After two weeks of not-so-healthy eating back home for the holidays, it is time to kick it back into gear with the new year. I try to set myself up for success by stocking my freezer, fridge, and pantry with healthy foods, and by planning out veggie-filled meals for the week. After returning back to Omaha on Saturday, I had plans for a weekend of meal planning, grocery shopping, and meal prepping. Thanks to a little hard work on the weekend, Monday is here and my week is already off to a healthy start. My goal is to make this week’s eats healthy, easy, and delicious!
What’s in My Grocery Bags (January 5, 2015)
First up is the bulk of my groceries: the produce! This week I stocked up on bananas, spaghetti squash, a yellow onion, celery, apples, carrot chips, coleslaw mix, kale, a single Fuji apple, tons of spinach (for smoothies), and sweet potatoes (for snacks).
I hit the jackpot for yumminess with my frozen foods. I bought french fries (to go with my burger below), acai bowl packs, frozen peas, frozen spinach, and my favorite veggie burgers that just happened to be on sale. When you see a good price, you buy them!
My fridge purchases contained a couple of new-to-me products. I am so excited to try the Califia Farms almond milk and the Field Roast vegan cheese (which I have heard amazing things about)! I also purchased eggs and tofu- both of which are protein staples for me.
This week was a pretty small week for me when it came to canned goods. I bought some beans and broth for soup, chickpeas for sandwiches, and Dijon mustard because I had a coupon for a free product that I needed to use. I like Dijon mustard, but I love free Dijon mustard.
Finally, some of my favorite grocery staples: the snacks! I stocked up on kale chips and popcorn (this giant bag is only $3.48 at Sam’s Club right now), rice thin crackers, and broccoli poppers <– If you hadn’t already noticed, those were eaten on the way home!
This haul of groceries cost roughly $85.00 and required me to visit three stores (Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Sam’s Club). I will be the first to admit that I really need to get better about following a grocery budget that is not in the area of $85-100 each week. However, I find this difficult when I try to buy organic whenever possible, and since I create and cook A LOT. #Foodbloggerproblems Maybe I should do a grocery budget challenge? Hmm… there is a blogging idea right there!
Now to my dinner meal plan for this week:
Weekly Meal Plan: January 5th to the 11th
Monday: Spaghetti Squash and Eggs with “Cheese”
Tuesday: Ginger Peanut Lentil Burger + french fries
Wednesday: Sauerkraut and Noodles + veggies on the side
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Whole Foods salad bar
Saturday: Buffalo Tofu with Vegan Dill and Ranch Dressing
Sunday: Slow Cooker Pea and Carrot Rice Soup (an oldie, but a goodie)
It all sounds rather scrumptious, am I right? I am telling you… healthy eating is delicious!
What is on your meal plan for the coming week? Share your veggie-filled links in the comments!
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I thought of you yesterday when I saw the acai bowl packets at Whole Foods! I meant to pick up a spaghetti squash and forgot – my son actually asked me to make it this week – oops.
That is so awesome! I love when I hear about children loving and asking for healthy food! 🙂
After hosting my sister, her girls, and my parents for 5 days, my fridge and pantry are bare! I need to brave the cold and do an epic grocery trip too. I don’t think those broccoli poppers would last very long in our house either – yum!
The broccoli poppers are SO good… but also $4.99 a bag!! Totally crazy. They will definitely be an “every once in awhile” kind of treat.
You just reminded me to stock up on mustard when I go shopping today! I am running low on all 3 of my bottles…..scary thing!
Ahh, that is no bueno! We can’t be without mustard!!
That almond milk is the best almond milk. I love the coconut version too.
I spend way too much on groceries but I eat really healthy and cook 90% of my meals at home. Mine is probably $100-$125 a week. o_o. But I live in SF so I guess that’s normal??
Okay, that makes me feel a lot better!! You are right… I don’t eat out very often, so that is probably why it is higher. I also figure that I’d rather spend more money on healthy food now than spend tons of money on medical bills later. Hopefully that mentality pays off!
I think my meal plan for the coming week will look similar to yours- YUM! My last grocery store run looks VERY similar to yours, so I think I have everything to make most of the things you have listed. The Ginger Peanut Lentil Burgers sound REALLY good. 🙂
I made them the other night (and will be eating leftovers of them this week) and they are SO good!!! You seriously need to make them!
Ugh! I need to get better at planning out meals like this. so smart and efficient. I can honestly say I run to the store about 3 times a week. Always out of something!
It is definitely difficult to only make one grocery trip per week, especially if you are cooking with a lot of fresh ingredients. I almost always end up going for a few extra things later on in my week.
I so need to go grocery shopping! We’re stuck at home sick. A few days sick turned into days sick. Everything you got looks great!
Ahh, that is such a bummer!! 🙁 I hope you feel better soon and are able to restock with lots of healthy food!
It’s pretty hard to stay below $200 for the two of us — how do people do it!? I usually have at least 5 coupons for totally free products a week, too, or I’d be spending another $30. I usually only go to the store about every 10 days though (because lazy) and have a well stocked enough pantry to squeeze a few meals out of it.
I honestly have no clue how people get away with cheap grocery bills each week. I am jealous of them! I seriously need to sit down and try to budget a bit better though… it’s so hard when you have recipe/blog ideas and you want to make what you want to make regardless of whether or not the ingredients are on sale! 😉
I love this post idea! So fun. I love to grocery shop! True story: I bought that almond milk once just because the bottle is so pretty… =)
It seriously is pretty, isn’t it? The shape and graphics totally got me!! 😉
Ha, I was going to say, that broccoli poppers bag looks empty… 😉 I agree that meal planning is so important to a successful week of eating! And I still really want to try spaghetti squash!
Yyyyeah…. I couldn’t wait to eat those! Now the bad part is that they are delicious and yet SO expensive! I guess they will have to be a now-and-then “treat” instead of a regular thing 🙁
You make amazing meals and for eating so healthy, that price of $85 is not bad at all….do you use printable coupons. There are a few sites for organic product q’s…like mambosrouts and commonkindness. If you do a spending challenge, make sure to get with Nicole McDonald, she is an absolute guru!
Thanks for the shout out Cynthia!
We budget $100/week for the 5 of us for all our meals and snacks. I cook almost everything from scratch. We try to do as much organic as possible, but doesn’t happen every week. I base my meal plans around the grocery sales and that helps alot.
Whole Foods has some great deals when you watch the sales and stack coupons! Feel free to reach out and I can teach you some ways to eat save some $ on whole foods and organic groceries. 🙂
Love that you share your grocery trips!
Thanks, Nicole! I love using coupons, too! I get super excited when I see coupons at Whole Foods for products that I use. One week I got 6-packs of Zevia soda for $.25 cents each and I was ecstatic! 😉
I definitely need to work harder at planning my meals based on what is on sale each week. I have a hard time doing this sometimes, though, since I am generally buying food for new recipe ideas that I dream up. #foodbloggerproblems 😉
I DO use coupons when I can… sometimes it is difficult to find coupons for healthier products, but I do my best. I should definitely see if Nicole has any tips and tricks for that!
This sounds just like my weekend! I hit up Costco & Whole Foods to stock up on lots of produce and healthy snacks. It’s definitely a get back on track type of week. My grocery spending takes up a good chunk of my budget, but I really wouldn’t have it any other way. I love to eat, cook and enjoy the best food I can. 🙂
That is a great way of looking at it, Dana!! I definitely spend a lot of healthy food and cooking, but I probably spend less than others doing on things like eating out/other hobbies/etc.
I love all of the produce!!! I need to start adding more produce to my grocery bags 🙂
It is definitely one of the things I buy the most, and I wouldn’t have it any other way! You should definitely try adding in one or two new fresh produce items each week to help get you started. Don’t forget that frozen veggies and fruits are great, too! I have to remind myself of this because often times they are more affordable.
Yes yes yes! I did the exact same thing when we got home from visiting family. I spy many similar purchases 🙂
I should be better about budgeting too but with all the blog cooking and stuff … it just never seems to happen. I figure at least I’m usually buying nice and healthy items and we do always eat it all!
Exactly! It is so hard to eat on a budget when you are a food blogger. I rarely meal plan based on what is on sale, and instead meal plan based on what sounds good and which new recipes I want to try or create. I try to make myself feel better by telling myself that what I am buying IS healthy and I cook in far more often than I eat out. I’m sure it all equals out, right? 😉
I hope you enjoy the sauerkraut dish! Ps I’m totally intrigued by those broccoli poppers, I have never seen them before?!
I am so excited to try your dish. I LOVE sauerkraut!
You should definitely be on the lookout for the broccoli poppers. They are new, so that is probably why you haven’t seen them. I will warn you that they are a bit of an expensive habit! :/
That hugh jass bag o’ popcorn is the stuff of dreams. Hope you love the burgs!
It sure is! I actually made the burgers the other night and just plan to eat leftovers tomorrow night. They were SO good! I’m excited for tomorrow night’s dinner 🙂
Yay! I’m planning on doing something like this next month because my brother and anyone that he tells doesn’t believe that I generally spend well under $100/month for groceries. (It probably helps immensely on my end that I don’t have a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods though.) I love acai packs! <3
$100/month? Wow, I am jealous! I will be so interested to read that post. I’m not sure I could do that… yeah, probably not! 😉
I haven’t made it back to Canada yet so my healthy food shopping won’t happen till the weekend but I foresee a pretty heft bill as well. Definitely looking forward to stocking up on some of these as well though.
p.s. so down for that grocery bill challenge. #thestruggleisreal
Restocking the fridge and pantry is NEVER good for the wallet! I guess there are worse things to spend money on, right? 😉 I am seriously thinking about a grocery bill challenge.. I think many of us could benefit from it!
Mmmm I buy that ginormous bag of popcorn from Costco all the time…its SO good!
SO good! I hope they never stop carrying it!!
So much delicious healthy food! I want to try Field Roast’s cheese too. You’ll have to let us know what you think!
And girl, trust me, I’m positive I’m the worst when it comes to spending too much money on groceries. It’s my most expensive bill every month!
It most be a food blogger problem 😉 At least I am not the only one who does that. That makes me feel better!
What IS a broccoli popper? Never seen them before.
Thanks for sharing you meal plan! I love getting ideas from creative cooks like you 🙂
You are so welcome! I’m glad I can helpl! 🙂