Does anyone else feel like all their free time is spent preparing food? Meal prep sure is difficult when you’re on a budget and want to eat nutritious food.

I’m a pescatarian – in my case, a vegetarian who is from Maryland and couldn’t imagine giving up the occasional seafood dish drenched in Old Bay. I am, however, allergic to fish. My husband is the opposite – a seafood hating, fish eating, chicken fanatic. Since we’re also all about saving money, I’m always looking for meals to make at home that we can both agree on.

Most of the time he gives in to my dietary restrictions and helps me chop up veggies for a meal I found on Pinterest, but if you count prep and cook time, those meals take hours and we’re starving by the time the meal is prepared. That’s difficult to do for every meal!

Luckily our incredible Moms Meet sponsors have taught me that meals don’t have to take hours to prepare in order to be healthy and delicious!

I decided to investigate three vegetarian-friendly meals:

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Muffin Mix:

Talk about the perfect breakfast! We love how easy it is to transform the mix into drastically different kinds of muffins. I decided to try banana nut muffins. I used chopped pecans instead of the walnuts it called for, and the end result was delicious. It was so convenient to make these muffins and have breakfast taken care of for days. I now know what I’m going to make the next time we have visitors! Our Mom Ambassadors recently sampled Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Muffin Mix and seemed to really enjoy it, also!

Horizon Classic Mac and Cheese:

In the words of my husband, “It’s creamy, but not over-the-top. I like it!” I call it adult Mac and Cheese because it’s not the elbow pasta covered in yellow cheese-like product from our childhood– it’s something so much more delicious. The organic wheat pasta shells hold the organic cheddar cheese sauce and after you eat this meal, you don’t feel like you’ve done something awful to your body. It’s a satisfying way to eat comfort food.

Modern Table Meals-Teriyaki:

I couldn’t get enough of the delicious smell coming from the white bean and broccoli noodles as they cooked! I was slightly skeptical of this flavor – but it was outstanding! I decided to use only the sauce on the noodles, and not the seasoning packet, because I wanted the flavor of the noodles to stay prominent.

I am so happy to have some new household meal favorites! I can’t wait to try more products from these brands.

Have any products from Moms Meet samplings become staples in your household? Comment which ones below!