HOTH
  • Welcome.
  • blog.
  • E-Book.
  • Kelsey.
  • Collab.

Make Weekday Meals Happen

4/24/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Weekday meals can be the best and the worst of times. From crock pot creations to leftovers to happy accidents, cooking during the week can be interesting for all! By 5pm I am usually running on fumes and ready to plop down on the couch and watch Netflix. Luckily, I try to put something healthful and delicious together before I do so. My family applauds.

In order to achieve this momentous evening goal, I need some products on hand to make the cooking process a little easier. I like to call these "meal helpers." A meal helper is any food product that is already mostly prepared or has been prepped for you. I'm not talking about Hamburger Helper here people! Most of my weekday meals consist of one meal helper, the remainder of the meal is freshly made or prepped by me. Meal helpers can be a slightly more expensive option at the store, but you are buying for convenience. How much is your time worth?? Thirty minutes to chop up brussel sprouts or $4?? You have to decide what is worth the price for your budget and time.

I have a few guidelines I like to follow when choosing these items in the store...

+No added ingredients: plain is best, you add the flavor when you cook
For example- packaged rice does not need added salt, spices, or oil. You never know the actual amount they have added and it takes away your control over the nutritional value and flavor.

+Some things are not meant to be bought prepared ahead of time: i.e. hard boiled eggs.....yuck don't do it

+Just because it says it can be microwaved in the package you WILL NOT do it! Don't get me started on the horrors of melted plastic. It takes five more minutes to warm something up in a pan or simply place it in a glass container in the microwave.

Here are some of my favorite meal helpers I always have on hand...I have included some pictures below of meals that I have made with these ingredients to help you realize their potential!

Pantry
Red sauce/Pasta Sauce
Colavita: best sauce out there no need to look

Packaged rice
Seeds of Change: Seven Whole Grains
Tasty Bite: Basmati or Jasmine

Canned beans
Amy's Organic Refried Black Beans
Field Day Organic or Eden: black beans, garbanzo beans

Salsa
The Grove Salsa (Local Brand): verde or mild
Xochitl ("so-cheel")- Asada verde or chipotle

Pancake/Waffle Mix (Yes for dinner!)
Kodiak Cakes
Bob’s Red Mill Organic

Pizza Crusts
Rustic Crust
Flatzza


Fresh
Shredded or chopped vegetables from the grocery store salad section, can be more expensive so I limit these to one to two per shopping trip. I like to buy riced cauliflower, cubed butternut squash, shredded brussel sprouts, spiralized zucchini...

Chopped salad kits
Taylor Farms
Earthbound Farm
Ready Pac Foods

Pesto
Delallo Simply Pesto
Mezzetta Basil Pesto

Chicken sausage
Aidells
Al Fresco
Applegate Organics

Grilled chicken
SAMs Club brand (fully cooked chicken breasts)

Rotisserie chicken
​ Smart Chicken brand


Frozen
Alexia Sweet potato fries or potatoes

Vicolo Corn Meal Pizza Crusts (frozen)

Brown Rice
Grain Trust Organic
Trader Joe's Brown Rice
Bird's Eye Steamfresh

Vegetables
Simply Balanced (Target)
Cascadian Farm Organic
Woodstock Organic
Earthbound Farm

I always have corn, peas, edamame, frozen spinach, green beans, and whatever else goes on sale in my freezer.


If you can keep your kitchen stocked with some of these items, you can make weeknight meals so much more enjoyable to create. These meal helpers slash the time it takes to make a delicious and healthy meal for your family! These are just some of the products that I have routinely bought for years, I trust their ingredients and use them on a weekly basis. I hope this post encourages you to take back weeknight cooking and try something new!!



Pictures from top left:
Stuffed peppers with frozen brown rice and canned black beans mixed with fresh veggies, Roasted butternut squash (bought already cubed) salad, Red pepper and spinach pizza made with jarred pesto and pre-made crust, Bowtie pasta with jarred red sauce, and Bob's Red Mill pancakes with almond butter and blueberries, Rotisserie chicken salad with avocado and lemon juice.
0 Comments
    Picture
    Hi I'm Kelsey.
    ​I help busy women embrace cooking at home with my fuss-free family recipes!

    Categories

    All
    Acceptance
    Accessories
    Appetizer
    Baking
    BBQ
    Beauty
    Books
    Breakfast
    Building
    Busy Meals
    Chai
    Cheese Board
    Chicken
    Children
    Chocolate
    Christmas
    Clean Out Week
    Coffee
    Dairy Free
    Decor
    Dessert
    Dinner
    Dip
    Diversity
    Easy Meals
    Easy Recipes
    Fall
    Family Meals
    Farmhouse
    Fiber
    Functional Medicine
    Gathering
    Gift
    Gluten Free
    Goals
    Gold
    Grocery Shopping
    Habits
    Healthy
    Healthy Habits
    Healthy Swaps
    Home
    Hydrate
    Hydration
    Instagram
    Italian
    Kid Friendly
    Kitchen
    Lasagna
    Life
    Linen
    Low Carb
    Lunch
    Meal Prep
    Meatless
    Muffins
    On A Budget
    One Pan Meal
    Outdoor Dining
    Pasta
    Patio
    Pesto
    Pregnant
    Protein
    Reduce
    Restaurants
    Reusable
    Salad
    Sheet Pan
    Sip
    Slow Cooker
    Smoothie
    Snack
    Summer
    Sweets
    Tacos
    Tea
    Travel
    Updatedclassic
    Vegan
    Vegetarian

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Welcome.
  • blog.
  • E-Book.
  • Kelsey.
  • Collab.