While eating freshly cooked foods carries a significant health advantage, sometimes life gets too busy to bother. Having pre-made dry mixes for meals in jars on hand can help ensure that you eat healthy meals without having to pour a ton of effort into them.
Make Ahead Meals In Jars
Apple Raisin Oatmeal
Ingredients
2 cups oats
1/2 cup each: coconut shavings, raisins, and chopped dehydrated apples
1 tsp cinnamon
Directions
Add the mix to 5 cups of boiling water. Cover it and let it simmer. Stir occasionally. Remove it from the heat after 10 minutes and let it sit for 5 minutes before serving. You can add a few tablespoons of sugar to the dry mix, but I’d rather add a sugar free sweetener once it’s cooked. Serves 4.
Curried Coconut Red lentil soup
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups red lentils
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup dehydrated onion flakes
2 tbsp parsley flakes
1 1/2 tsp turmeric – replace the cumin and turmeric with curry powder if you’re missing one of them
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
1 veggie bouillon cube*
*I buy mine in the bulk section of natural food stores. Make sure to read the ingredients, as some contain gluten and/or corn. The ones I buy have a bit of maltodextrin, but I haven’t been reacting to them. I’m supposed to mix them with two cups of water, but I find it makes everything too salty, so I use 1 cube per 3 cups of water.
Directions
Add mix to 7 cups of boiling water. Simmer covered, stirring occasionally. Cook for 30 minutes. Serves 4.
Note: the amount of spices in this recipe reduces the required amount of broth, which is why 1 bouillon cube is enough for 7 cups of water.
Apple lentil soup
Ingredients
2 cups green lentils
1/2 cup dehydrated apple slices, cut up
3 tbsp dehydrated onion flakes
1 tbsp parsley flakes
1 tsp ground ginger
2 veggie bouillon cubes
1 bay leaf
Directions
Add mix to 7 cups of boiling water. Simmer covered, stirring occasionally. Cook for 30 minutes. Serves 4.
Quinoa Rice Bowl
Ingredients
2/3 cup quinoa
2/3 cup rice of choice (make sure its the 2:1 water to rice ratio kind) – I use Uncle Ben’s Wholegrain Perfection
1/3 cup dehydrated veggies
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 veggie bouillon cube
Directions
Add mix to 3 cups of boiling water.Β Simmer covered, stirring occasionally. Cook for 20 minutes. Serves 4.
Note: you can play around with the quinoa and rice proportions as long as you have 1 1/3 cup total of rice and quinoa. I would usually put more quinoa, but I ran out this time.
And there you have it, 4 meals prepared in jars in next to no time!
Anonymous says
what is the shelf life for these jarred meals?
Christina Najjar says
I wouldn't keep stuff that has dried fruit more than six months, but the other mixes can keep for a year and upwards. You just need to keep in mind that spices start to lose their flavour after a year, and while the dried stuff will be fine for a long time, as it gets older, it takes longer to cook.
Dianna says
Thanks for sharing these! I am excited to try them.
Christina Najjar says
Thank you! π Let me know what you think!
Melissa Adams says
I am SO excited to try these. Thank you so much for posting this!
Christina Najjar says
Thank you! The pleasure is mine! I still regularly make the red lentil soup because it's so easy, really flavourful, and I always have the ingredients on hand!
Katie Milan says
How many people do these serve? Specifically the quinoa rice bowl.
Christina Najjar says
The quinoa rice bowl should serve about 4. Thanks for asking! I just updated it to specify the number of servings.
Chelsea Veurink says
I'd bet using a vacuum sealer with a jar attachment would help keep them fresh longer π Thanks for the ideas!
Christina Najjar says
My pleasure! And thank you for your idea as well π
Unknown says
Any presentation photos? What is the finished product to look like? Trying to figure out how soupy/brothy it should be. Also, are the soups simmering covered or uncovered?
Christina Najjar says
I don’t have final pictures, at the moment, but I could potentially take some! The apple lentil one will be on the brothy side, and the red lentil one will be really thick. The other two should fully absorb the water. They should simmer covered. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!
appliancesboard says
This is an excellent post Christina Najjar. Thanks for sharing this awesome post. I loved to read this whole post and its seems like a great blog i ever seen.
Christina Najjar says
Thanks!
appliancescastle says
i just love everything you do, it’s all just so quirky and makes me smile! so glad you shared π