This is a former lunch, but a good illustration of something I might be eating.

So, if you know me even a little bit, you know I am not a type A personality. I like having a plan, but I also like wasting time and putting stuff in piles to lose later. When it comes down to it, I like having a schedule so that I know exactly how much time I have to lollygag before I have to get serious.

But, since school and work have started back, I knew I had to stop flying by the seat of my pants when it came to meals, so I’ve been making large batches of food to take as lunch and dinner.

I think without real food, it is easy to hit up the vending machine for food that I don’t feel good about and isn’t satisfying. Even in the school of public health, where we supposedly have  a “healthy side” of the vending machine, I don’t find huge nutritional differences between the “healthy snacks” and “regular snacks.” After, I’m still hungry and feeling guilty about wasting a $1 on a bag of baked potato chips.

This semester I crammed 32 hours of work and classes into a three day week. Yup, I know, pretty smart/stupid of me depending on which day it is. But you don’t have to have a four day weekend to do this. I tend to procrastinate until Monday evening to  prepare everything, and I’d say that excluding shopping time which you have to do anyway, actual time spent in the kitchen is only about an hour.

So far, I’ve lost about 9 pounds since I got home, from a combination of working out and meal planning. I thought I would share some of my tips in case you are looking for a way to save time and money during the work week.

Making it work: Weekly Lunch Prep Tips

1. Make food you actually want to eat. This is the most important part. Now isn’t the time to devote yourself to overly virtuous lunches. Yes, I know it seems like making yourself eat kale and tofu everyday for lunch would be a good plan. But it isn’t,  because you might make it the first day, but by the second day you will find yourself making any excuse to eat something else. You don’t want to have a sad lunch.

2. Don’t forget about your goals. Everyone has different needs for lunches. For me, I want something that is about 400 calories, contains vegetables and protein, and will keep me satisfied because my goal is weight loss.  Maybe you are looking to gain weight, maintain, eat more vegetables, save money… whatever. But you need to consider what you want before getting started.

3. Keep a list of meals that meet the requirements of #1 and #2. This can be a running list you keep, or recipes you’ve dog-earred in magazines. I think this helps me when I’m stumped at the grocery store. I usually only make two dishes per week, so it isn’t like you have to be super creative.

4. Be prepared. You’re going to need enough containers for your individual portions, something to carry it in, utensils to eat with, etc. I made the mistake last week of not packing any silverware with rice and beans. That’s not drinkable or appropriate finger food. It might help to keep a few extra (Clean!) forks/spoons at your work space or in your car depending on your day.

5. Make extra-extra. I’m often only cooking for one, but I tend to make recipes with 6 or more servings. If I make two dishes each week like this, I end up with extra servings to freeze later. So, as the semester gets busier, there will be weeks when I don’t have to cook at all because I’ve already got a week’s worth of meals frozen. This is also a good way to add variety to future week’s meal plans.

6. Think outside the box. I tend to make soups, curries, stir fries and other one-dish meals because.. well I already told you I’m lazy and I like them. But, I’ve had success making salads that kept well 2-3 days ahead just by waiting to add any wet ingredients. If you love sandwiches, you could also make something like chicken or tuna salad ahead of time.

7. Go halfsies. If you don’t want to make whole dishes ahead of time, take 30 minutes to chop, portion, or prepare parts of your favorite meals or snacks so that when you’re running late, you’re already halfway there. You could do this by making extra rice, pasta, sandwich spreads, chopped vegetables, etc.

So what are some ways you save time during the week? What are your favorite make-ahead or freezable dishes?