Simple Healthy Food Time & Money Savers

Lately, I've been busier than usual. It's often tempting to get fast food or buy foods that are already made (which is very difficult to find if your criteria is inexpensive and healthy). So this is a small list of time saving healthy foodies, I've come across, that don't break the bank.

Simply cabbage and carrots and in the right quantity. A whole head of cabbage is always too much for me, and I like it better never frozen. I use this for stir fry, homemade ramen, soups, and actual slaw. Getting just cabbage/carrots is the cheapest. Then I can add my own tid bits of broccoli. 

I didn't realize how much more often I'd use ginger, until I bought this stuff on Amazon. Tastes just like freshly cut ginger.

Crushed garlic preserved with citric acid. I love trader joes!

Granted, this is an all in one meal (add rice), but a) they're as simple as it gets, b) they're really healthy, c) they're fabulously delicious, and d) they go on really big sales. When they do, I buy them out. Makes for a great easy week night meal (add some veggies and rice). I usually have a freezer full of chopped veggies to add. Easy-Peasy.

Mirpoix - Carrots, Celery and Onion. Granted, you do have to take time to chop it up, but you can freeze about a 6-month supply and just pull a little out as you go. I use this in about half the things I cook (roasted chicken, stir fry, beans and rice, soups, etc....)

Fully stocked freezer full of frozen veggies. No worries, it won't go bad. My staples are mirpoix (see above), corn, peas, limas, spinach, cauliflower, bell peppers (chopped myself) and broccoli. I'm not a huge fan of the store bought mixes. They always taste funny.

Chicken bone broth saved to ice cube trays for easy re-use. Granted this takes effort, sure, but if you make a big batch, later it's really easy to use (particularly if you have some of it in ice cube size quantities). That way you don't really have to "defrost". I hate that step. We cook a whole hen on the weekend, shred all the chicken for use throughout the week, then boil the bones overnight to make broth. You could simplify this even further but buying the sale rotisserie chickens and make the broth from the leftovers in that. This broth is way better (and healthier I think) than any store bought broth, plus it's leftovers, so it's free! Boiling those bones gives it that cloudy appearance which is collagen and some extra vitamins and enzymes. It's also good for inflammation reduction when sick (read more here)

I can't always find this stuff, but when I do, I buy a bunch. You can freeze it and it tastes exactly like fresh  lemon (unlike that other lemon juice stuff you buy) and no preservatives. So easy. And cheaper than buying lemons too. 

Make Ahead Freezer Meals

Until now, I've never been big on "cooking ahead" or "freezer food" (at least not freezer food that was homemade and already completely prepped). But for the last few years, my mother-in-law has inspired me. Each time we visit, I notice she has all of our meals pre-cooked, this even includes Thanksgiving. She'll fill up the grill with chicken and pre-cook bulk amounts of chicken for use in soups, chicken salads, shredded topping for baked potato, etc.. Long story short, she's an inspiration to me in the kitchen. It just seems so much more efficient, on so many levels.

You can take inventory on what you have and what you need, buy only what's necessary, cook it all at once where nothing will get wasted, use the minimum amount of energy for cooking, minimum amount of total time cooking and cleaning, and you end up with "instant" meals that are completely homemade and healthy (if planned that way). To top it all off, if you're an avid gardener, this also provides a way to freeze / store excess produce.

I found several websites that provide some good ideas for meal preparation in this manner:
http://pregnant.livejournal.com/17071127.html
http://onceamonthmom.com/
http://www.offthegridnews.com/2012/11/02/how-to-create-garden-fresh-freezer-meals/
http://www.marthastewart.com/274277/freezer-friendly-foods
http://freezermealsforus.blogspot.com/

Now to plan this week's meals....
Turkey and Brocolli Pretzel Calzones
Turkey Tortilla Soup
Feta Stuffed Meatballs
Turkey Shepards Pie (Yum!)

Chicken casserole: 

http://thrivinghomeblog.com/2010/01/chicken-and-rice-it-tastes-so-nice/