A healthy quick lunch under $5

So… you’re looking at the current economy and you’re asking yourself, “What’s a healthy quick lunch under $5?” Fear not. I have the secret. Fun fact about me, I learned how to cook at a fairly young age. And I’m not just talking about scrambled eggs and ramen either (even though I really can make some KILLER ramen😉). No… I really can cook. When I was an older kid, my mother was working a full-time job in big pharma, and my father was in law enforcement. This meant there were nights were I had to decide if I wanted a sandwich or cereal. I decided I wanted neither, so I took it upon myself to learn how to cook. I pulled out some dusty cookbooks, then graduated to YouTube videos, then graduated to Mommy Blogger Foodie websites. You know.. the ones with the insanely long life stories before the recipe, and the obnoxious use of words like “hubby” and “kiddos” in every other sentence. Alas, they inspired me though. I even started my own YouTube channel. I was going to link it here, but, for the life of me, I can’t remember the name of it. It was pretty cringey I’m sure. Regardless, my point is that I kinda just figured it out.

I’m not Gordon Ramsey or anything, but I’d like to think I could guest-star on Chopped or something if the need ever arose. When it comes to food, I’ve had successes and failures. I’ve done my fair share of experimentation too.

• Honey Barbeque Babyback Air-Fryer Ribs with garlic potatoes and asparagus? Success.
• Tony Chachere’s Creole Cupcakes? Failure.
• Smoked Baloney Grilled Cheese? Success.
• Watermelon Oven Steaks? Failure. (anything vegan is honestly a failure)

When I started living on my own, the need for fancy meals took a dip. It’s not as much fun cooking when you’re doing it for yourself. Thus, my food journey for the past year or so has been more associated with three keywords: bulk, cheap, and protein. I want to cook a lot of food, cheaply, once a week, and live off of it while building muscle. I treat myself to takeout on the weekends, and I eat a healthy dose of PB&J. It’s not the best system, but it works okay for just me. I’ll change it up when someone else hops into the picture.

I’ve been doing this long enough now to have a system in place and some go-to recipes for weeknight dinners. As far as lunches go though, I’ve even made it simpler. For the first year I in Charleston, I alternated between eating at the cafeteria at work and making lunch at home. It was a fairly simple process. Each weekend, I’d buy a loaf of whole wheat bread and a bag of salad mix. Every month, I’d buy a container of baloney and a stack of cheese slices. I had a bottle of mayo and a bottle of mustard in the fridge at home that never ran out. Each weekday morning, when I woke up at 5:30 AM, I’d stumble into the kitchen, wiping sleep from my bleary eyes, and begin assembling my sandwich on a piece of plastic wrap. I’d toss a quick salad in an old resealable plastic Miyabi takeout container I just kept washing, and off to work I’d go. It was DIRT cheap and worked. But, I got tired of making those sandwiches every morning. I couldn’t batch-make them because mayo sitting on whole wheat bread does funky things in my fridge over 5 days. I broke up the monotony with caf food every once in a while.

However, one of my goals for the new year is getting jacked, and I realized that a baloney sandwich and rabbit food wasn’t going to cut it. So I set off in search of an alternative. Remember… bulk, cheap, and protein. Honestly, I think I have found the holy grail of cheap lunches. Filling, affordable, and easy to prep. Depending on where you source your ingredients from, this meal can be anywhere from $2.60 to $5. Right now, shopping at my local Publix, it’s $3.40 per lunch. Not too shabby if I say so myself.

Quit babbling Sam. Get to the point.

Dude… chicken and sweet potatoes. It’s so simple yet so perfect. I realize now that I pulled a mommy blogger and gave the life story before I got to the crux of the article, but the point still stands. Chicken and sweet potatoes. I get 5 frozen chicken breasts in a bag from Publix. I get 5 raw sweet potatoes from the produce section. Let me put you fellas on some free game here.

Why is this the best? Three reasons.

Cheap.

First, it’s cheap. Even at Publix, which is known for being a bit overpriced sometimes, I’m able to get all the ingredients for right at $17 usually. A week of meals for 17 bucks.

Fast.

Second, it’s fast. The prep time is very minimal. Often, you have these meals where you have to slice and dice a million ingredients, then watch to make sure pots don’t boil, butter doesn’t burn, or whatever else. Not the case here. With the potatoes, you wash ’em, stab ’em, bake ’em. With the chicken you just bake ’em. If you use parchment paper, you don’t even have to clean up all the natural sugars that leak out of the potatoes as they cook! As a sidenote, those sugars WILL burn onto your baking pan, which will be a hassle to clean up if you forgo the parchment paper. I learned that the hard way.

Healthy

Thirdly, it’s healthy. Check out these stats for ONE sweet potato alone.

• Vitamin A: Just one sweet potato provides over 100% of your daily needs for vitamin A, crucial for healthy vision, immune function, and cell growth.
• Fiber: High in fiber, sweet potatoes promote gut health, digestion, and feelings of fullness, potentially aiding weight management.
• Vitamins and minerals: They’re a good source of vitamins C, B6, and potassium, essential for various bodily functions like collagen production, energy metabolism, and blood pressure regulation.
• Antioxidants: Rich in beta-carotene and other antioxidants, they help protect your cells from damage and may reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.

ONEchicken breast? Same sorta deal…

Lean Protein: One of the main benefits of baked chicken breast is its high protein content. A 6 oz serving typically contains around 53 grams of protein, which is essential for muscle growth and repair, maintaining a healthy immune system, and feeling full and satisfied. This makes it a valuable addition to various diets, including weight management plans.

Low Fat and Calorie Content: Compared to other cuts of chicken, baked chicken breast is relatively low in fat and calories. A 6 oz serving has around 5.5 grams of fat and 267 calories, making it suitable for calorie-conscious people.

Good Source of Essential Nutrients: Chicken breast also provides various essential nutrients, including iron, potassium, and certain B vitamins. While it wouldn’t be considered a complete source of all vitamins and minerals, it can contribute to a healthy diet when combined with other nutrient-rich foods (LIKE THE SWEET POTATO 😁).

So, whether you’re trying to get that good protein intake to grow muscle, or you’re trying to watch the calories, or you’re simply a dirt cheap bachelor, this is the meal for you.

The mental game.

The other positive thing about making this a 5-day meal plan is that, aside from being fast, cheap, and healthy, it’s also a good mental detox. Think about it… we’re wired for tasty treats. Every food ad ever is designed to look refreshing, exciting, and tasty. This overload of rich, sweet, fatty, processed foods being thrown at us has caused many a man to lose his footing in regards to reaching his fitness goals.

Achieving fitness goals is less about the muscle and more about the mental.

Sam. 100% off the dome-piece.

Eating the same thing day in and day out trains you to look at food as nutrients, rather than a pleasurable pastime. Don’t get me wrong, I love a warm chocolate chip cookie just as much as the next guy, but I prefer to keep my mindset regarding food focused on the nutritional aspect, rather than the fun of eating. I find it easiest to do this at work during lunch, as, in my head, I’ve blocked out that location in my mind as the place I get work done. I get work done for my career and I get work done for my fitness goals (at the onsite gym). I don’t play when I’m working. Now, when I’m home, I can cut loose a bit (spice my life up with some Reeses’ Puffs or something haha), but at work, I keep it straightforward and business. This applies to every facet of my life during that 8-12 hour window, including the food I eat.

I’ve found that’s what works best for me for keeping my mental game on track. Now… if I ever find me a woman who’s a good cook, I’m throwing 90% of what I just said out the window. Lunch’ll be leftovers from pot roasts and casseroles and pies and whatever else. But… until then… chicken and sweet potatoes, a healthy quick lunch under $5.