Healthy, Quick, and Easy Snacking!

It's been awhile, I know. I cook the same things a lot, so I didn't want to repeat myself.

However, recently, I've discovered a few new products that I absolutely love that are pretty healthy and cost effect.

Del Monte® Fruit Chillers
A smooth, individually packaged sorbet that is a great healthy great. Made with real fruit, it's fat-free and has 3/4 servings of fruit per cup. One package contains 4 individual cups, sells for about $2.15. You pick these up in the canned fruit aisle and freeze overnight. Currently comes in four flavors: artic strawberry, polar raspberry, glacial mango, and frosty peach. I've tried Polar Raspberry and it reminded me of fruit roll-ups!

Kraft Bagelfuls
Four individually wrapped, cream cheese filled bagel "sticks." These are a great alternative to a full size bagel. Keep in the freezer and pop in the microwave before eating OR keep in the fridge and eat on the go, toast, or microwave. Toasting gets the bagel part all crispy but leaves the cream cheese inside nice and chilled! Comes in multiple flavors: Regular cream cheese, Strawberry, Cinnamon, Whole Grain, and Chive. I've tried Cinnamon and Regular (only 200 calories per bagel). Whole Grain only has 180 calories per bagel. These are currently selling for less than $2 a box!

Walmart fresh fruit cups
I'm horrible because I can't remember the name brand, but Walmart is currently carrying individual fresh fruit cups. For about $2, you can pick up a single serving of pre-cleaned, fresh pineapple chunks, pineapple and mango chunks, green and red apple slices with caramel dipping sauce, or strawberries with chocolate dipping sauce. I still like to pick up larger selections of pineapple, mango, etc...but these apples and strawberries with dipping sauce are GREAT! The sauces are amazing. Every now and then you find a soggy apple in the cup or a strawberry with a bruise, but overall they have great quality control. Makes healthy snacking quick and easy!
Walmart also carries fruit trays and boxes for 2, 4, or "more." While I love picking up my own apples, peaches, and apricots, I don't know what to do with melons or pineapple. These trays are great because the fruit is already cleaned and cut slightly larger than bite size. No pre-order needed with a caterer or deli...these are always handy in the fridge section of the produce aisle.

With options like these becoming the norm, there is no reason to down an entire bag of potato chips! Caramel or chocolate dipping sauce!!! Pre-cut, hassle-free fruit selections!!! SORBET!

What are your quick and easy snacking tips? Feel free to share below!

Shopping Guide - Part 3

Shopping Guide

The Pantry

I always have certain things in my pantry and fridge. It's how I know what to buy each week, how I figure out if I can make spaghetti for dinner or grilled cheese for lunch.

Freezer
1 bag Frozen mixed vegetables (great for soups)
1 bag Frozen stir-fry (or California) vegetables
1 Pizza
1 box toaster waffles or pancakes
Ice Cream

Fridge
Gallon of Milk
Water, bottled or gallon
Other drinks: prepared lemonade, soft drinks, G2
Soy Sauce
Worcester's Sauce
Pancake Syrup, regular and sugar-free
Cream Cheese
Margarine
Sour Cream
Salsa
2 lbs hamburger meat
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken or pre-cooked chicken strips
32 oz Velveeta cheese, to be used until it's gone
1 bag Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Lunch Meat
Sliced Cheese
Mini candy bars

Pantry
Angel Hair Past
Macaroni Noodles
Regular Spaghetti Noodles
Jar of Spaghetti Sauce
2+ cans diced tomatoes (plain and/or flavored)
1 can Rotel tomatoes
2 (small) cans tomato sauce
1 can Ranch style beans
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup (Healthy Choice)
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup (Healthy Choice)
1 can Tomato soup
Various canned fruits and vegetables
2 cans Chicken Broth
2 cans tuna fish in water
1 can chicken
Rice (boil in the bag minute rice, to save time)
Mashed Potatoes
Jif Peanut Butter
Bread
Bagels
Various small bags of cereals
Cookies
Chips

Seasonings
McCormick Taco Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Salt
Powder
Gravy Mixes
Italian Seasoning

See, I told you guys that I never go hungry. Any night I don't plan for I can fix grilled cheese with chips and fruit, chili with sour cream and rice, spaghetti with garlic bread, vegetable soup, stir-fry....the list goes on and on. I try to plan a few meals a week so the same things all the time, but just in case I decide I don't want BBQ Pork sandwich leftover, I can make something else.

This week we spent about $40 on food for the week. Most of the things I needed to make the meals we wanted were already in my kitchen. I started small. When we first moved in, I would buy exactly what we needed for the week, plus one or two extra cans of something. Like if I was making Tuna Casserole, I'd pick up a Cream of Chicken soup AND a Cream of Mushroom soup. Then I'd pick up 2 cans of tuna instead of just 1. It added less than $1 to my bill and slowly I had a full and ready pantry.

What's in your pantry? Share your Shopping Secrets!

Shopping Guide - Part 2

I thought I'd share what we bought this week and how that corresponds to food.

Breakfast:
We have 2 toaster waffles left, 3 or so bagels (and cream cheese), and plenty of cereal... so no need to buy anything but milk

Lunch:
Take left-overs of dinner

Dinner:
1. Left Over BBQ Pork from Saturday night
2. Use Pork that wasn't BBQ-ed. Pork with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy?
3. Sloppy Joes
4. Chicken Rotel
5. Stir-Fry
6. Taco Night
7. Grilled Cheese sandwiches
We're actually ahead of the game this week. Usually, I only plan for 4 or 5 nights with Grilled Cheese as a back up. We just have a lot of left-over pork. I recommend buying a pork roast...it was only about $4.50 and it's going to feed us for about 3 days.

What I bought:
Store Brand Milk, $3.75
24 pack water, 3.88
Store Brand Bread, 1.16
Ground Beef, 2.27 (already had 1 in Freezer)
Boneless, Skinless Chicken strips, 4.96
Tyson Pre-Cooked Steak strips, 2.50
Sunbelt Granola, 1.66
Mini Snickers 8 pack, .97
1 box Store Brand Pasta, .88
Soy Sauce, 1.63
McCormick Sloppy Joe Seasoning, .98
McCormick Pork Gravy Mix, 1. 04
G2 120z, 4.98
Store Brand Pasta Sauce, 1.25
Store Brand Chunky Mixed Fruit, .88
Store Brand Diced Italian Tomatoes, .48
Store Brand Diced Tomatoes, .48
Healthy Choice Cream of Chicken Soup, 1.25
Rotel Tomatoes, .98
Swanson Chicken Broth, .98

Total for food: $37

Okay...so how what I bought translate to this weeks menu.

In Red is what I bought today and in Blue is what I already had in my pantry.

Milk, bread, and water are a given. Every week you just need more. Save money in the long run and buy yourself a water purifier for your kitchen sink. Instead of soda, this week we're trying the new G2 drinks.

The Ground beef I have will be use with the McCormick Sloppy Joe Seasoning. It also requires 1 can of tomato sauce, which I already have in the pantry.

The new Ground Beef will be used for Spaghetti or Taco Night. I always have a Taco Seasoning or Taco kit in the pantry AND I always make sure I have the fixings for Spaghetti night. That's why I picked up 1 can Diced Italian Tomatoes and 1 can of Spaghetti Sauce.

The Chicken Strips will be used for Chicken Rotel. I bought an extra box of pasta just to make sure I have enough. It also requires 1 can of Rotel Tomotoes, 1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup, and Velveeta Cheese. I will cook the the pasta in the Chicken Broth.

The Steak Strips and Soy Sauce will be used for Stir-Fry. I usually have some fresh veggies on hand or a bag of stir-fry veggies in the freezer.

The Pork Gravy is going to be used with the left over pork. I will serve it over rice or mashed potatoes. I will probably also heat up some rolls (about $2 for 15) and some green beans.

The Granola and Snickers bars are our fast snacks. I also like to pop open a can of Chunky Mixed fruit and keep it in the fridge for a quick snack (see Fruit Salad recipe).

The only thing not accounted for is 1 can of regular diced tomatoes, and honestly, I was just out and always try to have at least 1 can on hand. I can use that can in a quick chili, spaghetti, noodles with tomatoes, veggie soup....

Also, some things I buy can be picked up even cheaper, like the seasonings, soy sauce, and soups. However, I specifically look for items that do not contain MSG. Often, these items cost a few cents more than their counterparts.

Happy Shopping!

Jen's Shopping Guide - Part 1

How I Prepare

When people hear how little I spend a week on groceries ($55-85) to cover my husband and myself (and any guests we get throughout the week), I always get asked

• What do you buy?!
• Are you just cheap?
• Do you only get store brands?
• Do you have enough food?

We buy lots of stuff...junk food, healthy food, brand names, store brands. We always have enough food for the week, and usually we have left-overs for me to take for lunch the next day. We are cheap. We're tightwads. We semi-plan before we go to the store so that we kind of know what we need. That's step 1.

Jen's Basic Steps:

1. Basically know what you need before you get to the store. This doesn't mean you have to take a list or that you can't just decide to pick up those new chocolate chip cookies. But if you don't know what you need, then you'll forget something AND maybe spend money on something you already in your pantry. I just take a quick look right before I leave. Am I low on milk, mental note...didn't like that salad dressing...buy new dressing.
2. Know how you shop. Do you organize by food type? Frozen foods, canned foods, fruits and veggies. Do you have your grocery store aisles memorized? I organize by meal. In every aisle, I mentally go through what I know I need for the week to make what I want. This goes back to knowing what I need before I get there.
3. Plan your meals. This step also goes right back to step 1. Some people cook everything for the week on Saturday. Others make 30 meals in 2 days and then freeze them. One way is to have the Spaghetti every Monday, Tuna Casserole every Tuesday, etc. If one of those works for you, GREAT! They don't work for me. I come up with 4 or 5 meal ideas that I would like to make and then check the pantry for what I already have.
4. If you don't shop at a low price store (Walmart, Aldis, etc), join the grocery store's price club. Often, you can get Walmart-like prices without ever facing those crowds. At Kroger, it's just a minute to fill out the "application" and the little card goes on your keyring.
5. Check your store's price match deals. Many grocery stores now compete by matching the advertised deals of other grocery stores and Walmart. Be a little wary of dollar deal stores -- that Hunt's spaghetti sauce for $1 is really only 87-97 cents at Walmart.
6. Don't forget the coupons. I don't use them often, but if it's something I haven't tried or a 3 for the price of 2 deal, I'm not above getting out my scissors.
7. Try the Store Brand at least once. I can't stand one store's shredded wheat cereal but their pizza pockets are ten times better than the name brand. Some store brands are even manufactured by the Brand Name company and just given a different label, so you get almost the exact same product for a fraction of the price.
8. If you hate crowds, shop weekend mornings or weeknights.

Be on the lookout for other shopping tips. I plan on adding a section on what I buy each week and how that translates into meals.

Feel free to add your own shopping and grocery planning tips. Is there something that really works for you? I need to know :) I'm always revamping my routine, trying to find the perfect, efficient way to get in, get out, and get cooking.