy’s Thai Curry Sweet Potato soup
12 Mary’s Gone Crackers
Directions:
Heat soup in a pot on the stove over medium-high heat to a nice bubble
Stir in the chopped chard; simmer for ~5 minutes
Stir in the chopped kale; simmer for ~2 minutes
Stir in the pre cooked sweet potato and carrot; simmer for ~1 minute
Taste test to ensure that chard stems have cooked down enough to be “al dente” (but don't burn your tongue, like I do every time)
Serve in bowls with ~6 Mary’s Gone Crackers on the side for scooping
Do you have any lunch/dinner hacks that feel like the perfect storm of quick, cost-effective, healthy, and delicious? I’m always looking to add new meals like this to my repertoire!