Lately I’ve been running around so much that I’ve just been throwing together the easiest possible meals, swinging through the local healthy food store or bodega across the street for the same basic staples, or, gasp, even having these essentials delivered while I work on something else.

It’s not how any of us want to live our lives, but let’s admit that it happens to us all from time to time. The important thing iws not to lose our sense of priorities completely by having the tools to stay healthy during times of high stress and over scheduling.

One of my favorite ways to ensure that I have some hearty, healthy sustenance is by keeping the following around at all times:

 

• Sweet potatoes, baking potatoes, or other seasonal potatoes- baked or boiled and ready to eat

• Quinoa and millet- cooked and ready to toss in a salad or reheat as a side

• Beans (canned and dried), tofu, and tempeh

• Mixed salad greens that you can just throw in a bowl

• Kale

• Fresh parsley

• Green or red onion

• Carrots, beets, radish, and other root veg

• Lemons

• Tahini

ª A couple types of vinegar and oil

• Seasoning salts

With that simple list you can put together meal after satisfying meal in minutes.

The potatoes and grains take minutes to cook, stay fresh in the fridge for days, and can be added to any salad or served as a side dish with dinner throughout the week. Beans and tofu add the plant protein you need to keep your energy levels up. Mixed greens are pre washed and loaded with nutrients and fiber, kale can be cooked or dressed in a salad and served best a day or two later. Fresh herbs and onions add a flavor punch, root vegetables hold up well fresh or cooked, and acids, fats, and salt combine perfectly for a simple homemade dressings.

One of my favorite ways to combine these ingredients is a baked sweet potato and kale salad listed below.

This was a particular favorites in the chilly late winter and early spring months. Now that some local potato varieties are coming out you should change sweet potato out with whatever you can get at the farmers’ market.

Get creative and be sure to check my social media feeds for photos and notes on the different ways I combine these super food basics into healthy plant powered meals for life on the go! As always, I can be found on Instagram and Twitter as @katshotcakes.

 

Kat Barry, a St. Joseph, Michigan native, is owner of Kat’s Hot Cakes vegan catering, and co author of “The New Chicago Diner Cookbook: Meat Free Recipes from America’s Veggie Diner.” She also develops recipes for eHow.com, where you can find over 30 of her vegan instructional cooking videos. She is also a certified yoga instructor. Kat currently resides in Chicago, and in her free time she enjoys practicing yoga, sampling local spirits, listening to live music, and getting outdoors. Follow @katshotcakes on twitter. Kat can be reached via email at: kat@katshotcakes.com.