Budget Shopping for Low Carb 3/31/2012

dont tell me you cant save money buying decent food, here is what we got today at walmart:

- one family size pack chicken breasts, regular price 1.97 a pound for $8.65.. price matched to $1.07lb for $4.70 for whole pack).. almost 50% savings
- 4 dozen eggs, regular $1.66, price matched to .88 each
- pack Johnsonville sausage, marked down to $3.00, then $1.00 coupon.. $2.00 total cost
- 2 bottles diet sunkist for mrs.lexus.. regular $1.00 each..price matched down to .77 each.
- bag tomatoes.. regular price .97 per pound, price matched to .48 per pound
- bag apples .. regular $1.27 a pound, price matched down to .45 lb
- bottle low card ketchup $2.48
- box of no carb powdered lemonade packets $1.76
- 2 cans mushroom .68 each
- jar relish $2.12
total for this week: $21 .. about 30% savings just for taking 10minutes to organize my shopping list.

even if you can afford to just pay whatever.. why not do the price matching and save some money... put that $10 you saved into piggy bank for junior, his college fund , charity, add it to your car payment.. anything.. why just give it to some corporation. Too much work for you.. well keep paying full price then slave.. thats what the suits want you to do.

notice what we didnt buy.. anything processed.. anything in a box.. no chips / candy / pasta / bread / TV dinners / high fructose soda

Tuna Salad in a Bowl - Low Carb

Lunch today was Tuna Salad in a Bowl. Pretty simple and cheap:

- 1 can Tuna in water, drained (.48cents walmart price match)
- 2 hard boiled eggs, use egg slicer to chop into pieces (.09 cents each egg)
- 2 or 3 spoonfulls of the Pico de Gallo i made previously Pico Recipe
- one slice cheese (this pack of 16slices cost $1.50 with price match and coupon)
- 2 tablespoons of lite mayo
- one serving spicy flavored pork rinds (bag $1.50 at kroger)

optional ingredients: mustard, spicy mustard, hot sauce, salt/pepper

1. combine tuna, eggs, pico, mayo in bowl.. tear up cheese into small pieces and add to bowl and mix.
2. i crush the pork rinds and stir it in to give it some crunch. could eat on the side as well
3. why use sliced cheese vs shredded. a slice limits me to an exact amount, with shredded cheese im tempted to pour too much, not measure or grab a fistfull and jamb it into my mouth.

Entire meal:

Protein-  46grams
Fat      -  27grams
Carb   -  6 (2 from the cheese, 4 from the mayo)

when buying cheese, read the label.. should be no TransFats, no Partially Hydrogenated anything..thats the bad stuff

side note: if you are one of those people that has a problem with tuna because some dolphins get killed.. why do you not have a problem with the billions of TUNA that get killed.

Pico de Gallo Recipe for Low Carb Eating

This is a Pico de Gallo recipe that i use for alot of meals. Similar to pico recipes from major restaurants... BTW if you want recipes of whats in restaurants, google "copycat recipes" .. didnt say they were low carb though.

Ingredients:
 - 3 tomatoes (.39cents a pound with walmart price match)
 - 1 onion (.29 cents a pound with walmart price match)
 - cilantro --- .19 cents
 - 3-4 jalapenos - for this recipe im using jalapenos in a can since it was on markdown.. can use the remainder to make 7-8 more recipes.
- olive oil
- white vinegar
- salt, pepper, garlic powder

1. Chop onions fine, chop tomatoes fine, chop up jalapenos to get about 1/4 cup. chop up cilantro to get about 1/2 cup.
2. Combine all in large bowl.
3. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon vinegar.
5. Stir.

Tastes best when allowed to set for 6+ hours. i prefer my pico to be onion heavy, add / subtract ingredients to your own preference. i use pico to add to my burgers, taco meat, chicken, etc

takes about 10 min to make. this bowl will last about 2 weeks and i barely spent a dollar.

This recipe in Google Docs format --->>> Pico Recipe

Dont tell me you cant eat cheep

had to share this. as you probably know i am a low carb eater which means i am a high meat/fat eater.. i picked up these 5pound and 3pound tubes of ground beef at Kroger..manager marked down to move fast..5lb logs for $2.95 , 3lb logs for $1.99. Each 5lb log is a weeks worth of meat loaf..crazy. plus checkout boy missed one.. got this whole pile for $32.. 2months of meat. what food inflation?

 

one of these 5lb logs lasts me and wife a week.. make one log into meat lof or burgers right away, rest go in freezer

The Essential Condiments for Low Carb Eating

most people think they can not enjoy their food if eating low carb. or they have to give up alot. not so, the only think your are giving up is the food that makes you a disgusting fat body. The only thing you need to look for in the "fat" section of the nutrition label is transfat..avoid those.. all other fat is ok..you get that part.. ALL OTHER FAT IS OK

1. Dressing - buy the "regular" dressing, not the lowfat / no-fat-- lowfat means high carb.. this regular dressing has only 2 carbs per tablespoon.
2. Mayo - this "lite" mayo has only 2 carbs per tablespoon
3. regular ketchup is just tomato flavored high fructose corn syrup, ie high carb.. this reduced sugar type has 1 carb per tablespoon.. im not a ketchup user but wife cant taste difference.
4. Mustard - regular / spicey brown -- no carbs
5. Lite mayo packets - good for box lunches.. 1 carb per packet.. i snag these at Chick-Fil-A.. i get small order of nuggets and then fill up the to go bag with the mayo packets
6. Taco Bell Hot Sauce packets -- yeah, you know where.. i get some 99cent soft shell taco to go, grab 6-7 fistfulls of hot sauce packets..lasts me 2 months.. oh.. and when i get home i eat the inside of the taco and throw the high carb tortilla into back yard for the birds.

Its too easy. Dont be a slave anymore. Read the labels.

Spicy Chicken

This is a stupidly easy recipe i use as a base for many meals.

Ingrediants needed:

- one package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.. this one had 3breasts
- one packet of taco seasoning mix (will just use half, save half for next time)
- some olive oil (this is the only oil you should cook with)
- 1/3 cup water

Optional ingrediants: chopped onions, greens peppers
Optional toppings: shredded cheese, hot sauce

First off, the cost.. this package of chicken at walmart will run close to $3.00 a pound, but they have price match policy. anothe rlocal grocer had breasts for .99cents a pound.. so i paid about $2.00 for the whole pack. The taco seasoning packet was .33 cents.

Cooking instructions:
1. Rinse breasts and cut up into tiny pieces.

2. Spray wok with Pam and stir fry, draining off water as it accumulates.
3. When chicken pieces are no longer pink, i add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to finish up the last minute.
4. Add the 1/2 packet of taco seasoning mix and the water and stir. Turn heat to low or off is ok too.
5. The water is to get a taco seasoning gravy going so it coats the chicken pieces. i cut the chicken into tiny pieces so it cooks faster.

6. Seperate into serving containers evenly.. i seperate these 3 breasts into 5 servings.

Nutrition: Each of these 5 portions is about:

Protein:  27grams
      Fat:  6 grams (from olive oil)
   Carb:  2 grams (from taco mix)

Uses:
- I will either eat for breakfast with 3-4 scrambled eggs mixed in (get over the notion of breakfast being only a certain "type" of food)
- or heat up and add to salads (salad i mean a bowl of raw vegetables.. broccoli / cauliflower / tomatoes / carrots.. not that 99cent head of lettuce which as so little nutrition in it)     

Bottom line: for about $2.50 i made 5 meals.

What turned it around for me was watching the movie "Fathead" on netflix. Made me realize that the information commonly thrown out there to lose fat was wrong the whole time.

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