Some call it “meal prep” which I find weird.  People have been eating leftovers since cooking existed.  This evening we are cooking a week’s worth of food.  This is actually the very first time we’ve planned every single meal ahead, but we think we’ve got it all covered.  We bought a 15-pack of cheap microwave safe containers to put our meals in and freeze/fridge them.  It doesn’t look minimalist, but it’s going to minimize time, money and calories.  This is what our week looks like:

Breakfast: Egg and bean burrito OR omelet with has browns

Lunch: super chunky veggie soup with cornbread

Dinner: white beans with apple butter cornbread

Greetings from under an electric blanket.  It’s 12 degrees outside.  Our bedroom is a toasty 45, but we’re pretty cozy with the dog and the electric blanket.  Our other pets are piled up with plenty of blankets in their rooms.  We’re considering buying them a tent, but that’s another post.  In any case, our utility bill is going to look very nice this month.  We’ll put the money we save toward having the central unit repaired in the spring.

Today’s post is about lunch.  Specifically cheap, quick and nutritious lunches.  We know you usually eat some Skittles and wash them down with a Mountain Dew, but it’s time to get organized.  Good nutrition will reduce how often you get sick and how much weight you gain when you do indulge in eating an entire cake.  Yeah, we saw that.  You can’t hide from us.  It’ll also reduce how much you spend on food.

If you eat at home, cut out the fast food and cook something. If you have lunch breaks at work, take your lunch with you.  Us broke folks can’t afford to buy lunch every day, or even most days.  You don’t need fast food anyway, and you certainly don’t need to eat a whole bag of Cheez-Its in the break room.  Here are some ideas:

Ramen: We can’t lie, Ramen is a major staple of our diet.  It’s high in sodium, but it’s dirt cheap and tasty.  Spruce it up and add nutrients by dropping a handful of frozen vegetable medley into the boiling noodles.  Or, crack an egg and drop it in while it’s boiling.  It’s extra flavor and protein.  If you’re a meat-eater, put in some pre-cooked chopped up chicken.  It’s the most economical meat you can get in most areas, and it’s relatively lean.

Sandwiches: Get some whole wheat bread, like a motherfucking adult.  Put on some meat.  Put on some veg.  Put on a bit of cheese.  Done. Or, pb&j, Or, pb&banana. Or egg salad. Or chicken salad. Or grilled cheese.  Buy blocks of cheese and slice them yourself for the best price.  Buying off-brand cheese is a gamble, but we recommend trying your store’s house brand at least once.  It’s probably significantly cheaper. Avoid condiments.  You don’t need six tablespoons of mayo, and neither do your arteries. PS, take carrot sticks or an apple as your side instead of chips.

Salad: You get extra Adulting points for eating salad, but you lose points for covering it in a half gallon of dressing.  Buy your ingredients whole, rather than getting bagged mix. Don’t chop your lettuce with a knife, tear it apart with your hands. It’ll take longer to turn brown that way.

Soup: Throw some crap in your crock pot once a week and let it simmer.  Take it to work in a tupperware.  Way more vitaminy than fast food.  We don’t know if vitaminy is a word, but we’re making it one.  

Hot dogs: Hey, we’ll eat any hot dogs, but we’re partial to ones with onion and cheese.  You can put what you want on yours.  Have carrot sticks on the side instead of chips or fries.

Pasta:  Boil up some macaroni and fix it up with green peas, carrots and corn, celery for crunch, and a dressing of your choice. We like ranch.  You could use mayo.  Or Miracle Whip if you’re some kind of godless heathen.

Pot pies: if you’re at home and have the time, make a frozen pot pie.  Ha, you thought we were going to tell you to make it yourself, didn’t you?  Nah, ain’t nobody got time for that.  Swanson is good.  If you want it for work, bake it the night before and stick it in a tupperware in the fridge.  It’ll be ok nuked when you get your break.

There’s a lot of other stuff you could do, these are just some (relatively) healthy options to keep you away from fast food and improve your budget.  They’re all doable for cheap and the one that takes the longest to cook is the pot pie.

Having a delicious and sort of nutritious lunch to look forward to can make your work day better.  Also, going hungry is stressful so don’t do that.  If you forget your lunch, go ahead and have some Skittles and Dew. If there’s a healthier option get that instead, of course.  A salad in the drive thru is better than nothing.  Be minimal, but be reasonable too.

There are several sides to this subject, so pay attention.

Firstly, we want to minimize how much we eat. For the sake of your health and your budget, please spend a few minutes calculating how many calories you need to eat in a day to maintain your current weight.  If that weight is more than you want it to be, take away a couple hundred calories from that number.  You can reduce even more later, but this is a good starting place.  This isn't necessarily about vanity.  We all want to be attractive, we suppose, but we also want to be healthy, because we will live longer and more comfortably if we are healthy and we will spend less time and money in doctor's offices.  We're all about less time and less money, right?

Next, we want to minimize how much crap we eat while maximizing nutrients. Simple, nutrient-rich meals that are easy to prepare are our goal. Removing junk food from our diet is good for our wallet and our waistline.  Don’t just avoid fast food, ban yourself from it altogether.  We’re not going to pretend we’re perfect.  We’ve fallen victim to a curly fry or two in our day.  But as a rule, don’t give yourself any budget entries for fast food and do not get in a drive thru.

Then, we want to minimize how much time we spend making food.  Ok, so nothing is as fast as the drive thru, but you can cook a decent and nutritious meal in 30 minutes or less and probably do it while also watching tv or doing some yoga in your kitchen floor.  Even better, spend an hour a week making a big batch of everything and then freeze it.   Some people are pretentious and like to call this “meal prep”.  We like to call it what it is: leftovers.

Lastly, we want to minimize how much we spend on food.  Since we're broke, we can't just pop on over to Whole Foods and grab whatever organic mush they've got this week.  We need to evaluate our needs and plan carefully.  GMO's won't hurt you.  Canned veggies won't hurt you. Dried beans won't hurt you.  Look to buy in bulk and try going vegetarian a few days a week, as veggies are a lot cheaper than meat products.  Don’t worry, you’re not going to die from lack of protein, we promise.

That was not a jab at Whole Foods, by the way.  We've never been in one, so we don't know what it's like.  But whole foods is exactly what we are looking for when we go grocery shopping.  Don't buy tv dinners, don't buy canned soups or processed cereal bars.  Buy foods that are whole by themselves.  Potatoes.  Carrots. Whole wheat bread.  Milk.  Cheese. Beans.  You get the gist.  Cook your whole foods in your own kitchen, making use of some lovely spices, and you'll always have some noms to look forward to when you get home from work. 

Setting up a minimal kitchen is a discussion in itself, but today take some time to look over your kitchen and evaluate what you've got.  A good foundation is a set of pots and pans, a cutting board and chef's knife, a sturdy colander, a potato masher, a spatula, and a set of measuring cups and spoons.  Check out what you've got, and make a note to grab any missing pieces next time you get paid.  Yeah, we know you've got like thirty seven cents today.  We're right there with you.

If you've never learned to cook, we're sorry your parents failed you, but get on it. Look up a few simple recipes and try them out. There is no better way to get quality, healthy, cheap food than to make it in your own kitchen.  Mashed potatoes, corn, and baked chicken would be a good beginner's plate.  Or a nice crock pot stew.  I know the dollar menu is cheap, but don't go there.  Since this is a huge subject, we are going to make multiple posts about it.  This one is just an introduction, so bear with us.  The next one will be on minimal breakfasts.

We got two weeks of groceries today for $41.  We live alone, of course, so we guess you should double that if you’ve got two, or triple it for three, etc.  Here is a list of things we bought:

potatoes

canned veggies

carrots

blueberry bagels

cream cheese

Ramen

eggs

dried Northern beans

Milano cookies

Ok, ok, we didn’t need the cookies, but come on.  It’s cold, and we need some extra calories to stay warm.  That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it.

Anyway, anyway.  Dinner is, for  most people, the biggest meal of the day.  We want to maximize nutrients and minimize garbage.  Don’t buy tv dinners.  Don’t get takeout or drive thru food.  Cook some real noms in your own kitchen.  Here are some tasty ideas:

Veggie plate: This is what we eat more often than not.  Mashed potatoes with canned or fresh veggies.  Lots of vitamins and minerals and fiber, but low in fat.  No, we’re not going to die from lack of protein.  Plants are made of protein, ok? Today we boiled fresh carrots with our potatoes and mashed them, for extra color and flavor.  Nom nom. That’s probably too much potatoes on our plate, but we don’t care. And if you have some mac n’ cheese with your veggies once in a while, we’ll look the other way.

Soup: The crock pot is great for this, but you could do stovetop too.  Look up some recipes and get it going.  Make a big batch and then freeze it so you’ll have leftovers, too.

Chicken with veggies: You can cook a whole chicken on your off day and use all the pieces for a week.  Look up some recipes and then be creative about using the leftovers in sandwiches and soups.  Use the bones to make broth.  Note: we don’t really eat meat, so we can’t give you good instructions here.  The internet is your friend.

Sandwiches: There’s nothing wrong with having a sammich for dinner.  Try to make it healthier than a pb&j, though.  Lean meat, tomato and avocado.  Iceberg lettuce is basically crunchy water, so use spinach or romaine instead.  Have a tuna melt, or a BLT (drain the extra grease off your bacon) or a grilled cheese with soup.

Burgers: Make them at home.  Lean ground chuck or even turkey or veggie patties are a tasty alternative to hitting Sonic. Get whole wheat buns and skip the mayo in favor of guacamole. Tomato, onion and spinach pair well here.  Carrot sticks on the side instead of fries.  Delish.

Ramen: Dress it up with eggs, veggies, or lean protein like chicken or fish.  We’ve been known to eat ramen like this for weeks at a time, out of laziness and sheer brokedness.  You know those pouches of flavored tuna?  Those are your friend here.

Casseroles: These are easy to make, just stick your stuff in a baking pan and put it in the oven for a while.  Broccoli chicken is a good one. Our favorite is Taco Casserole, which is a recipe we stole from The Sims.  (Brown some lean ground beef.  Mix in some onions and powdered taco seasoning.  Put it in a baking dish with a can of chili beans and a can of Rotel, then top it all with cheddar cheese.  Bake until delish.  Eat with Fritos and sour cream.)

Beans: Beans can be boring, but you can dress them up nicely.  A little bacon and seasoned salt make a huge difference. Pair them with rice if you like, they are an excellent source of fiber and protein and they are dirt cheap. Cornbread is good on the side.  Make it at home, don’t buy it.  You just need cornmeal mix, eggs and water.  Buttermilk if you want to get fancy.

There are, of course, lots of other healthy options.  Look for bulk items and sales at your grocery store, visit discount stores, and avoid processed anything.  We’re guilty of having canned soup once in a while.  Campbell’s Chunky is where it’s at.  But don’t make a habit of it.

Having tasty, nutritious food at home will keep you from being tempted by fast food.  It’s also great for your attitude through the day. Knowing you’re leaving work to go home to a real home-cooked meal can make a huge difference in your attitude, vs. going home to a floppy cheeseburger and cold fries.  You’ll stay healthier and so will your budget.

Happy cooking, followers!