Saving time and money making meals in advance. Plus maybe a meal to share.

Yess

Years ago I started doing my own version of weekly meal prepping. I take about an hour every Sunday and make 3-4 dinner type meals. Put them in 8×8 aluminum containers, then pop them in the oven to reheat on the week days when I have less time. Basically. I am eating leftovers I guess. I can tell you though I noticed an improvement in the actual taste of the meal when I picked out the groceries and recipes. I used to just throw something together at the end of the day. That advanced planning made a better tasting meal, that’s for sure.

Let me just also say that until I started making meals in advance I had not considered cost savings in food. I certainly enjoyed making meals at home compared to eating out. That was not out of any kind of frugality, that was just because I like to cook. Plus being childfree meant my household was 1-2 people through out my whole adult life. I thank my abundant blessings, not having enough food was not a thought in my current two person household. On the contrary my husband and I would revel in our foodie delights during grocery shopping without limits. We did not consider the grocery bill, we just filled the cart with random things without thoughts on if the yummy food we wanted in the store would make a meal at home. Crazy, even wasteful, I know.

A big shock came when I started making a grocery list in advance based on my weekly meal plan recipes. I started saving $100-$200 every week! I thought wow, if I am going to spend that kind of money I could put that to more intentional use. That money could be used to support fun family focused community events or toward some of my friends and families children’s fundraisers and things like that. When you are childfree, you get asked to donate to a ton of children’s fundraisers. That makes sense to me, and saving a little money at the grocery store puts me in a good spot to donate a little. Another bonus, since I make the meals in reheatable containers I can grab an easy meal to take to go if I get invited to a family gathering or to gift to a busy mom or dad that might appreciate a break from making dinner.

The game changer that makes advance meal making possible for me is using a meal planning app.Recipes, grocery lists and even the sales at store you shop at can be generated by one app. I pick 3-4 recipes based on the dietary preferences I am choosing for the week. The app creates my shopping list from the recipes I selected and based on the local grocery sales for the week.
One of the recipes I made this week was white beans and butternut squash using The Dinner Daily app.

RECIPE

White Beans and Butternut Squash

TIME TO TABLE 40 MINUTE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb butternut squash, peeled & cubed
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tbs fresh ginger, minced
• 1 apple, peeled & cubed

• 15 oz cannellini beans, low sodium, drained & rinsed
• 3 oz baby spinach
• 1/4 tsp cumin (ground)
• 1 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup almond slices (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400. Place squash in baking dish, drizzle with a bit of olive oil & sprinkle with salt & pepper. Toss to coat. Cook 30 mins until fork tender. While squash is cooking, heat oil in large skillet. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 3 to 4 mins. Add remaining ingredients except almonds & parsley. Toss gently, and cook about 3 to 4 more mins until warmed through. Salt & pepper to taste. When squash is cooked, serve topped with bean mixture. Sprinkle with parsley & almonds (optional).