*People always ask me if you can eat "real" or "healthy" food if you coupon, well the answer is YES. Here are some meals that we enjoyed this week. I got all the items (except the pears which were free from a relative) by using coupons.
Lunch: Tuna Fish with Fiber Wheat Thins, Veggie Chips, & canned pears
Dinner: 6 Can Chicken Tortilla Soup
*This was super easy to make I took 1 can of S&W Black Beans, 1 Can of Libby's Corn, 1 Can of Muir Glen Diced Tomatoes, 1 big can of Valley Fresh Chicken, and 1 can of Swanson Broth. I put it all in the crock pot on high for 4 hours. We topped it with shredded cheese and used tortilla chips to eat it with.
This is the recipe I used, it calls for 2 cans of broth but I like it thicker so I used only 1 can. You can serve over tortilla chips or use them to scoop it up. It was a hit at my house and so easy to make. I got all of these items using coupons so it was very inexpensive as well.
Dessert: Nutella Peanut Butter Oatmeal brownies
*I used a snack size Duncan Hines Brownie Mix (which I got for free) followed the instructions on box, then in a separate bowl I put a few scoops of Nutella & Creamy peanut butter in the microwave until smooth. I stirred it when smooth and added it to the brownie batter then added a scoop of oats. They turned out delicious, my family loved them as you can see from the picture. :)
Lunch: Flat bread Pizza
*I recently got some FREE flat bread from Albertsons so we used it to make these pizzas. All I did was spread some Ragu Garden Combo sauce on, shredded some cheese and let my kids add pepperoni (I added a few pineapple chunks to my side.) Baked them in the oven for 5 minutes. Super easy and delicious.
(My total cost into this meal is around .50 cents.)
Amanda, 'real' and healthy, to me, are represented by whole and organic foods - not foods that are overly processed, containing toxins/chemicals or genetically modified ingredients.
ReplyDeleteThat said, being on a strict budget often leaves me no choice, even though my health issues require eating healthily.
Stores in Ontario have limited choices where organics are concerned.
The things that I'm learning from you DO help and my daughter & I love your blog!
I keep my eyes open for coupons and sales, do price matching when I can.
For example, Fred Meyer has Pacific Foods organic broth for 1.99 for 37oz this week and price matched at Walmart, I saved 1.67 per carton. I also picked up packages of Alexia frozen potatoes& onion rings, using two .55 coupons; and Organic Valley butter with a $1 off coupon.
I cook a lot of things from scratch and am currently taking advantage of sales on potatoes (price matched a 10lb bag of potatoes and saved $1.20 above the sale price), sweet potatoes, apples and carrots by processing and/or freezing.
Hoping you're having a wonderful weekend!
Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteThe veggie chips are not processed food they are organic made for real veggies. The peaches had no preservatives, they were all natural picked fresh from my aunt's orchard. The Muir Glen tomatoes are Organic tomatoes, Muir Glen is an Organic brand. I do a lot of baking/cooking from scratch as well and use Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flour, I use all natural applesauce in place of butter a lot of times, I use organic and pure cane sugar. The corn, beans, tomatoes, chicken, and chicken broth I used in my soup were all All Natural and the chicken was organic. I bought all of those items using coupons. If you looked in my pantry you would see several organic, gluten free, and all natural products. I am also able to get dehydrated/dried fruits with coupons, they have no toxins and are not processed only one ingredient the fruit. I buy a lot of Muir Glen, Bob's Red Mill, and other products that are organic/gluten free. I also get deals on fresh produce, yogurt, Kashi brand, Jennie-O Turkey, etc. Hope that helps answer your question.
Here are some of my recent deals you may want to check out. This deal I got freeze dried real fruit snacks for my kids (not processed), Chiquita dried fruit, sensible portions organic veggie straws/chips, Mott's All Natural Applesauce Pouches, beech-nut/gerber baby food, etc. http://stretchingyouridahodollars.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-walmart-doubler-trip.html
Here is another trip where I got healthier items like all natural frozen greek yogurt, oatmeal, fat free sour cream, quaker popped snacks, bistro lunch meat etc. http://stretchingyouridahodollars.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-albertsons-doubler-trip.html
We have started eating a lot healthier and I have been fading out processed foods. I also post deals from Growing Up Natural it's a great website to follow.