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There are a multitude of habits I have implemented into my life and my journey to financial freedom but there's one that I will never sway from and has saved me the MOST money, hands down. MEAL PREPPING. Now, I know most of you just cringed as you read those two words. It's a common reaction I get when the discussion arises. But bare with me...
Meal Prepping is the concept of preparing meals ahead of schedule and it is not as daunting as a lot of folks believe it to be. Casseroles and crock pot meals are two of my favorite go-tos. There's minimal steps and ingredients and it makes a large quantity of meals. Though meal prepping saves a lot of money, the most important thing about it for me is I am eating healthy, whole foods. Fast food is obviously convenient but at what cost? It's highly processed and contains large amounts of carbohydrates, added sugar, unhealthy fats, and salt (sodium). These foods are often high in calories yet offer little or no nutritional value. Imagine the toll this takes on our health? And we all know how not being healthy affects our wallet, too.
For years and years, I have meal prepped my lunches and dinners. Due to my long work days, cooking dinner when I get home is not an option. For breakfast (as mentioned in my blog "Daily Habits that Kill... But Start the Morning Out Right"), I make my own coffee and pair it with an egg sandwich/burrito or oatmeal at home. At work, I have my meal prepped lunch and dinner prepared ahead of schedule to ensure I eat good and save money. For snacks, I carry with me one for the morning and one for the afternoon. I go between smoothies (check out my Blog "Organic Smoothies for Just $1!"), yogurt, nuts, or an apple paired with string cheese. As a bonus, for my "evening sweet treat", I have one Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel Square.
For my meal prepping routine, I cook 1-2 meals 2 days out of the week (on my days off) to ensure I have a good variety of meals and we aren't eating the same thing day after day. Chicken and broccoli gets old FAST. Pinterest is a great place to search, save and organize recipes. In meal prepping and taking my snacks to go, I am able to implement protein, veggies, fruits and all nutritional needs into my daily meals.
So first, let's talk about how quick and easy this seemingly daunting task could be. A go-to I love to have for dinner high in protein and low carb is chicken, bean and a veggie meal. How do I prepare this? I throw the chicken with some seasoning in the slow cooker in the morning and after 7 hours, I have juicy, tender chicken to pair with some type of veggie like peas, green beans, or broccoli along with a side of beans: kidney, baked, black, pinto, etc. The great part about this meal? You don't even have to pre-cook the beans or veggies. Just put them in the container with a little salt and when you heat the meal in the microwave, it cooks your sides for you!
Let's look at this from a money perspective. That's why most of you are here, right?... For a can of beans, a veggie and a pack of chicken totaling $10 in cost, I can make 6 healthy, wholesome meals that equal out to only $1.70 each!!!
As mentioned earlier, crockpot meals and casseroles are a favorite of mine. The meals generally cost me about $15 and make an average of 10 meals. That means I can eat a plate, well... mason jar, of chicken alfredo for just $1.50!!!
I will be working soon on adding a section to my page with my favorite go-to recipes that are easy, affordable, healthy and satisfying!
Meal prepping also gets you into the routine of making a grocery list and sticking to it. We plan our meals for the week, make a list, and stick to it. This helps us to not impulse buy at the grocery store which can get extremely costly.
Let's wrap up... Meal Prepping can be quick and easy if you choose simple recipes with minimal ingredients and steps and you plan ahead and stick to the plan. I PROMISE YOU, once you are in the groove, it's like second nature. In doing 2-3 meals a week, some weeks I have built up enough meals to take a week off from cooking and still eat good and most importantly, eat healthy ;) So... look at your spending habits on food alone, crunch the numbers and see what you are truly spending your hard earned money for. I'm sure you'll be surprised how just $5 here and $10 there adds up quickly. Then... think about what you could be putting that extra saved income towards!
For storage, I use several types of containers. Some with 3 dividers that are BPA free since I know they will be microwaved. Mason jars are great for soups, stews and my smoothie preps! (Wide mouth jars for food & regular for smoothies) I also purchased single glass containers with BPA free lids for casseroles like chicken alfredo. Links below for containers I highly recommend!
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