A Week in Breakfasts

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I am proud to say that I never skip it. It's probably my favorite meal! Not that it has anything to do with coffee... I usually eat pretty light in the morning. It only keeps me going for a couple hours, but I always eat several small meals a day. 

Tuesday:

Coffee with almond milk, banana, and fruit dip. 

Wednesday:

Coffee with almond milk, and leftover fruit (one pineapple ring, leftover cantaloupe, a cup of grapefruit, 1/4 of a banana). I could never let fruit go to waste! 

Thursday:
I had a long day ahead of me, so I carb-loaded a bit. I had a banana, apple crisp oatmeal, and black coffee (not pictured).

Friday:
I had a 7:30 AM class and when I woke up at six I wasn't even hungry. I had to force myself to eat a banana, and grapefruit cup. The coffee, however, I drank willingly. I'm really glad I did eat, because when 10 o'clock rolled around I was starving. Good thing I always keep a cereal or granola bar in my purse!  

Saturday:
Apple and fruit dip. Can we say obsessed?

Sunday & Monday:
Berry smoothie deliciousness!

Arm Candy

Am I the last the join this fad?

From left to right: J. Crew Outlet, PacSun, Forever21, vintage, PacSun, & Charming Charlie

I think so. 

Either way, I have really been enjoying stacking on a few bracelets lately. My collection sure is growing! This is such an inexpensive way to add character to an outfit. I hope that I can add more colors besides gold and turquoise to my little collection. 

Broccoli Pasta

When it comes to cooking, the easier the better! And trust me, this meal is so so easy!

Ingredients:

-3/4 c tricolor noodles 

-1 c broccoli (frozen or fresh)

-1 tbsp olive oil 

-1 tbsp sprinkle Parmesan cheese

-1/4 tsp garlic powder

-1/2 tsp parsley

1. Cook noodles as normal.

2. I used frozen broccoli and added it to the boiling noodles after about five minutes. Fresh broccoli would need less time to cook. I just used my  judgement on this one. 

3. Strain noodle/broccoli mixture. 

4. In a separate bowl, combine all ingredients.

5. Enjoy! :) 

This meal is always my go-to because it doesn't require fresh ingredients. I usually eat this when I run out of fresh produce and need to go to the grocery store. It's packed with protein and definitely hits the spot when I'm craving carbs!

Fruit Dip Recipe

Don't mind my unpleasant staging of this tasty treat. 

If I've ever had an apple-related obsession, this is it. This is the perfect breakfast, snack, or dessert! I could literally eat this everyday!

Ingredients:

-One piece of fruit (I used an apple, but bananas, peaches, kiwi, etc. would be tasty as well!)

-2 tbsp nonfat vanilla yogurt (You could use Greek Yogurt as well.)

-1/2 tsp peanut butter

-Sprinkle of cinnamon

All you have to do is combine the ingredients.. so simple! This snack is cost-efficient, and guilt-free! 

Grocery Summary (01/07/13)

It's my first week back at the apartment after winter break back home. Therefore, I literally had no food. Unless 100 calorie popcorn and flat club soda counts as food. I knew that my grocery list was going to be quite cumbersome this week. 

Budget: $60 to last two weeks

Spent: $69.14 including tax

Saved: $20.45 in store promotions and $2.00 in coupons. I saved about 32% this week. Not my best, but decent.  

Menu:

Breakfasts:

-Fruit or oatmeal smoothies

-Banana and egg pancakes

-Omelet

-Yogurt and fruit

-Crock Pot Apple Pie Oatmeal 

-Special K bars

-Grapefruit cups

-Cantaloupe

-Apples and peanut butter

-Banana

Dinners:

-Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken (I made two freezer bags worth of this recipe.)

-Crock Pot Tex Mex Lettuce Wraps

-Grilled chicken and assorted veggies (Green beans, sweet potatoes, broccoli, corn, sugar snap peas, zucchini) with rice

-Salad

-Breakfast for dinner

Great Deals: 

-Special K Cereal bars were on sale for 2/$5 and the store provided a tear off for $1 off. So, each box of 6 bars was only $2. I saved $1.39 on each box, which was roughly a 40% savings.

-Cantaloupe were 2/$4, making them $2 each. I saved $.99 on each melon. 

-Packs of three Publix boneless chicken breasts were on sale for $1.99/lb. They are usually roughly 4-5 dollars a pound! I picked up two packs, totaling $7.54 for six chicken breasts! I saved $9.47! I froze the breasts I wasn't using for the week. 

-Crystal Light tea (for pitchers) were on sale for BIGI free. Along with a tear off coupon for $1 off, I got each pack of drink mix for $.91. That's a 67% savings. They are sugar free, and I love making these when friends come over! 

-Green Giant frozen veggies were BIGI free. This made each 9 oz. box only $.66, which was a 50% savings. I am definitely going to pick up more of these before the sale ends. 

-Silk almond milk was on sale for 2/$5 and I only got one carton because I don't drink that much milk and I didn't want the other carton to go bad. I would freeze it, but my freezer is minuscule. So, I got one carton for $2.50, saving only 25%. I thought this was a good deal, because almond milk hardly goes on sale. 

Overall, I think I did pretty good for the amount of food I had to purchase. This should last me about two week, usually a little less because I run out of fresh produce. I'm excited to try out some of my new Crock Pot recipes as well! 

Save Money and Buy Healthy at the Grocery Store

I wish I could say that I hated grocery shopping. Really, I wish I could. However, I love food and I love saving money. Put these two together, and that is my shopping experience. I'm still learning, but I do have a couple tricks and tips that help my buy the healthy food that I want, without spending a fortune or hours of time. 

Step One: Do Inventory

Before I go to the store, I look through my shared pantry and refrigerator and see what I have. I make a mental note of items that I need. I also look at expiration dates and see what items are about to expire. I try to work these items into my menu for the week. 

Step Two: Do Research!

This is probably the biggest way I save money!!! The stores I shop at are Publix, and sometimes SuperTarget. I look at the online ads for both stores, and make a list of what items are on sale. For example,  at Publix this week, Green Giant frozen veggies were BIGI free. This is a great deal on healthy veggies, so I stocked up on these. I also look at price per pound on fruits and vegetables. As a rule, I never buy produce when it is more than $2/lb. Even spending $1.50/lb is a stretch for me! Produce that is in season will be cheaper, so I only buy seasonally. Strawberries are delicious, but not in January when they are $4/lb!

I also use coupons (the ones I steal from my mom). I like to use CouponMom, which will compare coupons in the newspaper to promotions in store. This way, you are able to match your coupon with a sale item, getting a great deal. I only use coupons for healthy items, so finding a match is scarce for me. I do find great deals on household items though. This step only takes a couple minutes, so why not? 

Step Three: Make a List

I look at my temporary list of items that were on sale, and compare them to recipes that I have. For example, chicken was $1.99/lb at Publix so I looked through my chicken recipes and found a couple that also included ingredients that were on sale. Score! I choose several recipes for the week using this method. Next, I record the needed items for each recipe on my handy checklist. Finally, I go back to the kitchen and record "staple" items that I need, such as milk, eggs, bananas, etc. I tear off my list and paper clip my coupons to it. 

Another important part of budget shopping is actually setting a budget. When I walk into the grocery store, I need to know exactly what items I'm purchasing and how much I can spend on them. My budget is usually more of a "goal." Sometimes I go over, but usually I'm under a little since I overestimate. 

Step Four: Shop Carefully

Before hitting the grocery store, I make sure that I have everything I need, including a full belly! This reduces the likelihood of making impulse buys. I don't like spending hours at the store, so I move quickly. I try very, very hard to only buy items on my list. Sometimes Publix will have deals that I missed, or provide tear off coupons for promoted items. I check these deals out, but these are rarely for healthy items. Occasionally, I'll find an item that I neglected to put on my list. It happens. I check off items as I go, and anticipate the checkout line. Again, I don't buy anything in the checkout line. I awkwardly stand there and watch the numbers go up up up. Then I do a little prayer, hoping that I stayed within budget. 

Honestly, this isn't rocket science. I wish it was, because then I would be akin to a genius. Saving money just takes planning and effort, but I think that anyone can do it! I always feel like such a winner after a successful shopping trip because I know that I stayed within budget and bought items that make me feel good.