I have always perceived cooking as a hobby only very talented people could truly excel at. Up until my teenage years I saw it as one’s means of expressing themselves, but the older I have gotten, the more distant I have felt from such activity. Recently, it has become a draining chore, and I avoid it at all costs using the following excuse: “I just don’t have time”. So, I took the challenge of preparing at least one simple, home cooked meal for seven days that wouldn’t consume too much of my time, aiming to break my habit of eating out and find some joy in the art of cooking.
Monday: Scrambled Eggs With Vegetables And Sausages
Photo taken by Roxy Maldonado
On Monday, I decided to make breakfast since I had some time before work. So, instead of sleeping in and gaming, I chopped some cabbage, spinach, and sausages. Then, I scrambled it all together with eggs in a frying pan. It was easy and didn’t consume a lot of my time. The only issue was that I almost burnt my food because I got distracted by the TV.
Tuesday: Quinoa With Impossible Burger
Photo taken by Roxy Maldonado
I have morning classes on Tuesdays, so I made myself a meal once I got home from college. I was quite tired from waking up early and walking up and down campus so I wanted to make something quick and easy. I began by boiling some quinoa in vegetable broth, seasoned it, and placed a frozen impossible burger patty on the stove. I find that frozen meals help when you’re tired, out of time, or when you don’t want to waste more money on fast food. Once I’d finished cooking everything, I added some pickles and ketchup (sorry!) and was surprised by how well the burger and the quinoa complemented each other.
Wednesday: Fish Sticks With Cheesy Potatoes And A Side Salad
Photo taken by Roxy Maldonado
For Wednesday, I knew it was going to be a long day at work, so I packed myself a lunch. First, I popped some Costco fish sticks into the air fryer for about 15 minutes and microwaved a potato that I had wrapped in Saran wrap (plastic wrap). I poked holes in it and microwaved it for three minutes on each side as I washed some bagged salad that I put in a separate container so it wouldn’t get soggy when I had to heat it up at work. It was a pretty simple meal, didn’t consume a lot of my time, and left me satisfied.Â
Thursday: Hard Boiled Egg And Two Slices Of Bread
Photo taken by Roxy Maldonado
Towards the end of the week, preparing meals was getting harder. I didn’t want to make anything that took too long or I had to get up early for. Not only that, but this week had been very heavy-handed and Thursday was shaping up to be a full send-it moment for me. So I knew that, realistically, I wouldn’t be able to prepare for this day any other meal that wasn’t a quick breakfast. So while I got ready, I boiled some eggs and toasted some bread. Once I was set to leave, I had my egg and my buttered bread ready to go. It did its job very well!
Friday: Yellow Rice With Spam And Red Beans
Photo taken by Roxy Maldonado
My mom had to help me with this one. I was completely free this Friday, so I set my sights on cooking something yummier and more dedicated. With my mom’s help, I made yellow rice “en la olla” with my favorite seasonings and one of my favorite canned meats, Spam. We used canned red beans but seasoned them to our liking to get the finished result. It was super delicious and it was really rewarding to eat a meal that I had made alongside my mother (shout-out to moms!).
Saturday: White Rice With Tuna And Corn
Photo taken by Roxy Maldonado
It might not sound or look appetizing, but it hits the spot! I made some white rice in the rice cooker, which is the easiest way to make rice, you just put in the amount of rice you want and add water. Then, I mixed a can of tuna with mayo, mustard, and a tiny amount of cilantro. I paired everything together with some corn and pickles on top, and wow, did that slap so hard! If you like tuna, mayo, and rice, this is a really easy, lazy meal to make and it’s pretty tasty.
Sunday: Yogurt Parfait
Photo taken by Roxy Maldonado
I wasn’t going to be home for the last day of this challenge, and my only plans consisted of hanging out with some friends and doing damage (economically and food wise), so I would only have time to prepare myself a simple breakfast. I added layers of yogurt, granola, and fruits, additionally topping it off with some agave. It was refreshing and yummy.
Final thoughts
These past seven days were difficult, especially because putting time and effort into my meals is uncommon for me. Nonetheless, this challenge helped me realize that cooking doesn’t have to be hard, and you can feed yourself with simple items that are considered household staples. This experience motivated me to cook meals more consistently and transform this into a daily habit, remembering that food doesn’t have to look beautiful or be perfect.