Eating Healthy Without Blowing Time and Money

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EatingI don’t know about you, but sometimes the whole being-responsible-for-hungry-people thing can feel a little overwhelming. I mean, it truly is a never-ending job. I’m a teacher, so I work full-time during the school year, and I have a household of terribly sensitive stomachs that absolutely prohibit processed food, frozen dinners, and take-out more than one day in a row. I also have a measly little grocery budget, so everything has to be prepped by yours truly. I’ve spent a decade learning, tweaking, adapting, and failing at the healthy cooking thing, and I truly believe that almost anything I prepare for my family is healthier than what I can buy already prepared. It cuts out the chemicals used to keep food on the shelf longer, and it usually means we eat more sensible portions. And every meal I prepare myself saves us big money on our grocery budget. I’m not perfect. Takeout still happens, and some recipes are better (for us) than others. Slowly but surely, I feel like I’ve created a system of recipes and prep that work for our family; maybe it will work for you, too.

1. I shop at Aldi. I resisted this one for years before I finally broke down and tried it. And now I can’t quit. Aldi brought my weekly grocery bill down from around $230 to $150 (for a family of five, including a ravenous runner and two growing boys) without impacting the quality of our food at all. I was buying Kroger generics before, and I still save that much. I can’t vouch for premade foods, but the dairy, meat, and canned goods are every bit as good as the bigger stores, often for half the price. And they have $4 wine. Just saying. Aldi does have an organic line, although not for milk and dairy. That’s the biggest drawback for me, but honestly, organic wasn’t in my budget anywhere else, either. If you decide to take the Aldi plunge, be sure to take a quarter for your cart, a bundle of reusable bags, cash or a debit card, and an open mind. You won’t know what works for you until you try. I can’t get everything I need at Aldi, and typically I’ve been less than impressed with some of the produce, so I still have to make a stop at Kroger. That can be a huge time suck, which brings me to number two.

I make this all the time, but you might want to add cooking time, etc. to the label.
I make this all the time, but you might want to add cooking time, etc. to the label.

2. I try to shop and prep for several weeks at once. It doesn’t add any time to the actual grocery experience, but it frees up several subsequent weekends, and I can’t tell you how much better this makes me feel. My freezer fairy has yet to gift me a chest freezer, but my kitchen freezer is more than up to four weeks of freezer meals. (Unless it is full of breastmilk, which it is, and then I stick to two.) This week I prepped two weeks of meals in one hour on a Saturday. Boom. Done. Half the meals went in the freezer for next week, and half are in the fridge to use in the coming days. If you opt to prep this way, I recommend making two of each meal to utilize ingredients.

Double up on freezer bags to prevent messes and freezer burn. I also write the prep instructions on the bag to save time. And I always allow at least two days for the meal to thaw in the refrigerator. It really does take that long. I also highly recommend this vegetable chopper for saving prep time; it is easy to use and easy to clean.  I do still have to make a quick weekly Kroger run for fresh produce (because, bananas), but it only takes a few minutes instead of hours.

Meals prepped and ready to go.
Meals prepped and ready to go.

3. Snacks are a huge budget buster, and most are highly-processed and full of crap. I’ve made a concentrated effort to switch out our snacks for whole-food options. Some favorites at our house: hummus and veggies (carrots, peppers, etc.), cottage cheese with protein cereal, yogurt with frozen berries, peanut butter on bananas and apples, and any kind of fruit. We do eat sugar in our house, but as much as possible, I tend toward baked goods that I make myself. At least I know there aren’t a bunch of preservatives in there. If portion control is a problem, try packaging cookies in snack bags and freezing them; that will help eliminate those times when you suddenly eat a whole batch of baked goods and have no idea how. (If you can’t resist eating the dough, I have no solution. In fact, invite me over to help you eat it.)

4. Breakfast foods tend to be high sugar and fat. I’ve started making toast with peanut butter and a thin layer of Nutella (Aldi’s version is great), hard-boiled eggs, and yogurt. Making your own bread is totally doable with a Kitchen Aid mixer; it does the kneading for you, and you pretty much sit around and wait for it to rise. If you want to try it, I use this recipe from An Oregon Cottage and white whole wheat flour, which my kids prefer.  When we do eat cereal, I offer unsweetened brands and let my kids add a little honey, which I tell myself is better than artificial flavoring.

5. Most of our lunches are leftovers. But I also like to put chicken breasts in the crockpot, dump on some seasonings (cumin, paprika, onion powder, garlic, salt, whatever), add a tablespoon of water, and cook on low for eight hours. When it is finished, I shred it for quesadillas and salads. I am not usually a fan of chicken breasts, but when I cook them in the crockpot and shred them, they aren’t dry at all.

I’ve used a lot of those freezer meal websites in the past, and usually I only like a few of the recipes. But really, this is something I can totally do on my own. (And so can you.) I put together some favorite recipes, make a master list, and keep it saved on my computer so that I can print, add some weekly extras, and head out the door. Want some new ideas, or looking to try this on your own? Here’s some of my favorite recipes to make ahead and freeze.

Santa Fe Chicken from Skinnytaste. I’ve had tremendous luck with this website in general, but this one is an easy favorite. It can be served many different ways; usually I just shred cheese, cut up avocado, and cook some rice. It makes plenty, so lunch is covered for the next day.

Honey Sesame Chicken from Skinnytaste. My kiddos love, love, love this one. It only takes four hours in the crockpot, so plan it for a day when you will be home. Also, if you have a corn sensitivity, substitute arrowroot for corn starch.

Horseradish Meatloaf (originally from Southern Living). I make this as mini-meatloaves, which take less time to cook and apparently (according to my kiddos) taste better because they are mini.  Clearly.  The horseradish isn’t overwhelming; it just adds a nice zing.

Brown sugar chicken from Deep South Dish. Yes, it contains sugar. But the amount of sugar you actually eat pales in comparison to a processed meal. You don’t need a ton of the glaze; most of it stays in the pot, and I always pair this with healthy veggies and sweet potatoes. Chicken thighs get oh, so tender in the crockpot.

Chipotle Lime Chicken from the Six Sisters site. Similar to the Santa Fe Chicken, it can be shredded and served on tortillas, over rice, or plain. This link takes you to a list of freezer meals; we like some of them are better than others. I recommend the Hearty Beef Stew as well.

Chicken Curry. Mmmmmm.  Bonus points for sneaking in the peas.

Slow Cooker Quinoa Tex-Mex from Chelsea’s Messy Apron.  This is another quick cooker (3-4 hours), so plan accordingly.  It is so, so good.  My kids and husband both gobble it up.

We try to keep it simple with sides. If you have a steamer, almost any vegetable can be steamed, drizzled with olive oil (just a little) and sprinkled with sea salt. My kids gobble up veggies prepared this way. (I told them the sea salt was sprinkles. So sue me.) We also love sweet potatoes; I poke them with a fork, microwave them under a damp towel for five minutes per potato, mash them open and sprinkle with cinnamon and sea salt. So yummy…so healthy. When a recipe pairs well with rice, I usually make the boil-in-bag brown rice. For a little zing, I mix in cilantro or green onions.

I’m sure there’s room for improvement in my system, but it works well for our nutritional needs, our budget, and my time constraints. Most of the evening prep takes less time that buckling everyone in the car for a take-out run, and the whole family feels so much better.

Have a favorite quick, easy recipe?  Please share the link in the comments!

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