Below you will find a list of ingredients that will allow you to make 2 dinners and 2 lunches. This should cater for 2 people for each meal, so adjust amounts accordingly. You should be able to pick up all of this for around $50 which is great value considering it will provide 2 people with 4 meals each. (approx. $6.25 per meal!)
THE MENU:
Dinner #1: Mexican (Nachos or Mexican San Choy Bow if you'd prefer lower fat, carbs and total calories).
Lunch #1: Burrito
Dinner #2: Beef and veggie lasagna
Lunch #2: Vegetable omelete
THE SHOPPING LIST:
500g lean beef mince
2 tins of diced tomatoes
1 dozen eggs
paprika
salt and pepper
2 cloves of garlic, diced
2 brown onions, diced
2 large zucchini, diced
2 large red capsicum, diced
10-15 button mushrooms, diced
1 iceberg lettuce
large bag of mixed lettuce
4 large tomatoes, diced
1 avocado, diced
balsamic vinegar
1 pack mountain bread
1 bag of corn chips
1 bag low fat grated cheese
INITIAL PREP (15 minutes, including time to dice veggies)
Sautee beef mince in a non-stick pan with 1 diced onion and 1 diced garlic clove until cooked through.Add tinned tomato to the mince and salt and pepper to taste.
Set aside.
In a separate non-stick pan, cook the other onion and garlic clove, the zucchini, mushroom and capsicum until soft and cooked through.
Combine HALF of the vegetable mixture with HALF of the meat mixture. This will be used for the lasagna.
Add 1 tblsp of paprika to the other half of the meat, this will be used for the mexican dinner and burrito lunch.
The remaining half of the vegetables will be for the omelete lunch.
DINNER #1 - Nachos and/or Mexican San Choy Bow (keep your eye out for a more detailed Mexican San Choy Bow recipe in a future blog). (5 minutes)
Top some corn chips with beef mixture and a sprinkle of low fat cheese and place under the grill until the cheese melts. Serve with mixed lettuce, diced tomato and about a tablespoon of diced avocado.
Alternatively, omit the corn chips and use iceberg lettuce leaves to create a Mexican San choy bow. (This will reduce the calorie, fat and carbohydrate count of the meal).
LUNCH #1 - Lunch burritos (2 minutes)
Use the left over mexican mince (cold, or heated in microwave) and avocado with some low fat grated cheese, lettuce and tomato to fill a mountain bread wrap and you have a quick, tasty lunch that takes only a minute to put together.
DINNER #2 - Beef and vegetable mountain bread lasagna (7 minutes)In a baking pan or casserole dish, layer pieces of mountain bread with microwaved beef and vegetable mixture. After 3 or 4 layers, finish with the bread and top with a sprinkle of grated low-fat cheese. Put under the grill for 2-4 minutes, until cheese is melted. Serve with a simple lettuce and tomato sandwich spritzed with some balsamic.
LUNCH #2 - Veggie omelete (6 minutes)Beat 2 whole eggs and 10 egg whites with salt and pepper (and a tblsp of paprika if you wish) until combined.
Pour mixture into a large non-stick pand and "swirl" around towards the centre to create some texture.
Cook over a low-moderate heat until the egg is almost set, then top with the vegetable mixture and fold in half.
Keep the pan over heat until the omelet is cooked through and serve on its own, or with lettuce, tomato and balsamic salad. I like mine with a little ketchup :)
Enjoy!
(Feel free to spice things up a bit with some added chilli, feta or artichokes in your salad or even try using chicken or turkey mince instead of beef!)
