As I’ve mentioned before, even for someone who loves to cook, it’s not easy to actually get in the habit of cooking for yourself every day. Planning, shopping, prepping, and cooking all take plenty of time, but I swear it’s a habit that’s worth developing. The reasons for this are threefold:
1. You’ll save so much money by not buying mediocre food for lunch at work.
2. You’ll automatically be eating much healthier food by cooking it yourself.
3. The food will be SO DELICIOUS.
Now, if you’re like me and you’re already kind of in the habit of cooking for lunch and dinner most days, a new challenge presents itself: you have to avoid falling into a food rut. Once you’ve perfected a couple of dishes, things can get a little boring and repetitive, and that glowing fast-food sign will start beckoning again. This is where I swoop in to save you!
I’ve had this running list of recipe links going for almost a year now, and it’s full of a super-wide variety of dishes that are all reasonably healthy, reasonably cheap, and easy to make. I’ve made most of them, and some are still on my to-make list. They’re from all over the food-obsessed internet: Bon Appetit, The Kitchn, Smitten Kitchen, Budget Bytes, and lots of other blogs mostly found through the Pinterest void.
Let me know which recipes you make, and how they turn out. HAPPY COOKING!
- Kimchi and Vegetable Soup
- Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork
- Chicken Tinga Tacos
- Tomato and Cannellini Bean Soup
- Charred Broccoli
- Shrimp and Noodle Medicine Soup
- Greek Quinoa Bowls
- Kimchi Fried Rice
- Szechuan Mapo Tofu
- White Chili with Chicken
- Salmon Rillettes
- Baked Broccoli Tots
- Roasted Radishes
- BLT Lettuce Wraps
- Thai Green Mango Salad
- Lucky Peach’s 72 Veggie Ideas
- Meatballs in Chipotle Squash Sauce
- Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Egg Salad with Pickled Celery and Coarse Dijon
- Gazpacho Salad
- Lentil Chorizo Salad
- Eggs in Purgatory Puttanesca-Style
- Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka
- Kale and Quinoa Salad with Ricotta Salata
- Pickled Cabbage Salad
- Skirt Steak and Bloody Mary Tomato Salad
- Broiled Balsamic Veggies with Lemon Parsley Rice
- Mujadara
- Falafel Salad
- Banh Mi Bowls
- No-Noodle Pad Thai
- Buffalo Cauliflower Quinoa “Meatballs”
- Teriyaki Shrimp Sushi Bowl
- Kale Pesto Farro
- Sweet Chili Shrimp Stir Fry
- Hawaiian Marinated Flank Steak
- Thai Pumpkin Lentil Soup
- Quick Fish with Salsa Brava
- Ginger Lime Ground Pork Salad
- Pasta and Fried Zucchini Salad
- Roasted Broccoli and Cheese Sandwich