Freeze Your Way Fit: Clean Eating Low Cost Weekly Meal Plan 3/14

There are a few good lean protein options on sale this week including a nice sale on salmon. Since I’m cooking for my super picky nephew this week, I tried to include some especially kid friendly options. I’m very excited about the green bean fries in particular because I really don’t care for green beans but they’re usually on sale a lot over the summer. It’s funny because, for a lot of kids, green beans are the only veggie they will eat. In our house, green beans are the only veggie my kids usually WON’T eat. I’m hoping this variation will make green beans a more pleasurable option for all of us.

Step 1: Find out what meat and produce is on sale for the week
This week at Publix Pork Tenderloin, Chicken Breast, and Salmon are on sale. In the produce section red potatoes, yellow and zucchini squash, green beans, apples, pears, and baby portabella 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 good prices for pasta, frozen veggies, pasta sauce, and Arnold’s Whole Grain Sandwich Thins. I have peanut butter and oatmeal in my pantry plus diced onions and peppers in my freezer.

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. This week in particular I am determined to remember not to eat meat on Friday since it’s Lent and we’re Catholic. Luckily I’m really looking forward to the Salmon Patties so I’m hoping this will help :)

Step 4: Get all of the recipes together and make a shopping list of what you’ll need.
Meals-
Crockpot Pineapple Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Red Potatoes and Pepper Strips
Sneaky Chicken Enchiladas
Super Fast Peanut Sauce Stir Fry
Salmon Patties with Green Bean Fries
Apple Chicken Crockpot Toss

Healthy Snacks/Desserts-
Pear Oatmeal Cookies
Mandy’s Awesome Apple Cake Cleaned Up

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 Match-Up List –
Produce
- 4 Onions
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 2 Green Bell Peppers
- 4 Medium Red Potatoes (5 lb bag, $2.99)
- 1 Head of Garlic plus 4 Cloves
- Spinach
- Cilantro
- Parsley (or 2 tsp dried)
- 1 lb Fresh Green Beans ($1.29/lb)
- 5 Apples (Fuji Apples, $1.49/lb)
- 3 Pears (Barlett Pears, $1.29/lb)
- 3-4 Cups of Assorted Veggies (broccoli, zucchini and yellow squash [$1.29/lb], baby carrots, whatever you like)

Grocery
- Aluminum Foil (Publix Aluminum Foil 12 in 50 to 75 sq ft, $2.19)
- 20 oz can Pineapple Chunks Packed in Juice
- 2 8oz cans Tomato Sauce
- Ragu Pasta Sauce 16 to 26.3 oz, BOGO $2.19
     Free Pasta wyb 2 Ragu Pasta sauce up to $1.25 3/13/2011 RP Insert (exp 4/10/11)
     $0.75/2 Ragu Pasta Sauce products, Kroger “Fast Track Daytona 500″
- 1 4oz can Chopped Green Chiles
- 12 6-inch Whole Wheat Tortillas
- 1 box Whole Grain Spaghetti
     Mueller’s Pasta 12 to 16 oz, BOGO $1.39
     $1/1 Mueller’s Coupon (printable)
     Free Pasta wyb 2 Ragu Pasta sauce up to $1.25 3/13/2011 RP Insert (exp 4/10/11)
- Chicken Broth
     Swanson Natural Goodness Broth, 2/$4
     $1/2 Swanson Broth Rolling (printable)
     $0.40/2 Swanson Broth 1/9/2011 SS Insert (exp 3/31/2011)
- Low Sodium Soy Sauce
     $1.00/1 – Kikkoman Products – (printable)
     $1.00/1 – Kikkoman Soy Sauce – (printable)
- Olive Oil
     $1.00/1 – Pompeian Olive Oil or NEW OlivExtra Plus (printable)
     $1.00/1 – Pompeian Olive Oil (printable)
     $1.00/1 – Filippo Berio Olive Oil (printable)
     $1.00/1 – Filippo Berio Olive Oil – (filippoberio.com)
- Sucanat
- Honey
     $0.55/1 – Sue Bee Honey, Any Bottle (printable)
- Whole Wheat Flour
- Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- Natural Peanut Butter
- Light Coconut Milk
     $0.75/1 – Silk Pure Coconut Coconutmilk (printable)
- Lemon Juice
- Lime Juice (can use lemon)
- Whole Wheat Panko/Bread Crumbs
- Dijon Mustard
     $1.00/1 – French’s Dijon Mustard (printable)
- Mayonnaise
     Kraft Real Mayonnaise, 30 oz, BOGO $3.99
     $1/2 Kraft Condiment Items TARGET coupon Target.com (exp 4/15/2011)
- Apple Cider Vinegar
     $0.50/1 Heinz coupon (printable)
     $0.55/1 Pompeian Vinegar (printable)
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract
- Baking Powder
- Rolled Oats
- Chocolate Chips
     $0.50/2 Nestle Toll House Morsels (printable)
     $1.00/2 – Nestle Toll House Morsels, 10oz or Larger (printable)
     $1.10/3 – Nestle Toll House Morsels (printable)
- Applesauce (Mott’s Apple Sauce 6 pk 23.4 to 24 oz cup, 3/$5)
- Baking Soda
     $0.50/2 Arm & Hammer (printable)
- Sliced Almonds

Spices
- Ginger
- Salt
- Chili Powder
- Cumin
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Italian Seasoning
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg

Meat/Seafood
- 2 ½ lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts (Perdue Boneless Chicken Breast, $3.99/lb)
- 2-3 lbs Pork Tenderloin (Whole Pork Tenderloin, $4.99/lb)
- 1 ¼ lbs Salmon Fillets (or 14.75oz can) (Salmon Fillets, $5.99/lb)

Dairy
- 2 cups 50% Light Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
     $1.00/1 – Cheese, Any Brand Made in the USA, 2lbs or More (printable)
- Eggs
     $0.75/1 – Organic Valley Eggs (printable)
- Skim Milk
     $0.75/2 – Organic Valley Milk, 1/2 gal. or 1 gal. (printable)
Frozen
- 1 16 oz bag Stir Fry Veggies (Publix Vegetables 10 to 12 oz, 10/$10)
     OR
     Green Giant Frozen Vegetables 7 to 10 oz, BOGO $1.79
     $0.50/1 Green Giant Vegetables Rolling (printable)
     $0.50/1 Green Giant Frozen Vegetables Rolling (printable)
     $0.60/3 Green Giant Frozen Boxed Vegetables (exp 4/2/2011) (printable)
     $0.60/3 Green Giant Frozen Boxed Vegetables 2/13/2011 GM Insert (exp 4/9/2011)
     $0.50/2 Green Giant Boxed Vegetables Rolling (printable)

Non Coupon Match-Up List – Coming Soon
Produce

4 Onions
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 Green Bell Peppers
4 Medium Red Potatoes
1 Head of Garlic plus 4 Cloves
Spinach
Cilantro
Parsley (or 2 tsp dried)
1 lb Fresh Green Beans
5 Apples
3 Pears
3-4 Cups of Assorted Veggies (broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, baby carrots, whatever you like)