Vegetarians are often hailed as some of the most health-conscious people out there and usually tend to have good health. A lot of people give a stab at it at some point in their lives, but more often than not, are unable to sustain the lifestyle mainly due to the lengthy preparation of the meals.
While a lot of vegans often opt to dine out when feeling lazy, it’s not feasible on a regular basis.
If you are a vegan or want to be one, then knowing the ways to cut down on the meal preparation time will definitely be helpful for you.
Here Are Four simple ways to make sure you don’t have to spend too much time on meal prep.
1. Frozen Meals
The quickest and easiest cheat on this list, frozen meals can be a lifesaver after coming back home from a long day at work. A lot of fruits and vegetables can sustain their nutrient values for a long time when frozen, making it an easy option for vegans.
Most vegan recipes are quite simple, and as long as you’re ready to invest in storage boxes, you can have a bunch of them ready almost all the time.
But this principle only applies to fresh vegetables and fruits. There are a lot of frozen vegan food products out there vegetable burger patties, dairy-free yogurts, frozen Cubanos, and more that contain a lot of chemicals and additives which are bad for your health. Don’t fall for the advertisement traps and believe that these are just as good as fresh veggies and fruits.
There are two ways you can go about frozen meals- just chop the veggies and store in them in separate boxes or make full meals and store them in separate boxes. The former will save less time than the latter, but provide you with more flexibility in your meal choices, so it’s a win either way.
2. Meal Delivery
If preparing a meal is too much of a hassle for you, you can always opt for taking your healthy vegan meals from a meal delivery service as they’re the best vegetarian option for home delivery meals. Unlike restaurants and fast food joints, these meals are comparatively cheap while ensuring the quality of the ingredients.
Thanks to these fantastic home meal delivery services, you can have an excellent choice in food variety for every meal without having to spend a single second preparing them.
These delivery services not only provide full meals but vegan-based snacks and munchies as well. The average minimum serving price offered by these services starts at the $10-$12 mark.
3. Eat Single Ingredients
Another unique way to approach a vegetarian diet is by eating single ingredients as a meal instead of preparing a whole bunch of them to prepare a specific dish. This can be a bit difficult to adapt for anyone accustomed to a varied flavor palette. But once you get accustomed to it, you’ll find that it isn’t such a bad deal.
Certain ingredients like potatoes, pumpkins, cabbages, lettuce, etc., can be quite satisfying when served boiled or raw with a helping of spices, salt, or some other condiments.
Salad dressings are a big no-no as they contain a lot of harmful chemicals and additives. Fruits don’t require much effort as most people have a sweet tooth so at least that’s a relief!
4. Use Pre-Cut Food
If you don’t want to spend money ordering food outside, but also don’t like the idea of spending hours chopping vegetables and fruits, then using pre-cut fruits and vegetables is your best option. You can find them in any grocery store or supermarket and they usually don’t have too much of a price difference from their uncut counterparts.
You can find pre-cut vegetables both as individual ingredients and pre-bagged meals on your local grocery or supermarket store.
For individual ingredients, all you have to do is heat them up and cook them as you like. In the case of pre-bagged meals, you can just microwave them and have your meal ready.
Being Vegetarian Has Never Been Easier
Thanks to technology and modern-day amenities, being a vegetarian is now easier than ever. Even if you have a hectic daily schedule, the above-mentioned tips and tricks will easily help you maintain the vegan lifestyle you want without slipping back to a meat-based diet.
With the hassle of meal preparation thrown out the window, there’s no excuse to not stick with your vegan lifestyle plan.