Link to Recipe & Short Introduction
For those who’d like to get straight to the recipe, you can find it here:
Budget Bytes’ Mujaddara
A couple of swap-out notes: somehow, my local Tesco had run out of lentils (thanks Veganuary), so I used chickpeas instead. Spice-wise, Tesco were also lacking allspice (ta), and when shopping I was convinced I already had ground cloves at home but, upon going to cook this (what prep), I was aghast to discover that I had, in fact, been an idiot. So I swapped out the cloves and allspice for 1.5 teaspoons of cumin and 1.5 teaspoons of ground coriander and it still tasted Quite Good.
The Verdict
Day One (Monday)
I had intended to prep everything on the Sunday afternoon, but it turned out my brain would much rather imprison me in bed. So, Monday was prep day. So, between helping the mechanic with my bike, rushing to Halfords to get an emergency part, helping to feed the animals, and other stressful situations that I won’t go into here, I prepped a big ole rice dish.
Onions: easy, but painful. I only used three (brown) onions (are they the same as yellow onions? I couldn’t be bothered to find out), my eyes only watered a lot, and the onions didn’t burn. The amount of rice seemed… pitiful, and I had wondered if I had stumbled upon a recipe for ants, but once cooked the rice was proportionately adequate or whatever.
I fumbled for a tupperware box whatsit, chucked the finished thing in once it had cooled, and hungrily awaited lunchtime the next day.
Day Two (Tuesday)
In the morning, I grabbed a tub that previously held some Chinese takeaway rice (now washed), eyeballed what was probably a day’s portion? and then chucked them together and rushed to work.
Lunchtime finally came around, and the grub was good. Maybe the rice was a bit crunchy in places? But that kind of made the texture better. Sure, my lunch didn’t look all too gourmet, but it tasted good, fam. I did find I was hungry later on in the afternoon, but that’s probably a combination of a) post-Christmas belly stretch and b) my eyeballing skills being sub-par. Anyway, 10/10 mouth taste.
Day Three (Wednesday)
After allowing myself a little more for today’s portion (trial and error innit), today’s lunch was a lot more filling. I think it’s worth noting here that I do follow an intermittent fasting schedule, and have recently swapped from fasting in the morning to fasting after 2pm. So I think it’s worth taking my hunger levels with a pinch of salt while I readjust my eating schedule! Nevertheless, the Mujaddara tasted even better today, I think my scoop must have included more onion this time.
Day Four (Thursday)
I might have been a little stingy with my portions for the previous days, but I think it would be a stretch to make this batch last 5 days with enough nutrition to keep me going. As it is, today’s portion was even more generous, and the remainder looks like a nice, hefty portion to finish the week on. So far, I don’t feel like I’m lacking nutrition (although it’s probably much too early to make that assessment) and I feel less hungry in the afternoon than I had previously. Things are looking good for this recipe.
Day Five (Friday)
Okay, I’m late in writing this, so I will do my best to remember my final thoughts. First of all, I’m a liar and the batch was plenty enough for 5 days. As it happened, I had a good couple of days’ worth of food left, since I missed Monday’s portion, so Friday’s portion was chonky as heck. Still wasn’t bored of it by that point, and it still seemed good even after a week in the fridge! Gotta love vegan food.
The final verdict
This dish was simple to buy for, simple to cook, and simply delicious. The portion sizes were plenty for a 5-day week of work, and after some adjusting to my new food regime, I found the portions kept me full enough to keep to my intermittent fasting schedule (fasting from 2pm until breakfast).
The cons? None really spring immediately to mind. The cooking time was quite hefty, but it wasn’t the kind of cooking where you’re rushing back and forth between prep and cooking. You can just sort of chill while the onions cook, and everything else is quick and simple. I know this may be peaking early but I would definitely give this recipe a solid 10/10.
Got any suggestions for future meal prep recipes? Please do let me know in a comment!
I like recipes that a) require very minimal/simple cooking, b) use a small budget, and of course c) are vegan!
The Lazy Vegan 