Meal Prep Prep
For the last year of my weight loss adventure, I learned the incredible value of meal prep. It's incredibly hard to allow yourself a swoop through the McDonald's drive-thru when you know you have a delicious, healthy meal at home waiting for you (shit, do I ever miss a quarter pounder with cheese...). I spend about 4 hours of my Sunday's meal planning, shopping, and prepping so that I don't have to worry about food the rest of the week and I'm not tempted by the magical golden arches devil.
I've been able to apply this same concept to the Year of the Poor. Meal prep has been instrumental in sticking to my budget....hahahahaha...that's funny. I texted Kyle on February 6th that we were already $50 over our monthly budget. In my defense, we're on month two of having a budget, and I set a $250 a month budget for a family of four. What in the hell was I thinking? The good news is, I'm two months in and now I know we're more like a $400 a month family, and fortunately for me Kyle's part time work has brought in more than we estimated. I blame my monthly order at Thrive Market for the overage!
I've taught myself the skill of making large batch meals that can be individually frozen and microwaved on demand. A week ago I made a large batch of home-made refried beans and rolled them in tortillas with cheese, individually wrapped them and froze them for a total of $0.17 per burrito. I also made a large batch of bacon, egg and potato burritos and froze them as well for a total cost of $0.78 per burrito.
These little frozen bundles of delicious have been so helpful for Kyle's breakfast out the door, and our meals when we're out of left overs or just want something different.
This last weekend I made a Broccoli Cheddar Quiche and a Spinach Feta Tomato Quiche with the same goals in mind. I froze each slice individually so we can grab and go as needed. Those came to be about $0.50 a piece.
It's interesting that last year's adventure of weight loss really set me up for a year of not spending money. I've already spent the last year getting my "Need" for eating out purged from my system, and I've also pre-taught myself the value of cooking whole, clean foods from scratch, shopping off a list and not wasting food. I am pretty proud to say I go most months with never throwing any food out, we eat ALL OF IT, which is impressive considering Kyle refuses to eat leftovers. He lives off cereal though, but that's a whole other story!
I've been able to apply this same concept to the Year of the Poor. Meal prep has been instrumental in sticking to my budget....hahahahaha...that's funny. I texted Kyle on February 6th that we were already $50 over our monthly budget. In my defense, we're on month two of having a budget, and I set a $250 a month budget for a family of four. What in the hell was I thinking? The good news is, I'm two months in and now I know we're more like a $400 a month family, and fortunately for me Kyle's part time work has brought in more than we estimated. I blame my monthly order at Thrive Market for the overage!
I've taught myself the skill of making large batch meals that can be individually frozen and microwaved on demand. A week ago I made a large batch of home-made refried beans and rolled them in tortillas with cheese, individually wrapped them and froze them for a total of $0.17 per burrito. I also made a large batch of bacon, egg and potato burritos and froze them as well for a total cost of $0.78 per burrito.
These little frozen bundles of delicious have been so helpful for Kyle's breakfast out the door, and our meals when we're out of left overs or just want something different.
This last weekend I made a Broccoli Cheddar Quiche and a Spinach Feta Tomato Quiche with the same goals in mind. I froze each slice individually so we can grab and go as needed. Those came to be about $0.50 a piece.
It's interesting that last year's adventure of weight loss really set me up for a year of not spending money. I've already spent the last year getting my "Need" for eating out purged from my system, and I've also pre-taught myself the value of cooking whole, clean foods from scratch, shopping off a list and not wasting food. I am pretty proud to say I go most months with never throwing any food out, we eat ALL OF IT, which is impressive considering Kyle refuses to eat leftovers. He lives off cereal though, but that's a whole other story!
Comments
Post a Comment