Comments on: Ten on Tuesday

By: Teyani

Teyani — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:40:48 +0000

another really good list.
I am pretty good at meal planning.. I do most of my cooking on one day, and then freeze it into single portions – works fairly well, and saves on trips to the grocery store.

By: Teresa in Virginia

Teresa in Virginia — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:16:05 +0000

This list is excellent and doesn’t require tons of effort. Also: I really liked KMKat’s lunch suggestion, but can I have a nice chilled White Zinfandel with mine instead of merlot? That would be really nice.

I, too, find the public library to be a great resource for books, music, magazines, etc. Most libraries now have internet access, so if you only surf the web occasionally, you could surf at the local library (for free) and save yourself the cost of having the internet at home. Where I live, I can go online at the library for 2 hours per day up to 6 days per week.

By: Sheila

Sheila — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:25:47 +0000

Every other day I cook a double batch of oatmeal (not instant) to eat that day and the next. I have really been focusing on ‘feed the freezer’ lately so I enjoy spending a weekend day making a few entrees to freeze, or making extras when I’m cooking on a certain night. Everthing gets packaged in individual containers or a meal’s worth. Carnitas. Taco mix. Purchased rotisserie chickens picked apart and frozen. South of the Border Veggie Bake. Pizza. Spiral-sliced ham baked, picked apart & frozen, then bean soup. Cooked pinto beans frozen in meal-size amounts for refried. I never buy bread anymore but use tortillas a lot for lunch (they keep longer), so I just throw them in a big Ziploc and add deli meat or a meat from the freezer, veggies, cheese, etc. Soups. Crockpot applesauce. Stir-fry. There are always leftovers to use but I rarely eat the same thing for dinner one night and lunch the next. And I love to know that I’m going to make it to the next payday! My son & DIL hate leftovers, so I sometimes take theirs for a little variety.

By: Joy

Joy — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:51:40 +0000

Excellent suggestions! I know going to the library has saved us a LOT.

If anyone who’s baking cookies doesn’t already have one of the small ice cream-type scoops, it’s a wonderful way to speed up the process. I used to avoid drop cookies because of the hassle, but getting the scoop has change my attitude

By: diane

diane — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:06:31 +0000

Thanks for the Wip it Up tip, new to me!

By: Sylvia

Sylvia — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:11:51 +0000

DH’s lunch today is curried beef, a big green salad, and a mug of lemon-ginger tea, all from scratch, packed in labeled ziploc containers and tucked in a small cooler. He has a drawer in one of the refrigerators at work for his jar of mustard, a bottle of homemade salad dressing, and whatever he brings in to eat that day. When we grill I throw on four extra sausages. I make an extra serving or two of casseroles or curries and pack it as a lunch for later in the week. He shuffles them around to get some variety. He says the salads are tricky, that the leaves try to jump onto his work clothes, so I pack the lettuce in a larger than necessary container to give some maneuvering space.

Meatloaf is always good. Tamale pie (too much carb for DH but I love it). Chili.

Having the right size plastic containers makes a big difference. They have to fit the portions you prefer, nest well in the frig, fit in the cooler for transport, and fit in the upper rack of your dishwasher. I like the ziploc ones because the blue lids wash well in the top rack without warping.

We re-use plastic bags from the farmer’s market to make daily batches to stow in the frig ahead of time if it’s going to be a zany week — a salad, protein, a baggie with a handful of raw almonds, an apple… If DH has to take the car in to be serviced and will be in a rental for part of the day, we stage that day’s lunch at work the day before because he’s left them in the wrong car too many times!

I’ll second (or third?) the vote for a good water heater. We have a Rinai tankless and it’s wonderful.

By: Beverly

Beverly — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:37:59 +0000

After sending my last child to Kindergarten this year, I found myself alone for lunches. I started eating “crap” for lunch because I was too lazy to make something decent. About 2 months ago I started cooking myself lunch each weekend. Usually it is a pot of soup, or a low carb casserole ( I have been eating low carb for years), or a sandwich/salad topping ( chicken salad, tuna salad, etc) All these items can easily be stored in the fridge in individual containers and just grabbed and go. These work really well whether I’m home for lunch or eating at work.

Hope some of these ideas help you.
Beverly ( rare poster, loyal reader)

By: Chrissie

Chrissie — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:41:33 +0000

I’m shocked by number 2. You’re a fabulous cook. Why on Earth don’t you bring lunch to work?

By: JessaLu

JessaLu — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:24:54 +0000

Friday is our ‘take out’ night. We were doing chinese, thai or pizza (pretty much our only options for take out where we live) until our local Big Y put in a pizza section. Now Friday is pizza night and we get the same pie, salad and wings from Big Y for a third of the price and the pizza is way better, too.

I do meal planning but we have a big freezer so I only buy meat when it’s on sale and I plan the sides around what’s on sale that week. I’m also a huge coupon clipper. ;o)

Oh and we have a programmable thermostat too – and I keep the heat down during the day when it’s just me. R thinks I’m trying to kill myself by slowly freezing to death but he doesn’t understand – THAT’S WHY I KNIT!! hehe

By: LittleWit

LittleWit — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:00:36 +0000

These are all wonderful tips. My goal for this winter is to get us back on a meal plan. We’ve spent too much money eating out due to lack of defrosted meat.