This Vegan Cashew Cream Is My Idea of Meal Prep

Meal prepping come plenty of things to different participants. For some, it’s all about batch cooking, making ready a vary of meals in a single depart which may be then pragmatically portioned into containers for the fridge or freezer. Others are rep-ahead cooks, opting for shapely-sized meals that will most certainly be kept in the fridge and loved for days on dwell—judge lasagna, curries, braises, ragus and soups.

After which there are participants like me, for whom meal prepping doesn’t arrive naturally. I’m the more or much less eater who by no come wants to utilize the identical meal twice. But I’ve chanced on that, with a family of 5 likeminded eaters to feed, there’s steadily some level of prepping and planning wished to rep us via the week. The most attention-grabbing rep of meal prep for me is more piecemeal, cobbling collectively fun parts that can rep future meals more straightforward, quicker and most considerably, more scrumptious.

Here’s why I am so enamored with this cashew cream recipe—it’s miles a sub-recipe of kinds that will most certainly be historical over and once more, in loads of varied concepts, to sort vastly different meals. It’s so grand greater than a mere dairy-alternative for vegans; I may perchance argue that it contributes more to a dish than, dispute, sour cream or yogurt, bringing a silky texture, nutty overtones, and depth of sort that is unrivaled. Train of it as your mother sauce, which is ready to be manipulated in preserving along with your wants and utilized as a salad dressing, a creamy enhance in soups or as a silky sauce for noodles or pasta. The root for this cashew cream-powered meal prep is straightforward: Whip up an limitless batch of cashew cream at the beginning of the week, and you’ve bought meal choices for days.

One substantial choice is this creamy broccoli soup, a midweek current in our residence. It starts off with a straightforward spoiled of broccoli, leeks, and fennel seeds—an appealing-ample combo on its bear, however now not but spectacular. That’s where the cashew cream comes in. It thoroughly transforms the dish, adding physique, a splash of sweetness, and, most considerably, richness. The following soup is supple and velvety, and affords a complexity that belies the truth it took almost about 20 minutes to drag collectively. Cashew cream can with out complications be historical to amp up other pureed vegetable soups, too—try it with cauliflower, mushrooms, candy potatoes, or butternut squash.

On the more energizing facet of the spectrum, cashew cream will most certainly be utilized as the spoiled for a salad dressing-slit-sauce. Adding about a handfuls of herbs to the blender along with the cashews delivers a sunny, botanical edge, now not to mention a shiny hue. I’ve historical dill and parsley in my green cashew cream, however you would possibly also employ other herbs too—cilantro, mint, chives, and basil can also all be historical either independently or collectively. Any version of this natural cashew cream will depart substantial with this roasted carrot salad, however you shall be ready to additionally employ it to high grain bowls, as a sandwich spread, or as a dip for crudités. I’m a extensive fan of dip-for-dinner: Save of abode out some cashew cream, raw or roasted veggies, boiled eggs, some pickles, about a nuts, and some recent sourdough and you’re ethical to transfer.

But my current utility for cashew cream has bought to be these creamy udon noodles. Here, the cashew cream turns staunch into a uniquely satiny sauce for corpulent noodles—unequivocally prosperous, however additionally one way or the opposite weightless, almost cloud-like. Golden mushrooms add savoriness and loads of textural moments, paying homage to an udon dish I first skilled in Tokyo. The soy and unlit vinegar topping adds ride, a assured assertiveness which delivers punch with every mouthful.

And whereas the scrumptious applications for this cashew cream are unending, it’s going to additionally be historical for candy moments as neatly. (Correct bewitch into consideration to omit the garlic and salt when making ready!) It’s substantial at breakfast time with recent fruit glazed with honey or maple syrup, mixed with cocoa and murky chocolate for a prosperous, chocolatey pudding, or dolloped onto pancakes or waffles.

I do know that a extensive batch of cashew cream can also simply now not be every person’s answer to meal prepping, however for palates like mine that are steadily annoying one thing recent, it affords an prominent weeknight shortcut that can rep future meals simpler and scrumptious.

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