The Healthy Work Lunch
So many times during the work week you go out for lunch. At said outside lunch, you then shell out at least $5.00 usually. Typically it’s closer to $10.00 if you want to eat something remotely healthy.
Let’s do some simple math:
An average of $7.50 per lunch/per work day.
260 Work Days x 7.50 =$1,950.00
If you start working at 22 and retire at 65, you are paying $83,850.00 over your working career to pay for your lunch.
You could save up and buy a Porsche 911 for roughly that same cost at your retirement age.
I know this calculation assumes you have no food cost. So let’s calculate the cost of this lunch:
Pork Chops : $12.60 for 2
Butternut Squash Puree: 8.40 for 2
Coconut Milk: $2.00
Cost: $23.00 or $4.60 per work day. If your lunch cost this for the rest of your working career it would cost you $51,428. Still a savings of $32,422.00
With that savings you can do the following:
1- Awesome Viking Cruise
2- Down payment on a house
3- Buy a new car
So it still saves money.
In our household, I’ve dedicated my Sunday’s to making healthy lunches for the work week. I reheat in glass Tupperware to avoid dangerous Tupperware plastic re-heating.
When doing a lunch for the work week you have 2 critical factors. 1) Will it keep all week? And 2) Will it stay tasty all week?
I’ve found that by braising your meat, it keeps relatively well and keeps a consistent flavor all week.
This week I received pork chops from Friends and Farms and I had butternut squash puree frozen in my freezer from the farm.
Braised Pork Chops in Coconut Milk & White Wine, with Garam Masala Butternut Squash Puree
Ingredients
- 2, 10 oz. Pork Chops
- Cup of Coconut Milk (I make it from scratch but you can buy it at the store also)
- ¼ Cup of White Wine
- Tbsp. of Bacon Fat
- Pureed Butternut Squash
- Tbsp. of Garam Masala
First heat the bacon fat so it’s sizzling. Then add the pork chops to your braising pan. Let both sides get a good brown to them. Add a half cup of your Coconut Milk and then set the temperature to a low heat. Cook the pork for about 2-3 hours on this low heat. As the pan begins to brown, slowly add the Wine to deglaze your pan. Continue to cook on low until your pork can be pulled apart with a fork.
For the butternut squash puree (if you cannot buy it already pureed), cut it lengthwise and roast in the oven with Olive Oil until the skin peels off.
Once you have your squash ready, sauté the puree with some Garam Masala and the balance of your Coconut Milk. Once all the excess liquids from the puree have cooked off, slowly add it to your blender to puree once again. Putting it in the blender will give it a very creamy smooth texture (It’s well worth the effort).
Enjoy!
