Broke Recipe: Large Pot Meal Prep
At Evolve:Lyfe we’ve tested a new Broke Recipe in our own kitchens because we’re broke. To maintain transparency we’re including our untouched photos and as much of the pricing data as we have. As well, we’re giving you information on nutrition so you know what you’re getting in your diet. In this way, we are hoping to help you find options available for healthy cooking, even if money’s tight!
Broke Recipe: Barley & Broccoli Stovetop Casserole
This meal is not vegetarian or vegan, as it includes cream of chicken soup. However, you can always substitute a vegetarian alternative as long as it’s a condensed soup! This recipe uses an often-overlooked grain: barley. Barley is high in fiber to help fill you up faster and keep you full longer, and while it is a carbohydrate it is a complex carbohydrate that is better for stable blood sugar (shoutout to all the diabetics). Aside from the benefits of the fiber and complex carbs in barley, this recipe has tons of veggies—broccoli, red peppers, onions, and carrots—to supplement your diet.
This picture is what it looked like in the pot when we were done cooking before we parceled it out into individual lunch containers. The first run of this recipe lasted about a week in the fridge, which is perfect for a work week of premade lunches. The total prep and cook time ran us about 2 hours, and we got five 2-cup lunch servings plus a 1/4 cup snack. It’s pretty filling, so you don’t really need anything extra for a small meal.
Nutrition Information:
History time! This Broke Recipe uses a staple food of the Roman gladiators—barley! Gladiators were actually almost wholly vegetarian, and barley was such a large part of their diet they were called “barley men”. You’re definitely fueling up like a warrior with this one!
Barley has 135 g of carbs per cup, but only 1.5 g of that is sugar and a whopping 32g is fiber. It’s also a great source of Magnesium, Iron (great for iron-deficient anemics), and Vitamin B6. Onions and shallots are a great source of Vitamin C, Vitamin B9 (also known as folate, and very important for pregnant folks), and Vitamin B6.
Carrots are a terrific source of Vitamin A, Vitamin K, and Vitamin C. Red bell peppers have Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B6.
Broccoli has tons of vitamins—A, B6, B9, B12, D, E, and K—and also important minerals like Calcium, Niacin, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Zinc, and Phosphorus. Broccoli also contains a chemical called Sulforaphane, which early studies note can help lower blood sugar when ingested regularly. Plus all of these pack a big Potassium punch!
Recipe:
What We Bought (All Found At 99 Cents Only)
- 2 pack broccoli, roughly 1 pound ($1)
- 2 red bell peppers ($1 total)
- 2 shallots, 3 in. long x 1 in. wide ($1/pack, we still have 4 shallots left)
- 1 medium yellow onion ($1.99/pack, we still have about 5 onions left)
- 3 stalks of celery ($1, we have about 3/4 of the bunch left)
- 10 oz bag matchstick carrots ($1)
- 1 c dried barley ($1/pound bag, we have about another 1 1/2 c left)
- 1 10 1/2 oz can Campbell’s Condensed Cream Of Chicken Soup ($1)
What We Had
- 10 c Water
- 2 tbsp granulated garlic
- 1 tbsp + 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Wash all your loose veggies! (The carrots are open and dump when you add them, they’re fine as-is until you’re ready for them.) Chop your broccoli and set it aside for now—use the stalks, too, they’re really nutritious and they have a good amount of fiber.
De-seed and chop your peppers. Thinly slice your peeled shallots and onions, and celery stalks. Add the shallots, onions, peppers, and celery to a 6-quart stockpot over medium heat and sear them until they’ve sweated out and reduced by about half, stirring occasionally to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Add 10 c of water, 1 tbsp salt, the broccoli, the barley, and the carrots. Bring to a boil and cook it at that temperature for about 40 to 45 minutes until the barley is done to your preferred texture. Remember to stir to keep anything from sticking and burning at the bottom!
Once everything is cooked, drain off the liquid** and return everything else to the stock pot. Add your additional spices—2 tbsp granulated garlic, 1 tbsp dried parsley, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt. Then add the entire can of condensed cream of chicken. Stir until everything is combined, give it about 10 minutes covered to rest, and stir again. You can serve it immediately, or let it cool and package it up for pre-set meals.
**This liquid will be VERY starchy because of the barley! Run hot water down your drain for at least 3 minutes after to dilute it and keep your drains and pipes clear!
Enjoy your Broke Recipe!
At the end, this is what we wound up with—5 lunch bowls for one of our admin’s work weeks! (Shown here with a side of banana.) Again, smaller portions mean this could stretch farther than 5 lunches. At the 2-cup serving size shown, factoring a cost estimate in on the spices we already had, this breaks down to a price of roughly $1.26 per lunch. And trust us when we say it’s filling!
We ran through 2 batches to get this recipe’s kinks worked out, and there were some days 2 cups was a little much. And you can add whatever spices you want with this, you don’t have to use our blend unless you want to. What fast food place is going to fill you up for only $1.26 and customize food to your taste buds in the bargain? None of them! Hopefully, all of you enjoy this recipe and it’ll help stretch your budget a little farther. Go forth and thrive!