Cutting vegetables a pretty way takes time, once you are skilled with a knife you can like an artist do this quickly most people do not know how to cook or cut vegetables quickly in a artsy fashion. That will take practice. Do not worry about it.

Take your vegetable and just chop it up, put it in steamer, that is already steaming, and add some salt. Put on lid. When steam comes out of lid then put on low or simmer, wait 5 minutes. Carrots and burdock wait 6 minutes. Squash wait 20 minutes. Done.

Take your slow cooking grain and add non need to soak bean such as lentil, or split pea. Put in pressure cooker with water, pinch of salt, ( usually a ration of 2 to 1), and cook. Wait 45 minutes. Done.

Fast grains such as Quinia or millet or amaranth or buckwheat, put in boiling water, ( ratio of 3 or 4 to 1), let come back to boil, then put on simmer, wait 20 minutes. Done.

In each case there should be left overs, for vegetables they are good to leave over for a few days. For grains you can make enough for up to two weeks depending on the size of your pressure cooker and desire for variety. Ume plums or paste will preserve it all perfectly. Also once condensated your container will have water in it, take the lid off and soak this up so the food will not spoil or be watery.

Add different vegetables and condiments to make the meal different. You can put rice in nori, you can add nuts, or ume plum paste, or scallions. or nuts snacks or nuts.

Try not to cook multiple vegetables together. Do not worry about dirt, its not harmful neither are worms. ( worms typically more abundent in organic, if they are in non organic, thats actually a good thing, lets you know that particular vegetable did not get a full dose of chemcials),You can inspect for these or for dirt but that takes time, so unless its obvious I would not worry about it. The stem cooks slower than the leaves, so chop of the stem as in greens or broccoli, in tiny slivers to cook at the same time. Do not be afraid to use a microwave to re-heat food at work, this is far different than trying to actually cook with a microwave or using it as a crutch as is often the case for frozen foods.

When all is said and done I have at least one whole work week in which I do not have to cook or make any beans or grain, just reheat, and the vegetables last a few days, and are really quite easy. Although I have the time to wash my dishes and plates at every meal, and when cooking should remove food from pots and put in tupperware container right away you do not have to. Only animal foods need to be cleaned instantly.

On the weekends I thourough luxuriate and take my time, make a pretty place settings etc, and can enjoy things like squash, or blended split peas, I can clean through all my beans or grains, to check for dirt and rocks.