[beauflow]

So, I'm really bad with making lunches, sometimes I don't eat at work, and if I forget to bring my own food my choices are very limited at work with yucky vending machine foods.

I am hoping this is a start to a healthier life style.

I got salad makings today and made a simple salad, then got skinless chicken thighs and baked them in water.
Chopped up the chicken split into little baggies, as I did with the salad makings.

Think this weekend I will try to make a Weeks worth of quick grab lunches for my s/o and I.

Any suggestions on other quick healthy things. On a tight budget, my fruit smoothies I started to do last month I didn't realize was going to be so costly, been trying to get berries when they are on sale.
(guess I like the expensive fruit?)
I did manage to get some mangos today,i don't know if I like mangos though so will see they were on sale at my grocery store today, and I have some frozen fruit in my freezer from my last run....just me getting up before rushing to work is the other problem (be nice to be able to take my blender and stuff With me lol, cuz I have time at work to blend)
I had thought at one point making a few days worth of smoothies and putting them in the fridge for a quick grab but sigh, guess the cups I got are too big? Not for the fridge but as far as smoothie consumption. Also they don't stay frozen of course.

Any who..... suggestions?

I think I may go to the dollar store and get more bowels,i don't particular like the baggie idea because I know myself I won't reuse them, which then I see as wasteful

Only four meals worth made up today but it's a start

[hamster-bamster]

If you are in the US and have Trader Joe's, I can give you suggestions.

Also, for smoothies, frozen berries are both cheaper and better (yield better quality) than fresh berries. And the cheapest frozen berries are at Trader Joe's.

[unaluna]

I like to make soups. Like broccoli, or carrot, or cauliflower, or celery. The basic recipe is brown an onion, cut up a potato, add water or broth, add the cut up veg, add a can of beans. Then puree it with a stick blender. If you use a regular blender, you have to be careful if it's hot, it hops out of the container, don't fill it too full while blending. Anyway then it's creamy and yummy and filling and has protein from the beans.

I will also buy a bunch of sweet potatoes, bake them for one hour plus, then divide them up into 3/4 cup serving (1/2 cup might work too). I do put them into ziploc snack bags. The drug store has generic ziploc bags for cheaper. And I had a box of kasha (buckwheat groats) I cooked with white potatoes, mushrooms, and onions, and I had that with a sweet potato for a very filling dinner!.

I also roasted some small sweet peppers, and put those in bags. I make sandwiches with them. Today I bought some chards and kale, I realized I wasn't really eating any leafy greens, i plan to cook those tomorrow. All this plus some cans of tuna fish and I am pretty much set for the month! Oh - and a lb of spaghetti

[hamster-bamster]

Broth!

On broth... broth from Tetra-Pak packages tastes better than broth from cans, and, you can store left-over broth in a Tetra-Pak package in the fridge.

[beauflow]

Thanks Hamster-Bamster and Hankster

Trader Joe's (recipes) - Trader Joe's
but trader Joe's isn't near me. but there are some health food stores that are near me, just I remember one time I went in a health food store and i was shocked.... so i stick to my King Soopers/Kroger store

frozen fruit, i always forget to look in the frozen aisle for fruits! I get my veggies there though.

Hankster that soup sounds good , Thanks for sharing that I will have to try it.
I have been trying to cut back on potatoes I love them too much.
But your giving me ideas
Soups are actually one thing that I have been wondering about off and on for a bit with "home made, and how" lol, They don't seem that hard, but I forget about it when I go shopping.

Never have really bought broth, so this will be a new venture for me
I remember one time I wanted to keep my chicken juices from what I bake, but I keep on forgetting to look into how exactly to do that all.

Some times I feel like I need a mom or a grandma to help me out with this home made stuff go borrow someone's for day just kidding
Google is a good friend as well as you guys (ladies) here are s (thanks)

I know the sleep is one thing that probably would be the best for me with health, may help to be less forgetful

Yeah I always get the store brand baggies- the baggies i got today were both a dollar each..

[hamster-bamster]

Trader Joe's is not a health food store.

Health food stores are very expensive, and Trader Joe's is not. Plus, Trader Joe's stores many more creatively made products for single people or couples living without children.

It is a shame you do not have one near you!

[beauflow]

Oh, it's not a health food store- sorry.

It looks neat, read the About us page after your post, it was a little store started off with a dream

It all started in the 50s...
Would you believe we started out as a small chain of convenience stores? It's true. Way back in 1958. We were called Pronto Markets. In '67, our founder, the original Trader Joe, changed our name (yes, to Trader Joe's) and the way we do business.

Maybe they will spread out in a few more years to come?

this looks really good to me right now lol, damn me and bringing a salad! lol
Trader Joe's

[Shiny Things]

Pinto beans cooked in the crockpot. They make great chili beans, easy to heat up at work. A slice of cornbread and you are set. Also, mash the beans and make burritos with cheese and onion. If you wrap them in wax paper, they nuke up pretty fast and are good. Also, has anyone tried massaged kale salad? I love it, there are recipes online.

I eat a lot of raw stuff...

So slice up some carrot sticks, celery, broccoli, apples, oranges...throw a banana in your bag, an avocado (great protein although can be pricey).

Get some big tubs of greek yogurt, put in a smaller container to go and add frozen berries + fruit.

I eat a lot of dried fruit and nuts, which you can find on sale at times...things like cranberries, apricots, bananas, raisins, mix it up with some almonds, sunflower seeds and rice chex..you can make your own trail mix relatively cheap.

Some cheap meals involve a lot of rice and beans for me. Cook the rice and beans the night before mix up the beans with some cumin or onions whatever you like, also buy bulk DRY beans much cheaper but must be soaked in water overnight. Throw in what you have, a green pepper, some frozen corn, whatever your fancy. pile it into a container with some salsa (or cook with fresh or canned tomatoes and add spice to taste). In the morning throw on some greek yogurt (low fat alternative to sour cream) and there you have bean rice thing going on.

Stir frys are easy and cheap. Cook rice, get a frozen pack of veggies and mix em all up add fresh veggies if you have them or can afford them. Throw on some soy or plum sauce put in containers, good to go.

I like soup, so I eat a lot of it...if you make a huge pot you can freeze half of it and divide the rest for lunches. Soup is also EASY (just takes prep but once that's done you just let it cook).

Don't forget to experiment with salads and you can also make potato salad , tastes great with cilantro and sweet potatos, or with white potatos and dill. Try a greek salad if you get bored.

Other ideas...Rice cakes and hummus, pita bread and tzatziki, homemade wraps to go (put in veggies, dressing, a little shredded cheese whatever you fancy roll it up and you're good to go. you can make wraps with rice and salsa and what not as well).

Whatever you make for a healthy dinner can then be put into containers for lunch (examples of things that end up with me the next day are vegetarian chili, rice-noodle pasta with pesto etc.)

[hamster-bamster]

Also, sunflower seeds for a source of raw protein. Sprinkle on salads or eat out of hand. Quality fat, too.