Hi reader,
I followed my own (tried and true) advice of "cooking once, eating twice" this past week and made a triple batch of homemade tortillas, a double batch of the easiest white sandwich bread, and a triple batch of sheet pan pancakes. Not all at once of course!
It was timely too, because this past week, Maria asked me if I had any tips on preparing cost-effective meals for her husband's lunch breaks through the work week.
My first instinct is leftovers. Eating leftovers is one of THE BEST ways to reduce food waste. But Maria's husband doesn't have the option of leftovers for lunch.
Next up, I think of simple classics like tuna salad or chicken salad (or egg salad, turkey salad, etc.). These are dishes that can be made in big batches, incorporate fruits and veggies, and use up whatever you happen to have in the fridge at the time (making them incredibly frugal).
But personally, I have a mental block with making a big bowl of [Your Favorite] salad ahead of time, for fear it'll be soggy or unappetizing or even boring a few days later. With that said, here's how to adapt [Your Favorite] salad so that none of the above happens, and you can eat a whole foods lunch without breaking the bank.
9 Ways to Eat [Your Favorite] Salad
3 Tips for Making it Ahead of Time
- Do all the chopping for dry ingredients (chicken, celery, carrots, etc.) at once and then divide evenly between containers.
- Combine wet ingredients (homemade mayo, mustard, relish, etc.) together in a separate bowl and then divide evenly between separate, smaller containers (not the same ones that have all the chopped "dry" ingredients).
Before you leave for work (or at lunchtime), grab one dry and one wet container and mix together at lunch!
Tip: Buy a whole chicken, cook it whole in the slow cooker, and shred the meat yourself. You should get about 6 cups of meat - perfect for a whole week's worth of lunches!
7 Ways to Keep [Your Favorite] Salad Interesting
- Add dried cranberries and chopped apples
- Add raisins, chopped apples, and 1/2 - 1 tsp curry powder
- Add chopped pineapple and mango
- Add cooked, chopped spinach
- Add 1 tsp fresh herbs and chopped red onion
- Add chopped kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese
- Add homemade ranch seasoning and buffalo sauce
The best part is that since you've already made a big batch of the
basic salad, and each day's meals are packaged separately, it only takes a minute or so to include the add-ins to create a unique flavor for every day of the week!
Also, if you choose your add-ins based on what you're already serving in the kitchen (i.e. choosing cranberries and apples because you made autumn rice pilaf and overnight apple pie oatmeal) you reduce your workload AND reduce food waste!
Until next week!
PS: When we think "meal plans" we tend to limit our ideas to dinners. But what about breakfasts and lunches?? It can be SUPER helpful to plan those meals too, especially if you want to avoid eating out or having the same sandwich day after day.
In my upcoming training, Meal Planning Made Easy, I'll cover breakfast and lunch and when it makes sense to plan…or not! This FREE 5-day event starts August 5th, and I'd love to have you join us!! (It's just two weeks away!)
>> You can sign up here to reserve your spot.
| | | | How we can work together: • Grocery Budget Mastermind •
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> Grocery Budget Mastermind • 30 Minute Dinners •
Over 250 done-for-you meal plans for as low as 35¢/week, customizable to your family size, dietary preferences and busy schedules.
> 30 Minute Dinners | | | | • Grocery Budget Bootcamp •
The only course teaching you exactly how to eat real food on a budget. Learn a proven grocery budgeting system that outsmarts the grocery stores and lets you save money, time, and energy. Graduates from 24+ countries have saved over $20 million - and counting!
> Grocery Budget Bootcamp • Meal Planning Bootcamp •
Simple course teaching EVERYTHING you need to master meal planning, without the stuff that doesn't really matter (i.e. Pinterest boards) so you can easily decide what's for dinner and be done with it in just 15 minutes.
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