1 Box = 5 Meals

In my last post, I mentioned it was nearing the end of the semester.  Classes ended last week, and after plowing through some final assignments over the weekend, I only have a few loose ends to tie up before graduation!  Last night, I took a break from my computer and started re-reading The Great Gatsby.  It was unbelievably relaxing--the whole idea that graduate school is over and I have evenings to myself is rather surreal.

After my final presentation last Monday, I didn't feel like cooking and decided on a trip to Whole Foods as a reward for my hard work all semester.  I picked some essentials--produce, some cheese--passed on the overpriced ice cream, and headed for prepared food section.  I grabbed a little cardboard box and filled it all the way to the top with things from the hot and cold salad bars, and went to check out.

At the register, I beat my own personal record for "most expensive salad" with my selection ringing in at $23!  This wasn't a huge surprise for the following reasons:

1. I focused on heavy things like proteins that I didn't have at home. 
2. I was planning to use the contents for multiple meals.

So what does one do with $23 of prepared foods?  I am so glad you asked.  First thing when I got home, I separated everything out to preserve their individual flavors.

Then I made my first meal--a giant green salad with some of the grilled tofu, beets, roasted potatoes and curried cauliflower on top, and the mac-n-cheese on the side.

Meal 2 was soft tacos with the beef fajita mix, garlic chicken and the rest of the curried cauliflower.

Meal 3 ended up being a hamburger salad using the meatball and the remaining beets.

Meal 4 used leftover quinoa that I made for Meal 1 and the end of the garlic chicken.

I was intending to use the rest of the tofu in Meal 5, but I waited too long and the tofu smelled/tasted weird.  So Meal 5 didn't really contain any ingredients from my Whole Foods haul, but it could have.

This is certainly not a practice I can afford to adopt on a regular basis, but it was perfect for last week, giving me wide variety of meals with minimal effort.  However, for your sake and mine, I hope my interest in cooking returns soon!