No Recipe? No Problem.
Learning various cooking methods has helped me to become creative in the kitchen, making properly prepared meals from whatever foods we have in the house. I still have a lot of cooking and food prep methods to learn, but I am happy to share how I pulled together a meal last week, just by knowing how to cook!
Last week I pulled out what we had in our kitchen...
Kale
Mini bell peppers
Sweet potatoes
Dried chickpeas
Garlic
Broccoli
Asparagus
+ a bag of TruRoots Organic Olive Oil & Sea Salt Quinoa, Brown Rice & Lentil Blend.
Again, I had no recipe, but I knew various cooking methods and had a vision for throwing all the tastes together to create a belly happy, healthy meal!
Do you do the same? I encourage everyone to learn cooking methods to make cooking seem less daunting and, instead, a fun, simple, and beautiful task.
Anyway, the meal worked out. My mom said, “that was one of the top 10 best meals you’ve made!” Which was pretty fun to hear!
Here’s what happened:
I had chickpeas soaking in the fridge, from the night before. Washed and prepped the produce and looked in the cupboard to see what else was available, hello TruRoots!
From there, I made my plan of attack!
1) Boil the chickpeas
2) Prep the veggies during my lunch break. So wash and chop all my ingredients then store them in the fridge
3) Air fry sweet potatoes and garlic
4) Saute broccoli, asparagus, mini bell peppers, and add some minced garlic for flavor
5) Steam Kale
6) Microwave TruRoots
It might seem like a lot, but it flowed naturally. I had time to get a workout in while the beans were boiling, and everything else cooked while the sweet potatoes and garlic were air frying.
Soaked & Boiled ChickPeas:
Take 1-2 cups of chickpeas and cover them with water. Soak overnight
The next day, when you’re ready to cook, rinse the chickpeas and fill a pot with water. Boil the water then throw the chickpeas in. Re-boil water & chickpeas and then simmer, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Once cooked, strain & rinse the chickpeas with cold water.
Air fried Sweet Potatoes & Garlic
Slice sweet potatoes into chips, or french fry strips. Ensuring they are all about the same thickness.
Season potatoes with salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Use your air-fry setting for potato fries or turn air fry to 400 degrees and set the timer for 20 minutes.
After 10 minutes passes add in garlic cloves, stir and cook all together for the remaining time.
Steamed Kale
Easy, delicious, and digestion approved.
Rinse and tear your kale into chunks without the stem.
Fill a pot with 1-2 inches of water, put kale in your steaming basket, and steam for 3-5 minutes.
Remove and rinse with cold water.
Sautéed Garlic, Broccoli, Asparagus and Mini Bell Peppers
So for this, I took 2-3 cloves and used my garlic masher.
Heat up a tablespoon of olive oil on a pan. Then add garlic cloves, salt, and pepper. Stir for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Add in broccoli and asparagus. Stir for 4-6 minutes until starts to brown, then add bell peppers and cook all together another 3-5 minutes until the desired level. Yum!
TruRoots!!
A great addition to add protein and healthy grains. Follow instructions on the back of the bag.
Finally, grab a bowl and layer how you see fit.
Add mustard, dressing, avocado, whatever your taste buds desire. Voila!
I ended having two full bowls!
& look at all the leftovers we had to enjoy for the next few days! Truly, cooking is fun and enjoyable. We just have to develop confidence in order to enjoy it.
