To save money, a woman always ate this dish in the evening for 2 weeks

Ich habe zwei Wochen lang immer die gleiche Sorte Nudeln, Gemüse und Salat gegessen.

To save money, a woman always ate this dish in the evening for 2 weeks

I ate the same type of pasta, vegetables and salad for two weeks.

To save money and not spend too much time in the kitchen, I cooked the same dinner for two weeks.

I balanced my meal with protein and healthy fats from lentil pasta, vegetables and a mixed salad.

I liked the ease of preparation. And I found my body felt better. Despite the repetition, I actually looked forward to the food.

This is a machine translation of an article from our US colleagues at Business Insider. It was automatically translated and checked by a real editor.

I'm not one to spend time in the kitchen and would rather end the day with a snack than cook myself a meal. But after reviewing my finances in 2022, I realized I was spending way too much money on meals out and needed to change my eating habits.

To save money and avoid the daily stress of what to cook, I ate the same dish every night for two weeks. It went like this:

Woman stands in the kitchen and has a cell phone in her hand. Counting calories can help you lose weight.

To save money, I opted for a simple pasta and salad dish that was packed with nutrients

I liked that I always had to buy the same groceries when I went shopping.

Registered dietitian Lori Walker said it's important to find a meal that contains all the nutrients I need for optimal health. According to Walker, such a meal includes vegetables, a lean source of protein and healthy fats.

Since I'm a vegetarian, I chose lentil pasta with twelve grams of protein, tomato sauce, sautéed vegetables and a mixed salad with avocado as the main course.

Irene Mejia is a registered dietitian. She also told me that a healthy, balanced dinner like pasta and salad provides a consistent source of nutrition every night.

During the experiment I ended up having more time for myself

I hoped to save not only money but also time through this experiment. It usually took me about an hour to prepare dinner. I typically spent three-quarters of that time deciding what to eat and deciding whether to cook or order in. I also spent about an hour a week at the grocery store figuring out what ingredients I needed because I never planned my meals in advance.

Now that I had a solid dinner plan, I was able to save at least three hours per week.

I knew exactly what I needed at the store and cooked two batches of pasta and salad every other night, enough to last me two days. Since it was such a simple meal, it only took me about 10 to 15 minutes to prepare.

It only took about 30 minutes to prepare and eat. This gave me half an hour more time every evening to do something relaxing and enjoyable.

At some point I got bored of the same food

Unfortunately, on the fourth night I got tired of the same meal. I was craving takeout from my favorite restaurant and almost gave up.

But I was motivated to keep going when I remembered that I was doing this to eat regular, balanced, nutritious meals and save money.

Trying to stick to this one meal, I started adding seasonings like pepper and garlic powder and different salad dressings like ranch and balsamic. This made it taste a little different every evening.

My body felt better — I think it was because it was getting the nutrients I needed

By the tenth day of eating pasta and salad, my palate had become accustomed to the same food. I was even looking forward to dinner. I think this might be because my body was happy to get the nutrients it needed.

Walker told Business Insider that when you eat the same foods regularly, your digestive system gets used to it. This can lead to better overall gut health.

The experiment also has the advantage of potentially losing weight or controlling your weight, because “when you eat the same foods regularly, it's easier to control portion sizes and calorie intake,” says Walker.

Since I don't track my weight or weigh myself, I can't confirm if I've lost a few pounds. But I felt better in the two weeks than I have in a long time. I had less desire for dessert, which was often the case before, and I felt full every night.

Overall, I enjoyed the savings experiment and would try it again

I'm glad I experimented with the same meal for two weeks.

Overall, I found the experiment encouraged me to eat more balanced meals and cook at home. While I would have liked a little more variety in my meals, I think my body felt better and I loved how much time I saved at the grocery store and at home.

I'm going to take a break from eating pasta and salad for at least a month, but I want to try this experiment again with another meal. This way I can have two or three nutritious meals that I can make from scratch each week.

But until then, I'll settle for ordering in food once or twice a week.

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Isla Russell

Russell age 28 years Studying in world cooking I have a degree in England

Studying in world cooking I have a degree in England