Frugal Friday: Frugal Clean Eating!

I have this friend named Tamera.  She's kind of a hippie... not the weird shower-once-a-month kind, but the cool rain barrel and organic garden kind.  She's been "eating clean" this year and has been talking about it a lot.  I've always been interested in clean eating, and have enjoyed learning so much from her.  We've never eaten a lot of processed foods, but didn't realize that things I thought seemed good for me still were not.

So, I challenged myself this week to eat clean for most meals.  I usually spend about $50-$60 per week at the grocery store, so I wanted to see if I could stick to that budget and still eat clean.  I ended up spending $65.35.  I didn't buy organic milk or eggs, but everything else is organic, natural, or has less than 5 ingredients (all of which I can pronounce).

They just opened an Earth Fare at Hamilton Town Center and are having some AMAZING deals going on.  So it was the perfect week to start eating clean.  I registered online before I went and got a coupon for a free organic chicken if I spent $10, $10 off for registering online, and 5 organic items for $5.

I got all this for $17.29!
frozen berries, applesauce, peanut butter, jelly, crackers, cookies, oat bran,
1 cucumber, 2 potatoes, a whole chicken, and 4 hamburger patties (all organic!)
*side-note:  the hamburger patties were so huge that we cut them in half
and were able to use them for 2 meals instead of one!  

I didn't get all organic fruits and veggies, but I kept in mind the clean 15 and the dirty dozen when shopping.  When I got home, I cooked the chicken in the crockpot, shredded it for 2 meals, and made chicken broth so that it would be easy to prepare meals during the week.

Then I headed to Meijer to get the rest of my groceries.  

Here they are, for a total of $48.06:

*side-note:  we had to buy another bunch of bananas on Wednesday and since it was a stressful day with the kids, Matt bought my favorite ice cream (homemade's peanut butter and chip)  And, I wrote this blog while eating a large bowl of that icecream.  #cleanfail  #cleanfail   #cleanfail

baby steps my friends... baby steps.

Here is our meal plan for this week:    

Dinners:  

M:  Organic hamburgers (no buns), organic mashed potatoes, and broccoli

T:    BBQ shredded organic chicken (was going to make my own BBQ but didn't end up having time so used regular... #cleanfail) with corn and salad

W:  Watched my friend Andrea's sweet children, and she made my family dinner!  Teriyaki chicken, rice, and broccoli

H: Whole wheat pasta with olive oil and tomatoes with bread from the bread machine

F:  Cubed organic hamburgers over a salad with boiled egg, cucumbers, and carrots

S: Our good friend Marla always makes an amazing dinner for everyone who helps set-up at church :)  

S: Wild-caught cod (steer clear of "farm-raised") over brown rice with carrots

M:  Organic chicken tacos (instead of taco shell, plan to use lettuce wrap) with beans 

Lunches:  organic PB&J with carrots or crackers, veggie sandwich with avocado/tomato/provolone with applesauce, dinner leftovers

Breakfasts:  natural whole wheat banana pancakes (natural syrup was too costly so I ended up using regular syrup... #cleanfail), natural oatmeal with berries and a touch of brown sugar, fruit, toast & eggs 

Snacks:  popcorn, carrots, applesauce, berry smoothies

And of course... pictures!   :)

                                                                                                                                                                               

                    

I realize that we didn't eat 100% clean, but I believe that even small changes can make a big difference.  We still have some changes we are planning to implement and I know every week will be better/cleaner.  

I also realize that this budget may not be all that accurate since I got all of those great deals at Earth Fare, but  it's a good reminder to register online for places you would like to have coupons for and take advantage of good deals and coupons when you can.  Also, Kroger has a line of natural and organic foods called Simple Truth which is less expensive than going to a natural/organic food store.   

If you are interested in the benefits of clean eating and/or would like recipes, here are some great websites to check out: 100 days of real food and A journey to clean eating.

Happy Frugal Friday!