• Home
  • /
  • Lifestyle
  • /
  • 3 Recipes For Busy Remote Workers That You Should Try
Recipes For Busy Remote Workers

3 Recipes For Busy Remote Workers That You Should Try

The remote working trend has ignited a new era of travel – workations. Have you heard about it? It’s working while on vacation, but not in a workaholic sense – – instead, it means traveling without taking days off. It sounds like a tempting option for US professionals with only 10 days of PTO per year!

The Passport-Photo.Online surveyed 1,000+ Americans to learn more about this trend, as well as its highlights and challenges. In their study on workations, they found out that:

  • The workation boom is coming. According to this study, 94% of employees who tried workation plan to repeat it in 2022.
  • Food is the lion part of the budget. 82% of respondents reported food and drinks as their biggest workation expenses! It’s even more than housing (66%), entertainment (64%), and sightseeing (24%). 
  • Even on vacation, it’s hard to escape financial worries. 7 in 10 say that the high cost of living is the biggest obstacle to this lifestyle. 

Okay, probably you are wondering – – what vacations have to do with cooking?

Since people on workations struggle with a costly lifestyle, and their primary spending is food, they’d benefit from cheap meal ideas. So, I share my favorite 3 recipes to cook on the road below. 

Workations aren’t your thing? Don’t worry! Those recipes are also perfect for people in a hurry and all travelers. They include easy-accessible ingredients, are easy to make, and are cheap, making them an ideal fit for nearly everyone. Also, those meals are so tasty that they immediately put you in a holiday mood. 

  1. Chickpea Kung Pao
  2. Perfect Tomato Pasta
  3. Creamy Soup

All recipes are for two portions.

1. Chickpea Kung Pao

Think of a vegetarian dish that has it all: its saltiness is balanced with a touch of sweet and sour. Add a pinch of spiciness that even fans of mild flavors will enjoy. Now, let’s get to the texture of the dish. Soft creamy chickpeas bathed in a sticky stir-fried sauce and topped off with crunchy fried peanuts. How does it sound to you? Hungry?

I learned to make the Kung Pao sauce from Rozkoszny’s blog. But here, I’ll share my version, which includes chickpeas instead of mushrooms (more proteins for your muscles!) and has several substitutes that are easily accessible. Noteworthy, it’ll make you feel full for longer.

Ingredients:

  • 240g of chickpea (precooked or canned)
  • 1 Tbsp of potato starch
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
  • 1 thumb ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 chili pepper, finely chopped
  • 4 Tbsp of peanuts, chopped
  • vegetable oil – for frying

The Kung Pao Sauce ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp sesame oil or other vegetable oil
  • 3 Tbsp water
  • 1 ½ Tbsp brown sugar or honey

Equipment needed:

a frying pan, a pot, knives, a garlic press (optional)

The recipe:

Start by preparing the ingredients – mince the garlic, chop the ginger, peppers, and peanuts, mix the chickpeas with the potato flour so that it coats the beans thoroughly, and mix the Kung Pao sauce ingredients in a cup. Then heat the oil, fry the ginger and chili, and add the garlic. Fry for a while, and be careful not to burn the garlic, or it will be bitter! Then add the chickpeas and peanuts and continue to fry, stirring. When the chickpeas have done frying – the flour will be less visible – pour in the sauce and keep stirring. Wait for the sauce to thicken, and remove the pan from the heat. Ready! 

Serve with rice or barley. You can sprinkle with parsley and add Chinese cabbage or cucumber – their freshness breaks the flavors of this dish perfectly. It tastes better than in a restaurant!

Chickpea Kung Pao Recipes

Image source: https://myheartbeets.com/

2. Perfect Tomato Pasta

I know; it’s a no-brainer to recommend this recipe. Everyone loves tomatoes for their taste and potassium-richness. Also, everyone knows how to prepare tomato sauce for pasta! But does everyone know how to make it taste like a warm sunny morning, whether you use fresh tomatoes or just a passata? Read on! 

Ingredients:

  • 500g of tomato passata / 2 (400g) cans of whole peeled tomatoes / 1 kg ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 1 medium red onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 4 dates (as a last alternative, a tablespoon of sugar)
  • 1 bunch of fresh basil
  • ½ tsp of smoked paprika
  • 2 Tbsp of red wine
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • vegetable oil – for frying
  • Your favorite kind of pasta – 180 g or as much as you like 😉
  • Extra ingredients: grilled chicken, parmesan cheese, smoked tofu

Equipment needed: 

a frying pan, a pot, knives, and blender (optional)

The recipe:

Cook the pasta. Meanwhile, fry the onion – salt it to make it soften faster – and add the garlic; fry for a while more. Add all spices besides basil and then add wine, and cook for at least 5 minutes. Now, it’s time to add your tomatoes/ tomato passata/ peeled tomatoes, basil, and dates. If you don’t have a blender, chop dates and basil finely. If using whole tomatoes, mash them. Add some salt and pepper. Heat everything together until it boils. Try, and add more salt and pepper ;). 

If you have a blender, blend everything. Otherwise, skip to the last point – drop the cooked pasta into the sauce and stir until the pasta is coated all over with the sauce. 

Serve with your extra ingredients and more chopped basil on the topping. And with red wine, of course!

Tomato Pasta Recipes

Image Source: toiimg.com

3. Creamy Soup

Winter is coming. If you want to stay in shape during cold months, creamy soups are a perfect choice.

What I love about creamy soups are endless options and little equipment needed. Every time, you can add something new and get a different result. In this case, all you need to do is change parsley for another vegetable or mushroom and sour cream for coconut cream or creamed cheese. But for the first time, you can try this recipe.

Ingredients:

  • bouillon cube or vegetable stock cube
  • 2 small potatoes (they make the soup smoothy)
  • 1 small carrot (it adds sweetness)
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • half of onion
  • parsley (root)
  • 3 tbsp of sour cream (optional)
  • 6 tbsp of beans (optional – protein source)
  • 4 tbsp of walnuts (chopped) and 1 tbsp of honey or honey glazed walnuts
  • parsley (for topping)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • a lot of water
  • vegetable oil – for frying

Equipment needed: 

a pot, knives, a blender.

The recipe:

Prepare the ingredients – peel and chop the vegetables and walnuts. Fry the onion with salt for softness, add the garlic, and after a while, the rest of the chopped vegetables and beans, if used. Stir. After about 5 minutes, pour a liter of water and throw it in the stock cube. Cook until the vegetables are tender. Salt and pepper, taste and adjust the seasoning. In the meantime, mix the chopped walnuts with the honey – if it is too thick, add water. If you have a frying pan, you can roast the walnuts in a dry pan and mix them with the honey there.

Finally, add the cream and blitz the whole thing. Add water if it is too thick. Sprinkle with parsley and honey-glazed walnuts.

Creamy Soup recipesFinal thoughts

So, workationers and other travelers, which of those recipes suits your taste the best? Since the importance of healthy eating is not a screw for you by healthcare marketing, but the truth, I hope you will benefit from these nutritious recipes.

Have you made any improvements? Great, kitchen experiments are highly recommended!

Short bio: Karolina Turowska, a writer and travel enthusiast at Passport Photo Online. When it comes to writing, she loves bringing dry facts to life. When it comes to traveling, she just loves discovering new flavors.

Douglas is a cheif editor of Zumboly and experienced blogger with a passion for lifestyle, technology, health, and business. With over a decade of experience in the industry, Hue has developed a keen eye for detail and a unique writing style that engages readers and keeps them coming back for more.

Leave a Reply