Meal Prepping... UGH

Meal Prepping can be such a pain, but in the end is SO worth it! I live a very busy life because I love to jam my schedule full, so some nights I'll make the excuse of not having time and will end up stopping to get food. I try to choose something healthy but there are only so many fast food healthy options. Not only that, but that eats away at my budget. I'm am reading this book called "Rich Bitch" and it is amazing... HIGHLY RECOMMEND to anyone who wants to get their finances in order and plan for the future. Any way, I am trying to find ways to save more money, while not having to dip into my shoes fund. #priorities

I get 99% of my fruits, veggies and meats from a place called Freshfield Farms. They purchase produce from local farms and then package it in house so they cut out the middle man and cut down costs. I got 2 containers of blueberries, 2 containers of raspberries, 2 containers of blackberries, 3 avocados, spinach, mushrooms, bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers, 6 zucchini stalks, 8 pieces of yellow squash, 5 lbs of chicken, 2 lbs of ground turkey and 1.5 lbs of ground beef for $55!!!!!! At Publix that would have easily been 75-85$.

I obviously had to finish up my shopping with standard items so I bought 60$ worth of other items at Publix to begin my meal prepping for the week.

I made chili which was the bomb.com especially because it was a yucky rainy day and who doesn't love chili when it's raining out? Also, even after we ate this for dinner tonight I have enough to last me a while for lunch! I'll just pack a small sandwich to dip into the chili and call it a day!

The recipe is super super simple for this chili and it is one of the healthier options!
(Ground beef, pinto beans, kidney beans, 2 cans of rotel, chili seasoning packet, 1 green bell pepper, 1/2 a red onion, 1/2 cup of water... Brown ground beef in pan with onion and bell pepper, then pour everything into one large pot and let simmer for 45 min) DELISH!

A few tricks for meal prepping that I've come to learn:
- Clean the pots/pans as you go
- Make things that will be good 5 days from now
- Use Tupperware that has separate compartments
- Steamed veggies are always yummy
- Make a plan before you grocery shop (aka write it down)
- Knock it all out in a few hours

Some of the dishes pictured above:
-Baked lemon garlic chicken with zucchini and squash, steamed broccoli, brown rice and quinoa mix
-BBQ chicken, whole wheat pasta with zucchini, squash and balsamic glazed steamed tomatoes

All of these were really easy to make especially because all of the chicken was baked. I just lined each baking sheet with tin foil and the clean up was a breeze!