Hello friends, I hope you had a great weekend! As I mentioned on Friday, I will be back with tales of my trip to Florida, including the big blogger lunch and the Disney Princess Half Marathon, later this week. Until then, enjoy these guest posts.
And, don’t forget about the Open Sky coupon for a Tiger Tail… good through Friday, March 12!
Today’s guest post is brought to you by: Meghan at Travel Eat Love.
If you are like me and you love to eat, you don’t want to settle for a boring, expensive, or unhealthy lunch option during the week, whether at the office or at home. Early in my career, I really did not look forward to lunch time. Cafes and restaurants near most offices can be overpriced and often don’t offer the best choices. I ended up with soggy sandwiches or canned soups which were loaded with sodium and that “just out of a can” flavor.
Bringing my own lunch saves me about $45 a week, possibly more considering the lunch options near where I work. When I factor that out over the course of a year, taking a few weeks out for vacation; that makes over $2000 in savings!
An easy one pot meal that I can use for a variety of lunches is three bean vegetarian chili. I start with a basic recipe like the one I posted on Plummelo, and then add in whatever I have, the more veggies, the better! Packed with nutritious, filling, and inexpensive ingredients, chili keeps well for days, can be made to the individual’s taste, and provides endless opportunities to create “new” meals with one base meal.
Monday
Rice and Beans
Mix ½ cup brown rice with ½ cup chili. Add hot sauce if you are adventurous!
Tuesday
Hot and cold salad- serve warmed chili atop a bed of shredded romaine lettuce, spinach, shredded cheese. Make two servings and save one for Wednesday.
Wednesday
Mix a serving of Tuesday’s salad with 1 TSP plain yogurt and ¼ chopped avocado and roll into a whole wheat wrap/burrito shell.
Thursday
Chili empanadas! Split a cup of chili into two, ½ cup servings. I would suggest using a slotted spoon to move the chili so that the liquid is as drained out as possible. Roll out store bought pie dough or puff pastry dough into large squares. Scoop chili into the middle of each square, fold dough, and seal around the edges using a fork to press down and create a decorative edge. Bake according to dough package directions or until golden.
Friday
You made it! Hopefully the variations using your Sunday chili have kept you satisfied and happy with your lunch. For Friday, mix a cup of chili with a cup of vegetable or chicken broth. Adding liquid will thin out the chili into a lovely soup. You may want to add additional spices or hot sauce at this point as the flavors may be diluted by the broth. At this point, you could also add leftover rice from Monday or small cooked pasta to the dish.
It only takes a couple of hours and a little bit of creativity to stretch your dollar and ingredients on hand to make 5 delicious meals for the week!
Thanks so much to Julie for allowing me to guest post! If you are looking for more healthy recipes, travel tips, or wine suggestions, please visit Travel Eat Love.
Thanks Meghan, for the great ideas!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Fantastic ideas! I love cooking something once and then revamping it over and over
Wonderful ideas! I’m ALL about the leftovers!!!
very great ideas! I usually do something similar and it’s amazing how much money can be saved. I also did an eat in month challenge for january and we ended up saving a lot! Thanks
These are great ideas!! And I just made chili, too! You girls really know me