Cooking Up a Storm for Next Week

Well, it has been a long week this week! As I mentioned the other day I am working my regular job plus volunteering 4-5 hours every night. I love what I am doing, but I admit - I'm getting a bit punchy! I go straight from the day job to the volunteer work. I've been finally getting home at night somewhere between 10:45 and midnight, depending on the evening. When I get home I usually have dinner then set up everything for the following day: pick out my clothes to wear to the office for the next day, pack my spare clothes for the volunteer work, put together the next day's lunch, and then hit the shower before hitting bed. I'll tell you, the alarm clock ring seems to come awfully early!

I've been trying to cook predominately out of my own pantry as part of my No Spending Challenge, but I did go to the grocery story last week and pick up some easy to eat, portable snacks to keep me going on these busy days. I bought granola bars, cheese, lunch meat and things like that. While the cupboards were pretty well stocked at the beginning of the month, I don't usually keep a lot of snacks around.

Fortunately, today I have pretty much the whole day open until 6:00. (At 6:00 I have a shift at one of my part time jobs. It was one of the few evenings I had free this month.) My plan is to do laundry (of course) and also do as much precooking for meals for next week as I can. I love to cook, so for me this will be a fun, restful way to spend the day. I believe that when life gets really busy, no matter what the reason, one of the best things you can do for yourself is eat healthy. It keeps your body going in times of stress. I also think planning ahead helps, so here's what's on the menu for today...

First up is a bean soup. I love beans - they are healthy, nutritious, and frugal. The big advantage is that they are full of protein, so the soup will "last." There is always a lot of snack food laying around the volunteer area, plus a vending machine right around the corner. If I want to avoid both I need to have something that will fill me up! Once the soup is on, then I will throw together a loaf of bread. Great for breakfast, snacks (toast with peanut butter is one of my favorites) and "on the go" sandwiches. The best part is, I almost always have the ingredients on hand.

I've got some chicken to go in the oven for both ready to eat dinners for next week and those sandwiches I mentioned. (Even though I did buy some this week, I am not fond of pre-made lunch meat. Too much sodium for my taste.) Once that is in the oven I'll whip up some hummus. Also a great "stick to the ribs" food that is good on sandwiches or with veggies. I have some nice carrots I could peel and prep for lunches.

These are all great because I can get one cooking while I am prepping the rest, and they will all use different cooking equipment, so I can do them at the same time. I've got a couple other ideas too, depending on time and if my memory is correct on what is still in the cupboards. Either way, anything I can get made or prep ahead will be good. This upcoming week is going to be even busier as the volunteer work kicks into overdrive then. This last week was prep work - this upcoming is "go time."

I hope everybody is having a great weekend!

Photo by: Yolise