Today was a HUGE haul for me! My mother in law came to town to take us shopping. (She lives 45 miles away from us, so it’s a big deal) So when she comes over, we always go to Costco.
At Costco I spent a total of $207.87 , I couldn’t show you the receipt because she paid for everything and then I just gave her cash. It’s easier than having to split the groceries up, it tends to confuse the cashiers and causes it to take longer. Here is what I got:
cat food $19.89
Brussels sprouts $4.49 X 2
1/3rd pork loin $6.84
1/2 bag kale salad kit $2.54
butter $6.99
1 avocado 91¢
tomato $1
romaine $2.24
molasses $4.89
tomato paste $6.69
black beans $6.59
kidney beans $6.59
3 dozen eggs $3.59 X 2
oatmeal $7.99 X 2
big can of green beans $3.29
frozen broccoli $5.99
1/2 container of bread $2
2lbs ground beef $7.38
1/3rd beef roast $11.91
As for none food I am VERY happy to say I was able to purchase a special pressure cooker set for $79.99 . Normally when you got to the store, or look online, you can get an 8qt pressure cooker for $99, well I was able to get a set that has a 4qt AND an 8qt pressure cooker PLUS a steamer basket and a glass lid all for only $80. I was really needing one of these so I am so happy. I used it to cook beans yesterday and love it!
Next place was Whole Foods. Unfortunately my husband was rushing and left the bag in my mother’s car so I didn’t receive it until today actually. (THANKFULLY she had to come back to Omaha today for something else) She was able to freeze/refrigerate what needed to be kept cold so the food is still good. The croissants might go bad before we eat them all, but nothing I can do about it.
Bob’s red mill cream of wheat $3.69
Bob’s red mill masa harina $3.69
Luna chocolate coconut bar 99¢ x 3
bulk bin ginger snaps $1.90 ($9.99/lb)
Luna smores bar 99¢
Luna caramel nut bar 99¢
bulk bin organic oregano 48¢ ($23.99/lb or $1.49/oz)
bulk bin organic garlic powder $1.28 ($15.99/lb or $1/oz)
bulk bin organic chives $2.46 ($40.99/lb or $2.56/oz)
credit of 10¢ for bag refund
Total @ Whole foods was : $44.35
Finally we went to Trader Joe’s. (I told you it was a huge grocery haul day!) I had to refund some items, because I didn’t like them. That’s the great thing about TJ is there “if you don’t like it, bring it back” policy. No one else is better. In total I got $11.97 back from returns, so that’s already taken off the total.
Organic free range chicken broth $1.99 X 4
TJ Soy sauce $2.99 X 2
Baking cocoa $2.49
TJ Sriracha roasted garlic BBQ sauce $2.99 X 2
can of TJ coconut cream $1.49
TJ traditional marinara sauce $1.49
TJ organic ketchup $1.99
can of black refried beans 99¢
TJ beets in vinaigrette – $1.69
TJ unscented deodorant $3.49
organic red palm oil $5.99
Luna nutz over chocolate bar 99¢
Luna smores bar 99¢
cliff peanut butter bar 99¢
TJ corn and chile salsa $2.49
linguine pasta 99¢
bananas 19¢ X 9
organic carrots 99¢ X 4
carrots of many colors $2.49
Zipline beer $1.34
TJ madras lentils $1.99
TJ sliced almonds $3.99
TJ frozen raspberries $2.69
Golden potatoes $2.49 X 3
Red wax Gouda cheese $3.18
Turkey jerky $5.99
Natural whole roaster chicken $9.05
Total @Trader Joe’s was $81.76 (if you take off the credit it would be $93.73)
All in all, don’t think I’ll be grocery shopping til next month. My freezer is completely full. I’ll probably buy like milk here and there, but that isn’t video worthy. Yikes… did the math and I spent a total of $333.98 O_O oh my…
16 ounces peanuts dry roasted (unsalted is better, if you cannot find unsalted see notes**)
1 teaspoon good quality olive oil or grape-seed oil
1 pinch salt (see note*)
*Optionally* you can add 1 tablespoon sugar for sweetened peanut butter
Equipment:
You will need either a decent quality food processor or a high powered blender. Vitamix or Blendtec blenders are perfect for this! If you use a processor, make sure you scrap the sides down often.
Instructions
Place 16 ounces of roasted peanut into your blender (or food processor). If using a vitamix, you will need the tamper otherwise you will need a spatula to scrape down the sides. Add a pinch of salt if you're using unsalted peanuts. Process on high while tamping down the peanuts, OR blend on high until you notice the peanuts "climbing" up the sides of the container, then stop the blender (or food processor) and scrape the sides down and repeat. When you're almost to your desired smoothness, add the oil and any optional sweetener. Continue to blend, repeating the scraping process until you reach your desired texture.
Scrape your peanut butter into a container, I suggest glass. Place a tight fitting lid on and you're done! Homemade peanut butter will last 2 or so weeks in the fridge, however this stuff is so good, I doubt you'll make it that long!
Notes
Note: if you're using salted peanuts or do not want any salt in your peanut butter, omit the extra salt!
If you cannot find unsalted dry roasted peanuts, don't worry! You can wash half the peanuts in warm water and let air dry on a tray or cotton cloth overnight at room temperature, or in an oven at 300 for 15-30 minutes. Why should you do this? Because using salted peanuts will make the peanut butter WAY too salty. Not only will it tasted weird, we shouldn't eat all that sodium.
So this recipe is kinda cheating your brain into thinking you’re eating regular peanut butter, which honestly, I think you are. This is super simple and is a great was to spare your tummy of extra calories while putting a little change back into your wallet.
Ingredients:
1 cup natural peanut butter (no additives, including salt)
3 cups hot water
honey or other sweetener to taste
1/2 tablespoon psyllium husk to rethicken it, optional
(blender also comes in handy, but it not required)
Directions:
Add peanut butter, sweetener, and water to a blender. Blend until smooth (I really blended mine, so that’s why you’ll notice mine is light colored, once the air bubbles go away, it turns dark again). Taste it and adjust seasoning if desired.
At this point it’ll be very soupy, which is what you want however, it doesn’t make a very spreadable peanut butter for sandwiches and the like. At this stage you can optionally add psyllium husk & it will rethicken it. Blend well and let set for 15 minutes (it would be a good idea to set in fridge, because after this sets its hard to take out of a blender), you’ll notice it gets really thick. If after 30 minutes you think its still too liquidy, you can add more.
Makes about 4 cups , Preparation time: 2 minutes, Cook time: None!
Peanut butter chicken is another one of those dishes that everyone and their mother seems to have a recipe for. I, however, am not one of them! Everytime I’ve made this dish, I’ve  never wrote it down. Well, with website in mind, I wrote this down while cooking it! This probably isn’t traditional, or what you’re used to. However, this version is pretty healthy for you and in my own honest opinion, really flipping tasty! =D You can veganize this very easy by using vegan peanut butter, and tofu instead of chicken. (you could also use a chicken type faux meat product) With all that being said, lets get this recipe rollin!
Ingredients:
2 ounces chicken, sliced or minced
1 1/2 tablespoons carrot, minced
1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon celery (optional, i just had some extra)
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons onion, minced
1 red chili snapped in half (if you don’t have whole red chilies use approx heavy pinch chili flakes, or to taste)
1 – 2 teaspoons ginger grated, fiber & juice
1 tablespoon peas
2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce (if you don’t have low sodium you could use 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon water to lessen the salt content)
2 tablespoons – 1/4 cup peanut sauce *****
extra peanuts for garnish (**optional**)
Rice or noodles to toss with your chicken mix
Directions:
Prepare all your vegetables, this will cook really quick (less than 5 minutes) so you don’t want to be chopping while attempting to cook.
Add your oil to a nonstick skillet and let it become pretty hot on medium flame. While oil is hot, add your garlic and onion to the pot. Stir fry this for 30 seconds then add the red chili and celery. Stir fry this for another 20 seconds, add the chicken pieces. Stir fry this another 30-45 seconds or until you see the outside cooked. (this quick cooking method works for really fine cooked chicken, i minced mine) Next, add the carrot, bell pepper, ginger, and peas. I cooked it for an additional minute, however you should cook it to your desired texture. Add your soy sauce, stir for 15 more seconds. When you’re done add the peanut sauce. Cook for 20 more seconds, stirring quickly.
Serve this on-top of fresh rice or toss with Chinese noodles like I did.
Makes 1 serving, Preparation time: >5 minutes, Cook time >5 minutes
Dietary Notes: Contains meat, moderate sodium content (those with sensitives should take caution), contains peanuts (this recipe COULD be made with cashews however), contains soy and possibly wheat. (check your soy sauce to see if it contains wheat, most do)
***Peanut sauce***
I will be posting this Peanut Sauce recipe separate, as its a great calorie buster, however! I figured I should post it here too. Essentially, you take a natural peanut butter. Natural meaning just peanuts ground into a butter, no additives or salts. Mix it with 3 times its amount in water. Add honey or another sweetener to your desired taste. I also add some ground psyllium husk to thicken it back up, but this is totally optional. This cuts the calories into a third of what it normally is, naturally!
Hey guys! Today I threw together a super simple and insanely cheap lunchbox!
This lunchbox is definately a sesasonal delight for me! Not only that but you’ll notice I reused a plastic throwaway container to hold the salad in. Healthy  veggies + recycling = <3
LunchBox idea #2 is a whole wheat multi-grain peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich. The bread is fresh made at a local grocery store from local ingredients. The jam I made myself from strawberries purchased from the farmers market. Jam is super easy to make: get instant pectin, fresh strawberries, and sweetener if needed. Blend the ingredients together and store in fridge overnight until it sets. Not only does it taste better, is better for you, but you control the ingredients! The peanut butter is organic all natural peanut butter with nothing but peanuts in it. ( for those with allergies you could definately use a different nut butter like almond, brazil, or cashew. You could also do a seed better like sunflower or sesame (tahini)). There is also sliced up cucumbers, in season and cheap right now so of course we’re eating a lot of them. They are served with a side of dressing. There is also a simple salad made entirely from ingredients from my farmers market. Three large romaine lettuce leafs sliced up with a handful of snow peas (removed from pod, but left raw), shredded carrot, and sliced bell pepper. A small serving of rice, approxomately 3/4 cup, with chili sauce on the side. (chili sauce is our guilty pleasure, we pretty much always put it on rice). Last, but definately not last, is my swiss chard chips (Recipe Here). Ignavius did not finish all his lunch tomorrow so I decided just to toss in the chips again. (definately nothing wrong with that!).
Pros of this lunch:
*cheap! – this meal is about $2.00, made with all organic, local ingredients (except the peanuts… can’t be helped! they don’t grow in Nebraska to my knowledge LOL)
* Â This meal is vegan/vegetarian friendly, plus most people will have all the ingredients available.
* Kid friendly, & adult approved! – the simplicity of this meal attracts everyone. Who doesn’t love a good peanut butter and Jelly sandwich?! Kids will never know how healthy and fresh it is, while adults will love how low calorie it is. Bright colors will attract children and encourage them to eat their food, aswell as adults.
* Can be eaten without reheating it. The rice is fully cooked and doesn’t require heating, nor does the sandwich, and obviously the rest is fresh veggies!
* Minus the chard “chips” this meal took me 5 minutes to put together (using precooked rice).
* low calorie!
* high in vitamins & minerals
(This next photo shows how I reused a plastic take-out container. I’ll probably use this 5 or 6 times before recycling it, basically until it gets funky. This is a great way to save money, aswell as “fancy-up” any meal and make someone feel important. Remember though, if possible don’t get throw away plastic boxes!) (click to see full photo breakdown of nutritional values)
