Decide on Mutual Ingredients

The easiest way to make once-a-week cooking work well for you is by selecting meals that will have similar ingredients. This allows you to prepare most of one ingredient at one time, such as chicken, broccoli or rice. Cook those foods at once; then split them into individual meals to season and package them.

Choose Your Recipes

Once you've decided which ingredients strike your fancy for the week, choose which recipes you're going to put into play. There are numerous food websites and recipe sites that have dedicated meal plans for once-a-week cooking, which makes the process much easier.

Time to Go Shopping

Now that you've selected your meal plan for the week, determine what ingredients you need to purchase and make a trip to your local grocery store to pick up the necessary ingredients. If you have sufficient space for ingredients, you could even shop for two or three weeks at a once.

Select a Time to Cook

What is your best time during the week to cook? Is it Saturday morning before your weekend activities take off? A lazy Sunday afternoon? Friday afternoon flex time at work? Whatever time works best for your schedule, prepare and package all of your foods for the week.

Use Other Appliances

Don't feel like you're stuck working with your stove as soon as you get home. Slow cookers and instant pots provide slow-cooking and pressure-cooking options. Wireless connectivity or delayed-start options make it easy to turn these appliances on at the right time for your needs so that dinner is ready when you walk in the door.

By implementing once-a-week cooking into your routine, you can easily stick to your healthy eating plans and avoid the eating-out and fast-food traps. Check out Chicago apartments like North Harbor Tower that features easy access to expressways, updated kitchens, and public barbeque areas to make this process even easier.

The post Once-a-Week Cooking: Your Solution to Busy Weeknights appeared first on North Harbor Tower Blog.

Now, the challenge is just to figure out what to bring! Fortunately, we've got you covered.

We recommend fixing your work lunch the night before because it makes mornings much easier. Here are healthy ideas you can make the night before for a scrumptious lunch the following day.

Tuna Salad Sandwich

Perhaps the people you share the kitchen with at work won't appreciate this, but your body sure well! Tuna is super healthy, full of protein, and delicious for a satisfying lunch. We recommend mixing tuna in water (rinsed) with relish, chopped onions, chopped celery, and chopped bell peppers of various colors. You can even add some freshly chopped radish for some kick. Throw in a bit of salt and pepper along with some mayonnaise, and slap that salad onto two pieces of bread for a delicious sandwich you'll be looking forward to all day.

Grilled Chicken Wraps

You always want to pack some protein into your daily lunch. It will keep you going through the afternoon when you would otherwise be relying on caffeine. One of the best forms of animal protein is chicken breast because it’s lean, delicious, and extremely versatile. You can cook up three chicken breasts at a time and use the meat for your lunch, dinner, and even for a snack.

For your grilled chicken wrap lunch, you’ll want to take a flour tortilla, add some strips of cooked chicken breast and some vegetables (romaine lettuce, peppers, red onions, cucumbers, tomato), put in a sauce of some kind (hummus, ranch dip, guacamole, mustard, spicy mayo), and finish everything off with a few slices of your favorite cheese (cheddar, provolone, pepper Jack).

Why not prep your work lunches in your brand-new kitchen in Chicago? Our Chicago, IL apartments feature lovely, well-equipped kitchens — perfect for cooking and baking of all kinds.

Interested in relocating in Chicago? Please feel free to call our office to find out what floor plans we have available. 

The post 2 Healthy Lunches You Can Make the Night Before appeared first on North Harbor Tower Blog.