Lately, I’ve been traveling a lot on the weekends. I’ve had a few trips in the past few months, plus visiting my boyfriend, friends and family in Boston. I’ve been away from home pretty much every other weekend. If this were one year ago, all this traveling would have totally stressed me out. I was still in my Dietetic Internship and school, and my schedule was dictated by my preceptors. Since my days were jam-packed with internship and homework, I made sure I was extremely organized with meal prepping. I was on a budget, so eating out every night was not an option! While I still love to meal prep and enjoy cooking and eating a majority of my meals at home, I’ve learned to manage better if Sunday evening rolls around and I am just getting back to the city.

One of my biggest tips for being able to prepare a nutritious meal after coming home from traveling is to stock your pantry with a few staples at all times. In particular, frozen vegetables are a lifesaver! They can be added to stir fries, pasta, or even just rice and beans to finish off a perfectly balanced meal. Frozen vegetables are just as nutritious (if not more so) than fresh vegetables. Frozen veggies are picked and then frozen at peak ripeness, preserving their vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in the process.

I’ve probably made my cauliflower fried rice dish 10 times over the past few months. It’s become my go-to meal when I didn’t have time to batch cook for the week, because I use frozen cauliflower rice, eggs, and seasonings which I always have on hand. I like to pick up a few extra veggies to throw into the mix for color and variety, but this dish already has loads of veggie goodness thanks to the cauliflower rice! You can even add other frozen veggies to this dish if you don’t have time to pick up anything fresh – think peas, carrots and broccoli.

Staying on track with healthy eating when you’re frequently on the go can be a big challenge. A little planning ahead by stocking your kitchen with some essentials will save you time, money and catapult you towards your health and wellness goals! I would love to hear your tips + tricks for staying on track when you’re frequently away from home.

Ingredients:

  • ½ tbsp avocado oil or other cooking oil
  • ½ inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ½ cup broccoli florets
  • ½ cup sliced bell pepper
  • ½ cup sliced summer squash
  • 1 cup frozen cauliflower rice
  • Squeeze of fresh lime juice
  • 2 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari
  • ½ tsp sambal olek paste (or a shake of red chili flakes)
  • 1 large handful fresh greens, like spinach, bok choy or kale
  • 2 large eggs
  • Small handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
  • ½ avocado
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • Sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions:

  1. In a medium cast iron skillet or frying pan, heat oil over medium heat.
  2. Add ginger and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring so garlic does not burn.
  3. Add broccoli, bell pepper and summer squash (or any fresh veggies you are using) to pan. Cook another 5 minutes, stirring until veggies are mostly cooked through.
  4. Push veggies to the side of the pan with a spatula. Add cauliflower rice to the empty side of the pan plus the lime juice, soy sauce, and sambal olek. Stir into cauliflower rice to combine. Let cook for 1-2 minutes, then mix cauliflower rice into the rest of the veggies in the pan.
  5. Add greens and stir to combine until wilted.
  6. Push cauliflower rice to one side of the pan.
  7. In a small bowl, whisk the two eggs together.
  8. Spray the empty side of the pan with cooking spray, then pour in eggs. Scramble with a spatula, then mix scrambled eggs in with the cauliflower rice.
  9. Transfer to a bowl or plate. Top with cilantro, avocado, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Enjoy immediately!

This meal is great because it:

  • Utilizes pantry staples when you don’t have time to shop
  • Is extremely customizable, as you can use whatever veggies (fresh or frozen) you have on hand
  • Takes less than 20 minutes to make
  • Is super flavorful and tastes DELICIOUS!

I hope you guys give this a try! If you make this cauliflower rice, I’d love to see how it turns out! Tag @daisybeet on Instagram 🙂