Freeze Your Way Fit: Clean Eating Low Cost Weekly Meal Plan 3/28

I’m really excited for this week’s meal plan. As I said in my 10,000 pageviews post I am sharing the link-up love by making my meal plan using recipes from some of my favorite blogs. I’m also excited about trying out Stevia this week. I tried it once before in my tea and really wasn’t a fan but my friend, Mandy (who is HYSTERICAL and totally awesome and writes the funniest commentary ever on her recipes so you should check out her blog), uses it in a lot of her baked goods. I’ve enjoyed each and every one of them and there’s a great sale on it this week so I’m going for it!

Make sure you check out the Giveaway HERE this week, too!!

Step 1: Find out what meat and produce is on sale for the week
This week at Publix Pork Chops and Trout are on sale. In the produce section salad, grape tomatoes, broccoli, pears, onions, and potatoes 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 stevia, applesauce, feta cheese, and shredded cheese. I have whole wheat pasta in my pantry.

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. To learn how to build your own freezer stash go HERE.

Step 4: Get all of the recipes together and make a shopping list of what you’ll need.
Meals-
Pork Chop and Feta Skillet over Salad with Cauliflower Bread Sticks (they were so good Matt and the boys insisted we have them again this week) – Passionate Penny Pincher
Hashbrown Crusted Frittata – Finding Joy in my Kitchen (maybe made with Homemade Turkey Apple Sausage - The Nourishing Gourmet)
Trout Almondine over Perfect Brown Rice with Honey Glazed Carrots - Coping With Frugality
Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken and Broccoli Pesto and Fusilli Pasta - 101 Cookbooks

Healthy Snacks/Desserts-
Whole Wheat Pear Poppy Loaf - In Praise of Leftovers
Carrot Cake Muffins - Chocolate Covered Katie
Orange-Vanilla "Half Pound" Cake - Learn, Laugh, Cook (Mandy brought me some of this today [don't you wish you had a Mandy!!] and it is GOOD! I'm not gonna lie, though, it does use a whole stick of butter. This would be an indulgence treat, not an everyday treat. Mandy uses Smart Balance instead of butter or you could use Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread which is approved by Clean Eating magazine.)

Here is a shopping list for the complete list of meals (not including snacks and desserts) 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 Matchup List -
Produce
- Minced Garlic
- Lemon juice
     $1/1 True Lemon Product 6/5/2010 True Lemon Rolling
- Head of cauliflower
- Salad (Fresh Express Salad blends, 5 to 12 oz pkg, 2/$5)
- 3 medium potatoes (Idaho Potatoes, 5 lb bag, $2.99)
- Bell pepper
- Broccoli (3 1/2 cups) ( $1.69)
- Onion (Sweet Onions, $0.99/lb)
- 1 lemon (or more if doubling trout recipe)
- Parsley
- 16 oz bag baby carrots (or 4 big carrots)
- Baby spinach (2 cups)
- Spinach/chard (3 handfuls)

Grocery
- Olive oil ( Publix Olive Oil 17 oz, $3.99)
     $1/1 Filippo Berio Olive Oil (exp 4/2/2011) (printable)
     $1/1 Filippo Berio Olive Oil Rolling (printable)
     $1/1 Filippo Berio Olive Oil (IE) Rolling Printable (FF) (printable)
     $1/1 Pompeian Olive Oil (exp 4/2/2011) (printable)
     $0.75/1 Crisco Olive Oil 2/6/2011 RP Insert (exp 4/30/2011)
     $1/1 Goya Olive Oil Rolling (printable)
- Dried apples (if making apple sausage)
     $0.75/1 Sunsweet Dried Fruit Rolling
- Honey or Pure Maple Syrup (if making apple sausage)
     $0.75/1 Golden Blossom Honey Rolling (printable)
- Whole wheat flour
- Sliced almonds (1/3 cup or more if doubling trout recipe)
     $1.50/2 Archer Farms Nuts TARGET coupon Target.com (exp 4/23/2011)
     (can use on Publix brand nuts)
- White wine (1/4 cup or more if doubling trout recipe) ( Foxhorn Vineyards Wine, 1.5L, $6.49)
- Chopped walnuts (1/2 cup)
     $1.50/2 Archer Farms Nuts TARGET coupon Target.com (exp 4/23/2011)
     (can use on Publix brand nuts)
- Parmesan
- 1/2 pound (8 ounces) dried whole wheat pasta (bite-sized - fusilli, penne, etc)
     $1/1 Dreamfields Pasta Product Rolling
     $1/1 Dreamfields Pasta Product Rolling
     $1/1 Dreamfields Pasta Product Rolling
     $1/1 Arrowhead Mills Gluten Free Products, Varieties (IE) Rolling Printable (FF)
     $1/2 Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta Rolling
- Black olives

Spices
     $1/2 Simply Organic Glass Bottle Spices (exp 6/30/2011)
- Rosemary
- Basil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Fennel
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Allspice (if making apple sausage)
- Sage (if making apple sausage)
- Ginger

Meat/Seafood
- 4 pork chops ( Center Cut Pork Rib Chops, $3.49/lb)
- 1 chicken sausage (or make your own) (OR use Italian, Publix Mild or Hot Italian Sausage, $3.69/lb)
- 1 lb ground turkey or chicken (if making apple sausage)
- 2 6 oz trout fillets (or one per person you are feeding) ( Fresh Rainbow Trout Fillets, $7.99/lb)
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Dairy
- 3 oz reduced-fat cream cheese
     $1/1 Organic Valley Cream Cheese or Neufchatel Rolling
- 1 cup crumbled feta ( Publix Crumbled Cheese, Feta, 4 oz, 2/$4)
- 4 Eggs
     Eggland’s Best Eggs, 2/$4
     -$0.50/1 Eggland’s Best Eggs March 2011 Woman’s Day, Weight Watchers, Everyday Food, Country Living Magazine (exp 6/30/2011)
     -$0.50/1 Eggland’s Best Cage Free Dozen or Organic Dozen Eggs 1/30/2011 SS Insert (exp 6/30/2011)
     -$0.50/1 Eggland’s Best Cage Free or Organic Eggs 12/12/2010 SS Insert (exp 3/31/2011)
     -$0.50/1 Eggland’s Best Cage Free or Organic Eggs 10/31/2010 SS Insert (exp 3/31/2011)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella ( Publix Shredded Cheese, 8 ox pkg, 2/$4)
- Milk
     Smart Balance Half Gallon, 2/$5
     -$1/1 Smart Balance Milk Product (exp 4/2/2011)
     -$1.50/1 Smart Balance Milk 3/6/2011 SS Insert (exp 4/20/2011)
     -$2/1 Smart Balance Milks 3/27/2011 SS Insert (exp 5/1/2011)
     -$1/1 Smart Balance Milk Product Rolling
- ½ cup shredded cheddar or other cheese ( Publix Shredded Cheese, 8 ox pkg, 2/$4)
- Butter (or buttery spread) (Land O Lakes Sweet Cream Butter 16 oz, 2/$6)

Non-Coupon Matchup List
Produce
- Minced Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Head of cauliflower
- Salad
- 3 medium potatoes
- Bell pepper
- Broccoli (3 1/2 cups)
- Onion
- 1 lemon (or more if doubling trout recipe)
- Parsley
- 16 oz bag baby carrots (or 4 big carrots)
- Baby spinach (2 cups)
- Spinach/chard (3 handfuls)

Grocery
- Olive oil
- Dried apples (if making apple sausage)
- Honey or Pure Maple Syrup (if making apple sausage)
- Whole wheat flour
- Sliced almonds (1/3 cup or more if doubling trout recipe)
- White wine (1/4 cup or more if doubling trout recipe)
- Chopped walnuts (1/2 cup)
- Parmesan
- 1/2 pound (8 ounces) dried whole wheat pasta (bite-sized - fusilli, penne, etc)
- Black olives

Spices
- Rosemary
- Basil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Fennel
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Allspice (if making apple sausage)
- Sage (if making apple sausage)
- Ginger

Meat/Seafood
- 4 pork chops
- 1 chicken sausage (or make your own)
- 1 lb ground turkey or chicken (if making apple sausage)
- 2 6 oz trout fillets (or one per person you are feeding)
- 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Dairy
- 3 oz reduced-fat cream cheese
- 1 cup crumbled feta
- 4 Eggs
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- Milk
- ½ cup shredded cheddar or other cheese
- Butter (or buttery spread)

:)