PT 3 (and final) 27 healthy/hearty meals on 150.00, Ft. Trader Joe's

I'm going to wrap up the recipes for this past shopping trip that totaled around 150.00 bucks, give or take a few (around 158 actually.) Yes, I am actually making the meals. Here is the Curried Potatoes with Mint Pea Salad-I sopped up the curry sauce with some Garlic Naan bread and the whole thing was divine.

I have enough left over for lunch tomorrow. 

Now, even though I just had a tomato based sauce and some eggs, I am going to now segway into other dishes that boast those ingredients. Again, you needn't make them in consecutive order, just know that you have the ingredients on hand. I now want to make Spaghetti Squash. 

Yep, squash that ends up like spaghetti. I will be adding a sauce-most likely just a jarred marinara. I will probably also add some cannelli beans to the squash. But according to this recipe for how to make the squash, you have to be careful how you apply any sauces. I let you read on about it. The right way to make Spaghetti Squash

Next meal is Chorizo and Migas (eggs). But not 'real' Chorizo. Chorizo found at Trader Joe's, soy-based. Its been given rave reviews by anyone who has tried it and people were known to have cried when it was discontinued for some time. I am anxious of course to see what all the hype will be about, and I do love me some Migas (spanish eggs.)

Recipe here: Migas with Chorizo

Meanwhile, how about a snack? Why pay 6.00 for a bag of kale chips, when you can make your own? ( I know. At first I thought they sounded gross too. Boy was I wrong. I made them at home and like a Lay's potato chip-I could.not.stop.eating.them.

While not a meal per se, I did buy a bag of kale in the 150 mission, so yes, that trip also included some snacks. Recipe here Kale Chips

Keeping with another tomato-based sauce theme, and another fake 'sausage' theme, how about Italian Sausage and Peppers, a classic favorite? I found what sounds like a fantastic recipe for them (even though my family is Italian, we didn't make this)-and I also found some fake Italian sausage at the Trader so......along with a bag of tri-colored peppers I already had in my freezer, and I just bought another bag of onions-well it was a no-brainer!

Recipe here: Italian Sausage and Peppers

Now for a completely different road: Miso Soup. I love love LOVE Miso soup. You may have had it and didn't even know it. It is the complimentary soup served to you in Japanese restaurants. It usually comes in a black and red bowl that you pick up with your hands, and its a cloudy golden broth, with a couple squares of Tofu and Scallions floating on top. Not only is it divine, but it's one of the healthiest things on the planet for you to eat. Miso is fermented soybean. The health benefits are too numerous to list here. And it's surprisingly easy to make at home. 

I like using miso in a tub found in the fridge section of a health food store, but it also comes powdered which is fine also-if that is all you can find. It probably comes in a jar and stuff as well, and if you are fortunate enough to live near an Asian market, all the better. White miso is more mild and than Red miso which can be real salty to some tastes-it is traditional restaurant style though. Also can use as a base for Ramen soup (not that crap in the package for 25 cents that gets most people thru college, either. Red, yellow or white-Misos are incredibly good for you. 

Recipe: Miso Soup

 Meal 19: Cauliflower Corn Bisque! VEGAN!!!  Utilizing more of the cauliflower, a bag of Roasted Corn from Trader Joes (the only change to the recipe I made), also using more turmeric (that healthy spice again!) and lime.....this is a chilled soup, perfect for summer. 

Ashley makes a relish for the top as you can see, but I am not feeling the jalapenos and radishes right now. Normally I would, but lately I've had some heartburn so I'm going to pass on that (but it sounds delicious to me and I will make next time) Cauliflower and Corn Bisque

So how about meal 20, more curry. A Quinoa Curry Bowl. With lentils. And....drum roll......still got some mint left?? Good. A cilantro-mint Chutney. 

Recipe: Curried Red Lentils and Quinoa with Cilantro-Mint Chutney

Now the thing with the Quinoa is that you can cook up a huge batch of it on a Sunday evening-and utilize it throughout the week, and even freeze some in a baggie once cooked for when you decide to make these dishes. It may seem like "well I just had curry" or "I just had Quinoa." So you can also for example, make the mint-cilantro chutney (because you have just a little mint left and don't want to waste it) and put it on something else. You can use different kinds of curry-there is a red curry sauce, a yellow curry sauce and a green curry sauce. Experiment! So just because the recipes sound alike, they often aren't. Just like these red lentils taste a bit different than brown ones do. 

But for brown lentils, how about a Lentil Loaf with Garlic Mashed Cauliflower? After all, you've got some of that left also. So let's do that! 

Recipe Lentil Rice Loaf

Once again, I'm using up other things, such as the mushrooms I purchased for the Creamy Tomato and Spinach pasta. 

Mashed Cauli w Garlic

Recipe: Mashed Garlic Cauliflower

Meal 22: Veggie Nests from Trader Joe's

This one is easy. From a box: 

They taste just like Tempura. Cook up some rice, and make a salad and boom, yummy dinner. 

23: While you got that Quinoa, how about a Peruvian Stew? If you are like me, you've frozen some potatoes already in the freezer for even easier cooking. Also, again with the peas, and feta and cilantro (you did buy a big bunch, right?)

I have to give you this recipe. 

2 tbl veg oil

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

5 minced garlic cloves

1 T paprika

2 tsp coriander, ground

1 1/2 tsp cumin

6 cups vegetable broth

1 lb red potatos, unpeeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 cup quinoa

1 cup corn

2 tomatoes, cored and chopped

1 c frozen peas

salt and pepper

Garnish:

8 oz queso or feta cheese

1 avocado, diced

1/2 c cilantro

Here's a picture: 

Heat oil in dutch oven. Add onion and bell pepper and cook until softened. Stir in garlic and apprika, coriander and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth and potatoes and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to med low and simmer gently for 10 min. Stir in quinoa and simmer for 8 minutes. Stir in corn and simmer until potatoes and quinoa are just tender, 5 to 7 mins. Stir in tomatoes and peas and let heat through, about 2 mins. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add to bowls and garnish as desired. 

Now: Be creative. You have a lot of leftovers, both in finished meals and in ingredients. So, what is left? There's eggs and feta and spinach omelet (24), there's rice and veggies and teriyaki sauce (soy, pineapple juice, brown sugar) 25,  there's veggies and tofu and jarred Masala sauce 26, there's a big ass salad-because you have spinach and kale and lettuce and carrots and celery and oh, how about a beet salad? 

Number 27: 

A can of beets, chopped. Some celery, chopped. The rest of that red onion-chopped. A can of Mandarin oranges, I keep them whole. A dressing of rice vinegar, sugar and lemon/lime. With some chopped parsley. Really good with a rice and bean dish. 

So there you have it. I have stuff in my freezer, I have stuff in my fridge, I made 27 items off of a 158.00 grocery ticket. I will post tomorrow all the items I purchased and the price. I did get some fun stuff as well-it wasn't just all for the meals. Stay tuned, and I hope you will try some of these recipes! I am still searching for amazing ones for us all to try, and I found a VEGAN BLT that I gotta get on board with, hopefully it'll be good enough to pass onto you! Thanks for reading!

PT 2, 27 healthy and hearty meals for 150.00 bucks, ft. Trader Joe's

Technical issues aside (my roommate is an IT guy so he did something that help resolve it)-moving along now.

I would like to feature some of my own original recipes in this, but this segment really was just randomly made by me bored one night and randomly Googling food. Clicking on different links leads me to different places and I am happy to have found the food sites that I have. (I wasn't kidding though that just about every food blogger is also a photographer.)

That said, I made the One pot Roasted Red Pepper pasta tonight and it was fabulous. My Burger King loving roommate even sucked some down.

Yeah, that's cheese. Trader Joe's shaved Parmesan and Romano blend to be precise, and it was a steal at 2.99. Also there is some cream cheese in this. I am not ready to give up cheese. In fact I have determined that ONCE IN A GREAT WHILE, I will eat me some cheese. Period. 

I have found that vegetarians typically do vegetarian for dietary reasons, and vegans do it sometimes for that but mostly for the ethics of animal love. Which is totally cool. I just personally love some cheese as a garnishment to my foods or as a 'stuffing', like a ricotta/feta in a spinach pasta or Spanakopita. Once or twice a month I am wanting to do. Maybe someday I will try all the cashew sauces I see vegans making, or some of the many vegan cheese available-but like a man, its going to have to take an incredible and amazing vegan cheese to make me commit to no animal renin cheese. 

Okay moving along-I also will incorporate a few eggs into my monthly meals. I still feel that eggs have a great deal of necessary nutrition and are little powerhouses themselves. I also feel that there isn't an ethical dilemma as no animals are harmed by eating the eggs (and it's totally not true that the little white thing in the yolk is a 'chicken abortion.' Complete urban legend stuff.)

I saw this on the latest food blog I've been stalking and its a must-try. It's number 11 on my 27 meal list. I love curry, I love eggs, and I love potatoes. Seems like a trifecta of winning on a plate to me. She uses hot curry, I use mild. If I want more heat or spice, I will happily add Sriracha though on this, Tabasco would be my go-to. 

Recipe here: Curried potatoes and eggs

There's ginger and cilantro again, so I'm for sure getting my money's worth. Now on the side, Beth serves this with a Minty Pea Salad. Sounds great, and I found another great sounding recipe where mint  and peas can be used. So the money spent on the mint here won't be wasted. Mint as a garnish is really unique and awesome. Here's the Pea Salad: 

And the recipe. Minty Pea Salad

So what could I possibly use Mint and Peas with again? Welcome to meal 12, Spinach Ravioli with Pea Puree and Arugula

Seems uppity, doesn't it? Listen, I also found a Hemp Seed Alfredo Sauce which is non-dairy so totally vegan that is supposed to be the shit-even meat eaters like it-and that seemed really uppity to me. I will try it, as I decided I will buy Hemp seed next time I'm at Trader Joes. For now, I can use the rest of the peas as well as more mint. Then I put mint and cucumber in some water for a refreshing drink (if I had vodka I'd be all about the Mojitos.) Recipe for spinach rav here: Spinach Ravioli with Pea sauce and Arugula

I couldn't find plain Arugula so I just got one of those salad mixes that has it in there. Arugula is a spicy lettuce, by the way. If you aren't familiar with it, you may want to look it up so you know what it looks like, and do what I did and buy a 'greens' mix or 'spring mix' salad bag and taste-test it. It's a hipster lettuce used now on flatbreads and sandwiches and stuff like this recipe. I like it-it's 'peppery' but otherwise if you're not feeling it, any lettuce base will do with this recipe. 

I will be eating fish occasionally and I also happen to have some cans of tuna still. So I've decided to make an Orzo Salad with Tuna. Hey come to think of it this is an original recipe of mine. In fact, I don't even have a picture of it. After I make it sometime this week I'll edit one in. For now, here's a stock picture of what 'orzo' looks like. It looks just like rice, except it's a pasta- a macaroni if you will. This picture I found looks similar to the salad I am making. What I am using however, is the 21 Seasonings from Trader Joe's to make a 21 Seasonings Vinaigrette. 

Here's the vinaigrette: 

Keep in mind, the jar of 21 Seasonings is only 1.99. Here's the recipe: 21 Seasonings Salad Dressing

My salad will look like the above except I will add feta, tomatoes, cucumber, black olives, red onion, artichoke hearts and tuna, so I guess its like a Greek tuna salad. Which if you're vegan you don't do with the feta (unless there's a vegan feta out there) and of course omit the tuna. Add beans instead. 

I'm in the mood for a classic dish that normally isn't even eaten as a meal, but rather as an appetizer. Sweet and Sour Meatballs. So I figured that all I have to do is sub the meat with a 'meatless' meatball and TJ's came through. The reviews by many people state that the meatballs are really good. A bit soft or mushy, but taste great all the same. And with the sweet and sour sauce-how can you go wrong? I make mine old school as the picture here shows (not mine, my meatballs are "meatless meatballs from Trader Joes) but her recipe is the same as mine. It's like the Thanksgiving Green Bean casserole recipe of meatballs, I think. 

Recipe (coincidentally, another blog on eating well and saving money) Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I will actually serve these on basmati rice along with a side of broccoli braised in soy sauce and garlic (meh-weird mix but it works for me.)

If you read my posting on nutritional boosters you'll see that Turmeric is a 'super food' spice. So I want to make some Turmeric rice to go with some Crack Tofu. I'm not a big fan of tofu. The sounds and the looks of the recipe got me to re-consider eating it by itself and I think with the addition of rice and salad veggies, it'll make a good meal. 

Recipe: (she's using Jasmine, but you can use any rice you want) Yellow (turmeric) Jasmine Rice

Hell-here you go, might as well put in how Turmeric can also be a great healer and medicine: 10 Proven Health Benefits of Turmeric

Now for the 'crack' tofu. Crack as in it's that good, it's like addictive, like crack cocaine. I know-I've seen the Facebook meme. How to Prepare Tofu. 

Except who the hell wants to eat it tofu plain?  Yes of course you will want to just throw it in the trash then. You put it in stuff and it picks up the taste of the stuff. And it comes in different 'strengths'-from creamy to extra super firm. So you can't just say "I don't like the consistency". Anyway, good photography can be a great seller and also the ingredients are simple (there's 4)

and sound great so what the hell, try it. Even the recipe bowl she has it in looks tasty as hell.

Here's the recipe: "Crack" tofu

It looks like this is going to have to go into a Part 3. I know, I know. Normally I'd stay up, but I have to be up early for a work thing tomorrow and I am super-tired from today's activities. There's still about 10 more recipes to squeeze out of Monday's shopping trip.

 I should also add that I showed the Trader Joe's and Garden Fresh run, but I did spend about 8.00 at Aldi's. It is there that I bought my coffee creamer ( a large vanilla caramel non-dairy creamer) and some feta cheese, along with couple cans of chick peas and a bag of limes. Aldi's being the brother of Trader Joe's and also the prices are super-great low. Last minute stuff I just forgot at the other places.

Some might argue that stopping at 3 different places is a huge pain in the ass and I'd agree-except the Aldi's and the Garden Fresh are about 4 blocks from each other, and Trader Joes' is about 20 minutes away from me no matter what. So I can hit the two others on my way back from TJ. Believe me, the 2 or 3 bucks in gas it may cost me more than made up for in what I'm able to purchase and to make.

Incidentally-even with myself and my roommate eating it, there was enough Roasted Red Pepper Pasta left over from dinner tonight to have a very generous helping for lunch tomorrow, as well as a huge serving to freeze. So now I have enchiladas and the pasta in the freezer, for a future lunch or dinner. That saves even more money in the future as well.

Wrap-up tomorrow!!

At least 27 hearty, healthy meals for 150.00. Featuring Trader Joe's PT 1

For the longest time, I thought that Trader Joe's was just another Whole Foods-too expensive, too trendy and too out of my league. That image was not helped by the fact that most of the Trader Joe's I was even aware of-and there weren't too many around-were couched in affluent well-off (READ: White) neighborhoods.

I didn't live in those neighborhoods. So like other upscale type groceries, I could only fantasize about going to them maybe once or twice a year, on a special occasion. Otherwise, it was me and Aldi or Wal-Mart or K-Mart or Garden Fresh and high end was simply the national-chain grocery store for me.

Until someone schooled me that Trader Joes is owned by Aldi's.....or vice-versa. It was two brothers from Germany and each started the other. I don't know what that means other than it turns out that both stores have similar sales models in that overhead is down which keeps prices to the consumers down-and at least with the case with Trader Joe, there is a big emphasis on quality.

So, I had to research before I went to see what kind of products they carry and I was incredibly surprised to find an almost cult-like following. It seems that when TJ's wins over fans-it doesn't mess around. Entire blogs have been started and dedicated to trying out and reviewing all the different TJ products-from their desserts to their frozen meals to the meatless meats and all else in-between.

YouTube is filled with videos of people who are so excited to show how much they were able to get at the TJ's for so little, the "Trader Joe's Haul" as it were, and there's no doubt-bargains are to be had.

The other great thing about this place is that there are many unique and speciality items available as well as the 'trendy' items of the moment. Much to the chagrin of some fans however, some of the speciality items disappear as quickly as they appeared so in that respect it can be a bummer.

The blog that really helped me to make a list and check it twice is here What's Good At Trader Joes?

I wanted to make sure that I actually was going to purchase things that I needed for recipes and not frivolous items that are impulse buys. The blog and the actual Trader Joe's website made that super easy to see and to budget because both of the sites would often include the price. Granted, some area prices may differ than others but it gave me a really good idea of roughly what my trip would cost.

My refrigerator conked out over last weekend and I lost a lot of condiments and perishables in produce, so that I was not happy about. I decided to replace with each meal as opposed to all at once, and in reading so many different opinions and ideas, I've also learned that TJ may not be the best place for produce. So I decided to do my produce where I always do-at the Garden Fresh Market.  In any event, I was able to meal plan for about 27 different meals-and keep it to a budget of 150.00. So without further ado...here's what I 'meal planned' and came up with.

Trader Joe's Haul

Garden Fresh Market Haul

Total cost : 158.00 bucks.


Meal number One was a variation of Asparagus and Chicken Enchiladas. Since I don't eat meat, I just subbed the chicken with diced zucchini.

Recipe found here: Asparagus and Chicken Enchiladas

I should say that there is actually going to be more than 27 meals out of this, because there are leftovers. This recipe made 12 enchiladas, my roommate and I only needed 3 each. (Incidentally he says that despite there not being any meat in them, they were very great. )

So, I froze the remaining 6. I put a toothpick in them to keep them together, then I put 2 into a 'portions' bag. I ended up with 3 portions of 2 enchiladas each, and then I put them all in a big freezer baggie. I also took the leftover enchilada sauce and put that in a bag to freeze as well. So I am already starting to build a freezer pantry so ideally, the food goes twice if not 3 times as far.

Had some leftover zucchini and Monterey jack cheese. The zucchini will no doubt be thrown into a salad or something and I'm sure a use for the cheese will come up. If not, it freezes well also.

Since the enchilada recipe called for sour cream, there is another recipe I wanted to make that also uses a bit of sour cream. So I decided to make it as well. The object is to buy ingredients that won't go to waste and that you will use in more than one recipe, since produce is so fragile. This next recipe is a Coconut Curry Soup from the Trader Joe's website.

Recipe here: Coconut Curry Soup

Again, I don't add chicken. The recipe also calls for this stuff:  2 tablespoons Belweather Farms Crème Fraîche. And that is just a fancy sour cream. It's a bit less tangy than sour cream and a bit more rich and it cost more money. So I figured why not just use the SC from the enchiladas. Meanwhile, this soup also calls for mango. So this was a good time to segway into two other dishes that also use mango, one being a Mango Chili Salad.

Recipe here: Mango Salad with Chili-Lime Salt

From there, a Black Bean and Mango stew seemed to be a great addition, as well. Now keep in mind you don't have to make meals with ingredients in consecutive order, I'm just showing you the progression of meal planning, where you pick a few ingredients and find other recipes that also use those ingredients, so nothing is wasted-especially money.

Recipe found here: Black Bean and Mango Stew

Again, I have omitted the chicken and the black beans give enough protein. I could serve over rice for a more complete meal. Also to note, green onions and cilantro-cilantro was used in the enchiladas and I have a few other recipes for it and green onions. Also I have on hand veggie broth and chicken broth as well.

Now it's time for some pasta. This sounded divine to me so I picked up the ingredients for it, a Roasted Red Pepper Pasta.

Recipe here (and I adore this woman's blog, it is AWESOME. It's not vegan/vegetarian but she does have a great deal of veg meals on her blog, and everything else is also really healthy and really easy to adapt to vegetarian/vegan. One Pot Red Pepper Pasta

Since there is cream cheese in the red pepper pasta, I decided to do another pasta at a later time of hers that also incorporates a bit of cream cheese.

The great thing about Beth's blog is that it is frugal and healthy and she also is able to figure out the costs of meals. Granted, different areas of the country vary with food prices and local stuff, as well as food tax but still you get a good idea of the cost per serving. It's another great blog for eating well while watching your dimes (or just being butt ass broke.) Recipe here: Creamy Tomato and Spinach Pasta

Now since that utilized spinach, I now want to make another soup that also has the addition of spinach. Back to Trader Joe's we go, for a Potsticker Soup.

Of course I'm using Veggie Gyzo but you can use pork, chicken or shrimp. Recipe here: TJ Potsticker Soup

Now I want to go in a different direction so I'm going to do a Tropical Quinoa with BBQ Chick Peas.

Recipe here: Tropical Quinoa Bowl

This has honey and lime and cilantro-so this is a good time to make some of this, which I pretty much put on everything but especially plan to throw on my Migas and Chorizo....it's Pico De Gallo.

Very easy. Tomatoes, chopped onion, chopped jalapeno, chopped cilantro, lime juice and I use kosher salt. Mix well, and fridge. Gets better with time.

This is making me want a Mexican Stew and we already have many ingredients for it. So let's go to it

Again, no chicken for me. I use cannelli beans in place of the chicken. It's probably good with a few types of beans, even a red, white and black.Here's the recipe Mexican Stew

(I personally add more spice, some sazon, some adobe, and some menudo spice. This is one of those stews that is very customizable. )

I'm having some serious techinical difficulties. My laptop-5 years old-is on its last legs, It keeps hanging, it keeps freezing. I'm at my wits end. So One more recipe and then will continue tomorrow if I can figure out what is wrong with it. 

I'm feeling the need for some comfort food with some sweet and spice, so Dragon noodles sound like they would totally hit the spot. I love Sriracha on stuff myself so I'll have a few Sriracha inspired recipes. It's back to Budget bytes for some Dragon pasta

And using up more of the scallions and cilantro. If you are one of those people born with the gene that makes Cilantro taste like soap, I am so so sorry, because I adore it. If you hate it though, you know to just omit it. Nothing is required here. Here's the recipe Dragon Noodles.