https://www.amazon.ca/One-Pound-Meals-Delicious-Food/dp/147224561X another along the same lines
i’ve gotten into the habit of ground beef. seems to be a fairly cheap way of getting good calories
i fry it in the pan. no oil added.
it’s difficult to evenly cook once frozen. i’ve found it much more convenient to cook immediately after buying or keep in the fridge for a couple of days rather than freezing the raw meat.
the chick pea mixed bean seasoned cans are actually a hundred and fifty calories per 125 mL, more than just .
i’ve been having a bit of trouble maintaining the energy to make a meal after work - even though my work is not usually extremely strenuous or stressful, i often find myself just flopped out once i get home and that makes me skip a meal.
something a counselor mentioned is the importance of having a fixed plan in these cases.
so far I generally don’t seem to be able to find the time to have breakfast in the morning - i would have to get up half an hour earlier to make a solid breakfast.
buying a large set of high quality tupperware with well sealing lids was quite expensive, but it was pretty worth it - i don’t worry about leaks in my bag anymore, and having a large stock of clean containers means even if i’ve forgotten to run the dishwasher i can still prepare some meals.
skipjack tuna is way way cheaper than the other varieties at least at my store - but it’s often stored at the bottom shelf.
i really like canned pears. really nice tasting quick low-fuss fruit.
keeping a desk pantry i think a good idea. since i don’t have breakfast most days i get a bit fuzzy bye mid afternoon the vending machine is expensive nowadays and the food is probably not the best.
things i’ve used at the desk pantry
- energy bars
great but expensive and not really satiating. i once ate half a box in one sitting! i feel like there’s way too much sugar in almost all the options for this to be worthwhile.
- canned soups
this is great stuff - reasonably filling and saves time and money if i forgot to pack a lunch on a certain day. since it needs heating, though,
this probably seems obvious but - cleaning used meal prep containers, plates, etc as soon as possible makes it a lot easier - containers get a bit gross after more than a couple hours without being cleaned and this just makes the job take longer.
Breaded chicken strips are $16/700g, chocjen breast is $16/600g. I’ve breviously balked atht the expense but these aren’t actually more expensive.
Quinoa is $20/bag at Safeway but $4/lb at BulkBarn.
Both Safeway and Independent often don’t keep rice milk on the shelves. Walmart has some rice milk
Two to one quinoa water works well
- moved
Quinoa in the instant pot
375g rice / 375g water, rice setting this did not work.
According to this site
- Ratio = 1 part quinoa : 1 ½ parts water
- Cook Time = 3 minutes
- Release = 10 minute natural release, then release any remaining pressure
Put in 2 cups quinoa, 3 cups water. Pressure Cook, 3 minutes, High.
A little mushy, not totally satisfied.
none of these turned out, but this was using Bulk Barn quinoa which is not washed
Was looking for non-perishable food I can keep at work. Soups were getting a little old, and besides it’s only a few hundred calories per can. Here’s another option:
6-month expiry date.These sachets are 2/$6 at Walmart.
I also put some tuna there.
Cuscus is another storable, quick-to-prepare food - I just use the work kettle. You need to be able to seal the container.
Had one of these pouches for lunch today along with some frozen chicken strips I brought along. Loved it, delicious.
Four heaping servings. 1 bag instant Riced cauliflower ($5), 1 can chopped celery ($3), 2 flats ground beef (made them one at a time) ($8 *2). Took about an hour and a half. Cost = $6.5/meal.
Now we’re cooking!
One thing I identified is that you need a big bucket to mix stuff in, else it doesn’t work out. I pre-made the rice and froze it (probably some safety issues in re-freezing rice…) - rice was two big tubs to two big tubs ratio. Needed to run the cooker for two x 50 minutes because of the greater volume.