Making lunchboxes can be stressful when you don't have a plan. I pack both snack and lunchboxes for my little one and husband every day and it becomes crucial that I have a plan in place for the week for a stress free morning. When you aim to prepare a balanced meal, a routine cereal/toast breakfast doesn't cut it.  But how do you ensure you manage nutritional balance without feeling like you spent your whole day in the kitchen?  Not many have either the time or inclination to be a home cook in our current world scenario. The amount of time I spend in my kitchen on a day to day basis ( breakfast/mid morning snack/lunch/tea time snack/dinner) is less than 30 minutes. Maximum 45 minutes if I am chopping lots of veggies since my mindset hasn't progressed to prepping them beforehand. While planning ahead did shorten my kitchen time, with OPOS©, I find its become drastically shorter. Combined with my menu plan, pantry staples and my weekend prepping, I find I am able to breeze through (most) weeks guilt free.

Cuisines around the world come together on my menu sheet enabling not only variety but also ease by bringing all good things in a meal. Take this Cuban dish for example. Legumes and rice provide complete protein. Moros Y Cristianos  is a cuban version of the popular combo of rice and beans. It has an interesting origin. Wiki explains: 

"Moros y cristianos means “Moors and Christians”. "Moors" refers to the black beans, and "Christians" to the white rice. The name of the dish is a reference to the African Muslim governance (early 8th century) of the Iberian Peninsula and subsequent Reconquista (15th century) in which Spanish Christians led by wealthy families in the north of Spain forced the Moors from the south of Spain into Africa." 

Like any dish with the basic integrity in place (sofrito, black beans and rice), variations abound. Most version include cooking the rice in the water where the beans were boiled. I did not have it on hand having used it as a stock for some other dish hence just used the black beans. On average, the cooking time is around 45 minutes inspite of using already cooked beans. With OPOS, this takes about 8 minutes - making it a great lunchbox option!