Eating Right the Rachael Way

There are a lot of obstacles to cooking healthy meals at home. I get it.

I just find a way to work around the obstacles.

but seriously, what working woman wants to make a meal from scratch on a weeknight?  The secret? Cook ahead. Bonus points for a chest freezer.
I'm on  biweekly pay schedule, so I do my major shopping and cooking every fortnight.  Being an urban Gen X hermit, I use Instacart.  It's pretty awesome for an urban non-car owner. This week I got my groceries from Harvest Co-op. 

Since I've started this journey, I've found cooking so much more enjoyable. Done right, it is such a mindful experience.

Step One: gather your ingredients (and a glass of wine)

 I chose three recipes to make this week.  First, Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts. If there are two things I love, it's Brussels Sprouts and Chinese Delivery. I pretty much followed the recipe verbatim.  I used maple syrup, not honey, and skipped the cilantro, but used fresh scallions from the backyard. 

The finished product was super tasty:

I also made, in conjunction, Crispy Tofu Bites and Vegetable Baked Ziti. I'm pretty proud of myself for organizing three recipes to be made in conjunction.

We were out of garlic powder, so I used Carolina Dirt on the tofu bites.  Fusion cuisine! I subbed olive oil for coconut oil, and maple syrup for honey. While the tofu was marinating, I sauteed the veggies for the ziti:

 

Pasta turned out great!

Super cheesy! I got 8 servings.  I track my calories, fiber and protein.  Each serving came out to 303 calories; with 4.5 grams of fiber and 17.6 grams of protein. 

When the tofu was done, I packaged it with the brussels sprouts, and some vegetables I had roasted the night before.  I ended up with 6 servings. 475 calories per serving, a whopping 15.8 grams of fiber and 23.3 grams of protein.  Of course, the nutritional value of this one may be a little of since certain people kept sneaking tastes of the finished brussels sprouts while the pasta and tofu were in the oven. Anyway, these bowls turned out to be a tasty alternative to Chinese takeout- and are nutritional powerhouses to boot!

Into the chest freezer with everything.  Now, I have lunch for work, and if I get home and don't feel like prepping anything, I've got my meals ready and waiting.  Cheaper and healthier than ordering out!