Vegan on the Run. Part 1

the thing You can do with Couscous & Hummus

Vegan on the run is my new section designed for all busy bees, like myself, that are tired of "Meal Deals" but not always have enough time for food preparation. 

Busy life? No problem! You can still stay healthy and enjoy home-prepared meals in your office or library. Trust me, I know what hectic lifestyle means.
Part 1 contains some innovative ideas about couscous and few traditional hummus inspirations. So if you interested press read more and a have a look!

Hello, busy Bees!

Monday morning. 6:42am

My flatmate and I are about to leave the house, because we have an exam in couple hours. Our bus is leaving in 5 minutes and I hear  the question “Are you ready?” from another room. “Just give me two seconds!” - I answer.
“Okay, but could you please be quick, because we will be late for the bus” - she adds while standing almost at the door step.
​
I need to prepare some food for today because I am planning to stay in the library till late after the exam. I quickly chop some more vegetables, put some fresh herbs on top and pack food into the boxes. Everything is in my bag, it’s 6:46 so I grab my coat and smile at her: "I should probably write a post called 'Vegan on the Go' you know!"

“I think it should be called “Vegan on the Run” because usually you are so fast with food preparation" she replies.

Now back to today - as I mentioned before, my life is quite busy (okay, it is very busy), and I know that so many people are living hectic lives assumes that it’s impossible to find a minute for healthy food preparation. That is not true.

​There are so many advantages when it comes to home prepared food -- of course it is more healthy and tasty, but also… you can’t live only on “meal deals” your whole life :) Especially if you are vegan or vegetarian, the selection of ready-to-eat food is not too big. Don’t think that I'm not a fan of vegan food-on-the-go from shops! Falafel and hummus wraps or grilled Mediterranean vegetable sandwiches are great, but you simply get bored of them very quickly.

Therefore I decided to start my Vegan on the Run section and share simple and quick ideas and things that I learnt so far about being busy and eating healthy. 

Picks of the Month

Preparation: less than 1 minute
Cost: about £1.00

Favourite Combos:

1. Spicy One: Chilli Flakes + Garlic Porder & Sun-dried Tomatoes + Black Olives
2. “Go Superfood” One: Chia Seeds + Black Pepper & Kale + Grilled Mushrooms
3. Classic One: Salt + Parsley & Red Pepper
4. Italian One: Basil + Garlic Powder & Cherry Tomatoes & Fresh Basil Leaves
5. Oriental One: Curry Powder + Chilli Flakes & Jellapeño + Chickpeas

What I will suggest here is so simple so I won’t even call it “my invention” but it is perfect if you want to eat something warm when not at home. Put about 8 table spoons of couscous in a plastic tub (it needs to be 4 times larger than the amount of couscous in it). Then mix it with your favourite spices (my favourite combo is salt + pepper + garlic powder + chilli flakes) and cover the box. Put some finely diced vegetables in another tub. My all time favourites are black olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Cooked kale and fried mushrooms combo is oh-so-nice as well! But my point is that you have endless options with spices and complimentary vegetables here, so if you like variety this will be perfect for you (P.S. There is a list of combos that I love most on the left just in case you not very creative).

And now the fun bit, that involves eating :) Once in library/office or any other place, get some hot water. It usually does not cost more than £0.50 so that’s another bonus of this quick and healthy, but filling meal. Pour hot water in to the couscous tub (1 table spoon of couscous usually requires about 2 table spoons of hot water), stir well, place the lid back on and leave it for 5 minutes. Then mix in the vegetables and enjoy!

I don’t know who invented it but I really love that person. It’s one of my favourite things on Earth! And just like couscous, it goes so well with pretty much anything. If I’m buying hummus, I usually get it from Tesco, because they have incredible selection of flavours, and majority of them comes in reduced-fat option that has absolutely no difference in taste compared with full-fat ones. Have a look at all those different flavours that you can get! Brilliant, isn’t it?

​Preparation: 1-5 minutes
Cost: £1.50-£3.50

This healthy snack / light lunch option once again is super easy, super quick and not expensive - but something more tasty, nutritious and interesting than crisps+sandwich

While at home, slice few vegetables (cut them in long strips to make it easier to eat) and pack them up. You can also put few oat cakes or rye bread slices in your lunch box if you want to have light lunch rather than snack. My favourite vegetables with hummus are definitely peppers (I know, so cliché), also cucumber and baby carrots. If you have a little bit more time, you can fry some courgette and aubergine slices in the morning - this combo is extremely delicious with plain hummus and rye bread. 

Hopefully you enjoyed reading this and found something useful. In my next Vegan-on-the-Run post I will be writing about unusual spreads & sandwiches that takes seconds to make and are a bit more interesting than regular meal deal ones!

Thank you very much and have a lovely Sunday!
See you soon!

With love,
​VK