#4: Stock up on frozen vegetables
When you start cooking at home, you may not have the time or the skill to cut vegetables (quickly) and this will prevent you from cooking when you come home from a busy day at work or school. You can get around this by stocking up on frozen stir fry vegetables. Now, you should supplement this mix with fresh tomatoes, celery, onion, cucumber, potato (preferably sweet), garlic, lime, and cilantro. Also stock up on seasonal veggies like zucchini to mix things up. (Tomatoes and zucchini can get expensive - best to get them from the farmer's market when they are on sale.)
#3: Pick a cookbook, and get those ingredients
Recipe books are great when you have no idea what to cook. Many of them offer simple, tasty, fast recipes that don't take too many ingredients. The only problem is that you may not have those specific ingredients. The solution is to pick five recipes you think you might like that sound like full satisfying meals and make a list of these ingredients. If you don't know any good recipe books you ask your family and friends although I was leafing through Peta's Vegan College Cookbook (which happened to be on a shelf when I moved into the apartment) and it seems pretty decent.
#2: Keep fast healthy tasty snack ingredients stocked
Yea the previous tip is very similar to this if you picked a decent cook book, but in case your cook book didn't provide the fast recipes or you just happened to wake up 15 min before the bus was about to leave, having these items close by can save others from your grumpy side.
Stock up on:
Stock up on:
- Peanut butter with (Bananas, carrots, celery and raisins)
- Breakfast/Chocolate powder + Milk/Vegan Alternative
- Cereal/Oatmeal - the non-sugary kind - don't worry adding fruits actually makes it taste better
- Apples and fruits
- Bread
- Frozen meals and soups
#1: Don't optimize everything at once
When you start out - don't try to go for the healthiest food with the best bargains that will make your tastebuds dance all night long all at once. Don't worry too much if your strawberries go bad or you have to make multiple trips. Don't worry if you misread the day a deal starts or if you bought a 2 for 1 deal for something that was actually overpriced. Shopping is something you get better at with time. You learn when a price is good, when to buy in bulk, how to find better deals, with experience.
Make your first priority be getting good food you can cook/assemble quickly so that you will actually eat it. Cut out all restaurant/outside food because you can make better food, cheaper and quicker at home. Try out your ideas and learn from your mistakes. Talk with others and see how they shop - you can always learn a thing or two.
Make your first priority be getting good food you can cook/assemble quickly so that you will actually eat it. Cut out all restaurant/outside food because you can make better food, cheaper and quicker at home. Try out your ideas and learn from your mistakes. Talk with others and see how they shop - you can always learn a thing or two.