Cuban Black Beans

One of my Sunday habits is to cook a dish or two to enjoy in the upcoming week. Some weeks I spend several hours shopping, chopping and simmering (me and the food!). This week I found myself with a few too many odds and ends to finish for a really indulgent cooking session, but I did want to lay in some stores for healthy lunches at work. Some of my favorite dishes are ones which can transform as the week goes on, so I can prevent leftover burn-out.

Today's lunch is cuban black beans with corn tortillas. I'll bake or roast a couple of sweet potatoes later today to have with them in burritos or with some rice or seven-grain pilaf (Kashi makes a mix which is really good and easy to throw on the stove on a busy weeknight). Later in the week I'll toss whatever's left into a soup with some greens or make a chili with quinoa.

While the sweet potatoes are in I'll take advantage of the oven being on and bake up a stack of tofu cutlets for the week. These will go into a number of meals and also be on hand for a quick snack as an alternative to bread items.

It can be challenging to eat healthy, not-processed food during the busy work week, so the more I can have done ahead, the more likely we won't be sliding down the slippery slope of convenience foods.