Cottage in the Sky
You’re late leaving work and exhausted. You hold the steering wheel with fingers outstretched to allow the heat from the vents to blow over your hands. Rain sluices down your windshield. High-beams glare in your rear-view mirror. There’s no supper waiting at home. Meal prep? Who are you kidding? You’re famished!
Decision Time!
Hmmm … If I order pizza now, I’ll have just enough time to get home and change into my fuzzy pajamas before it’s delivered!
No! I just ate at a restaurant for lunch. I should be cooking dinner when I get home. What about saving for that down payment?
Actually, pizza is pretty inexpensive. Even less so considering that I can take the leftovers for lunch.
But what about my sister’s wedding? That snooty, slutty, skinny Amanda will definitely be there. I sooo want to show up in my little black dress! Ugh! Pizza is not exactly slimming.
I almost forgot!
That new mini series with that super-hot guy is on tonight. A double episode! It starts in, like, 45 minutes. You know what? I worked hard all day. If I order pizza now, I can be in my pyjamas, pizza in one hand, glass of Cabernet in the other, and be sitting in front of the TV when it starts!
Why is it Such a Challenge To Eat Healthy?
Because:
- You’ve been making one off dishes — steaming broccoli, boiling peas, and munching on carrot sticks. Boring! Who could stick to eating meals like that?
- You’re hungry, tired, and pressed for time. This makes it even more difficult to stay motivated to cook.
- The amount of processed, ready-made food available makes it nearly impossible.
But, what if you could come home and quickly heat up a healthy, delicious, “from-scratch” meal? What if there were healthy, delicious, “from-scratch” meals all ready to take for lunch the next day?
What if you never had to miss another mini series?
The Easy Way to Eat Healthy
The secret is to never make a one-off meal. If you’re going to settle in to cook, then choose one recipe that will last over several meals. If you do this on most days, then you will always have “food at the ready.”
- Base your daily meals around two servings of fruit and six servings of vegetables. Always include a protein source.
- Stick to real, whole food. Everything organic, of course.
- Don’t prepare all these meals at once. It’s better to try to cook one of these most every day.
- You can still prepare one off meals when you have extra time.
Schedule your cooking time after you’ve eaten your dinner and watched your mini series. Nothing here takes more than an hour to prepare (except the casserole dishes). Most takes less time. All will last several days.
Note that this meal prep menu works well for two people. Adjust accordingly.
Hard-Boiled Eggs
Hard-boiled eggs are such a gift. Each one is full of protein and comes in its own carrying case. Once a week, hard boil a dozen eggs to have “at the ready” in your fridge.
- Eat for breakfast, or a snack.
- Take for lunch.
- Slice up over a salad, or on a sandwich.
Fresh, Raw Salad
Chop up your choice of non-leafy, raw vegetables into bite sized chunks. Squeeze half a lime or lemon (throw the left-over rind in your water glass) and pour olive oil over the salad and stir. The combination of citrus juice and olive oil helps to preserve the salad. It’ll stay fresh for at least three days, if not four.
Great to take for lunch. Or a quick, healthy snack when you first get home.
My favourite is tangy, peppery Greek salad.
Nothing can compare to fresh herbs! Keep basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and chives growing on a sunny ledge. Add to your salad just before serving.
Savoury Meat
Roast up a bunch of chicken breasts, or thighs. Or a whole chicken. Slow cook a roast beef in your crock-pot. Cook up a ham. Bake a salmon.
Organic, grass fed, pasture raised, free run/range … make sure your grocery choices tick as many boxes as possible.
Add slices to your sandwich, or on your salad. Use the meat in a casserole, or freeze to use another day.
Healthy Muffins
Home made muffins don’t have to be caloric! These pumpkin spice muffins are delicious and approximately 250 calories each.
- Have a couple for breakfast.
- Take one with you for lunch.
- Eat as a dessert or for a snack.
Store your muffins in a casserole dish with a glass lid so they stay moist.
Mix and Match Your Meals!
- Cook up sweet potatoes, yams, quinoa, brown rice, beans, lentils, or split peas, store it in a lidded container in the fridge, and add to any meal.
- Add cubed ham, sliced hard-boiled egg, and cheese to the crunchy salad. Call it breakfast!
- Spoon any of these meals into a mason jar, screw on the lid, and take for lunch.
Note that the fridge does not look over-crowded. Yet, there is so much to eat!
- Top shelf: cooked yams and chili (in casserole dishes), and cooked chick peas in a mason jar.
- Middle shelf: assorted nuts (green container), fresh eggs, hard-boiled eggs (in the middle crisper), two pieces of cod and two steaks (wrapped in paper).
- Bottom shelf: pumpkin spice muffins and Greek salad (in casserole dishes), organic milk (glass bottle), olives and left-over tomato sauce.
- Bottom crispers: fruit and vegetables wrapped in white cloths and dish towels.
Yummy Casseroles
You may want to wait for the weekend to make a massive dish of stew, chili, ratatouille, shepherd’s pie, or yam casserole.
Entertainment and cooking go well together. Have a movie playing in the background. Or listen to an audio book or music.
Make the evening atmospheric. Use task lighting to see what you’re doing, but otherwise, turn down the overheads and light candles. And there’s nothing’s wrong with a glass of wine while you cook.
Freeze your Casseroles
Back when we weren’t so strict about eating only real food, we used to buy pre-made hummus. Thankfully, I kept the containers! Single-serving containers are great for small households and perfect for freezing the casserole you’ve just slaved over.
Reusables are the best and it’s so great if you don’t have to buy containers. Packaging is overwhelming our world. Can you reuse it? Maybe? Yes!
A freezer full of frozen meals makes it easy to heat up healthy food during those week nights.
Once cooked, turn off the stove and add half a bell pepper, a stick of celery and a green onion (all sliced). Stir the freshly cut food into your cooked meal (you want it warm, but still crunchy).
Scoop into your favourite dish. Sprinkle diced garlic and fresh herbs from your windowsill garden. Grate Parmesan cheese over top. Enjoy your healthy, delicious, “from-scratch” meal!
Anything Goes! Be Creative.
I made this casserole with:
- Left over diced tomatoes
- Organic ground beef
- Cumin, pepper, and oregano
- Steamed fresh broccoli
- Cooked yams (that were going off)
- White cheese grated over the top.
When it came out of the oven, it smelled like… yum …pizza!
THRIFTY ♥ ENVIRONMENTAL ♥ HEALTHY