This is a guest blog post by Hydaway ambassador, plant-based foodie, and Chicago background actress Emma Gavin. Follow her on Instagram @ecoemmersveganeats.
My life is weird and unpredictable. It can be pretty hectic sometimes. For the days where things add up or I am busy working until 2:30 am, it’s vital that I am prepared for whatever comes my way. One of the ways I like to prepare for what life throws at me is by meal prepping!
Meal prepping is wonderful for so many reasons. It’s environmentally friendly because you are bringing your own containers and cutlery, it’s way cheaper than eating takeout all the time, and you know exactly what is going into your body!
In this blog, I will be sharing my favorite easy meals to while traveling or on the go.
My favorite way to meal prep is by making meal jars. Everybody has jars laying around. Even if you don’t have mason jars, everyone has empty pickle jars, pasta sauce jars, etc. that they would normally just throw out. This makes good use of those empty jars and gives them a little more life before going off to recycling (hopefully) or worse, landfill.
Fruity Coconut Oats
This first recipe is my take on a classic breakfast, overnight oats. It’s a perfect recipe to make the night before you know you have to get up early and rush out the door. That way you never have to skip breakfast! What you’ll need is:
- 1 cup of Coconut milk
- 1 ripe banana
- 2-3 medium strawberries
- 1 1/2 cup of rolled oats
- Sweetener of your choice to taste(I used 4 packets of stevia because I like it sweet)
You can substitute coconut milk for other plant milk, but in my opinion, coconut milk is by far the best. I also imagine that maple syrup is a good sweetener, but I am allergic to maple and try to avoid added sugars. If you try it with maple syrup, let me know how it turns out.
Start by blending together the fruit, sweetener, and coconut milk. Did you know that some blender blades fit right on regular mouth mason jars?
After blending that all together, slowly stir in 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats in 1/2 cup increments. If you have a blender blade that fits on your jar, just pulse to mix together. Careful not to blend it too much and liquify the oats!
Finally, cover with the jar’s lid, refrigerate overnight and enjoy. I like to top mine with fruit, pecans, chia seeds, and hemp seeds. Feel free to change up the toppings with your favorites.
Easy Salad
My second recipe is a great on-the-go lunch if you are trying to be healthy, or are just craving something fresh. It’s a salad jar. Salad jars are so easy and you can make them any way you like. My method of making salad jars is something like this:
Fill jar a little over halfway with leafy greens (leave room for veggies, toppings, and to shake it up).
Add toppings of choice according to taste. The possibilities are endless; fruit, nuts seeds, and chopped veggies, pasta, beans, tofu, etc. are all great additions. Have fun with it. Click here for more salad recipes inspiration.
Add dressing of your choice, close the jar, and shake it up!
This salad I made had:
- 1cup spinach
- 1tbsp pecans
- 1/4 cup chopped veggies(tomato, cucumber, banana pepper, onions)
Add to jar and shake it up.
Some of my other favorite easy meals to make on the go are:
Broccoli cheddar soup mini pies
Sausage and egg breakfast rolls
Veggie-packed Paleo salmon cakes