Other days, I cook an easy, healthy meal like sauteed spinach and mushrooms with ground beef or Italian-style beans and greens.
My happiest days are when I can reach into the refrigerator and pull out cartons of leftover beef stew or takeout Thai curry. Heat and eat.
And then there are the days when I reach in and come up with. . . nothing. And, of course, those are the days that I want food and I want it NOW.
How do I bring on the fast and easy without resorting to my daughter's favorite lunch, ramen that's ready in three minutes? Or grabbing for the bag of chips with a side of salsa?
Peak into my pantry and you'll always find a stash of these ready-made Tasty Bite dishes that I learned about from Wandering Chopsticks.
Bombay Potatoes is one of 18 Indian vegetarian dishes available from Tasty Bite.
The nutrition label says that the packet includes two servings, but I find it perfect for lunch for one.
With a serving of heat-up Trader Joe's jasmine rice, here's how the time, cost and calories stack up:
(I don't know how to make nice, neat columns in blogger, so I'll have to itemize in little chunks.)
Indian Food, Tasty Bite Bombay Potatoes
Time: 2 minutes
Cost: *$2.19
Calories: 220
Rice, Trader Joe's Thai Jasmine
Time: 1.5 minutes
Cost: $.75 per serving
Calories: 180
Totals
Time: 3 1/2 minutes
Cost: $2.95
Calories: 400
*$2.19 at Fresh and Easy but $2.99 at Cost Plus
Take an extra 10 seconds and add a handful of chopped cilantro and a few mint leaves.
Mix it all together, enjoy and get back to work.
What do you do when you want "fast food"?
NEWS FLASH: I just returned home from Cost Plus for my monthly supply of cheap cava and discovered that Tasty Bite meals have been reduced from $2.99 to $2.00. I stocked up.
