Clean Eating from Sam’s Club
One of the best parts of my job is to teach people how to eat clean and healthy! I love it so much because I used to be a culprit of eating ‘bad’ and thinking that because I worked out I could eat whatever I wanted to eat. Well, that had a teensy bit of truth behind it.. only that I didn’t really gain weight with the food that I ate because I did workout… but quite frankly, I was ‘skinny fat’ and I was NOT HEALTHY because I wasn’t giving my body proper nutrition! So, it was about 10 months ago that I fully adapted to a clean eating lifestyle for myself and my family and we haven’t looked back.
Now, I get this all the time.. “How can you AFFORD to eat healthy?” Well, a question for those of you who choose not to eat clean and healthy… “how can you NOT afford to eat healthy?” Listen, it’s not rocket science. Yes, whole foods can be a little more expensive than boxed foods. Obviously, because for some reason processed foods are so much cheaper than whole, real foods! But, that discussion is for another time! I’m staying on track tonight! Haha!! So, like I was saying.. I don’t buy a ton of pantry fillers, so my grocery bills are never astronomical. They are relatively the same as they were before I switched to clean eating! It is all in what you buy and how much you buy of it! That is one of the keys to ‘budget friendly’ healthy foods! So… what does my grocery cart generally look like?? Well… here goes nothing!
Before I ever even go into the grocery store I not only have a list that I STICK TO, but I also have a meal plan. My meal plan is generally made out for 2 weeks, so I can keep my grocery trips to a minimum. Here is what one of my weekly meal plans looks like.
So, I do most of my shopping at Sam’s Club because we tend to eat a lot of the same foods each week. It is so much better to buy them in bulk! It is cheaper and saves time.
1. CHICKEN BREASTS!!
This is $1.88 a pound and sliced thin, perfect for my family!! They cook fast because they are thin and we eat them almost everyday. I usually grill about 5-6 pounds on Sundays just to keep in airtight containers to put them on salads for the week, use them on a tortilla as a wrap or even just eat plain with some fresh fruit. Quick and easy!
2. EGGS.
We are egg freaks. Literally we eat eggs EVERY morning for breakfast, I boil them for snacks, I cook with them.. we just love eggs. I buy them UP every two weeks. Best price hands down is at Sams!
3. QUINOA.
It is SO MUCH CHEAPER to buy this is a big bag! And we use it for a lot of meals. It is so good for you and it tastes good! You can make it so many different ways and use it in different recipes. LOVE IT!
4. PEANUT BUTTER.
Oh my gosh. We love peanut butter. We are always stocked. Health and affordable!
5. OATMEAL.
Okay, some people either a) don’t like oatmeal or b) only eat it for breakfast. Well, when I really started clean eating I HATED oatmeal!! But, the more I ate it, the more I liked it.. and now it is my favorite!! Eggs and oatmeal for breakfast is my daily meal! And not just for breakfast! I will make oatmeal with our dinner! Some cooked chicken, oatmeal and asparagus. Serioulsy, it’s good!
6. BROCCOLI, CHERRIES AND BLUEBERRIES- FROZEN.
I am a fresh fruit and veggies person. I generally do not buy frozen stuff.. but my kids love these things and we go through them fast, so I’ve found that this works for us. It is a big bag and saves on the wallet.
7. GREEK YOGURT.
A must! We use it as a snack with some fresh fruit and honey in it, we use it in place of sour cream, we put it in our Shakeology and really, it’s a daily ingredient in meals.
8. EGG WHITES.
Again.. we eat a ton of eggs. Egg whites are part of the equation! We don’t always eat the yolks, and egg whites have a ton of less calories! So a lot of times we will just have scrambled eggs whites with veggies.. or use 1 whole egg and the rest egg whites. something of that nature!
9. GROUND TURKEY.
We do not eat beef anymore! So ground turkey is what I use for meatballs, tacos, chili, turkey burgers, etc!!! My family loves it and we don’t miss beef at all!! It is cheap at Sams!!!!
10. SPARKLING WATER.
I am a pepsi freak. I LOVE IT, BUTTTTT I do not drink it because it is SO BAD :( So, I stock up on sparkling water! This is great because it gives me that ‘fizz’ that I crave, with no calories!!! Nothing added, just water :) SO GOOD!
11. ALMOND MILK.
Yep, we are almond milk drinkers! It comes in a 3 pack and it saves us cash. WIN WIN!
12. ALMONDS.
BEST SNACK :) We eat a handful of almonds with some fruit or veggies everyday. LOVE that it is a healthy choice for myself and my lil’ fam.
13. COTTAGE CHEESE.
This is great to eat plain as a snack or put in recipes! One of my favorite recipes is Mexican Lasagna and it has cottage cheese in it! We go through it fast!!
14. FRESH FRUIT AND VEGGIES.
Best place to get fresh besides the local farmers market! And when it is winter time, we don’t have many options!! So, I stock up on blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, bananas and apples. Celery, tomatoes, peppers, avocados, onions, asparagus, brussel sprouts and broccoli are a few things that always go into the cart. I plan out exactly what we will eat and on which days to make sure that nothing goes bad. Apples keep the longest, so I usually wait to eat those towards the end of the week/second week. Strawberries go bad the fastest, so we eat those first… It’s all about planning and it works!!
15. WHOLE WHEAT TORTILLAS.
We make wraps a lot. Whether it is an egg white wrap with veggies, a chicken wrap or put some tuna on it and go.. we use them a lot. Tacos are a staple too, so they never get old :)
16. EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL.
I cook with this daily. It is the healthy fat that you want in your diet!
17. SWEET POTATOES, SALAD AND SPINACH.
These are just a few things that I get each week at Sam’s Club. But you have to know that by having a plan and only buying what you need it is cost effective! It is so much better to buy/eat healthy food than to put junk in your body all the time! When you eat well, you feel good!! It isn’t rocket science.. you are what you eat! I make it a point to feed my family healthy foods. We all eat the same thing, there is not going to be separate meals made at dinner. Kids WILL EAT what you give them. They will not starve themselves. I promise you. It can be hard at first, but stick to your guns and you’ll find that you will win and they won’t know a different way! Take the guess work out of meals. Have a plan! You can do this!!! Trust me, if I can do this… YOU CAN TOO :) :)
I also have a second fridge in my garage, but we just got that this past summer…. so I used to put everything in one fridge that was a side by side fridge/freezer and not very big! So, it is able to be done!! No excuses!! Change your eating… you’ll feel like a whole new person! GOOD LUCK!!
**Live around my area?? I will be hosting a clean eating/grocery shopping seminar sometime in January. I would love for you to attend. Contact me for details!**
