What I eat when I don't feel like cooking...

So I don't feel like cooking. I have a cold. I'm sounding very congested obviously. So I'm going to show you what I eat when I don't feel like cooking. From level one super duper duper easy to level five still super easy but requiring just a teeny tiny bit more work. So let's get started with level one. So I like to make a chocolate banana smoothie with almond butter and soy milk. It's like one of the things I literally eat every single day. So I've got frozen bananas, soy milk, which has eight grams of protein per cup, sorry, nine grams of protein per cup. And also let's get the almond butter and the cocoa powder. I'm sorry, not cocoa powder, raw cacao powder, which is full of antioxidants and of course, still tastes like chocolate. And of course, almond butter, but you can make this with any nut butter or even seed butter. So to make my smoothie, I add eight cups of soy milk first, about one banana, which when I cut these up, I tried to remember how many pieces make a banana. I think it's fine. It's going to be five today. These are frozen bananas. Frozen is better to make a creamier smoothie, of course. And I have dates, which really rich in potassium. It's nice sweetness and caramely amazing. I just love dates. Medjool dates are best. Okay, now for the cacao powder. Like I said, cacao powder is full of antioxidants. It has a tiny little bit of caffeine. So and it has theobronin, which can help you feel like a little boost of energy, but without the crash like coffee does, it's very good for you. And it's chocolate. Okay, so chocolate smoothie is always what I'm in the mood for. So I add about two tablespoons and one tablespoon of almond butter. And that's it. All right, perfect 16 ounces of smoothie. Just like that. And now I have my favorite chocolate smoothie that tastes like dessert, but it's actually really good for you. And it even has 12 and a half grams of protein in it. This is like a short term meal replacement for me. This will hold me over for like a couple of hours. Even when I do plan to cook something more elaborate, a smoothie will make it so that I don't have to go and grab junk food, or even feel like I have to go out to a restaurant. I'm not a restaurant girl. It's a lot of money. I don't know what they're putting in the food. I don't know how clean they are back there. So I do prefer to cook for myself. The healthy smoothie is a perfect thing to hold me over. If you want to do just a little bit more work and turn it into a meal, you can make a smoothie bowl. You can make any type of smoothie. They're all super easy. I like making a fruity smoothie bowl. It might be a little bit more work, but it's certainly more filling. Or you can make a green smoothie. I added frozen spinach to this one. You can add almond butter. Hemp seeds are really high in protein and fiber to help bulk it up even more. And any fruits your heart desires. You don't even taste the spinach. So good. Now we're on to level two. Level two is basically as easy as level one, but I was just really craving that chocolate smoothie. So they're both equally easy, but y'all it's a good old peanut butter or almond butter and jelly sandwich with some Ezekiel bread. You can use any bread, of course. I like using Ezekiel because it is so rich in minerals, vitamins, fiber, and even protein. How much is it? Two slices has eight grams of protein. I keep it in the freezer so that I always have it available to me because most of us know how satisfying and filling a PB and J sandwich can be. But most of us watching are probably adults now. And maybe you don't think about eating these as much as you really probably should. They're quite nutritious. They're easy to make. This was frozen. So I'm going to pop it in the microwave for like 10 seconds and make me a sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are so filling and easy to make. I like to make these when I know I'm going to leave the house and I don't want to stop to get lunch out and I might not have anything in the refrigerator. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the perfect thing to just pop in your bag and go. I also always make them when I'm traveling and disclaimer, I actually don't eat peanuts. I just call it a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I usually always make mine with almond butter, but sometimes I'll make it with sunflower seed butter or even tahini. So how much protein does this peanut butter and jelly sandwich have? Two slices of Ezekiel bread, eight grams of protein. Plus let's say I use about two tablespoons of almond butter. That is seven grams. So 15 grams of protein in one simple peanut butter or sorry, almond butter and jelly sandwich. I will tell you there are many evenings when I just don't feel like cooking. Maybe baby J is hanging out with her dad and I will make myself one of these bad boys and call it a night. But y'all know me. I love my greens. I like to have vegetables every single day. So I'm going to show you a really quick and easy salad that I like to make that I would pair with something like this almond butter sandwich. So to make sure that you can always make a quick and easy salad, of course, you got to make sure to always have some nice lettuce or greens on hand. But let me give it a wash first. I'm tearing the lettuce with my hands because remember, I don't feel like cooking. I certainly don't feel like cleaning the cutting board. And so this will do. I'm only going to dress this with a little bit of vinegar, olive oil and salt. It is still going to be delicious. Now if I wasn't feeling very lazy right now that I could add some beans to bulk it up, and even some toasted almonds or toasted pumpkin seeds. And if I really wasn't feeling lazy, maybe I'd shred some carrots or massage some kale. But this is a video about what to eat when you don't feel like eating. And this is a nice big bowl of salad. And this is a nice hearty peanut butter and jelly sandwich. So I think I'm Level three, we're going to move on to actually using a heating device. We're going to make avocado toast using my toaster oven. I'm going to use Ezekiel bread again, you know, I love it for its nutritional benefits. But boy, is this an easy recipe that I make a lot. Now technically, with this recipe, I am cooking, but I'm just putting the bread in the toaster oven. And then we're going to top it with the avocado and some beans to give it some added fiber and protein and make it more of a meal. By the way, I'm only making one slice right now, but I often make two slices for myself. Okay, we're toasted. And if you don't have avocado, sometimes I will make this with tahini. Okay, tahini is not as sweet as almond butter or peanut butter. So it's a nice like, technically seed butter that you can enjoy with savory things like the beans. And you know what, I have these tomatoes from my garden, we're going to put these on to add the avocado to your toast and give it a nice smash. And then top it with some sea salt, chickpeas or any bean or lentil will work. I'm just going to add a few tomatoes for my garden and any herbs or spices that you'd like. I'm just adding a little bit of Japanese furikake, which is a blend of sesame seeds and seaweed. The variations are endless for this avocado toast. And just like that, perfect avocado toast. I love eating this when I do not feel like cooking. It's so good. People spend big bucks on avocado toast at restaurants, but you can just easily make it at home. And y'all was spending $12. Now you see how easy it is to make. So good. Throw some fresh herbs in here too, if you've got them. Even better. Now we're going to move on to level four. Now level four, we're taking out the instant pot. Oh no, I can't get to it. No, I pushed it back too far. Oh, okay. I love my instant pot because this machine allows me to set it and forget it. I love making beans in here. But for today, I'm going to make some brown rice and pair it with some steamed peas. That's one of my favorite things to eat. It's filling. It's even balanced, which I will show you. But the bulk of the work is done in this instant pot. We're on level four now. So we are doing a little bit of cooking, but this is the easiest cooking that you can possibly do. So we're going to steam some peas while we're waiting for that rice to cook in the instant pot, not just peas, also frozen spinach, because for this meal, I like to mix brown rice with frozen peas and spinach, and then cover it up, just garnish it with some tahini. And for today, I'm also going to add some sauerkraut or kimchi, whatever I have in the fridge. But it is a fully balanced meal. And it's beyond easy to make. So this is something that I eat a lot. And baby J, she loves it too. Our rice is finished. And just like that, even with cooking, I still was able to put together a meal. It was so easy. It doesn't even feel like I did any work. I forgot I was going to do kimchi. So I put my Italian spicy stuff on first. But I think this will be a good blend. The reason I like to do kimchi is of course to balance it all out flavor wise and add more nutrients. And also because kimchi is a very important probiotic food. And if you're interested in probiotics, definitely check out my gut healthy foods video for more tips on how to eat for gut health. Mm spicy. It's really good. Yeah, that's spicy. Now we're on to level five, we're going to make an actual recipe by 10 minute lentil tacos. This is a recipe that I rely on so often when I want something balanced and super delicious. But I don't feel like cooking. But maybe I do feel like cooking just a little bit. We're going to use canned lentils for this recipe. They will make your life a lot easier. But of course, you can cook your own lentils at home if you want to. And then we have some tomatoes. Now the only slicing, dicing, cutting I'm going to do is I'm going to have these tomatoes. These are from my garden. But I'm going to have the big ones just so that they'll cook quicker. But if you really don't even feel like taking out a cutting board, the tomatoes they'll cook down on their own without slicing. Or you can use tomato sauce or diced tomatoes from the store. Start by sauteing the tomatoes in olive oil until they're nice and jammy. When the tomatoes are soft add your lentils followed by chili powder, cumin powder, salts, and frozen spinach. Start to combine and let it cook for about a minute or two until the spinach is tender. To make the tacos I like to add a little bit of crunchy lettuce to the bottoms. Shredded vegetables like shredded red cabbage and carrots are perfect too. Then add the lentil filling, a little avocado, and a squeeze of lime. Enjoy. And that is it. These easy tacos took less than 10 minutes to make. Tell me you can't do that when you don't feel like cooking. This is one of my favorite things to make for dinner. So good. And you don't have to enjoy these lentils in taco form. Of course, they'd also work as a filling for burritos or even bowls like a Tex-Mex Mexican inspired bowl. This really hits the spot. It's very good. Those tomatoes though. Wow. So good. Homegrown is really best. Now I've got a couple things that I can enjoy for dinner tonight and even lunch tomorrow. So thank you. Even less cooking. Let me know which level you're on when you don't feel like cooking. Leave a comment in the comment section down below. The recipe for these lentil tacos can be found on my blog. I will leave a link to that in the description box down below. And there's a QR code here on the screen that you can scan for the recipe. And that's it. Thanks so much for watching y'all. I'll see you next time. Bye.