Fast Food at Home

Sunday is generally a day for cooking and creating the "Sunday Night Supper", but this Sunday I just felt like something fast. I also hadn't been shopping yet, so my cupboards offered slim pickins! This type of situation may lead some to pick up the phone and "order in", but it seems like the tide may be changing. Due to the rising fuel costs and increase in the overall cost of living, more people are saving cash by reinventing the family dinner. A study done by Mintel in January of this year revealed that 72% of those who cook at home do so to save money.

Some people however still find cooking to be a burden. Convenience items tend to be over processed and not necessarily any healthier than convenience foods cooked outside the home. One way to avoid this trap is to make sure that the majority of the foods found within your home cooked meal are from fresh ingredients. Try using only 1-2 convenience item per meal.

Here is what I ended up doing this Sunday for my "Fast Food In" meal that literally took only at most 30 minutes from prep (if you can even really call it that!) to table.

Homemade Honey Mustard Chicken tenders
Frozen mixed vegetables + black beans
Annie's Mac n' cheese

Chicken Tenders: bake in oven at 350 degrees
Cut the chicken into tenders-I generally would get chicken that had already been cut into "tenders", but as I said I hadn't been shopping so I just had chicken breasts. I defrosted 2 of them and cut them into tenders. p.s. I have a favorite item that I use to wrap my meats for freezer storage. I will have to go home and see what it is and write about it another time. It is the best!
Create flavoring-I made a mixture of egg whites (I had a carton of Just Whites on hand) + honey + mustard and whisked it together. I dipped the tenders into the liquid mixture and then dipped it into bread crumbs until it was lightly covered.
Bake-bake for 10-15 minutes (flip half way through).
Voila! You can make your own little dipping sauce with honey and mustard to have on the side as well.

Annie's Mac n' Cheese and the frozen veggies...I hope you know this by now but...just follow the box on those!

All in all this meal provided us with a meal in an instant and because we kept our portions under control and spent at least 20 minutes to eat (helps your brain connect to your stomach allowing you to realize you are full), we were able to take the leftovers and make 2 more meal packs, one for each of us for lunch. We each took in ~400 calories and had ~3 oz of meat (he had a little bit more!).

Total cost came to $9.25 cents for 4 meals ($2.50 per meal)....can't beat that! It also packed a lot less calories and fat than a fast food meal or meal "ordered in" but still felt satisfying.

Here are some tips for keeping a well stocked pantry to help you out in a bind:
-pre-portioned meats-portion them out the day you get them home from the store. You can use the freezer paper that I mentioned above. This saves time and waste because you only need to take out as many as you need for each individual meal vs. defrosting the whole package.
-frozen vegetables-these in fact have been flash frozen so you are getting the same nutrients, possibly more if you are the type of person that leaves your veggies in the crisper so long that they lose some of their nutrient content. Avoid veggies packed in heavy sauces.
-beans
-soups
-pasta
-dry pasta sauce packets-these are often a little high in sodium, but you just add milk and cook in a sauce pan which is great for getting out of the same-ol' red sauce rut!
-frozen veggie burgers
-frozen bread/rolls/English muffins
-condiments for sauces and dressings (honey, mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, salsa)

7-Day Goals:
Take a peak at your pantry today. Do you have some quick items in there that you could lean back on if you needed to make a meal in a hurry? If not, the next time you go to the store stock up on the pantry items above.
~K