Food is a passion and I enjoy cooking.  In fact, I cannot grasp the latest concept of “cooking from scratch” because, to me, there is no other way.  You are either cooking or not.  Warming up does not count.

There are minimalists who are on a vegetarian or plant based diet.  This is not for me.  However, I have become interested in the subject and explored the possibilities of eating meat free meals.  Weight is a battle for a lot of people and it is best to eat less bread, pasta, red meat and the worst culprit, sugar.  But most people don’t want to cut them out completely do they?

Eating an abundance of vegetables, lentils, chickpeas, couscous may be the answer, but it is harder to make them interesting.  Because of this, I came up with the idea of preparing packed up food for lunches for the following three reasons.

• Health
• Variety
• Fulfilment (Cooking process and satiety)

Is is not about eating copious amounts of processed food and then regretting it and feeling like a blob or starving yourself.  It is about eating well.  Aim to have tasty recipes and enticing food by spending time on the food creation.  Buy locally sourced cabbage, sprouts, spinach, tomatoes, onions, apples and so on.  They will be far fresher, tastier and maybe cheaper.

Being a minimalist is not about owning less, it is about owning what you need to enjoy life.  I cannot claim to only own a few things, but I am on the journey.  What is fascinating, is the whole ideology of enjoying experiences and so have spent a few weekends exploring and experimenting with food prep for work lunches.

Here are some of the ones that I have enjoyed.  A few ingredients, prepared simply so that I can eat mindfully and feel satisfied.

Lentil Salad

Lentils, onion, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, carrots, orange oil (by scrapping orange with fork), orange segments and mix.
Chickpea Winter Stew

Chickpeas, onion, passata, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, pine nuts, herbs, ground pepper.  Serve with couscous.

Bean Salad

Kidney and mixed beans, passata, spinach, herbs, chilli, red pepper.  Serve with rice.

They were packed up and frozen for the week’s lunches and enjoyed by all!

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