Happy New Year’s! I only made a couple resolutions for this year, but one I do have in the back of my mind is to START EATING BETTER AGAIN! Ha! I was going to start calling 2009 the year that made my butt fat. The holidays were brutal – you know, with all that good food to eat. You can’t pass up the mashed sweet potatoes with all their marshmallow gooey-ness or the cookies that only come around once a year with their powdered sugar. But, I told myself, “Christine, lets eat now and we will work it off coming of the new year”. And that is what I intend to start doing by eating healthier for a great start to a New Year!
Can healthy eating be done frugally? Of course! First, plan your menu around the grocery sale’s ad. This is a huge saver for me. Right now, squash and asparagus are on sale. Yummy! I have squash to adorn my Thursday’s plate with that yummy teriyaki chicken.
Then, I make sure my plate is filled with 1/3rd veggies, 1/3rd grains, 1/3rd meat or meat alternative. Sometimes, I can even go 2/3rd veggies. I love my veggies! Many of times, I include a green salad with my meals. Top it with a simple vinegarette and cracked pepper.
Buy quality choice meats but slice them up at dinner instead of opting for a big cut on the plate. I did this in our family not only to save money, but to save on health. My family was consuming too much red meat. Not healthy. So now we will cook a couple steaks and slice them. Each person consumes about 1/2 a steak and doesn’t ever complain that there is not enough.
Healthy snacks – cut up those veggies when you come home and bag them to make them for easy grabs. Buy nuts and dried fruits at Trader Joes or Fresh & Easy (they are much cheaper at these places) then your local store. Put a bowl of fruit on the table. Kids love to go for what is available at a moments notice.
As you can see, it is easy to go healthy on a frugal budget. Give it a try. Not only can you save money but you can feel great at the same time from having better health!
This weeks Menu Plan Monday (graciously hosted by Orgjunkie.com):
(The underlined text are the healthy portions that I eat. The rest my family consumes.)
- Sunday: Baby back pork ribs, baked beans, and macaroni salad (um… ya, not tonight)
- Monday: Marinated steak, baked potato, and steamed broccoli with lemon pepper
- Tuesday: Homemade Macaroni & Cheese and a green salad full of veggies, cranberries, and toasted pumpkin seeds (and a small portion of that pasta)
- Wednesday: Tacos filled with black beans, lettuce, tomato, avocado, green onions, and olives
- Thursday: Teriyaki chicken, brown rice, and veggies (probably zucchini and yellow squash)
- Friday: Chili dogs and fries (I think I’m gonna have my self a salad and a couple of toasted baguettes)
You all have a great start to the week! 
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Can I come over for dinner?
I’ll be testing out my new Le Creuset this week. I bought it as a “second” for a fraction of the price. Now that’s frugal!
Well then, we need to make a roast or some posole (like that deliscious recipe I found in my Sunset magazine). That is a nice piece of equipment you purchase. And I know those suckers are expensive. Soto find it at a fraction of the price is sweet! Have fun cooking with it this week. Just let me know what time dinner is going to be.
Sounds delicious! Especially the Monday, Wednesday and Thursday dinner menu. Will you be sharing recipes too?
Hi, Little House – this time I am not sharing recipes. The baby back pork ribs and the teriyaki chicken will be a store bought marinade/bbq sauce, the marinated steaks is my husband’s secret concoction, and the tacos are just what you see. I made this week simple since we are all trying to get back into our routines.
Well, here is THEE MAC n cheese recipe – its the only one I love that I add a hint of cayenne to the breadcrumb topping to spice it up. Really worth making.
Looks like a fantastic menu and I can understand why Squarkfox wants to come over!
I’m vegeatrian so do struggle for variety at times but it has done my cooking skills wonders… If you wanna save a little extra calories you might want to try swapping out hard shell tacos for soft tortilla’s (I make my own http://frugalzeitgeist.com/cheap-healthy-recipes-wholemeal-curry-tortillas/). Also veggie hot dogs (or better veggie Linda McCartney sausages) have a hell of a lot less calories and don’t taste half bad… I know you were not planning on having the chilli dogs but it’s going to be tempting
Good luck sticking to the plan, looks easy to me as it’s pretty yummy!
A veggie tarian!
Man after my own heart! I go through spouts of being a vegetarian, even did a raw food diet. I don’t like to eat a lot of meat and could actually do without. Although, I do like ground turkey.
i haven’t checked out your link yet, but curry tortillas…sounds yummy. Won’t eat veggie hot dogs or TVP. If I’m gonna be veggie than I am gonna be veggie. Speaking of, try these lentil tacos. They are a great comparision to ground beef. i think the spices do the trick!
Lentils are a great alternative to meat… Strangely after all these years of not having meat I think lentils taste like chicken!!
I don’t eat fake meat very often these days, just like my veggies really!
Thanks will definitely check out the lentil taco’s.
Cutting down on each portion can make a huge difference.
Glad to hear you are working on eating healthy.
I read in a book that an easy way to start a healthy diet is to throw out 1/3 of the food you are about to eat – yes its not frugal – but for those who can’t help themselves, it’s a great start.
I on the other hand agree with you…eat the veggies. Love broccoli lightly stir fried.
I try. I was doing a raw food diet for a while and felt great! Husband liked the look, too.
But with mainstay America, it can be hard to maintain a raw food diet. I’d like to try at it again.
I like eating on a smaller plate. Plus when I eat 6 small meals a day I feel better, not bloated. Yet, my friend’s say I eat like a bird. I surely don’t look like it. lol.
Mmm… stir fry. haven’t had that for a while. I like to add tofu to mine. Thanks for stopping by!
I made a personal goal of eating healthier too. I had Chinese food for lunch. Not so healthy!
LOL. You make me laugh. My coworker brought me a red velvet cupcake for breakfast. Darn, dumped in the trash for good eating. I need to lose these holiday pounds. I feel so lethargic from these extra 5 pounds I gained from eating holiday cookies. ha!
Try, try again. You have tomorrow.