Welcoming September

Happy Friday all :)

In just a few short days the world will be welcoming September. It could be the start of a new school year, the start of a new season, working more often as businesses get busy. Sports change, trees change, foods change, (pumpkin spice everything). It's a beautiful time for change!

Lately I have been realizing that people are becoming busier this week. Students are moving into school and for a lot of working adults it can be hard managing work responsibilities and finding time to make effective food choices. By "effective" I mean cost effective and being healthy. 

Food Essentials on a Budget

I have come up with some healthy ways to budget food essentials to get the most out of what you buy!
Here they are:

Snacks

Chips, Popcorn, Crackers, etc.

This is for all the crunch n' munch snacks. How many of us buy a bag of chips or crackers and eat directly from the bag? 

The biggest problem with snacks like these is that they don't last very long. If you end up buying a large bag of chips that will cost you about $3.00 a bag. If that one bag only lasts you about two days, but you want chips to last you the whole week, that is about $9.00 a week on chips alone. $36.00 a month on chips. 

How to get the most out of snacks:

The first thing that needs to be done while you are shopping is to check serving sizes. 

In my recipe, Let's Taco 'Bout Shrimp & Salads, I compared regular Tostitos Chips vs. RW Garcia tortilla chips. (Both can be found at Market Basket in the chip aisle).  

Tostitos: 1 Serving = 7 Chips

140 calories, 7g of fat, and 115mg of sodium

RW Garcia: 1 Serving = 15 Chips

140 calories, 6g of fat, 50mg of sodium

(The key is to find chips, popcorn, etc. that gives you a good initial serving size. You want to make healthier choices, but you don't want to deprive yourself). 

Once you do that, bring your bag home and separate your servings into individual snack bags. 

For the RW chips I will count out 1 serving, (15 full chips), and place them into a snack bag. If a chip is broken or halved I will add pieces together to estimate a full chip being added to my plastic bag. I repeat this until all my chips have been divided into snack bags. 

My chips ready for the week!

Doing this has provided me with NINE snack bags, ready to-go. 

This preparation saves me time. If I eat 1 snack bag a day this will last me the whole week and I'll have two extra bags leftover.
(For packing snacks for families or multiple people, this is still a great way to distribute the snacks and get the most out of what you buy a week).  

Favorite Snacks:

Boom Chicka Pop $3.00
1 Large Bag = 4 snack bags containing 2 Cups each
and 1 snack bag containing 1 Cup
2 Cups snack bag:
74 Calories
2.5g Fat
67mg Sodium

Snapea Crisps $1.50
1 Bag = 3 snack bags each with 1 serving
1 Serving = 22 Pieces:120 Calories
6g Fat
85mg Sodium
Good Fiber & Potassium

Pita Bread

Pita bread is GREAT. 

Joseph's is one of my favorite brands. Not only does he offer traditional white pita bread, but also a variety of healthier versions such as the Flax, Oat Bran, & Whole Wheat pitas. 
This brand has gluten free options too and also small individual sandwich-size pitas. 

1/2 of a White Pita:
90 Calories
1g Fat
150 mg Sodium
2g Fiber

How to get the most out of Pita Bread

You can create all different kinds of sandwiches and wraps with the pita!

Personal favorite combos:
- Hummus and Taboule
- Peanut butter & banana wrap (Also try almond butter or sun butter)
- Hummus, Tuna, & mashed Avocado w/black pepper
- Chopped Lettuce, diced Tomato, diced Cucumber, & Chickpeas w/balsamic vinegar 
- Leftover Veggies mixed with Black Beans & Hummus (Veggie Wrap)

Get creative!

You can also use Joseph's Pitas to make individual pizzas! 
Preheat oven to 450 and then bake for 12 minutes, very quick and easy.

1 White Pita from Joseph's
Pizza Sauce, Sprinkled Olive Oil, Daiya cheese
Tomatoes, Black Pepper, Basil

I make mine a few different ways:

- Bread, sprinkle some Olive Oil, add sauce, choice of cheese, (or cheese alternative), and add any healthy toppings! Mine usually include diced tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, garlic, or onions.

- Bread, sprinkle some Olive Oil, add smashed avocado, choice of cheese, (or cheese alternative), and add any healthy toppings! The avocado tastes amazing especially when the cheese melts on top. Sometimes I will add a little sauce and then smashed avocado for extra flavors.

- The third option is to add the sauce, avocado, and toppings but not any cheese. Crazy right? But if you are trying to lose or manage weight, the cheese can add a lot of extra fat to your pizza. Go crazy with toppings and you won't even miss the cheese!

Other Tips

- Kale is usually $1.60 for a bunch. This can be used during the week with salads, sandwiches, and also Kale Chips!

- Lettuce in a bag is typically cost effective! The brand Foxy sells bags of Romaine Hearts for about $2.50 in the produce section. You can use Romaine for the essentials and also use it for lettuce wraps to replace bread! 

- Avocados can be used for many things! Typically I use 1 avocado and find ways to use it throughout a few days once ripe. I add it to wraps, salads, or smash them on toast!

(Other ideas: Avocado mashed potatoes, avocado w/rice, guacamole, etc.) 

- Stay away from Easy Macs, Cup of Noodles, or any other quick meals like those without reading the labels first. 

Cup of Noodles contains 810mg Sodium for HALF the cup. That means if you eat the whole cup in one sitting that has 1,620mg of Sodium!

Notice how 1 Serving Size is only half the cup.
This makes the numbers seem smaller, but double them
and that will equal the whole cup!

Well that is everything for this week!

What snacks or easy meals do you enjoy eating? Leave a comment or suggestion!

Good luck to anyone starting school, enjoy your weekend, and thank you for stopping by! xo :)