Originally published April 21 2013
Seven foods to keep in your kitchen if you're always on the run
by PF Louis
(NaturalNews) A lot of folks complain that they're usually too busy for healthy eating, so they feel forced to stock up on fast foods, packaged soups with MSG, or do take outs and order home delivery pizzas and Chinese food with GMOs and toxic additives.
They're all tasty, but not healthy. Here are seven food tips that will enable you to be busy and on the go, as long as you have an occasional bit of time to prepare some items for the week. These will be healthier, naturally, because this is NaturalNews.
(1) Beans are underrated for flavor and nutrition that include protein and fiber. Black beans, lentils, and garbanzo or chick pea beans are excellent highly accessible choices. Of course, the fastest way to use them is out of cans, which you need to ensure are BPA-free and filled with organic beans.
But you can still easily go the healthiest way with organic dried beans out of the bin. All you need is one night to soak them in purified water, then the next day boil them in new water until tender. If you do a big enough batch once, you'll be able to prepare snacks and meals for the week from the fruits of that labor.
You can refrigerate those cooked beans and use them on salads or as salads. For salads, be creative. Hopefully you'll have some onions and avocado around to mix with those garbanzo and/or black beans or lentils. Add cold pressed olive oil and lemon or apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.
Lentils don't require overnight soaking. Use two parts water for every part lentils for cooking. This takes around 30 minutes, but if you've prepared enough of any of these beans, you'll have a bean base for snacks and meals to season creatively for several days.
Garbanzo or chick pea beans can be used to make hummus if you have a food processor. Simply load the processor with the cooked chick peas cold. Use some of the cooled cooking water, add olive oil, some garlic cloves, salt and most importantly, tahini made from dry roasted organic sesame seeds.
Check consistency and taste as you go. Put a dollop of tahini with the garlic cloves first. Pour in a little water and olive oil and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice, then run the processor. Too thick, add water/oil; too thin, add beans. Just before you finish, add salt to taste.
(2) Make a bunch of hard boiled organic free-range eggs the fast and easy way. Place the eggs in a pan of water, bring it to a rolling boil, cover with a tight lid, turn off the stove and leave it for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Too busy, gotta run? Ignore them after the stove is off and the lid is placed. The eggs will be ready for you when you return.
Ignore the egg yolk/cholesterol nonsense. The yolks contain omega-3 to boost brain health and lutein for eye health. Your body actually needs cholesterol (http://www.naturalnews.com/035069_low_fat_diet_myths_weight_loss.html).
(3) That boil and cap trick works for steel cut oats too. Using organic steel cut oats from a bin, put two parts pure water with one part oats into a cooking pan and leave it overnight.
First thing in the morning, turn on the stove. When the oats come to a rolling boil, put a secure lid on the pan and turn off the stove. Do what you have to do to get ready for the world. Your finished oats await you after 10 minutes.
(4) Apples should be around at all times. Buying organic is critical because apples are among the most chemically sprayed foods. They keep on the counter without refrigeration for several days. Some organic bananas would be easy to keep around too.
(5) Organic whole milk yogurt should be in the fridge for you. Don't get flavored yogurts. They're heavily sugared. Use a touch of honey or fresh berries to spruce up that plain yogurt.
You're better off with plain whole milk yogurt than low-fat flavored and highly sugared yogurts (http://www.naturalnews.com/035069_low_fat_diet_myths_weight_loss.html).
Organic nut butters, even freshly ground peanut butter, are good to have around for you to grab a sandwich, to just dip into with celery sticks kept fresh in water in the fridge, or put on crackers.
(6) Raw nuts can sit around for a long time in glass jar containers without spoiling. Cashews are soothing, walnuts are rich in omega-3s, and two or three Brazil nuts give you all the selenium you need to help keep cancer from developing.
You should also have organic dried fruits, including raisins, to mix and match with those nuts as your own personal trail mixes.
(7) Would you believe yams or sweet potatoes are so nutritious some consider them superfoods? Peel, slice into small pieces, then boil till soft enough for mashing.
Pour out the water and add a bunch of real organic butter, a generous squeeze of lemon, and a little organic maple syrup. Mash till mushy. Delicious, and it'll keep in the fridge to be eaten cold anytime.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.naturalnews.com/028007_food_shortage_costs.html
http://www.mindbodygreen.com
http://www.shape.com
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