Notes on my cooking routine
Alright, by no means am I (even close to) a food blogger, but someone asked my cooking routine and…it seemed like a good way to throw all of my favorite recipes in one place, especially since we’re all stuck at home and cooking more than ever.
Although I’m still trying to get takeout regularly from our favorite restaurants to keep them in business (and have at least a couple of meals a week that don’t require doing dishes!), I’m also taking advantage of this extra time at home to try out some new recipes. It’s been fun!
Breakfast
I am very much a breakfast person: I’m hungry as soon as I wake up, and I’ve always been a big fan of breakfast foods. A fun fact: I wasn’t usually allowed to have sugary cereal when I was growing up, but I always got a box on Christmas and my birthday (usually Lucky Charms, occasionally Fruit Loops), and I would ration it out every day to make it LAST.
Alas! I usually have a glass of water with apple cider vinegar before I meditate, and then coffee is my top priority. David is the appointed barista in our house, and we swear by the magic of the Philz New Manhattan blend and an Aeropress (truly the best way to make a cup of coffee, IMO). I add Vital Proteins Collagen Creamer to mine, along with a touch of unsweetened almond milk.
And although I am now an adult and am fully capable of buying my own sugary cereal, I have actually become my grandparents and usually start the day with a bowl of GrapeNuts drizzled with honey and maybe some blueberries. Other regular options include a bowl of oatmeal (I especially like Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Rolled Oats) topped with cinnamon, dried cranberries, walnuts or a slice of whole-wheat sourdough toast with butter and honey and half a grapefruit. (If you’re ever looking for a wonderful and healthy gift, David’s parents send us a box of Texas grapefruits every winter and they are truly incredible!) Honey is without a doubt my favorite sweetener: a childhood treat for me was a spoonful of honey, and it’s always the hardest thing for me to give up when I do no-sugar January.
Mid-morning snack
I love a good smoothie! We splurged on a Vitamix when we moved to San Diego, and it’s been a fantastic addition to our kitchen. I usually keep a bunch of bananas and a bunch of frozen fruit on hand, and will toss it all into the Vitamix with some almond or oat milk, powdered peanut or almond butter, protein powder, chia seeds and flaxseed. I especially like the combinations of frozen cherries and cinnamon, or frozen mango with turmeric.
I also only have one cup of coffee per day (more than that tends to just make me very jittery and anxious), so after my morning cup of coffee, I usually switch to constant cups of hot tea. I have a soft spot for Constant Comment, but I also always splurge on fancy tea when I go to France (my favorites are Mariage Frères Vanilla and Mariage Frères Full Moon).
Lunch
One of my great joys of working from home is getting to have eggs for lunch! Without a doubt, they are my most common lunchtime meal: big fan of something that is quick and easy to make, doesn’t require much cleanup and is a good source of protein. I usually scramble them with whatever cheese I have on hand–sometimes that becomes an egg sandwich on toasted sourdough with hot sauce and avocado, sometimes I throw in leftover rice and vegetables to make a kitchen sink scramble. I’m also a big fan of this quick shakshuka!
Another favorite is to roast a sweet potato (also very low-maintenance: just cut in half, drizzle with olive oil and top with salt and pepper, and roast in an oven at 400 for roughly 25-30 minutes) and toss that in a bowl with a diced avocado, feta cheese and crushed red pepper.
And, of course, never mad at a good sandwich. I always keep canned tuna in the pantry, and will mix it up with some Greek yogurt, pickle juice and diced apples for a tuna salad sandwich (my mom’s secret ingredients!). If I ever have leftover chicken, love to make a chicken salad with Greek yogurt, walnuts and dried cranberries or cherries. And if my fridge is really low on ingredients, I’ll whip up a grilled cheese with whatever cheese is on hand.
Afternoon snack
I always get hungry around 3ish, so I try to make sure I keep healthy snacks on hand. My go-to’s are a sliced Honeycrisp apple topped with cinnamon, hard pretzels, dried seaweed, or a little bowl of raw almonds and dried cranberries.
Dinner
I’ve been a longtime subscriber to Blue Apron, and I’m a big fan! Right now, of course, it is very satisfying to have three meals a week where the ingredients magically show up and I don’t have to think about it at all. But even in normal non-end-of-world times, I like Blue Apron for spicing up our weekday meals and introducing us to new ingredients (and also, still, to have three meals a week where I don’t have to worry about putting things on a grocery list).
When I’m not using Blue Apron, I’m generally looking for meals that can be made in less than an hour (ideally around 30 minutes) and will make good leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. We don’t really eat pork, shellfish or red meat, so our main proteins are chicken, fish, ground turkey and lots of beans. I also always keep a set of Beyond Burgers in the freezer: throwing them on a grill, and some sweet potatoes to roast in the oven, is a super easy and delicious vegetarian dinner!
My go-to recipe sources are Dining In, Nothing Fancy, Gimme Some Oven, Half-Baked Harvest and NYT Cooking. Here are a few of my tried-and-true recipes;
Baked Chicken with Crispy Parmesan and Tomatoes
Spiced Chickpea Stew with Coconut and Tumeric
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili
Sweet Potato Chickpea Buddha Bowl
5-Ingredient White Chicken Chili
Healthier Italian Wedding Soup with Lemon and Garlic
A1 Meatloaf (with turkey)
Double-Cheese Chili (with turkey)
Lastly, Sundays are generally my day to cook a big meal: it’s nice to have some time and space to test out a new recipe, and it’s been a fun thing to look forward to all weekend. Bonus: there are usually some nice leftovers for lunch the next day!
Would love to hear any of your favorite recipes/recipe sources–especially for quick and delicious WFH lunches!
