Monday, March 30, 2009

New Years resolution, version 3.30.09

It's a long known fact that, for most people, New Years resolutions just don't work. Rett & I did the requisite "We're going to lose weight this year!" resolution, even joining a gym. Of course, we don't go as much as we should for the amount we're paying, but that's just part of the resolution, right?

Therefore, I'm instituting my New Years resolution, version 3.30.09, to be started immediately. We spend way, way, way, way x10 much money going out for food. I loathe cooking, with a passion. Rett is a good cook, but he's not really good at making a healthy meal. He just likes to throw things together and call it a casserole. It always tastes good, but it's not the best way to eat on a regular basis. I'm not going to pretend that I'm going to become a world class chef, but I can throw a can of soup over some chicken and make some rice.

We're going grocery shopping tonight & I'm trying to organize an actual list with my coupons so we don't just throw random junk in the cart. Does anyone have any suggestions for some easy, yummy, not too expensive meals?

7 comments:

  1. I love to cook, I just have issues with cooking healthy. I can never find recipes that sound good.
    Try searching online at all recipes, kraft foods, etc.
    Oh and I have a huge WW recipe file I can send you.

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  2. 1. Spaghetti. Easy, cheep and you can eat it more than once. Also pretty healthy if you go with whole wheat pasta (trust me, it's good.)Also along these lines is lazagna, get low fat cheese and it's not too bad for you.
    2. Grilled chicken with a little italian dressing for a marinade served with broccoli. Again easy and relitively cheep. Grilled anything is always pretty good, especially this time of year.
    3. Chef salads. Get a whole bunch of lettue, carrots, cucumber, etc. All the fixings you like and serve with grilled chicken or beef strips.

    I hope that helps, if you want some more ideas or recipies let me know.
    Anna C

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  3. This isn't SUPER healthy, but it's not bad, and easy, cheap, and delicious!

    Black bean & spinach enchiladas

    Tortillas
    Can of black beans
    1/2 cup Salsa
    1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
    1 package frozen creamed spinach
    Shreaded cheese of choice

    1. Heat up the black beans in a pan with about 1/2 a cup of salsa mixed in.
    2. Thaw the spinach in the microwave. Mix with the sour cream.
    3. Roll tortillas filled with some of the spinach mixture, and some of the bean mixture, and place them in a casserole dish.
    4. Sprinkle the tops of the enchiladas with the cheese.
    5. Place in oven at 350 for about 10 minutes. Just long enough to melt the cheese and brown the tops.

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  4. Um, I don't see MY blog on your list. I'm sure that's a mistake...

    I'm stealing that black bean recipe. Yummo!

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  5. Do you have a crockpot? It's SO low maintanence and easy to cook a good and typically healthy meal in there. My favorite right now is Chicken, black bean, and salsa soup (on the forum). SO easy. For crockpot recipes, I love to go here: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

    We love doing a stir fry. It's easy and very healthy--just some veggies and meat heated together. You can get prepackaged flavorings or you can just put some soy sauce, chicken broth, and garlic together, and get something pretty tasty.

    We also cook a whole chicken a lot. It sounds scary, but it's SO easy. Then you can eat the chicken for that night, for leftovers, and then still use it in another meal that requires cooked chicken (think a BBQ chicken pizza or pot pie).

    I swear, I honestly try at least 3 new recipes a week. I know that sounds over the top, but I love trying new things!!!

    I've really found that it's much more about portion control than it is about cooking as healthy. I mean obviously you don't want to deep-fry stuff, but if you just watch the amount that you're eating of those casseroles and make a few small switches (2% cheese instead of full-fat cheese, for instance), you can eat healthy and yummy at the same time!

    As far as saving money, I always shop the sales. Since we buy a lot of generics, using coupons doesn't happen as much as the grocery for us (I do comparison shop, but it's typically cheaper to just get the generic). But the biggest sale to shop--meat. It's always the most expensive thing I buy. For isntance, this week Kroger has chicken thighs and drumsticks for $1.19/lb. Heck, boneless skinless chicken breasts are $1.88/lb. That's a price worth stocking up at!

    I have tons of healthy, cheap eating tips--feel free to email if you want more :)

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  6. We do the basic chicken and rice at my house, although I've been known to randomly surf the web and find recipes! HA

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  7. Thanks for stopping by my blog yesterday and helping me get over 100 comments on my blogiversary!!

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