More Workweek Meal Prep

With autumn upon us, I spend more time cooking. I love it, really. It’s still a little warm for it, though. The room I rent gets over heated, and I find myself running the air conditioner and the fan to keep it cool. Soon though, it’ll be cool enough not to have to worry about that.

Last week I showed you how I go about making meals for the beginning of my workweek. This week I switched things up just a bit. For instance, you’ll notice there is no dessert. Dessert is not something I usually make, actually. Because I don’t like the way my body feels after eating it. Ever since I did the Whole30 program last year, and then moved on to a mainly Paleo way of eating, I’ve had a hard time with the sweets. Dairy is sometimes an issue as well. I just feel better when eating healthier 🙂

Photograph by Shannon L. Buck copyright 2014

First, I took out my trusty crock pot. I have two of these, but only needed one today. Mine are of a 3-quart capacity, and that usually gives me plenty of food.

Photograph by Shannon L. Buck Copyright 2014.

I filled it with the makings of a nice beef soup. Though the version I made for this week was a little downplayed: Beef, butternut squash, sweet potato, and carrots. I added some parsley and oregano a little before it was done. The squash for this meal was a freebie from my parents garden.

Photograph by Shannon L. Buck Copyright 2014.

Once the soup was cooking, I put together these vegetable jars. The 3 jars each contained cucumber, celery, and broccoli. The cucumbers were also free, and from my parents garden, and the other vegetables were left over from another meal. So these really didn’t cost anything more to make.

Photograph by Shannon L. Buck Copyright 2014.

I didn’t have a lot to spend on groceries this week, but I did have some leftovers from last week. The orange was one of those leftovers, so I didn’t pay for it. It was counted in last weeks food costs.

Photograph by Shannon L. Buck Copyright 2014.

I simply peeled and sectioned an orange to make a fruit jar. I hate trying to peel and section oranges when I’m working, because I have to hurry through the process and end up with a mangled orange. It’s easier to have this already done.

Photograph by Shannon L. Buck Copyright 2014.

When the beef soup is done, I simply split it between containers. As you can see, I have enough for 5 meals: 3 work meals, and two dinners for home. Also, you may notice a lack of liquid. Crazy, I know, but I rarely eat my crock pot meals as soup. I do not know why. I usually skip most of the liquid, adding just enough to aid me in mashing my potato, squash, and carrots when I’m ready to eat.

Photograph by Shannon L. Buck Copyright 2014.

And these are my meals for work. 3 days worth. Yum!

Share your ideas for meal prep for work in the comments, or email me at shannonlbuck@gmail.com. Let us know how you save money to eat healthy at work.

 

Shannon