Eat during the day.
Apple and peanut butter, yogurt with granola, trail mix, a clif bar, etc
People who are hungry and exhausted make poor decisions
Get a small rice cooker, they’re like $20
Start the rice and make a quick tofu veg stir fry, everything is done at the same time.
Or do the rice with canned rinsed black beans and salsa and avocado and side of cabbage slaw
Use the rice cooker to make barley , toss into a pot with canned tomatoes and broth and lentils and veg and make an epic batch of soup and freeze extras
Also do the math what you spent on delivery and take out last month. That may inspire you to find the time to do some meal prep for an hour or two once a week
For real! We cut eating out to one day a week and we save SO much money. It's crazy.
For just my (adult) kid and myself, it cost something like $40 for a burrito and taco meal..and that was with a over $20 credit we had for a prior screw up where they forgot some of our food.
Right? Like buying a not crappy salad with enough toppings to make it a meal is easily $15.
Buying my own ingredients and spending a half hour on cooking it can make 3-4 larger same meals for $15.
As someone else said, rice cookers are great. It is so quick to throw in rice, veggies, meat and have a nice meal.
Maybe you could do a quick sheet pan or foil wrapped meals? If you buy already chopped veggies, and throw them on a sheet with chicken or some other type of meat?
Another idea (if you don't want to cook) get a rotisserie chicken, bagged salad, avocado, tomatoes, cheese..your favorite salad toppings and dressing. Maybe boil some eggs and have a nice chef type salad.
I boil eggs a 12-pack at a time so they are easy to grab. You could also do overnight oats so you have a quick breakfast you can grab.
There are a lot of easy and healthy slow cooker recipes. You can toss stuff in before your work day starts, and it'll be ready when you're finished. And if you make a big batch, you'll have leftovers to eat throughout the week.
How much free time do you have in a chunk? 1-3 hours? Best bet is batch cooking and getting things prepped.
Cook things like chicken breast, quinoa, lentils and beans; portion them out and freeze them.
Have containers of vegetables (that won't go gross in <48) that are ready to be used: ie: Carrots cut into sticks/chunks/diced or julienned. Broccoli and cauliflower cut into bite sized pieces. Kale, romaine or another hardier lettuce washed and dried.
Shred your own cheese, or buy prepackaged.
You could easily put together wraps, salad bowls, noodle bowls.
Just have sour cream, salsa, and different dressings on hand.
When my time is this crunched, dinner becomes sandwiches or burritos.
You can use canned beans, microwave them with some oil and seasonings (I like chili powder with extra onion and garlic powder added), and mash them with a fork, to go into a quick burrito with veg (a salad kit from the grocery), salsa, (hot sauce, avocado, cheese, & sour cream to taste).
I usually do something like that for lunch, working from home, but it works for quick dinner too. One can of beans can be two or three burritos worth (depending on what you add in and tortilla size).
Eat during the day. Apple and peanut butter, yogurt with granola, trail mix, a clif bar, etc People who are hungry and exhausted make poor decisions Get a small rice cooker, they’re like $20 Start the rice and make a quick tofu veg stir fry, everything is done at the same time. Or do the rice with canned rinsed black beans and salsa and avocado and side of cabbage slaw Use the rice cooker to make barley , toss into a pot with canned tomatoes and broth and lentils and veg and make an epic batch of soup and freeze extras Also do the math what you spent on delivery and take out last month. That may inspire you to find the time to do some meal prep for an hour or two once a week
For real! We cut eating out to one day a week and we save SO much money. It's crazy. For just my (adult) kid and myself, it cost something like $40 for a burrito and taco meal..and that was with a over $20 credit we had for a prior screw up where they forgot some of our food.
Right? Like buying a not crappy salad with enough toppings to make it a meal is easily $15. Buying my own ingredients and spending a half hour on cooking it can make 3-4 larger same meals for $15.
Absolutely!
As someone else said, rice cookers are great. It is so quick to throw in rice, veggies, meat and have a nice meal. Maybe you could do a quick sheet pan or foil wrapped meals? If you buy already chopped veggies, and throw them on a sheet with chicken or some other type of meat? Another idea (if you don't want to cook) get a rotisserie chicken, bagged salad, avocado, tomatoes, cheese..your favorite salad toppings and dressing. Maybe boil some eggs and have a nice chef type salad. I boil eggs a 12-pack at a time so they are easy to grab. You could also do overnight oats so you have a quick breakfast you can grab.
There are a lot of easy and healthy slow cooker recipes. You can toss stuff in before your work day starts, and it'll be ready when you're finished. And if you make a big batch, you'll have leftovers to eat throughout the week.
How much free time do you have in a chunk? 1-3 hours? Best bet is batch cooking and getting things prepped. Cook things like chicken breast, quinoa, lentils and beans; portion them out and freeze them. Have containers of vegetables (that won't go gross in <48) that are ready to be used: ie: Carrots cut into sticks/chunks/diced or julienned. Broccoli and cauliflower cut into bite sized pieces. Kale, romaine or another hardier lettuce washed and dried. Shred your own cheese, or buy prepackaged. You could easily put together wraps, salad bowls, noodle bowls. Just have sour cream, salsa, and different dressings on hand.
When my time is this crunched, dinner becomes sandwiches or burritos. You can use canned beans, microwave them with some oil and seasonings (I like chili powder with extra onion and garlic powder added), and mash them with a fork, to go into a quick burrito with veg (a salad kit from the grocery), salsa, (hot sauce, avocado, cheese, & sour cream to taste). I usually do something like that for lunch, working from home, but it works for quick dinner too. One can of beans can be two or three burritos worth (depending on what you add in and tortilla size).
This is so smart, thank you!!