I didn’t have much time for cooking this week, even less for a trip to the fish store. Instead, I loaded up on easy-prep vegetables and mixed and matched for a few nights. Here are a few fast, easy, and fresh ideas for evenings when you just don’t have time to think about it. Of course having your greens washed ahead of time saves a few minutes at the sink.

Kale is one of those so-called superfoods, but in my book, these mixed vegetable dishes are a version of comfort food. I enjoy kale raw, sautéed, or steamed. In the above, I sautéed the kale with a little bit of minced garlic, onion, and olive oil. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and added chopped yellow bell pepper, drained and rinsed chickpeas, roughly chopped tomato, fennel, and a few chopped hazelnuts. It’s one of those ‘whatever is in my fridge’ kind of quick dinners.

In the above salad, I mixed chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, quinoa, cucumber, red onion, fennel, orange segments, and arugula in a big bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons of leftover pesto. Et voila, a heaping plateful of nutrient-rich, protein-packed greens, beans, and grains await.