Weekly Spotlight: Managing Cooking Burnout

Cooking burnout is real. Sometimes it comes after a hard week or you might start dreading your weekly meal prep. It might feel impossible to make a decision regarding what you want to eat, or even struggling to figure out what to make that’s not only easy but nutritious, too. And no worries, it’s okay to feel burnout from cooking or to just need a break, even if you meal plan and don’t have to cook every day. Cooking burnout looks different for everyone, so use these meals as a guide and put your own twist on it to fit your lifestyle best.

The best way to prevent cooking burnout is by making sure you have variety in what you’re eating and making. This includes meals where the prep time is longer and you’ve got some leftovers, and meals where you only have to dump a few ingredients together and your meal is done! If you’re looking to add more veggies to the meals below, feel free to make your own veggie side or even incorporate a few of your favorite veggies in these meals!

We also highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App  — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest meatless, vegan, plant-based and allergy-friendly recipe resource to help you get healthy! And, don’t forget to check out our Weekly Meal Plan Archives!

Are you ready to have a week full of delicious vegan food that leaves you nourished and content? Let’s get started!

This week, we’re bringing you ways to eat and enjoy simple recipes to help ease cooking burnout that are fully vegan and plant-based!

Low Effort Meals:

Source: Lemon Poppy Seed Overnight Oats

These meals take little to no time to make, and have a few ingredients to keep it simple! These are perfect to make if you’re low on energy or don’t want to spend too long in the kitchen. Feel free to add a scoop of greens powder or fruit into your oats or chia pudding, or even make a smoothie for an extra boost of greens.

• Lemon Poppy Seed Overnight Oats by Tara Weir
• Nut Butter Overnight Oats by Planted and Picked
• Creamy Mango Chia Pudding by Zuzana Fajkusova and Nikki Lefler
• No Bake 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Oat Bars by Hayley Canning
• Crispy Black Bean Tacos by Mitch and Justine Chapman

Medium Effort Meals:

Source: Italian Chickpea Burgers

These meals are wonderful if you’ve got a bit of time but still want a simple meal. You can add some veggies into your sandwich or scramble, or pile some greens or even roasted red peppers onto the burger! These desserts also don’t take much time to make and you can enjoy them as a sweet treat during the week.

• 15-Minute Tofu Scramble by Lenny Wu
• Breakfast Sandwich With Tempeh Bacon by Brittany Mullins
• Italian Chickpea Burgers by Wholesome LLC
• Chickpea Brownies by Alexandra and Eian
• ‘Nutella’ Mousse by Holly Jade

High Effort Meals:

Source: Mushroom and Bean Enchiladas

These meals are for when you have the time and energy to make food for the week! These meals have a longer prep time and more ingredients, but they leave you with a good amount of leftovers, depending on the size of your household. If these aren’t in your wheelhouse to make this week, that’s okay! Feel free to stick with the simpler recipes and make a large batch of those instead.

• Cheesy Tofu Scramble Crescent Rolls by Jeunesse Pouchet
• Loaded Breakfast Casserole by Six Vegan Sisters
• Mushroom and Bean Enchiladas by Rouxbe
• Kale, Quinoa, and Lentil Salad by Julie Zimmer
• Marzipan Challah by Vegan Holiday Cooking by Kirsten Kaminski

Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home!

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health, and more! Unfortunately, dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer, and has many side effects. 

For those interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend purchasing one of our many plant-based cookbooks or downloading the Food Monster App which has thousands of delicious recipes making it the largest vegan recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some resources to get you started:

• Weekly Vegan Meal Plans
• Plant-Based Health Resources
• Plant-Based Food & Recipes
• The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition
• Plant-Based Nutrition Resources
• Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Recipes
• High Protein Plant-Based Recipes
• Plant-Based Meal Prep

For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to the One Green Planet Newsletter! Lastly, being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!