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| Lentil and Sausage Soup |
Lately I've been putting a lot of time and effort into weekly meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking. I cook dinner every single night and always make enough so that there are leftovers for lunch the next day. Each week's meal plan is different from the next which prevents me from getting bored with any particular dish. The only constants are one easy Thursday dinner that I only alter slightly depending on my mood and my weekday breakfast. Otherwise each week is a new culinary adventure!
I've been closely following the weekly circulars and coupons in order to get the biggest bang for my buck. My focus in the last few months has been healthy eating and I've cut down our carbohydrate intake, limited my baking and focused on real whole foods. Eating lots of meats and vegetables and specialty products (like my favorite Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Yogurt) can get expensive. That's why shopping sales and using coupons is essential for keeping costs down. My grocery hauls are still pricey but I shave off a good $20-$50 off my weekly grocery bills with careful planning. More on that to come!
Below is my plan for the week. I grocery shop on Fridays and Saturdays and I split my purchases between Market Basket and Whole Foods.
Here are some of the deals I'm taking advantage of:
Market Basket sales:
Ground Turkey
Applegate Bacon
Market Basket Pasta (just for my husband, I don't pasta anymore)
Petite NY Sirloin Steaks
Chicken Legs
Green Beans
European Seedless Cucumbers
Asparagus
Cauliflower
Polar Seltzer 1 Liter Bottles (2 for $1 which is unheard of!)
Whole Foods Sales
Broccoli Crowns
Red & Yellow Bell Peppers
CLIF Bars coupon
Organic Valley Cheese coupon
Any sales on fresh fruit (Grapes and Red Gala apples this week!)
Most of the recipes I cook during the week are inspired by ones I find online. I usually modify them to my taste! All of these are dinners except for my special Sunday Brunch.
Friday – Clean Eating Magazine Southwest Turkey Meatball Skillet
Saturday - My Colombian Recipes Ripe Plantains with Chorizo and Cheese topped with Cilantro and Cucumber, Tomato, Avocado Salad with Lime Dressing
Sunday Brunch – Bob’s Red Mill Waffles (I previously got a Bob's Red Mill Waffles baking mix on sale plus extra savings with a coupon, this will last me for a few brunches) and Jones All Natural Sausage
Sunday Dinner – Chinese Chicken Salad via H3Daily with Grilled Asparagus on the side and Peanut Butter Cookies via Simply Real Health with melted chocolate and chopped peanuts inspired by Taste the Rainbow (this is a rare baking treat!)
Monday – Orange Soy Chicken Drumsticks and Steamed Mix Vegetables (Green Beans, Broccoli, Carrots, Red & Yellow Bell Pepper) Inspired by David of Cooking Chat
Tuesday – Cauliflower Steaks (for me) Pasta (for my husband) topped with Lemon Cream Sauce, Parmesan, Scallions and Mushrooms and Bacon (inspired by Instagram Frugal_Living)
Wednesday – Lentil and Sausage Soup via Food52. (I made this last week and it was a huge hit! See photo above)
Thursday – Steak, Fries, Roasted Green Beans, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Fried Eggs
What are you cooking this week?
Yum--I'm going to try that plantain recipe. I need to branch out with my meal plans more often. I'm good about planning ahead, but not so great with my coupons and diversity. Lately I've really been into cooking chili powder shrimp on my stovetop griddle and baking sausage-stuffed zucchini. Good stuff.
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