Funky Crockpot Casserole (and How I’ve Been Doing THM Simply)

I suppose the point of today’s post is to inform you that you can successfully eat healthily very simply and very cheaply no matter where you are or how busy you are. As many of you know, I’m working full-time for my grandparents in Holmes County, OH this summer (at The Peach Barn). By full-time, I mean 8-5, Monday through Saturday. Blogging fills up several hours every evening, so I honestly have zero extra time. But I’m responsible for my own breakfasts and lunches (I eat supper with my grandparents, and thankfully my grandma is a meat and veggies type of person), and I have learned that I can do things very simply. I do all my shopping at Walmart and local produce markets/bulk food stores (Holmes County is pretty much the Mecca of food), so I don’t have any hard-to-get items. No oat fiber, no protein powder, no blender. I’m living in my great-uncle and -aunt’s basement, and I thankfully have a fridge and a sink but nothing else. I actually went and bought myself a crockpot because I was tired of eating the same things over and over again. You really want to know what I’ve been eating? Well, for three weeks straight I had chocolate oatmeal (oatmeal with cocoa powder and sweetener) with cottage cheese for breakfast, and for lunches I packed a low carb wrap filled with meat, cheese, lettuce, and bacon Ranch as well as celery and natural peanut butter. For afternoon snacks out at the peach stand I had low fat cottage cheese and peaches, and in the evenings I had melted Skinny Chocolate (which I made in a sink of hot water) with cottage cheese or Breyer Carb Smart (yeah, I don’t have an ice cream maker either) with a Skinny Chocolate drizzle. I didn’t have any measuring spoons either, so don’t ask me for measurements. I hate measuring anyway. I just eyeball in dollops, scoops, dashes, and globs.

This is how you make peanut butter Skinny Chocolate in a sink:

Now let me interrupt for a second here with a disclaimer: I was doing things this simply out of a need to survive. I do not recommend a) eating the same thing all the time – it’s better to keep your metabolism guessing, or b) eating so many processed convenience foods like low carb wraps or Breyer Carb Smart. However, I am a big proponent of doing what you have to do to get the job done, and this was what I did for three weeks.

But now I have a crockpot! In my post earlier this week, I shared an easy peach sauce I made to go on top of my homemade yogurt (I made that in my aunt’s oven). I also made a casserole to take to work for lunches for a week, and I’m going to be sharing that recipe with you today. You may or may not want to make it, as it’s rather unconventional and certainly not for everyone’s tastebuds, but I liked it, and I’m going to share it just to show you that you can make something out of nearly anything.

So I got a crockpot, and then I went to the grocery store and produce market. My grandma had gotten me a dozen of farm fresh eggs from a local market (for very cheap, and she actually just gave them to me), and then in my shopping excursions I picked up some hotdogs (on sale for 99 cents a pack!) and some zucchini (50 cents each). I already had shredded mozzarella that I had gotten at Walmart, so I threw all this together into a very cheap crockpot casserole. As a finishing touch, on a whim I drizzled the “casserole” with some of the bacon Ranch I’ve been using in my lunch wraps. Voila…dinner is served. It was surprisingly tasty. I actually didn’t even use any salt or spices to season the casserole, but it was tasty as it was. The zucchini was perfectly cooked – not hard but not mushy.

So yes, my friends, you can do THM on a budget with what you have, and you can most definitely do it very simply. You just have to find what works for you and run with it. After awhile you’ll get tired of eating the same thing, so you’ll find something new.

I plan to eventually do a full week’s menu of simple foods that can be made from Walmart ingredients, so stay tuned for that in the next couple of weeks!

Not familiar with THM (Trim Healthy Mama)?  Check out my quick synopsis on this page.

Question of the day: have you ever done THM under “adverse” circumstances? Share below!

You can pin this recipe here!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Funky Crockpot Casserole (and How I've Been Doing THM Simply)

 

Author:

Briana Thomas

Serves: 5-6

Print

 

THM:S, low carb, sugar free

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• Salt and spices to taste (I actually didn't use any, and it still tasted fine)
• 2 medium-large zucchini
• 4 good quality hotdogs
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Bacon Ranch dressing (or Ranch and some additional bacon bits)

Instructions

1. Beat the eggs and spices of choice in the bottom of a crockpot. Slice the zucchini thinly and chop the hotdogs into bite-sized pieces and add both to the eggs. Stir everything together. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese or other cheese of your choice, then drizzle the top with some bacon Ranch dressing. Heat in the crockpot on low for 2½ hours, then high for a half hour. (or until everything is cooked through). Serve and enjoy. Yields 5-6 servings.

3.3.3077

You may also enjoy:

Chicken Leg Quarters in the Crockpot (and Some Other Crazy Experiments) Crockpot Mexican Beans Fiesta Casserole Italian Meatball Casserole