Thursday, March 31, 2011

Printable $5/30 Winn Dixie Coupon!! (Good 3/30 - 4/5)


Go HERE to print a coupon for $5 off a purchase of $30 or more at Winn Dixie. (Great to use at Publix if your store considers Winn Dixie a competitor!!)

Thanks Who Said Nothing in Life is Free!!

:)

Clean Eating Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts (OAMC)

Makes 6 Servings
These are super easy but they look gourmet when they are done. I love, love, LOVE that you cook them from frozen becaues you know I'm incapable of remembering to thaw things the night before. When there is a really good sale on chicken, I've been known to make 30 stuffed chicken breasts at once. It takes next to no time to assemble them and they've really become one of my go-to throw together meals. I usually have them with some Perfect Brown Rice and steamed veggies and I drizzle the rice with the juices from the baking dish. Yum!!

Ingredients:
  • 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 oz reduced-fat cream cheese
  • ½ cup feta cheese
  • 2 cups baby spinach leaves
ONE: Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and feta with a fork.

TWO: Make a slit in the side of the chicken breast to create a pocket. Fill the chicken breast with the cheese mixture and spinach. (My sister, Anthea, uses scissors to snip the spinach into tiny pieces and then mixes it in with the cheese before stuffing.)

THREE: Wrap individually in tin foil and freeze. Store frozen breasts in a freezer bag.

TO COOK: Preheat oven to 350. Unwrap frozen chicken breasts and place them in a baking dish coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake, covered with foil, for one hour or until tender and no longer pink in the center (45-50 minutes if defrosted).

NUTRITION INFO:

Per Serving -  89 Calories (46 Calories from Fat), 5g Total Fat, 3g Saturated Fat, 32mg Cholesterol, 229 mg Sodium, 2g Total Carbohydrates, 0g Dietary Fiber, 1g Sugars, 9g Protein, 21% Vitamin A, 5% Vitamin C, 9% Calcium, 3% Iron

Spinach on Foodista

:)

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)

:)

Monday, March 28, 2011

Freeze Your Way Fit Just Passed 10,000 Pageviews!!!... and What Do You Want To Know?

I can NOT BELIEVE I'm writing this right now! Especially since less than 2 weeks ago I was posting THIS post about passing 5,000 pageviews! All I can say is, "You like me, you really like me!" LOL :) In all seriousness, it makes me positively giddy to think that so many people are taking an interest in preparing healthy meals and saving money on nutritious foods while spending less time in the kitchen.


I designed this logo myself. Are you impressed?
(Don't be... it took me about 16 hours, LOL!)
Many thanks to anyone who shared this site with a friend and to all of you other bloggers out there who posted a link. However you found this blog, just know that I'm glad you came and I hope you got some good ideas out of it. I've decided to share the link-up love this week by using recipes from some of my favorite blogs to make up my Clean Eating Meal Plan.

Since I won't be spending time posting my own recipes, I'm going to make an effort to post some more general info stuff in response to some of the questions I've received. Make sure to come back and check out the Getting Started page to see the updated info. Some of the topics I'm going to address:
  • Natural Sweeteners Explained
  • Whole Grains 101
  • More info on Getting Started with Clean Eating
  • How to Build a Natural Food Pantry
If you have a specific question or an area where you'd like more info, leave a comment and I'll add it to the list. Let me know what you want to know :) And, as always, if you have a great recipe or tip and would like to submit a guest post, send me an e-mail HERE.

Thank you again for checking out my blog!

:)

Kids Eat Free at Chili's Again March 29th!!

It's back!! Another coupon for a free Kid's Meal at Chili's! If you missed this last time, here's your chance to cash in. This is only good for March 29th. Here are my thoughts on Chili's:

Over the past few years, Chili's has made some changes to their menu, mainly with the addition of the Guiltless Grill items. It's now one of the few places that we can go for dinner and I actually feel good about what we ate and don't have to bring a meal for my kids. As long as you order something sensible, you could easily have a dinner out here that doesn't blow your Clean Eating lifestyle.

I always order my kids the grilled chicken sandwich from the kid's menu with a side of steamed broccoli or fresh pineapple. I have them put it on a whole grain bun and make the broccoli without any seasoning. I usually get one with broccoli and one with pineapple and chop them both up together so each boy gets  a pineapple broccoli mixture. I love the Grilled Salmon with Garlic and Herbs. They even have a vegetarian menu, you just have to ask.

If the 29th was one of your night's off in your weekly meal plan you should definitely give Chili's a try. Make sure you bring THIS coupon with you so your kid's eat free. Enjoy!!

P.S. For some more great coupons make sure you check out the current Giveaway HERE!

:)

Cantaloupe Cake Bars

Makes 12 Servings
My boys love, love, LOVE cantaloupe so they get VERY excited when I make this great little dessert. The original recipe used a box of cake mix and a lot of butter. I made my own cake mix based on how my great friend, Mandy, did in THIS recipe. Then I substituted some of the butter with olive oil, replaced the white sugar with sucanat and Agave nectar, and used whole wheat flour instead of white flour. The results were a delicious dessert that is still a bit indulgent but packs 4g of Fiber, 4g of Protein, 33% DV of Vitamin A, and 27% DV of Vitamin C. 


Ingredients:
Homemade Cake mix –
  • 2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat)
  • 1 1/2 cups of sucanat (can use turbinado/brown sugar but it won’t be “clean”)
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp of baking powder
  • 1/4 cup of light butter, cut into small pieces
Crunch Bars -
  • 3 cups cubed cantaloupe
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup Agave nectar (can use honey)
  • 1 Tbsp whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur's White Whole Wheat)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
ONE: Preheat the oven to 350. Using a food processor or your hands, blend together the homemade cake mix ingredients until well mixed and the same consistency as packaged cake mix.

TWO: In a 9-inch square baking dish, mix together the cantaloupe, lemon juice, Agave, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla. Spread the dry cake mix evenly over the top.


THREE: Drizzle the olive oil over the cake mix. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown.


NUTRITION INFO:

Per serving - 308 Calories (118 from Fat), 13g Total Fat, 4g Saturated Fat, 10mg Cholesterol, 196mg Sodium, 45g Total Carbohydrates, 4g Dietary Fiber, 8g Sugars, 4g Protein, 33% Vitamin A, 27% Vitamin C, 12% Calcium, 12% Iron

:)

Clean Eating Cantaloupe Bread

Makes 16 servings
OOOOOooooohhhhhh Buddy!! This is good. Like REALLY good... as in we ate the entire loaf in one day, LOL. It's an interesting flavor. It's not overwhelmingly cantaloupe-y (that's a word, right?) and it almost tastes like pumpkin bread but with a lighter type of sweetness. Does that make sense? If not, go back to we ate the entire loaf in one day. I'm making another one tomorrow :)

This is all that was left 15 minutes after it came out of the Breadmaker hehehe
Ingredients:
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup sucanat (can use turbinado/brown sugar but it won't be "clean")
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 2/3 cups pureed cantaloupe
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used King Arthur's White Whole Wheat)
ONE: Dump everything into the breadmaker, adding the flour last. Run the breadmaker on the quick bread setting (I take a rubber spatula and run it around the edges after it's been mixing for a little while to make sure there's no pockets of unmixed flour). Remove from the bread pan and let cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Isn't it amazing that you push a button and this becomes perfect bread?!
NON-BREADMAKER INSTRUCTIONS:
ONE: Buy a cheap breadmaker on Craigslist, LOL. Just kidding. Preheat the oven to 325. Lightly grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

TWO: In a large bowl combine the eggs, oil, vanilla, and pureed cantaloupe. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Pour into prepared pan.

THREE: Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack before slicing.

NUTRITION INFO:

Per serving - 146 Calories (48 from Fat), 5g Total Fat, 1g Saturated Fat, 26mg Cholesterol, 203mg Sodium, 22g Total Carbohydrates, 2g Dietary Fiber, 2g Sugars, 3g Protein, 20% Vitamin A, 16% Vitamin C, 4% Calcium, 7% Iron

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Couponing Scenario Using Coupons from Many Sources - 2

A little while back, I posted THIS couponing scenario courtesy of the AMAZING Casey and the response was huge. I found when I first started couponing that it really helped me to see exactly what other people were buying and what coupons they used to get great deals and apparently you all agree :) Coupon Queen Casey had another awesome shop this week and was nice enough to write it all up and share the details with us.


This gives you an idea of all the different coupon sources there are and how the really savvy couponer can pull things from a bunch of different places all into one shop. Thanks, Casey!!!!

Bought
Used
4 Kraft Shredded Cheese (2/$4)2 $1.50/2 Target Qs and 2 $1/2 MQs 3/13/2011 SS
2 Kraft Cheese Blocks (2/$4)2 peelies found on bag for $1 off when you buy both a bag of Kraft shredded cheese and a Kraft block of cheese
2 Ritz Munchable Pretzels BOGO $3.692 $1 MQs
4 Kraft Salad Dressings BOGO $3.191 B2G1 Free Target Q and 1 $1/2 Kraft condiment Target Q
Lindsay Reclosable Olives $2$1 off printable from a while back that I had in my coupon file
2 Pure Protein Bars $1.25 1 B1G1 MQ 3/6/2011 RP (or $1/1 HERE)
2 Zone Meal Bars $12 $0.55 MQs 1/16/2011 or 2/27/2011 SS
Myoplex Meal Bar $1.50$1/1 MQ 2/27/2011 SS
4 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks BOGO $2.93 (I know, I know. Don't hate me, I donate them to the food bank!)2 BOGO coupons that were on boxes months ago and I've been waiting until I could get them for free. Great food pantry donation item!
TGIF Skillet Meal 50% off (Sale price $2.99)$2 peelie from a long time ago that I had in my coupon file
2 TGIF Appetizers 50% off (Sale price $4.49) (I'd just like to say that the TGIF stuff is for my hubby when I'm out of town next week. Plus I'm buying him some bagged salads, LOL)$4/2 Target Q
1 Friendship Sour Cream $1.99$1 PQ from the Yellow Advantage Buy Flier
2 Organic Valley Milk 2/$72 $1 MQs
I used a $5/55 Winn Dixie Q that I had but here's a $5/30 from Winn Dixie that you can print


I may be forgetting some stuff I bought (I know I did last time) but I spent $19 oop and saved $78. Considering the cheese alone would have cost that much had I not shopped sales I think it was a pretty good week. For those of you who don't know you can freeze cheese!

Woo hoo, Casey!! Great shop! And thanks for writing it all up for us. You're the best :)