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!