Meal Prep on a Budget
By Kayleen Echegoyen
Ahh, the weekend! Two days of bliss we have worked towards for an entire week. We either fill our time with exciting activities or take time to rest. Then Monday rolls around, we quickly settle into the daily routine. We focus on the tasks at hand and the goals ahead. The day begins to quickly progress and then your stomach begins to growl, only to realize it’s lunchtime. You instinctively grab your phone to order your favorite meal from the closest quick-service restaurant. Once you have selected everything you are craving, you checkout just and to your surprise, the final price is twenty dollars! When this becomes a daily habit, you end up spending more money on dining out than you ever expected. Even though the convenience of dining out presents the easiest option, the expense adds up quickly! There is an easy way to save money, time, and still enjoy what you crave from a healthy and delicious meal. The key is to meal plan at the beginning of the week. By simply planning your food for the week ahead, you can save money, time, and energy. What if you could spend thirty dollars for an entire week’s worth of groceries for dinner and/or lunch? It can be done by taking the time to meal prep! It’s important to be financially savvy with your meals, so here are some tips to create an extraordinary meal prep without going over the budget.
- Meal Prepping at the Beginning of the Week
Meal prepping is simply planning out your meals for the week, purchasing all the groceries, and then investing a few hours at the beginning of the week to prepare all the ingredients. By using the same ingredients in several meals and even repeating those dishes throughout the week, you not only save money but time as well. Of the many benefits, meal prepping ensures you have a healthy, nutritious, and delicious meal ready at any moment. This helps curve those late-night food delivery costs when you come back from work or school exhausted, desiring a quick meal. Did you know that these food delivery apps add around a 7% to 91% markup for their services (Chen, 2020)? Of the total food expenditure in the United States for 2019, 54.8% was spent on dining out (USDA). This means Americans spent more money going to restaurants and ordering takeout than purchasing groceries to prepare a home-cooked meal! In 2016, Millennials spent 44% of their food budget on eating out, which equated to an annual expense of $2,921 (Talty, 2017). Imagine what this number is today! When you save by eating at home or packing a lunch, you can then treat yourself to a night out with friends.
Before heading to the grocery store, you must first plan your meals for the week. Decide what dishes you will enjoy the most and write a detailed list of all the ingredients. Then take inventory of what is already in the pantry and determine what is needed. Not only should you check for ingredients you already have but evaluate what other items you may want to integrate into that week’s menu. When purchasing what is on your list, remember there will be an opportunity to use the same ingredient in multiple recipes (refer to recipes below). Using a few simple ingredients will stretch your budget and elevate your dishes!
- Grocery Shopping Time
Once you have a shopping list, search around to find the best deals. Check your local grocery store, farmers market, butcher shop, and bakery first. Not only will you find good prices, but it will be of superior quality and you are supporting the local economy, your community. For those in Lynchburg, check out the Lynchburg farmer’s market during the spring! Grocery stores are constantly running different promotions to get customers through their doors, use this to your advantage. Compare prices from different stores to find the lowest prices on the ingredients you need. Some of my favorite places to search for great discounts and competitive prices are Aldi, Trader Joe’s, and Walmart. When you venture to the grocery store, try to buy items in bulk, which should result in a better value for your money. It is even better if you can purchase those ingredients online through grocery pickup or delivery. This helps you save time and keeps you from meandering the aisles which can lead to purchasing unnecessary items. We’ve all grabbed a snack at the checkout line!
Once you are ready to head out and complete your shopping, do it all in one trip. Hit all the stores you need to get the best deals, making sure to check off all the items on your list. Expenses can add up during those last-minute grocery runs when you realize you are missing an ingredient. The costs of those “quick” trips can add up fast!
- Buy Seasonally
If you are an expert planner, you could even buy food out of season. For example, right after the holidays, all the seasonal food goes on sale. Items such as frozen turkeys, boxed stuffing, and jellied cranberries get marked down the day after. These items can be stored for up to a year in your pantry, fridge, or freezer. Or if you enjoy peaches all year round, purchase them at the end of the season when farms are selling their last harvest. You can slice them up and freeze them to use in future dishes, such as a smoothie.
- Premade vs. From Scratch
Sometimes, it is cheaper to buy a premade item versus making it yourself. As a classically trained chef, I pride myself on making everything from scratch, but when it comes down to it, there are shortcuts to save time and money. Maybe making the pesto sauce yourself would be fancier, but it’s more expensive than buying the pre-made pesto sauce.
So, be savvy as you prepare your meals for this next week. You don’t have to compromise on flavor when making a meal on a budget. To help you get started, here is an idea of weekly meal prep and some recipes developed in my kitchen! The meal prep below is created for 4 meals for 2 people.
Shopping List for the Week
- Rotisserie chicken ($4.98)
- Sweet potatoes (3lb bag – $2.64)
- Beefsteak or Roma Tomatoes (3lb. – $4.98)
- Avocado – $3.98 (5ct.)
- Cilantro – $0.88 (per bunch) x2 = $1.76
- Can of Black Beans – $0.92 (15oz.)
- Mexican Cheese Blend – $2.20 (8oz bag)
- Spinach – $2.58 (10oz bag)
- Tortilla chips – $ 1.74 (13oz bag)
- Carrots – $0.92 (1lb)
- Rice – $0.72 (1lb bag)
From Pantry
- Nuts or Sunflower Seeds
- Onions
- Garlic
- Limes
- Lemons
- Olive oil
- Mustard
- Honey
Prep ahead of time
Avocado Dressing
- Ingredients
- 1 Avocado
- 1/3 cup Cilantro
- 2 tablespoons of Lime juice
- ½ cup water
- Salt & Pepper
- Steps
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth.
- Store in an airtight container for use during the week
Sautéed Spinach
- Ingredients
- 2 cup Spinach
- 1 minced Onion
- 3 cloves minced Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Olive oil
- Steps
- Heat small sauté pan to medium
- Once hot, add olive oil and onion. Sweat the onions till they begin to turn translucent, 5 minutes
- Add in the minced garlic
- Add in, by the handful, spinach and stir continuously till it wilts
- Cool and save for meal prep
Carrots
- Shred carrots ahead of time and save in an airtight container.
Daily Meals
Loaded Sweet Potato
- Ingredients
- 1 Sweet potato
- 1/3 cup of shredded Chicken
- ¼ cup of Mexican cheese blend
- 1/3 cup Black beans
- ¼ cup Sautéed Spinach
- ¼ cup avocado dressing
- Steps
- Wrap sweet potatoes in aluminum foil and bake in a 375-degree oven for 25 minutes or until tender
- Sliced Potato in half and scoop out some of the potato, creating a small cavity to hold the filling.
- Mix the chicken, black beans, and sautéed spinach, and then fill the cavity.
- Sprinkle a layer of cheese on top
- Set oven to boil at 500 degrees
- Place filed potato under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. (Be vigilant as this can burn very quickly)
- Once the sweet potato is done and the cheese has melted, drizzle the avocado dressing on top
- Enjoy!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Ingredients
- 4 Large Tomatoes
- 1 Onion
- 3 cloves of Garlic
- 2 quarts of Water or Chicken Stock
- ¼ cup of shredded Chicken
- 1 diced Avocado
- 1 handful cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup Mexican Cheese Blend
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- Tortilla Chips
- Salt & Pepper
- Steps
- In a blender combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, and ½ quart of chicken stock
- Heat a large pot to medium
- Once hot, add olive oil, blended tomato, and the rest of the chicken stock. Add salt and pepper to taste
- Allow soup to simmer for 20 minutes
- Once ready, serve with chicken, avocado, cilantro, cheese, lime wedge, and tortilla chips
- Enjoy
Southwest Bowls
- Ingredients
- ½ cup of Rice
- 1/3 cup of shredded Chicken
- ¼ cup of Mexican cheese blend
- 1/3 cup of Black beans
- ¼ cup of sautéed Spinach
- 1 diced tomato
- ¼ cup of avocado dressing
- Steps
- Cook rice according to package instructions
- Add rice to bowl and top with chicken, black beans, sautéed spinach, tomato, cheese, and avocado dressing
- Enjoy
Garden Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
- Ingredients
- 1 cup of fresh Spinach
- ½ cup of shredded Chicken
- ¼ cup of shredded Carrots
- ½ cup of Nuts or sunflower seeds
- Dressing
- 1/3 cup Lemon Juice
- 2 tablespoon ground Mustard
- ¾ cup of Olive oil
- ¼ cup of Honey
- Salt & Pepper
- Steps
- Mix all ingredients for dressing in a small mason jar. Shake till combined
- Combine all ingredient for salad in a bowl and toss with dressing
- Enjoy
References
Chen, B. X. (2020, February 26). Up to 91% More Expensive: How Delivery Apps Eat Up Your Budget. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/technology/personaltech/ubereats-doordash-postmates-grubhub-review.html
Talty, A. (2017, May 16). New Study Finds Millennials Spend 44 Percent Of Food Dollars On Eating Out. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandratalty/2016/10/17/millennials-spend-44-percent-of-food-dollars-on-eating-out-says-food-institute/?sh=f16f763ff685
U.S. food-away-from-home spending continued to outpace food-at-home spending in 2019. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/gallery/chart-detail/?chartId=58364
