Eat for less: More grocery budget tips

I had $100 to spend and a lengthy list of items to buy. Bananas, pears, celery. Rice, eggs, cheese, bread, milk, cheese. Ground beef, cheese, chicken, cereal, cereal bars, cheese.

My frustration grew as my cart filled, the eye ever on the budget. I wanted sparkling water but decided to skip it since we now go through almost two gallons of milk a week. Orange juice wasn't on sale so I opted to get a smaller jar of peanut butter.

By the end, I tossed up my hands. I went back through the aisles and grabbed what I wanted. I was done with the budget and whatever we were over ... well, we were over.

I lucked out that week, staying under my budget and still getting some luxury items, but it's not always that way. It can take a lot more finessing to get the necessities and the fun stuff for the week.

But I've learned a few tricks that help me get what I want and keep it under budget.

Be loyal to a store — when it pays. Kroger is the most convenient store to my house, and the chain is also the most popular in the area. Like so many stores, they have a loyalty card, which offers savings and a way for the store to track purchases. It can feel a bit invasive but Kroger mails out loyalty coupons that can be applied to the items I buy most. Free cereal bars? Yes, please. And, while you are at it, I will take 50 cents off the rice that's on sale. Thanks for asking.

I also get fuel points at Kroger, and my $400 monthly spending at the store can save me $5 on gas. It's not a lot but I'll take it.

Shop in the morning. My neighborhood store will put perishable items on manager's special like clockwork — at 8 a.m. Meat that can go in the freezer and vegetables still with days of life can be found at a good discount. I try to make it at the store on Friday before work or Saturday before a run to get the best-looking products for the best price.

Get to know the employees. I shop at the same Kroger at the same time (usually) each week. I know the guy in the meat department, and he knows me. He knows I like to buy sale items, to which he'll direct me. I never would have bought chorizo had it not been for him but the $2.49 roll became two meals, including chili. Employees are also, at times, at liberty to further mark down items or make them free depending on the expiration. A Kroger employee gave me a six-pack of Tropicana juice boxes at no cost as he only had four days on them. It was an instance when being a regular shopper worked to my advantage.

Use coupons for the things you buy. I rarely use coupons from online sources or the newspaper because they are most often for things I don't buy. If I wouldn't get it at full price, I don't need it at a discount — no matter how great the savings is.

A note on this: Use the coupons only if it makes the deal better. For example, I had coupons for Laura's Lean Beef and Kroger's Simple Truth Chicken. I could use them whenever to save a bit but I waited. On Saturday, I found both products on manager's special, which equaled about double the savings.

If it's a good deal, buy it. On the most recent shopping trip, I didn't need either the beef or the chicken but I bought them. Yes, it cut into the budget for things I needed on that trip but it was going to save me for the next week. I do this especially with meat as it is often the most expensive thing on the list. A word of caution: I buy what I think I will use in the next month but no more. Grocery stores cycle specials and new coupons come out. I will be able to get a good sale again.

Plan double-duty dinners. There's a good chance that the Laura's Lean Beef will become meatballs next week. The first meal will be with pasta and sauce, and the second can be a meatball sandwich. Pulled pork and barbecue chicken are great for this, too.

Know what's worth your money. Mark drinks Tropicana orange juice. Period. The times I have tried to go to a lower cost beverage have been met with complaints and, sometimes, waste. I no longer try to save money on juice. However, there are no complaints when it comes to store brand cereal and pasta. I also alternate between the good stuff and the value items. One week, we get Private Selection ice cream (the best) and the next week it's Kroger brand or a sale item + coupon.

How do you save at the grocery?

Related post: Getting started on a budget

The Power Lunch {aka Get Shit Done Hour}

I have a sourdough starter.
 
It's revolutionary, I know, and incredibly sexy. You have to feed it and love it. You have to make sure it's still alive, not too hot or too cold. You have to let it out every once in a while and play with it. Really, it's a lot like a dog - except that you get to eat bread at the end or give it away to people who like bread, which makes people think you are a nice. A dog just craps on the floor and stares at you.

 

But, back to the bread.

I had to go home at lunch this afternoon to manage the two batches of Extra-Tangy Sourdough Bread I had working. (See, just like a dog!) I had made the dough this morning, and I gave it the required four hours to "relax." I was on step 3, which required me to add additional flour, sugar and salt, and then move on to the kneading, step 4. As I am in the new school of bread making, I fully embrace the stand mixer for kneading. It saves my arm muscles for things like bicep curls and frees up my time for other things.

In the case of today, it allowed me to switch over laundry, put four pairs of dirty shoes in the washer (three pairs of my sneakers and Miles' Converse low tops), hide some Easter basket goodies from curious toddlers and prep dinner.

Tonight, it's Meat and Grain Burgers from the Runner's World Cookbook. Mark had requested beef burgers so I bought a package of beef ... Laura's Lean Beef and decided to use that recipe, adding a whole bunch of stuff that I will not tell him about. Keep your fingers crossed that he does not read this before dinner. When I get home tonight, I just need to fire up the grill pan and spend 10 minutes in the kitchen before we can enjoy our first meal of the year al fresco.

In that hour I spent at home, which is about 10 minutes away from the office, I felt more accomplished than I have in a long time. Domestically speaking, of course. It was nice. It didn't hurt that it is a gorgeous day, and I got to feel the sun on my face as I drove and crack the kitchen window as I prepped.

Normally, I will spend the lunch hour working or going out to eat. Every few weeks, I might throw in a workout. I like the latter the most, followed by restaurants and then work. However, today's sense of "git-r-done" almost makes me want to try this once a week or so.

Then again, doing laundry might get old ... older than it already is. Let's make it every two weeks.

Tell me: How do you spend your lunch break?

***

During the month of April, Pro Compression is donating a portion of select product sales to Team in Training and Train 4 Autism.

  

All Purple and Powder Blue products are 40 percent off, using code SOM4 at checkout. The code is also good on the new Red, White and Blue Stripe Marathon "Tube Sock." How cute would those be on Memorial Day or Fourth of July?

The Better Burger

There are three things that make a good burger - quality beef, flavorful cheese and a cold beer.

Or hard cider as the case might be but all the while still necessary after a day when a certain toddler wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. Twice. And then does it again the next day.

My friends at Laura's Lean Beef agree - at least on the beef part. As you break out the grill this summer, they advise using lean beef to reduce cooking time; avoiding excessive amounts of sodium by using healthy seasonings; and using whole-grain bread, as whole-grains are absorbed slower by the body and help you to eat less, yet feel full.

Feeling inspired (and hungry), I built a better burger that combines the bright, fresh flavors of summer with a hint of guilt-free indulgence.

Laughing Cow Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil wedges are sandwiched between two thin patties of Laura's Lean Beef, and a layer of thinly sliced part skim mozzarella tops the cooked burger. Serve on a whole wheat sandwich thin or bread with fresh tomato and arugula. And if you're feeling saucy - which I always am - a simple aioli with roasted red peppers, garlic and low-fat mayonnaise is a wonderful complement.

Laugh & Lean Double Cheese Stuffed Burgers

For the burgers:
1.5 pounds Laura's Lean Beef ground beef, or other lean ground meat
1 clove garlic, minced
Pepper, to taste
4 wedges Laughing Cow Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil
4 slices mozzarella cheese or mini Babybel Mozzarella rounds, sliced
Vine ripe tomato, sliced
Pre-washed baby arugula
4 sandwich thins
For the aioli:
1/4 cup roasted red peppers, draind
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise

For the burgers: Season ground beef with garlic and pepper, gently combining. Form meat into eight thin patties. Place Laughing Cow wedge on a patty and top with another, crimping the edges. Repeat with remaining beef. Cook burgers on a grill 5 to 6 minutes; flip. Top the burgers with mozzarella cheese and cook until medium well; about five more minutes.

For the aioli: Put all ingredients in food processor; pulse until smooth. Refrigerate sauce until ready to use.

Assembly: On the bottom of sandwich thin, add arugula and tomato. Place patty on top and drizzle aioli over burger. Then eat it. You will like it.

Feeling green? Laura’s Lean Beef and Big Green Egg are once again hosting their Summer Grilling Sweepstakes. From May 27 through Sept. 2, 2013, one winner will be randomly selected each week to receive a summer grilling prize package including a Big Green Egg ceramic outdoor cooker, Laura’s Lean Beef products and an assortment of grilling accessories. You can enter by “liking” the Laura’s Facebook page, by scanning an on-package QR code or by registering at www.LaurasLeanBeef.com.

Disclaimer: While I have previously received free product from both Laura's Lean Beef and Laughing Cow, all ingredients for this recipe were purchased by me because I buy them regularly. I was not compensated to write this post or eat the cheeseburger, which was effing fantastic by the way. I wrote everything myself, too. Except for the part about the contest because I'm lazy. Mark did buy the hard cider for me but it was probably to take the edge off since Miles slapped me in the face 300 times this weekend.

Family, it's what's for dinner

Ladies, it's time to gather round. I have a story to tell you. A story about the time I ate lemon meringue pie off the dining room floor. It's probably a story that would be far funnier had you actually been there but it does trump the time my cousin made me applesauce from a dog bowl while he was baby-sitting.

So make yourselves a cup of gingerbread tea from the depths of your desk drawer (or something that equally smells better than it tastes) and grab a piece of dark chocolate. You'll want refreshments for this.

◊ ◊ ◊

Dinner time was never anything special in my house. I say that not because my mom didn't go to the effort but because it was the time before food television and blogging and when people wrote down recipes while watching "Regis & Kathie Lee." With a pen and paper. Getting creative for my mom was opening the Betty Crocker cookbook and making something that required a) more than five ingredients; b) more than 30 minutes; and c) a trip to the big grocery store. Read: Chicken Cacciatore.

But this story isn't really about Chicken Cacciatore though my mom did make it once, and we all used the same facial expressions as we did in the story about why I ate lemon meringue pie off the dining room floor.

Dinners, basic though they were, were always served and, save for the stretches when my mom worked two jobs or my dad was on second, they were served as a family. We would eat the meal at our table in the solarium, a glorious room that had three walls of windows and was the only space to feature hardwood floors. My mom tried to make balance meals, especially after my stick-thin dad was diagnosed with high cholesterol. There was meat (half ground turkey-half beef), a starch and a vegetable (from a can, with butter). And let me tell you, canned green beans with 2 tablespoons of butter are the jam.

The one thing we never had was dessert. You know, because Dad had high cholesterol. Sucker. Not so much because he was the reason I was deprived of baked goods (which I really wasn't, as evidenced by my size 14 eighth-grade graduation dress) but because he made the mistake of telling (read: whining to) my mom that we never had dessert.

So one weekend, after she had cleared the plates from the table, she came back into the solarium. Carrying a lemon meringue pie. Rather than be grateful, my dad made a joke. Or at least that's what we'll call it, as my mom didn't think it was that funny. And so she threw the pie. At my dad. Good or bad, she missed and it hit the floor. Mom and Dad went to the kitchen to fight, and my brother and I, sitting on the floor, ate the pie.

◊ ◊ ◊

There are two lessons to be learned from this story: Lemon meringue pie tastes good, even off the floor, and even the most volatile of families can eat together.

And eating together is important.

Three or more family meals together has myriad benefits, including:  improved language skills for preschoolers, thinking skills and linguistic development and school performance/better grades; decreased chances of children being overweight, eating unhealthy foods and drinking soda; and lower rates of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use.

As a parent, I'm obviously not worried about the last part but I do strive to make family dinners at the table (not TV trays) a regular part of our week. Not only do Mark and I get the chance to model healthy eating but it gives us a chance to connect as a couple. It can sometimes be a pain during the week but the one time I like to really go to the effort is Sundays.

To me, there's just nothing that beats a Sunday night dinner.

It's the one meal that I have a bit more time to cook (45 minutes rather than 30), and it's a chance to do something heartier, especially on these cold winter days.  Dare I say, Sunday night dinners are the chance to do something fancy.

 

And nothing says fancy to me like steak. I picked up a Laura's Lean Beef sirloin on a visit to the fancy Kroger (the big store, just like my mom did) and decided to try the company's recipe for Filet with Balsamic Onions and Gorgonzola. Obviously, I used the sirloin instead of filets.

I served it with homemmade sweet potato hashbrowns and broccoli, from the freezer and without butter, for a heart-healthy meal to do February proud. The steak was tender and delicious, and Mark and I loved the combination of the onions and blue cheese.

 

The best part, though, was sitting down as a family and enjoying a meal together. Or the five minutes we had together before Miles decided he wanted to play on the potty and throw steak to Denali.

And, according to Denali, steak tastes just fine off the floor.

Do you eat dinner with your family? Any tips to get through toddlerhood?

Disclosure: Laura's Lean Beef provided me with product vouchers but all opinions are my own. To learn more about the company, visit its website.

Take recipe to heart: A recipe

It seems like these days there's a special designation for every thing. January is Hot Tea Month and National Oatmeal Month. Today is National Bubblegum Day and April 17 (my birthday) is Ford Mustang Day.

But there's one observance that I can get behind, especially as a woman: National Heart Health Month. It's February, hence the post today, Feb. 1.

According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, and is more deadly than all forms of cancer combined. An estimated 43 million women in the U.S. are affected by heart disease, and 90 percent of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease. It doesn't have to be a death sentence, though. A healthy lifestyle that includes exercise and good nutrition can offset many of the risks and improve health.

Though I'm still trying to figure out the definition of good nutrition for me, WomensHealth.gov said you should eat mainly:

• Fruits and vegetables 
• Grains (at least half of your grains should be whole grains, such as whole wheat, whole oats, oatmeal, whole-grain corn, brown rice, wild rice, whole rye, whole-grain barley, buckwheat, bulgur, millet, quinoa, and sorghum) 
• Fat-free or low-fat versions of milk, cheese, yogurt, and other milk products 
• Polyunsaturated (pol-ee-uhn-SACH-uh-ray-tid) and monounsaturated (mon-oh-uhn-SACH-uh-ray-tid) fats (found in fish, nuts, and vegetable oils)
• Fish, skinless poultry, lean meats, dry beans, eggs, and nuts 

Did you catch that last part, the one about lean meats? To maintain heart health, you don't have to eat grilled chicken with steamed broccoli and brown rice or unseasoned pork loin with sweet potatoes and steamed spinach.

Nope. You can have something like Slow Cooker French Onion Meatloaf.

The key is to select a quality, lean protein (chalk one up for Weight Watchers' lessons) like Laura's Lean Beef.

Laura's Lean Beef is at least 92 percent lean (some products are 96 percent) and it's free of hormones and antibiotics.

And it's the star player in this flavorful and hardy dish, which Mark enjoyed for dinner two nights in a row and I enjoyed not really having to cook.

Note: This recipe is also toddler tested and approved.

Slow Cooker French Onion Meatloaf

1 pound Laura's Lean Beef
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/3 - 1/2 cup whole-wheat Panko bread crumbs
1 onion, sliced
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 cup beef broth
1 bay leaf

In a bowl, gently combine beef, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, egg and bread crumbs. Form into a loaf and place in the crock of a slow cooker. Arrange onions and mushrooms around the meatloaf. Pour broth over onions and mushrooms; toss in bay leaf. Cook on low for 8-9 hours or until cooked through. Makes 4 servings.

Disclosure: Laura's Lean Beef provided me with product vouchers but all opinions and commentary expressed are my own. I was a consumer of Laura's Lean Beef before the opportunity. For more recipes, visit the their website.

WIAW: Kim goes to Korea

I have a secret to tell you. Come in.

Closer.

Closer still.

Here it is: I ate oatmeal for breakfast yesterday, and I didn't take a picture of it. Astounding, right? Even more astounding was that it had no artificial sweeteners or added sugar or muffin tops. It was oats, banana, raisins, cinnamon, egg whites and a dash of vanilla.

Wait, there was some peanut butter, too. Cut me some slack.

While I didn't nab a photo of that post-run bowl - nor the quarter mini bagel I ate before the run - I felt it was time to track the comings (not goings) of my mouth.





Morning snack.

Ezekiel 4:9 Cinnamon Raisin English Muffin with hazelnut spread - not Nutella. Nutella is a trademarked brand, and my jar has the name Kroger on it. Whatevs. The muffin was most definitely Ezekiel. It was my first time trying the variety, purchased by me with moneys, and it had that hardy flavor that Ezekiel products have and that I so enjoy. It wasn't as sweet as most cinnamon raisin products but I, for one, was glad to see it wasn't sugar-loaded.

Lunch.

Once or twice a month, I go out to lunch with a co-worker. She and I both love love ethnic foods and both have husbands who are less adventurous eaters. Whenever we go out, we try to go exotic. Tuesday was Korean. At a restaurant neighboring a Marathon gas station. What can I say, we keep it classy.

I started out with egg drop soup and kimchi salad, both of which were lovely.

As part of the lunch special, the server/owner brought out a plate with crab Rangoon, egg roll and mandoo. I am not one to turn down a Rangoon so I ate that and enjoyed the insides only of the other fried treats.

My entree was the pork bulgogi, which was on special, and sounded very authentic. It was good. If you ever come to Fort Wayne, we can go and then you can tell me it's good.

Snacks.

I was a busy girl yesterday afternoon. Blarg. Being busy is dumb. But it does keep you from eating.

I managed an apple and an orange throughout the afternoon, and I had a cup of no sugar added hot cocoa while I interviewed a job candidate.

Dinner.

Can I get a thank you God for the slow cooker? Slow Cooker French Onion Meatloaf (made with Laura's Lean Beef), Alexia Sweet Potato Tots (spotted at Target) and spinach. Most of it once frozen. Except the beef. I bought it that morning. All of it was delicious.

After dinner, I had a handful of Walmart brand honey nut O's or whatever you want to call 'em. And then,  later, a half-cup with almond milk (I prefer Silk unsweetened original). Further proof that I can't have cereal in the house.

Snack.

Skinny Cow. My last one. For a while probably.

What have you been eating lately?

Skinny bitching

I was perusing Pinterest for slow cooker recipes while I was eating my lunch. You know, as any office worker does. And I was supremely surprised by just how many called themselves "skinny" and/or "healthy."

The designation, obviously, is to generate more traffic and not necessarily an indication of whether a recipe is actually healthy or skinny. Because how can a recipe really be skinny? Are you just pounding out your chicken breast ala picatta so that it's so skinny, thickness-wise, that it cooks in a matter of seconds? Or, by some miracle of the universe, will I become magically skinny (whatever that means) by eating it.

As I had this internal dialogue, which happened to be far funnier within the confines of my skull, I realized that I am far too guilty of this. I made "Skinny" Taco Soup and the clever "Lighter" Chicken Parmesan, posting each on this here blog, and I label the things I eat as healthy.

Enough is enough. I barely can decide what's healthy anymore (low calorie or clean eating, sugar or no sugar or stevia) much less tell someone else what it is. So I'm not calling anything healthy or skinny. If you follow me on Twitter, you might have even seen quite the opposite.

Yes, I'm going to call recipes things like that for my own amusement. But probably just this once. Because it's only clever the first time.

This fajita burger, clever or not, was actually supposed to be meatloaf but I was too busy (read: perusing my Kindle in the tub) to prep it Tuesday morning. Thankfully, my husband is "up" for a burger about 99.943 percent of the time and happily enabled my idea/laziness.

Conventional wisdom might lead people to believe that this fajita burger might have sauteed green peppers and onions, maybe even some mushrooms, on top but conventional wisdom doesn't often go hand in hand with parenting a toddler. Rather, this burger has finely chopped veggies mixed in with ground meat, along with homemade fajita seasoning, as to disguise things son (and father) might pick around.

Note: For the seasoning mix, I cut the cayenne in half as to make it more palatable to sensitive mouths. Like mine ... OK Miles'.

To keep it authentic, especially as I am sure you can fajita burgers at any open air cart in Mexico City, we served them with cheddar cheese, guacamole (I like to have a pouch in the freezer at all times) and, gasp, sour cream. As these are fat ass fajita burgers, the patty was served on a white bun - also courtesy of my freezer.

Of course, since all of us don't have the magic Mark metabolism, the burger can be made slightly less fat ass by serving on a bed of lettuce and adding a bit of salsa. Aldi salsa if you are feeling sassy. Either way, your mouth - and your ass - will be happy.

Fat Ass Fajita Burgers

1 pound ground beef (for a less fat ass version use lean ground beef, such as Laura's Lean Beef)
2 tablespoons homemade fajita seasoning
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 egg white, optional
Cheddar cheese (for a less fat ass version use 2% shredded cheddar, such as Kraft)
Guacamole
Sour cream (for a, well, you get it by now version, plain Greek yogurt)
Salsa or fresh pico de gallo
Buns or mixed greens

Preheat skillet over medium-high heat. In a mixing bowl, gently combine beef, seasoning, chopped veggies and egg white. (These burgers held together just fine without the white but it could be helpful.) Pat the meat into an even round while still in the bowl and, using your hand, score into four even sections. Form each section into a burger patty. Put the patties in the skillet and allow to cook 2 minutes; press down with spatula. Cook 3 to 4 minutes more; flip. Top burgers with cheese as the other side cooks for an additional four minutes. Remove patties from skillet, onto a towel-lined plate. In the hot skillet, put buns cut-side down and toast for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve burger with guacamole, sour cream or yogurt and salsa or pico de gallo. To save about 100-150 calories, ditch the bun and enjoy on a bed of mixed greens.

Makes 4 servings.