Corona Home Office: 5 simple 30-Minute-Recipes!

5 simple 30 Minute-Recipes that make Home Office Cooking a Breeze

Whether you’re a home office pro already or are working remotely for the first time; everyone can get overwhelmed in this current situation. Maybe the stress comes from having the kids at home that need to be occupied while you work or even from weathering the solitude of working all alone. We don’t want to go into depth about the circumstances in the Corona crisis. We know you get bombarded about that topic by news outlets and other people enough as it is.

Rather, we want to take one burden from you! Because in all this stress, healthy eating can be the furthest on your mind. That’s understandable but avoidable. Because healthy eating doesn’t have to be linked with a lot of effort.

We got the proof! These five recipes won’t take much time you already put into working remotely but still provide you with the nutrients your body and mind needs. That’s why none of the recipes take more than 30 Minutes!Also, we paid attention to making them mostly about pantry staples to save you from many shopping trips! We also included additional tips to make home office simple and delicious.

Some of the dishes were chosen with your favorite Smunch boxes in mind, so you won’t have to miss them at home. Cook them instead! The other recipes are great time savers. Have a look and see if we can inspire you to get out those pantry cans.

Source: Springlane

Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl 

Even if the word ‘bowl’ has gotten a bad reputation, there are certainly ample reasons to make yourself one anyway! It’s just a quick way to personalize the dish to your heart’s desire. We especially love burrito bowls, that make us miss our favorite Mexican restaurants. Without the tortilla wrap, the dish becomes a little lighter and there is less risk of the spilling that eating a burrito often entails. This makes eating it at your desk even easier, if the stress level necessitates it.

The good thing about bowls is that you can replace ingredients you don’t have. No corn in the house? No problem! Combine the base of wild rice, basmati or quinoa however you want. Quickly made salsa and the right spices bring the Tex-Mex flavor alive.

Carlsbadcravings not only has an easy, quick recipe for Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls, he also goes into a lot of detail on how you can customize your bowls. Make it vegetarian, make your own marinades the way you want to.

Tip: Make it Low-Carb with cauliflower rice or make it a lighter meal by omitting rice all together and making it a salad. Or add extra Cheese, we don’t judge.

Cacio e Pepe

Doubtlessly, the humble tomato sauce is leading the list of favorite pasta combo in Germany. Rightfully so, but this country forgets about all the delicious alternatives. Like this dish that only needs three ingredients to create a heavenly creamy dish - all without cream.

Literally translated, Cacio e Pepe means “Cheese and Pepper” and the name really tells you all you need (besides pasta). In a few minutes, your pasta is done and then only needs to be mixed with parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper. Without a lot of prep work, you can even use the time the pasta cooks for checking emails or checking in with your colleagues over video chat. Check out the step by step recipe by Bon Appetit.

Extra Tipp: Did you manage to get a packet of flour? Maybe use it one night to make fresh pasta. It’s perfect to get kids involved in the process too! We trust this video by BingingwithBabish for the basics.

Red Lentil Tomato Soup

Freshly made soup is too time-consuming to make it in the lunch break? Not if you have the right kind in your cupboard. Dried red lentils cook very quickly and mixed with canned tomatoes, food will be on the tables with nearly no effort. For this, follow the ridiculously simple recipe by Thespruceeats.

Legumes also keep you satiated for a while, if the working hours drag on into the late afternoon. How about making a large batch? Soup are especially suitable and easy to adjust in portion size and eat for multiple days and freeze well.

Quick homemade Hummus!

Hummus without a doubt is a dip favorite, because of its versatility. A big portion of it are perfect with oven baked vegetables, like eggplants. Added hard boiled egg you can make extra for breakfast: et voila, you made Israeli “sabich.”

In Germany, we commonly use hummus as a spread. So, whip out your favorite bread or your package of pita, chop some vegetables, make a side salad and you’ve got yourself a great lunch.

Especially homemade hummus is a game changer. This can take some time when using dried chickpeas, but for home office lunches, making something simple is key. That’s why we recommend Inspiredtaste’s recipe with some extra tips for variation.

Coconut Vegetable Curry

A drab day can definitely use some spice! You won’t even need a delivery service if you realize how easy your favorite curry can be made at home (even if we at Smunch love to support the local gastro scene!).

Find what you need for Budgetbytes recipe in the pantry and freezer to make this easy vegetarian coconut curry.

Tip: Make an extra portion of rice with it and use it for the burrito bowl the next day (or vice versa) to save some time and effort.

We hope our easy and quick dishes will save you some research time and think time. That’s how you make a home office less complicated in times where we should all be a little kinder to ourselves. Good food is the first step!

We hope you'll stay stressfree and safe,

Your Smunch Team