Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Clean Eating Low-Cost Meal Plan Monday 2/21

After all the great meat and produce on sale last week I couldn’t WAIT to see what this week would bring. But I have to say I was kind of disappointed. There were a bunch of different kinds of beef on sale but I actually never cook anything with beef. When I first started cooking, it was for my Dad who had high blood pressure and high cholesterol, so I only used white meats. I don’t really know how to cook beef and it’s usually really expensive so I think that sealed the deal. I had to really stretch this week and expand my repertoire past ground turkey and chicken breast. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it :) Again, it’s not technically Monday but Meal Plan Monday sounds so much better than Meal Plan Tuesday.

Step 1: Find out what meat and produce is on sale for the week
This week at Publix boneless skinless chicken thighs, boneless pork chops, and Perdue frozen chicken breasts are on sale. In the produce section red and yellow peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, peaches, asparagus, and white mushrooms are also on sale.

Step 2: Take an inventory of your pantry and freezer, check out what other items are on sale, and pick several recipes that use those ingredients.
There are great prices for canned tomatoes and frozen veggies again this week and I have a bunch of multigrain bread from stocking up. If you didn’t stock up last week, you certainly can this week because the sale is still going on. There’s a great sale on soy milk this week too.

Step 3: Take a look at your calendar for the week and see which nights you’ll have more time to cook and which nights you won't and plan your menu accordingly.
This will be different for every family but, in general, I cook 3 or 4 nights a week and we eat something from our freezer stash the other nights.

Step 4: Get all of the recipes together and make a shopping list of what you’ll need.
Rosemary Balsamic Glazed Chicken with Summer Squash and Roasted Garlic
Honey Dijon Pork Chops with Grilled Asparagus and Homemade "Stove Top" Stuffing
French Bread Pizzas
Black Bean Salsa Soup
Clean Eating Peach Almond Crumble
Chocolate Soy Yogurt UPDATE 2/24: This was a TOTAL failure!! Still get the silk b/c it's a great sale but don't waste it trying to make yogurt, LOL! I'll repost when I get it to work. For the time being HERE is how to make regular yogurt. UPDATE 2/25: Just kidding! It turned out that this was salvageable after all but I modified the recipe so try it at your own risk :)

Here is a shopping list for the complete menu based on you having nothing in your pantry or freezer. You will obviously omit the items that you already have. Go HERE for an explanation of the couponing abbreviations. The top list has all of the coupon matchups. There is a second list at the bottom that just lists the items with no match-ups and is a little easier to read.

Coupon Mach-Up List:
Produce
  • Bag of spinach (or 9oz box frozen)
  • 2 medium zucchini ($1.49/lb)
  • 2 medium yellow squash ($1.49/lb)
  • 6 oz sliced white mushrooms (12 oz pkg., 2/$5)
  • 1 red bell pepper($2.49/lb)
  • 1 yellow bell pepper ($2.49/lb)
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 yellow/white onion
  • 1 head of garlic
  • Minced garlic or 2 cloves
  • 2 cups kale
  • 8 medium peaches ($1.99/lb)
  • One bunch asparagus ($2.49/lb)
  • Avocado (optional for soup)
  • Cilantro (optional for soup)
Bakery
  • 2 whole grain French breads
    -$1.50 off Publix bakery bread wyb 6 Hunt’s tomato sauces or pastes Publix coupon Italian Days Coupon Found In Store
  • 12 slices whole grain bread
    -$1.50 off Publix bakery bread wyb 6 Hunt’s tomato sauces or pastes Publix coupon Italian Days Coupon Found In StoreOR
    Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain Bread 24 oz, BOGO $3.89
    -$0.50/1 Pepperidge Farm Breads or Bagels 2/13/2011 SS Insert (exp 4/10/2011)
    -$0.75/2 Pepperidge Farm Breads or Bagels 2/13/2011 SS Insert (exp 4/10/2011)    -$1.50 off Publix Produce WYB Pepperidge Farms Whole Grain Bread – Healthy Beginnings Publix Booklet
Grocery

Spices
-$0.55/1 McCormick Spice – Healthy Beginnings Publix Booklet
  • Cumin
  • Italian Seasoning
  • Dried Rosemary
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Dried Parsley
  • Dried Minced Onion
  • Dried Minced Celery
  • Thyme
  • Sage
Meat
  • 4 boneless pork chops ($3.99/lb)
  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs ($2.99/lb)
Dairy
Frozen
Non Coupon Match-Up List:
Produce
  • Bag of spinach (or 9oz box frozen)
  • 2 medium zucchini
  • 2 medium yellow squash
  • 6 oz sliced white mushrooms
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 yellow bell pepper
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 yellow/white onion
  • 1 head of garlic
  • Minced garlic or 2 cloves
  • 2 cups kale
  • 8 medium peaches
  • One bunch asparagus
  • Avocado (optional for soup)
  • Cilantro (optional for soup)
Bakery
  • 2 whole grain French breads
  • 12 slices whole grain bread
Grocery
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • 1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes with juices
  • Lime juice
  • 1 32oz carton all natural low sodium reduced fat chicken broth (4 cups)
  • Small Container Chicken Broth (1/2 cup needed)
  • 2 cans black beans
  • 2 6oz cans Basil, Garlic, and Oregano tomato paste
  • Dijon mustard
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Soy sauce
  • Honey
  • Whole wheat bread crumbs (or loaf of bread to make your own)
  • Sucanat
  • Agave nectar (can use honey)
  • Lemon juice
  • Sliced almonds (optional, need 2/3 cup)
  • Whole Wheat Flour
  • Rolled oats
  • 1 packet unflavored gelatin (optional for yogurt)
  • Nonfat dry milk (optional for yogurt, need 1/3 cup)
Spices
  • Cumin
  • Italian seasoning
  • Dried rosemary
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Dried Parsley
  • Dried minced onion
  • Dried minced celery
  • Thyme
  • Sage
Meat
  • 4 boneless pork chops
  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Dairy
  • 1 6oz package reduced-fat turkey pepperoni
  • 2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • 2 cups 2% cheddar cheese
  • Butter (need ¼ cup)
  • Half gallon of reduced fat chocolate soy milk
  • ½ cup plain yogurt
Frozen
  • 3 12oz packages frozen broccoli
  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Posted by ~Briony at 5:10 PM
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