After a long year of eating dining hall meals (which consisted of lots of cereal and the weekly Schilletter barbeque), and spending a lot of money eating out, I was beyond excited to be making my own food this year. I had big expectations for the fabulous meals I was going to cook every single day. But the reality is that meal planning is hard! This guide shares some of the tips (SAVE) and recipes (SAVORY) I have learned over the past few weeks and I hope you can benefit from them as much as I have.
Save
Instacart: It can be hard to find the time to plan your meals, but some weeks it can be harder to find the time to even get to the grocery store. This is why I am a huge fan of Instacart. Instacart is like Uber for groceries from your local grocery store. You create your list online at www.instacart.com and a shopper will deliver your groceries within just two hours. The delivery fee is $5.99, but there are promo codes on websites like www.retailmenot.com nearly every day.
Freezer: The freezer is your friend. Instead of eating the same crockpot meal for a whole week until it’s gone, freeze it. I like to freeze personal portions of food in separate Ziploc bags so I can quickly heat up a single meal at any time.
Appliances: I currently have an efficiency kitchen, meaning I don’t have access to an oven or stove top. Therefore, all of my food has been made in the microwave, crockpot and occasionally the toaster oven. These appliances make meal prepping super easy and efficient and are especially great when cooking personal servings.
Savory
Crockpot Mexican Chicken: 1 package of boneless skinless chicken breast, 1 jar of salsa, 1 bag of frozen corn, and 1-2 cans of black beans. Put all ingredients in the crockpot. Fill empty salsa jar with water and add. Cook for about five hours. Use a fork to shred the chicken before serving. This is delicious in a wrap, over a salad or on its own.
Microwave Scrambled Eggs: Eggs, salt, pepper, olive oil and whatever ingredients you desire to put in an omelet. Crack and beat your eggs in a mug, adding salt and pepper. Add just a drop of olive oil to prevent the eggs from being dry. I like to add spinach and a little bit of parmesan cheese, but the options are endless.
Sweet Potato & Avocado: 1 sweet potato, ½ avocado, lemon or lime juice, salt and pepper. Use a fork to make a couple few holes in the sweet potato and microwave for about seven minutes. While the sweet potato is cooking, mash half an ½ avocado in a bowl and add about 1 tablespoon of lemon or lime juice along with salt and pepper. Remove sweet potato from microwave and cut it open. Top with the mashed avocado. You might raise an eyebrow at this one, but trust me. If you’re a fan of sweet potato fries or guacamole, this one is for you.