Nourish Yourself Easier with These Kitchen Shortcuts

& a quick lentil, beet & feta salad that only takes a couple minutes to pull together. Full of fiber and summery flavor!

As a toddler mom, I have learned to lean heavily on clever shortcuts in the kitchen. While my family doesn’t consume a lot of prepackaged or processed foods, I’ve found ways to help myself out so I’m not spending hours trying to make a simple dish. And let’s face it, us parents don’t have a lot of spare time to cook elaborate meals (nor we do want to when we already make about 400 snacks/meals a day, yaaa feel me!?). Whether or not you are a parent, life gets busy, so let’s find ways we can nourish ourselves with more ease.

So, what does it look like to eat wholesome with shortcuts that aren’t full of crap?

• prebagged salad mixes

• marinated tofu

• organic frozen tamales

• precooked beets

• canned beans (heyday is my favorite line of ready to go bean forward meals in a can)

• presteamed lentils

• frozen fruit

• preseasoned wild caught, frozen fish

• canned bean

• rotisserie chicken

• kitehill almond milk ricotta raviolo

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This is one of my favorite easy salads for picnics, gatherings, or an easy dinner. Shoutout to Trader Joe’s for making life a bit easier — these lentils come presteamed and ready to eat. I make a big batch and keep it in the fridge for easy lunches for the following days. Omit the beets until the very end to avoid muddying the colors!

Lentil, Beet & Feta Salad

Serves 4-5

• 1 package of premade lentils

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 2 tsp ras el hanout (sub curry powder)

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 shallot, diced

• 1 TB olive oil

• 5 oz sheep feta cheese

• 1  bunch of fresh herbs such as cilantro, basil, parsley

• 3-4 precooked, steamed beets, sliced

Directions:

In a large bowl, add in lentils and olive oil. Mix well. Add in spices, feta, and herbs. Add steamed beets.