O.K., so you find yourself unemployed, underemployed, or otherwise need to save money. Where do you start? Yes, it takes a little planning and time, but it is possible to start saving right away. Most Americans spend a lot of money on meals away from home, this is the first area to consider when cutting back on expenses. That occasional breakfast picked up on the way to work, or the lunch out with a friend from work can add up to a lot of money (and calories). Let’s first look at some strategies to avoid the temptation of that breakfast on the way to work, or that lunch out with friends.

Plan Ahead

By planning ahead, you can avoid the, “I don’t have anything to eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner!” Shop once a week with a list that is based on your meal plans for the week, spend a preset amount and stick to it. This sounds simple, but for many it is hard to follow, how do you do it? One day a week, sit down with a notepad and think about what you want for the week, plan on something for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and drinks. Check your cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer for what you have on hand, and try to use up what you have in stock before buying anything new. By the way, if you have something hanging around that you never use, and aren’t going to use, give it away, pitch it or otherwise get it out of your house. You want room for things you use!

Planning is the key to saving money. When you do your shopping for the week, give yourself time to properly put away the food for the week. By this, I mean wash and dry produce, repackage meat into smaller sizes, and slice or grate cheese to use during the week. These tasks save a lot of time later in the week when you are in a hurry in the morning or tired from a long day at work. The other timesaver is to prepare things for breakfast and lunch during dinner the night before: Boil potatoes, noodles, or eggs, cook bacon, grate cheese, make quiche, or chop up extra veggies. You are already in the kitchen, so make use of your time there and get things ready ahead.

Breakfast

Breakfast is one meal that I really enjoy on weekends, where I have time to prepare it then relax, reading the paper, and sipping coffee in my pajamas. Workdays, I don’t want to be late, and am often not hungry when I leave the house. I would fall into picking up something on the way, or getting hungry and ravenous for lunch and then overeating. To get around this I would plan what to have for breakfast ahead, so the ingredients are on hand and quick to prepare. My first recommendation is to avoid boxed cereal. Most cereals are expensive, from $4.00 -$8.00 a pound. Yes, cereal is fast and easy, but there are more inexpensive, interesting, quick, and nutritious alternatives available:

1. Breakfast sandwich – Cook the bacon in advance and keep in refrigerator. You can omit this or substitute with sausage, ham, or deli meat. Slice cheddar cheese to have on hand (slicing or grating cheese yourself saves money). Keep English muffins (I like whole wheat) on hand, and of course eggs. This takes only 3-5 minutes to prepare and can be eaten out of hand on the way out the door if necessary. All you do is scramble (or fry) the eggs while the muffin is toasting, then put a slice of bacon, the egg and cheese on the muffin, warm under broiler or in toaster oven to warm bacon and melt cheese, and eat.
2. Potatoes – Have these alone, or along with the breakfast sandwich above. If you have leftover mashed potatoes, make into a patty and fry until brown on both sides. While making dinner, put some potatoes in their skins on to boil. When done, drain and cool. These precooked potatoes can then be cubed, or grated for hash browns or home fries. Keep the shredded or cubed potatoes in refrigerator up to 5 days, they take just a few minutes to warm up on the stove.
3. French Toast – These are super fast and easy, allow for one egg for every two pieces of bread. Crack the egg into a bowl add an equal amount of milk (I use rice milk, it works fine) a sprinkle of salt and a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg. Melt a small amount of butter in a pan over medium heat, and dip your bread into the egg mixture until it is wet all over. This is a good way to use old bread, or French bread left over from the night before. The drier the bread, the more egg mixture it will soak up. Carefully place the coated bread in pan and brown on both sides. Serve with honey, syrup, powdered sugar and lemon juice, jam, or cinnamon and sugar. By the way, to make syrup, boil one cup of water. When boiling, add two cups of granulated sugar, stir until dissolved and remove from heat. Flavorings can be added after the syrup is removed from the heat. Make sure that all the sugar is dissolved, or the syrup will crystallize.
4. Pancakes – These take a little longer, but former cereal fans will be satisfied and happy if you feed them pancakes. Using a mix is only slightly faster than making them from scratch, or you can make your own mix. I have a very stained Better Homes and Gardens cookbook with a great recipe for pancakes. You can halve or double the recipe, depending on how many people will be eating the pancakes. Pancakes are so basic, eggs, milk, flour, leavening and oil. They make a great meal in a pinch and you can use different grains and add fruits, seeds, or vegetables to them to add variety. Some of my favorite additions are: Canned corn, shredded fresh apple and cinnamon, toasted chopped nuts, sunflower seeds, or try other grains, amaranth, rye, buckwheat, etc. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, pancakes are versatile, and delicious.
5. Bagel and Cream Cheese – Since most people buy these, they aren’t the cheapest item on the list, but it is cheaper to buy them at the grocery store and have them on hand, than it is to pick one up on the way to work. Just toast, spread on the cheese, and eat, you’re done. Or, use to make a breakfast sandwich, use another kind of cheese, or add a slice of tomato and other veggies to boost nutrition.
6. Eggs and Toast – Whether scrambled, fried, boiled, or poached, eggs are fast food. The key to cooking eggs is to keep the pan on the cool side, they must be cooked at medium low to preserve their delicate flavor. Boiled eggs are great to have on hand for an emergency breakfast, lunch, or snack. Be sure to put them in a separate place, or mark with a pencil so others will know that “This egg is cooked!” To boil, bring water to a boil, add eggs and remove from heat. Leave covered for 15 minutes. Rinse with cold water and use or store.
7. Omelets – Omelets are a great way to use up leftovers. My favorite is a taco omelet; this is simply using up the leftover meat, grated cheese, chopped tomatoes and avocado, and possibly beans and rice. The trick to a great omelet is the cooking temperature; too hot and the eggs are like Styrofoam, too cold they take too long and are runny. As mentioned above, use medium low heat for eggs. I like to cook my eggs in a little butter, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. If you use a non-stick pan, I would still use butter, otherwise the omelet will be difficult to get out of the pan. Crack 2-3 eggs in a bowl and beat until mixed, add a little milk or cream, if desired. Pour eggs into heated skillet spread with melted butter. Cook eggs until almost set. Add whatever filling you are using, or grated cheese. Cover pan until cheese melts and eggs are set. Use long flexible spatula/pancake turner to slide under half of omelet and gently flip on top of other half. Remove from pan, and top with a little grated cheese, chopped fresh herbs, and serve. If your eggs fall apart when you flip them, don’t worry, the more omelets you make the better you will get at flipping them and removing them from the pan. 
8. Oatmeal – Don’t buy the individual packets, they are much more expensive than a big box and not much faster. Oatmeal takes less than 5 minutes to prepare and many things can be added to make it more interesting: Shredded apple and cinnamon, nuts or seeds, bananas, raisons or other dried fruit, cream or milk, brown sugar, fruit jam, etc.
9. Fruit Smoothie – These are great in the spring and summer with fresh fruit, or in the winter with frozen fruit. You really need a blender to make them, I have used a food processor (it leaks, bad!), and a blending stick (never really makes enough, even with the special container for smoothies.) There are so many kinds of fruit smoothies, but they are basically soft fruit, ice, and liquid (milk, cream, yogurt, fruit juice or water). Blueberries are great in smoothies, but will cause the smoothie to thicken, so use sparingly. Stick with soft fruits, apples and other hard fruits give a granular texture to the smoothie and the smoothie tends to separate. Berries, bananas, and peaches are all good candidates for smoothies.
10. Quesadilla – Keep corn or flour tortillas on hand for these. A basic quesadilla is a tortilla cooked in a pan with cheese until the cheese melts, it can be two tortillas, or one large one folded in half with the cheese inside (this is where that cheese you shredded will come in handy!) I like to add fresh chopped tomatoes, pepper, and green onions after the cheese has melted.
11. Breakfast Wrap – Make these hot or cold depending on your mood. Put a fried/scrambled/boiled egg, shredded green onion, tomato, bell pepper, and any kind of cheese on a wrap or large tortilla and roll. The tortilla can be warmed up if you want it hot, or you can use a cheese spread, or grated cheese to melt on the wrap before rolling up. Cooked meats can be added or substituted for the egg, basically, this can be whatever you want, just make sure you have some fillings on hand to make these.
12. Quiche, Strata, Muffins, Cinnamon Rolls, Coffee Cake, Scones - Yes, these take more time, but can be made up ahead for a quick breakfast.
13. When all else fails, Peanut butter on toast (or other nut butter) - This is amazingly filling, just a tablespoon of nut butter on whole grain toast can keep you until lunch.

Remember, Make Your Coffee AT HOME!

Invest in a stainless steel travel mug, it will keep your coffee hot while you are out. What? You drink Lattes? No problem, buy or make your favorite syrup to keep at home. I keep chocolate syrup on hand for when I want a mocha, I don’t always have whipping cream (but then again, I don’t really need the calories!) If you don’t have an espresso machine, get a French press coffee pot and the milk frother to go with it (Bodum is the brand I love). These items are inexpensive, and make a good latte, without the $250 espresso maker. If you have to drink gourmet coffee, then keep on hand so you can make it at home and save $$$.