Menu Planning

Do you plan your menu first and then go shopping or shop for what's on sale and plan your menu around that? The cheaper solution is the later, plan a menu around what's on sale (or free in some cases!). But that's hard for me to do when I need to plan a menu in advance that supports my weight loss goals. Alot of the things that go on sale or are free are highly processed and/or canned. I rarely get coupons for fresh produce or proteins. I've had to get more creative and highly organized trying to be frugal. So here's my strategy for saving the most.

Here in the Springs (and Denver too), the weekly grocery ads come out Tuesday night. So, I look at the ads, compare it to any coupons I might have, and plan a menu as best I can on Wednesday and Thursday. Then I usually shop on Saturday or Sunday. Some things I need I just have to suck it up and buy at retail price. There's really nothing I can do about it. In the summer, I'll make up for the winter prices on vegetables. I do have a couple of tricks if you live in the Springs though. Rancho Librio and Sunflower Market have rock bottom prices on produce and sometimes meats. Even in the dead of winter. Shop there, you won't regret it. I've walked away with a bag full of produce from Rancho and paid less than $2. If you live outside of Colorado, look for a Sunflower Market or Trader Joes. They're all around the country.

Another tip, buy meats in bulk. The family packs are substantially cheaper and meat freezes. I bought a ton of chicken breasts a couple weeks ago and froze individual servings for easy use. They've been quite handy. And my last tip of the day, frozen veggies are no less nutritional for you than raw. I learned that in my nutrition class yesterday :) The key is not eating vegetables and fruits raw but mixing them up. Different colors give you different vitamins and minerals. And frozen vegetables are way cheaper! So, buy frozen and mix it up. So long for now. Happy shopping!

Fast Food, avoid at all costs

At times, I have been a fast foodoholic. I go in waves, sometimes it appeals to me and sometimes not. But since before Christmas I've not had any since it's high in calories and sodium. However, I got a coupon for a free fresco taco at Taco Bell and since they were only 170 calories, I decided to pick one up on my way to school yesterday. That was a HUGE mistake. I was so sick the rest of the day. And I have no idea why! I understand fast food is not good for you but I was crampy and had a huge headache all day which was not cool because I had my two intense classes that afternoon. I've never had a reaction to fast food before but believe me, it was not worth it and from now on, I'll pack my lunch.
On a better note, I tried a great new recipe last night that I want to share. It's from the Biggest Loser Cookbook (I love that show!). The recipe is for 4 servings and has 197 calories a serving. Try it, it's great! It's gluten free, low in sodium, and goes great with a salad which is what I did last night.

New Orleans Rubbed Chicken with Apricot Mustard Sauce

1 T dried thyme
1/2 t black pepper
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t cayenne powder (you can omit this if you don't like spicy)
4 small chicken breasts (4 oz each)
1 t olive oil
1/3 c apricot preserves
2 T brown mustard

Preheat grill or saucepan to medium heat. In a small bowl, stir thyme, black pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne together. Coat chicken in olive oil and roll in spices until evenly covered. Cover in plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes so spices flavor the chicken.
Meanwhile, spoon apricot preserves into a microwave safe bowl and nuke for 1 minute or until preserves are melted. Add mustard and stir until smooth. Place chicken on grill or saucepan and cook 3-5 minutes per side or until no longer pink in middle and juices run clear. Serve each chicken breast with 2 tablespoons of sauce spooned over the top.

School Supplies

I start classes again this week and I want to tell you about the great deals I got from Staples! They have an awesome rebate program and it's so easy! I don't do well with rebates that I have remember to mail in. Mailing is a thing of the past! Everyone needs to get with the digital age. Staples is all online, doesn't cost me the time or expensive of mailing, and takes all of 30 seconds. Last week I bought a ream of printer paper to replace all the paper I've used at my parents house printing coupons (thanks, dad, for letting me print!). It was $6.49, a fairly standard price for computer paper. I got $1.49 off instantly plus a $4 rebate making it $1! Plus I got 3 binders, a package of pencils, and 2 notebooks. The binders were free after the rebate and the pencils and paper were $1 each. Head to your local Staples today or look online at their awesome deals!

Savings at the Grocery Store

I went to King Soopers yesterday and got some great deals that I want to share. I've never had such a rewarding trip to the grocery store before and it got me so excited! Normally, I can save big on certain items but the bulk of my shopping trips still cost me. This time, I went exclusively to King Soopers for the things that were free or under 25 cents an item. I walked out of the store with $48 worth of groceries and paid $3.38! Yep, that's right! I'm stocked up on Healthy Choice dinners for a while as I got ten of them for .07 apiece. I would have got more but I don't have room in my freezer :) I also got crescent rolls (I know, not very healthy but I actually made .65 on each roll!), cough drops, spanish rice mix, tuna fish, and a few other odds and ends. Not a bad Friday afternoon! Tuna fish on Wasa crackers is a great lunch! At only 250 calories, I can easily burn this off during a 1/2 hour workout. Also, healthy choice dinner are great when I'm out of town. They have the calories written on the outside of box for easy counting and there are so many to choose from! Make a stop at Kings this week and grab yours! Coupons.com has a $5 of 5 dinners coupon and King Soopers.com has the same one to load onto your card. They're $2.07 apiece making them $.07 after coupons! Such a deal!

Lean Meats

I've been eating a lot of boneless, skinless chicken breasts lately as they've been big time on sale. Rancho Librio here in the Springs has them for 1.47/lb this week if you need any! Chicken breasts are a great source of protein and low in calories. One serving (4 oz) has only 125 calories and 26 grams of protein. Last night I made soy-ginger chicken with steamed broccoli that was on sale at Albertsons last week. I think the whole meal cost me about $4 and fed me and two of my roommates. Plus I've easily got enough for 3 more meals. I'm not a huge fan of leftovers, I'll eat it once more but then I get tired of it. Usually I'll cut a recipe in half but as I'd never tried this one before, I made the whole thing just to be sure it worked out well. It was yummy and will now be added to my repertoire! The recipe is below if you'd like to try it. It's designed to be cooked in a crockpot which I didn't realize until about 3:30 so I cooked it on the stove instead. I also added 1/2 cup of chicken stock because not cooking it slowly made it drier and I had no sauce at the end to work with. The recipe has 250 calories per serving. Not bad at all!

Soy-Ginger Chicken

1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
2 T dark brown sugar (I substituted for Splenda's brown sugar)
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
2/3 c chopped cilantro
1 piece, about 2 inches long, fresh ginger- grated
5 scallions, thinly sliced
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 t ground coriander
1/2 t black pepper
1 lb chicken breasts
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 T cornstarch

In a 5-6 quart slow cooker, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, garlic, cilantro, ginger, scallions, balsamic vinegar, coriander, and pepper. Add chicken and carrots. Toss to coat. Cover and cook chicken until tender, about 6 hours. Using a large spoon, skim off any fat from surface of cooking liquid.
In a 2-cup measuring cup, whisk cornstarch with 2 T of water. Ladle 1 cup of cooking liquid into measuring cup and whisk to combine. Pour into a small saucepan and cook to thicken. Pour over chicken and serve. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and sesame seeds, if desired.

A New Start

As this is my very first post, bear with me as I get acquainted with the ins and outs of blogging. My wonderful roommate, Jenny, started a blog last year (jennyjoy81.blogspot.com) and has inspired me to do the same. I like the idea of writing and someone reading it and possibly contributing to my thoughts. So please comment often! My New Year's goal is quite a popular one and one that I've said a few times in the past myself but it's to lose weight. I asked for a gym membership for Christmas which my brother gave to me. I've lost 10 pounds in the last two weeks! I also have taken to the idea of couponing this past year as I've gone back to school and have absolutely no money whatsoever! So, I've combined the two goals of losing weight and saving money in this blog. I also love to cook and most of the recipes I've tried lately are ones that coincide with getting fit and losing weight so you may see examples of my cooking inspirations. :) I've always loved to write (not so much my psychology essays, but more on the creative side) and am looking foward to sharing my thoughts and tips this year. So, let the journey begin!