Monday, January 16, 2012

Pleasantly surprised


Quick overview of today then I will get into why yesterday I had an excellent surprise.

Today starts week 2 of P90X. Today I do chest, back and abs again. Lots of pull ups and push ups. No problem- I got this.

This morning I head to the gym for CXWorx. 30 minutes, hard "core" workout. Yeah!

Ok so onto my surprise from yesterday-

I went to Meijer yesterday with my grocery list of Clean Eating foods as well as a list of other things I needed to get like toilet paper, milk etc. The basics.

Meijer was having a pretty good special on different berries- strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, etc. and I had a "duh" though- why dont I buy a bunch of these berries while they are on sale and then freeze them? That way I have them for my daily smoothie and it is cheaper than buying the already frozen ones. So I bought two pints of strawberries, two packs of blackberries and two packs of blueberries.

I also picked up sweet potatoes, cans of chick peas, garlic, fresh and frozen spinach, brown rice, flaxseed, celery, fresh mushrooms, no sugar added natural peanut butter, almond butter, 3 mangos, canned organic tomatoes, REAL maple sugar, coconut oil, quinoa, 3 pears, canned diced tomatoes, a sea salt grinder, two loaves of all natural whole wheat bread (I knew all the ingredients listed so it was a good choice and on sale!), two boxes of waffles for the kids, 2 containers of blue almond milk (natural, not sweetened), 2 boxes of gallon storage bags, two 12 packs of toilet paper, two gallons of milk, 1 lb of bulk almonds- natural, non salted, steel rolled oats, oat bran, 2 bags of popcorn chicken for the kids, 5.5 lbs of bananas, cans of sweet peas, cans of corn (both peas and corn are no salt added), a bunch of kale, romaine lettuce, whole wheat pastry flour, brown rice spaghetti, two bottles of wine, and a copy of the Clean Eating magazine.

As I gazed at all this in my cart, I thought "oh man, this grocery bill is going to be pushing $250-$300". Things like the real maple syrup and the strange things to me like quinoa I thought were going to drive up the price (oh and the wine too!)

I was very surprised when my grocery bill was only $170. I saved $23.13 with in store savings, but I had no coupons for anything I bought.

As I left the store with a full cart, I began to realize that not only is Clean Eating good for you, but it may end up being less expensive too! Things like quinoa, rolled oats, whole wheat pastry flour, oat bran, sea salt, and coconut oil are things that you will have for a while and wont have to be purchased every shopping trip and will therefore cut down on the grocery bill.

If I can buy my proteins like chicken, roasts, etc on sale, that will be a great savings and a way to stock my freezer.

Last night, I decided to use my kale and make kale chips. I used sea salt and a little garlic salt on them. They were awesome! I have a picture of some above that I got off the web. They were like thin little chips. Landry and I polished off the whole batch. A very pleasant surprise indeed! These would be a great thing to eat while watching a movie- and they are guilt free!

Tip of the day:

Kale superfacts from WebMD:

Move over Popeye and make room for the "queen of greens," kale. Gaining in popularity, kale is an amazing vegetable being recognized for its exceptional nutrient richness, health benefits, and delicious flavor.

Eating a variety of natural, unprocessed vegetables can do wonders for your health, but choosing super-nutritious kale on a regular basis may provide significant health benefits, including cancer protection and lowered cholesterol.

Kale, also known as borecole, is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet. A leafy green, kale is available in curly, ornamental, or dinosaur varieties. It belongs to the Brassica family that includes cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, collards, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.

Kale is a Nutritional Powerhouse

One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

Kale’s health benefits are primarily linked to the high concentration and excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K -- and sulphur-containing phytonutrients.

Carotenoids and flavonoids are the specific types of antioxidants associated with many of the anti-cancer health benefits. Kale is also rich in the eye-health promoting lutein and zeaxanthin compounds.

Beyond antioxidants, the fiber content of cruciferous kale binds bile acids and helps lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, especially when kale is cooked instead of raw.

*I know this is a lot of big words, but know that Kale is good for you! Try making these chips and working them into your snack routine.

Kale Chips:

Ingredients

  • 1 Bunch Kale
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • Sea Salt
  • Any spice, I used garlic salt

Instructions

Preheat Oven to 350
Rinse and Dry Kale leaves
Remove leafy part from stem and rip into bite size pieces.
Put leaves in ziploc bag, put in olive oil and seasoning and shake to coat.
Arrange on cookie sheet in a single layer.
Bake 15-20 minutes. Done when edges are brown.

Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes

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