Soup Season is in Full Swing!!!

That's right, it's Fall, and for some that means pumpkin flavored everything (yuck!) but for this New England girl it means soup...well, that and football of course!  I've talked a lot about how cooking based on weekly sales and using the guiding principles of clean eating isn't about limiting yourself, it's about being inspired, and this week is no exception.  Here is how this week's soup recipe came to be!

What I had:

Corn - four ears I grabbed last week for free!

What is on sale:

5 pound bag of potatoes $1.88 (four for the recipe).  So far, this one bag has inspired this week's side dish along with carrots and onions, also on sale for $1.88 a bag, and also led to this soup!  I even have three potatoes left for what I expect will be baked chips or "fries"!

What I wanted: 

SOUP!  In all seriousness, I usually like to have more of my ingredients on hand or on sale, but I have been CRAVING a good chowder, and since I had corn and potatoes, there was no question what I was going to make!

This meant I needed to get:

A Red Pepper for $1.88
Celery (three ribs for the recipe) $2.08 for two hearts, and I used half of one heart
Scallions (four for the recipe) $1.18 of which I used half
Chicken Stock for $2.68

That's a total of $5.67 for the needed items

I had the other ingredients on hand; almond milk, EVOO, salt and pepper.

Start by heating two tablespoons of EVOO in a large pot, then add just the white bulbs of the scallions, red pepper, and celery, all chopped.  Cook them for about ten minutes, until the veggies start to get tender.

Then, add in the broth, potatoes diced into half inch pieces, half of the corn (about two cups) and two teaspoons of salt.  Bring that to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook for an additional 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While that cooks, puree the other half of the corn and a cup and a half of almond milk in a food processor.  

Add the puree mixture and a quarter teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper to the soup and simmer until the soup thickens, about another 10 minutes.  You may want to add more almond milk to get your desired thickness, I added a half cup more.  Finally, add the scallion greens and serve!  You could also top it with a dollop of sour cream if the mood strikes you! 

In the end, this soup cost me about $8 to make including the things I had on hand, and yielded 8 servings.  Only a dollar a meal makes this mama happy!!!

Stocking Up On Chicken, and Filling In Gaps!

One of the keys to, and best things about eating well on a budget is that if you do it right, you will have weeks like this one.  The sales aren't great, but they have been in recent weeks, so I got what I needed to fill in the gaps in my fridge, and still drew upon the items I stocked up on last week for my cooking inspiration for the week!  

My weekly cooking and shopping plans always involve asking myself; what do I have, what do I need, what is on sale, and what am I cooking?  Here's the breakdown of how this week's plan came together!

Sale Items:

• Chicken Breast, $1.29/lb.  I got two packages, one for this week and another I will freeze for next week.  That's NINE pounds of chicken for a total of $11.68...and I'm stocked up for two weeks or more!
• Asparagus, regularly $3.99/lb, on sale for $1.88/lb.  We're not even big asparagus fans, but yet again, the sales are inspiring my cooking!!!
• Organic Omega-3 Eggs, Regularly $3.69, on sale for $2.99.  These will last me 2-3 weeks as well!

Basics we always need in the house:

• Turkey Breast, I get a pound every week, and the all natural variety is $8.49/lb at my local store. That's up from the usual $7.99 per pound, which of course I noticed!  It does go on sale from time to time for $6.49, but it's on the list every week regardless.  
• Almond Milk, $2.99, which will last me 2-3 weeks since I really only use it in my Shakeology every morning.
• Lettuce, this week it's Baby Romaine for $2.99.  I'll get three salads out of this box.
• Baby Carrots $1.29 (my husband is joining me this week, and this is a must-have snack for him!)
• Apples for snacks for both myself and my husband, $1.92 for four based on $.99/lb
• Grape Tomatoes for $1.99, which I will use for both salads and snacks.  As a bonus, my three year old is OBSESSED with them!!!
• Strawberries for $2.99...my favorite fruit snack option! 

Every week I know I am going to cook chicken breast for grab-and-go lunches.  Then, I make one more cook-ahead recipe.  This week, I chose my second recipe based on a few things I already had:

• Green Peppers
• Corn
• Ground Turkey
• Tomatoes

So naturally, I put stuffed peppers on the list of things to cook this week!  That meant I needed to get:

• Quinoa (rice substitute) $6.59, but I only buy it once a month, so that won't be on my list again for weeks!
• Fresh Jalapenos $2.99 for a bag of about 10, so not only is this something I needed, but it will also inspire more recipes this week and next!

In the end, I paid $49.13 for a full week of food for both myself and my husband.  Don't forget, that includes several things that will carry me into the coming weeks as well!  We all need weeks like this to balance things out...and I can't believe this week was a low cost one despite needing quinoa...I always dread quinoa week! 

Attention all Sauce, Dressing and Dip Lovers!!!

I've found that the key to finding success in any eating plan or lifestyle change is to avoid focusing on what you can't have, and maintaining focus solely on what you can have!  One of my primary vices is what I put ON my food to make it tasty or even tolerable.  It was drilled into my head very early on that ranch dressing was the perfect mask for the taste of broccoli, veggies should be swimming in italian dressing when given the chance, and pasta is best when covered in sauce and cheese.  I have had to re-program my thinking, and it has been made so much easier when I re-direct my thinking from my sauce obsession, and become "addicted" to getting creative with alternatives!  

My favorite recipe to date is one I created somewhat on my own, by tweaking several I found online.  This is one of my favorite things to do, and is almost always how I cook...I NEVER follow a recipe exactly!  

You will need...

1 Avocado
2 Tablespoons of Light EVOO
1-2 Teaspoons of minced garlic, depending on your taste
The juice of half a lemon
1/4 Teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1/2 Teaspoon of salt
1/4 Cup fresh cilantro 

Start by blending the EVOO, garlic and lemon juice until smooth.  Then, add pitted avocado, salt, pepper and cilantro.  In no time, you have the perfect substitute for...

• Salad dressing
• Veggie Dip
• Sour Cream (seriously, use this instead!)
• Mayo on sandwiches
• or anything else you use to "mask" your healthy foods!!!

Today, this was a key part of my clean lunch!!!

Soup Time! Yep...in 80 degree weather, I made soup!

I know, I know...I'm crazy, but you all had to know that by now!  The thing I LOVE more than anything about clean eating while staying on a budget is that it forces me to get creative!  This week, my source of inspiration was a gorgeous head of cauliflower that my three year old brought home with him after spending a week with my husband's parents.  Their family owns a farm in Northern Maine, and my little guy went into the field with his grandfather and chose this head of cauliflower special for me!!!  Here are all of my ingredients in this clean, yummy recipe!!!

1 head of cauliflower
2 medium sweet potatoes (the BEST food ever if you ask me)
A carton of organic, low sodium vegetable broth
1 tablespoon of sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of Light EVOO
A pinch of dried thyme
A shake of paprika

Start by chopping the cauliflower into florets, and cubing the (peeled) sweet potato.  Then, toss them in a large bowl with the EVOO, salt and pepper.  Spread the veggies on a baking sheet (single layer, using two sheets if needed) and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  Stir, then bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Place the cooked veggies in a large, high-powered blender and add 3 cups of the broth, blending well.  Add more if needed in order to reach an even consistency.

Once blended well, place the soup mixture into a large pot, and heat until boiling, whisking in lemon juice, thyme and paprika.  Add more broth as needed to reach your desired consistency, or water if you would prefer!  Some other modifications would be chicken broth, or a homemade stock!  

I just finished a batch, and ended up with six generous portions.  That's six "grab-and-go" meals for this week!!!

My Shaw's Healthy Deals for the Week of August 29th!

Here's a little insight into my shopping and prepping for this week's 

FREE clean eating challenge!  

These are the healthy deals I got at Shaw's today, my usual couponing stomping ground!

  

8 cans of Del Monte Mixed Veggies, Regularly $1.25 each

"Reduced to Clear" at 50% off, so 8 cans were only $5.00.  

PLUS, I had two coupons for $1 off 4, so I paid $3 for all 8 cans, only $.38 each!

5 bags of Orchard Valley Almonds only $1 each for 2 ounce packages, regularly $1.67 each.  There are enough in each for two snacks for me, so I'll grab one each morning and have half with each snack!

Light String Cheese...as you may have noticed previously, I am a CHEESE ADDICT!  So, allowing myself a little treat is key, and if you join our challenge, you'll see that I have one every day!  These are usually $5.49 each, on sale for $3.99 and I had 2 $.55 off 1 coupons which doubled, so my final price was $2.89 for each pack of 12!

Cracker Barrel Cheddar Cheese Slices, regularly $4.99, sale price $3.99, plus there's a $1 off coupon in this month's "Big Book of Savings".  Check the flyer racks where the weekly ad is, and they're right there!  Only $2.99!

Kraft Fat Free Italian Dressing, regularly $3.19, sale price $2.50, plus I had a coupon for $.75 off 1 which doubled..only $1.  Now, this is not a clean food, but it's a great option for a healthy dressing or even a marinade!

3 pound bag of carrots, Regularly $2.29, sale price $1.88

Now for the KEY to my clean eating lifestyle and my prep day...chicken!  My rule is to buy at $1.99 per pound or less, and this week you can actually get it for that price at either Shaw's OR Hannaford!  What would have been $15.73 was only $10.47!

And...this is the result!  I got five breasts in the package, three of which I trimmed, sliced into smaller portions.  I just baked them with some black pepper, italian seasoning and minced garlic!  This will make for six meals worth of lean, tasty, CLEAN protein!!!

I rounded out the rest of my shopping at Hannaford...stay tuned for more deals and more healthy, clean recipes!