From guest contributor www.VickiHeise.com
I’m often asked how I put together quick meals and save money on food. I cook at home and prep ingredients early in the week, so that meals go together super fast. At the end of the week, I use the bits and pieces of leftover veggies, meat and grains to make a quick frittata or soup.
By taking a little bit of time to do some home cooking, you can save money and feed you and your family delicious meals that go together quickly. Check out these 4 tips that you can start using today!
KEY ~ Feed Your Body
How To Save Money AND Get Dinner On The Table Fast!!
Did you know that not only can you save money by cooking at home, but it doesn’t have to be complicated? If you think you don’t have time to add another thing to your to-do list, with a little planning you can not only save money, but feed your family great tasting nutritious food and not spend lots of time in the kitchen.
Here are 4 tips to get you started:
- Use whole foods. Buy whole foods, the ones you find around the outer edge of the grocery store. That’s where you’ll find the fresh herbs, fruits, vegetables, meat, chicken, fish and dairy. Add some things from the bulk bins like grains, beans and nuts (a huge money saver) and if you’re really pressed for time get some canned beans and frozen vegetables.
- Prepare them simply. You don’t need lots of recipes with long lists of ingredients. Save the complex, full of ingredient recipes for when you have the time to enjoy the whole cooking experience.
- Make large batches ahead of time of the things that take a while to cook like beans, grains and rice. Yes they do take time, but it’s on the stove cooking time, not you actively being involved time. By making these ahead of time, you’ll have ingredients ready when you get home so you can quickly put all the pieces for dinner together. If you’re making soup, make extra to so you’ll have leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day or later in the week.
- Prep and freeze ingredients to save time later. What do you use often in your meals? Onions, peppers and other veggies? Chop these and put them in meal sized portion freezer bags. You could even cook bacon and freeze it to use as a garnish in recipes. When you’re ready to cook soup in the crock pot, just take out what you need and you’re ready to go! Also consider freezing meat, poultry and fish in meal size portions. My husband and I have different tastes, so I’ll freeze individual portions of beef and pork for him and fish for me. It makes for a drama free meal!
10 Minute Scrambled Eggs
I love making budget friendly 10 Minute Scrambled Eggs for dinner, using one pan and some freezer ingredients. There’s no chopping or prep time!
~ Saute frozen peppers and onions, in a bit of coconut oil.
~ Add frozen, already cooked, chopped bacon, then fresh or frozen spinach until it’s wilted.
~ Finally add the eggs with a bit of cheese if you want, and scramble it all together.
~ Serve with a favorite fruit and a piece of toast.
This is a dish that you can easily add in bits and pieces of leftovers from the fridge too.
Take a little time to plan ahead to save yourself time and money starting this week!
If you’d like other recipes ideas, you can check out over 1000 of them on my Live Your Healthy Life’s Pinterest page.
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