Navigating Costco

I love Costco! Costco has great deals, yummy samples of food, and the best reason is that they have a great selection of real and organic foods! I haven't price checked all stores so these prices may vary, but from my experience most of the following things are great prices.  The first time buying bulk was hard because it seemed so expensive, but after we realized how far all of our food stretched it was so worth it! Now every time we have a little extra money in our food budget I like to stock up on things we go through quickly. Creating a stock pile is the best feeling! Here are some of things I've found at Costco... *Note* most of these photos are not the best quality!

I buy this regularly now! 10  1lb. packages of  whole wheat organic spaghetti for just under $10! 

I don't buy the cups, but I do buy the jars of the same brand. Cheap, organic and healthy one ingredient food :) I get four 2lb. jars of applesauce for $9

I buy this regularly too! It's the best! I take one can of tomato sauce and add italian seasoning and it becomes pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce. I also add it to soups and pasta dishes. The possiblities are endless and for only $7 for 12 cans it's so worth it. 

 

Organic tomato paste to thicken tomato sauces/soups s stated above! Only $6 for 12 cans. 

 

8 cans for only $6!

 

I think this was $12. I usually make my own, but for people who need convenience 

 

Flaxseed is a great superfood to add to salad, waffles, smoothies, etc. For only $6 it can't be beat. 

 

Two huge things of natural peanut butter with only 2 ingredients for $11! 

 

Great for stocking up the freezer! 

 

Great for more freezer stocking ;) 

A great snack! 

Organic frozen berries. We use these for our smoothies! 

 

I LOVE these for black bean burritos. $7

 

Convenient soups. Probably not the cheapest, but would be really easy!  

 

Jumbo packs of pin nuts! They also have walnuts, pecans, and almonds. They have the cheapest prices on nuts that I have seen. 

A huge jug for $13

 

I don't remember the price, but I remember it was cheap!

10 lbs. of sugar for around $11-$13. Since we have been cutting down on sugar this has lasted us FOREVER. 

We also buy organic whole chickens, organic beef, organic white flour, organic salsa (that is amazing!), and a BUNCH of produce. I love Costco. Hope this was helpful! 

Happy New Year! Start 2014 off with a bang!

When I asked one of my good friends what she wanted for Christmas, she said  jokingly she wanted someone to do her meal planning for her since she hates it. So I did it! Well, for the next 4 weeks at least. ;)  Instead of just giving them to her I decided to share them with everyone so everyone can breathe a littler easier when it came to planning dinner! These meals are generally real food made with real ingredients. I usually point out where you can switch out an ingredient for another if it doesn't follow real food rules.  Okay so here are some things you should know about my meal plans and shopping lists.

• I haven't tried all of the recipes, but they are recipes I would eat myself so I put them on the list. 
• These meal plans and shopping lists only cover dinner.
•  I put all the ingredients all the list each week regardless if it was on last weeks list
• I only put food items and not spices. 
• I'm not a professional I did this for fun so if there are mistakes don't hold it against me ;) 

Alright then, here you go:

 Jan 6th-12th meal plan

Jan 6th-12th shopping list  

Jan 13th-19th meal plan

Jan 13-19th shopping list

Jan 20th-26th meal plan

Jan 20th-26th shopping list

Jan 27th-Feb 2nd meal plan

Jan 27th-Feb 2nd shopping list

I wanna hear some feed back! How did these work for you? What recipes were your fave? Enjoy!

An introduction and Roasted chicken recipe.

I am obsessed with food! I love to eat.So naturally I love food blogs. About a year ago I stumbled upon 100 Days of Real Food. I spent hours one night reading almost every post. I had no idea my diet was full of processed foods. I realized I would go all day without eating any real food at all.  I didn't want to just start another "diet" I wanted to create a healthy lifestyle and completely change the way I view food. 100 days of real food is still my favorite website! Here on my blog I will post my experiences with changing my habits and testing recipes. I will give my honest opinion and show that real food can taste real good!! Join me today and start creating your own healthy lifestyle!
Here is my go-to recipe for an easy healthy meal.

TIP: Shred all the leftover chicken! Use it for tacos, lunches or even on top of salad