WIS, WWA | a salad-ful week
What I Spent
This week, I spent:
- $26 at Safeway
- $23 at Trader Joe's
- $25 at Sam's Club
What We Ate
I did not intend to have such a salad-centric week; I don't know how it happens that I often seem to accidentally have a theme for the week!
I guess I find something I like and then whoops! I keep eating it. Heh.
Saturday
I made a taco salad, using the refreshed lettuce plus queso fresco, Mexican crema, some red peppers, and taco-seasoned ground beef.
Sunday
Zoe wasn't home, and I used some more of my Kodiak pancake mix. I tried adding some vanilla (as per your suggestions) and that helped some.
But I think next time I will also try adding a bit of salt; I think that might help with the flavorlessness.
Monday
I sauteed some shrimp and put them on top of a Thai mango salad kit (Safeway had them on sale).
Tuesday
I stopped in a Trader Joe's after my hospital shift and picked up a few things, including some chicken sausages. I browned two of those, and added them to a salad kit.
Wednesday
Zoe had a lot of closing shifts this week! Just me here so I heated up some frozen chicken potstickers and sauteed a big pile of green beans.
Thursday
I was supposed to work earlier in the day, but the charge nurse called and asked if I could scoot my shift later in the day. So, my dinner plans got scooted too.
After my shift, Zoe and I had to go drop her car off for a routine oil change, so we just picked up Panera on our way home.
I....got a salad. Ahahahaha.
Friday
Now that I have noticed my inadvertent salad-heavy week, I think I might purposely NOT make myself a salad tonight. 😉
Your food pictures are beautiful, but that photo of Chiquita (and accompanying caption) melted my heart!
@BJS, I agree - she is just rolled up SO tightly all cozy on the bed! "Do not disturb" indeed. lols
Is anyone else having trouble getting cottage cheese at Aldi?
@Wendy G,
All stores seem to be having issues!
@Wendy G,
Perhaps this is an alternative gor you. My husband and I eat a lot of cottage cheese. Since there is not a nearby Aldi, I buy a 3-lb container of Daisy brand cottage cheese which is Kosher for less than $6 at Costco. It's always fresh and so far always available. It will keep for at least 3 weeks from purchase.
@Bee, Daisy brand is our favorite (my kids eat a ton of cottage cheese!) and I hadn’t thought to look at Costco for it! I am due for a Costco run, so I’ll have to take a look, thanks for the tip 🙂
@Bee, I will only buy Daisy cottage cheese (and sour cream), and just recently tried the low-fat Daisy cottage cheese. I am pleased to report that I can't tell the difference from full fat. My kids need the fat in the regular kind. I do not. Low-fat Daisy for me from here on out! 🙂
Sam's carries Breakstones and I will say it is not NEARLY as tasty as the Aldi cottage cheese.
@Wendy G, ...because everyone is using it as a protein alternative for eggs!
@Bobi,
Thanks. I didn't realize that.
Thank you to everyone that responded. Aldi brand is my favorite, but i may have to branch out.
Love the Chiquita pic!
Btw, those Kodiak pancakes are pretty tasty if you throw some chocolate chips on the batter when you pour it on the griddle! And I use the mix to make great muffins.
Yes! It's a crapshoot wether or not they have any. When they do I stock up.
Saturday: Oven-barbecued chicken pieces, roasted potatoes, leftover baked beans, raw radishes
Sunday: I used the chicken bones and one leftover chicken thigh to make a creamy chicken soup. The one who really dislikes soup had leftover meatless fried rice from Friday. Crispy rice treats for Sunday dessert.
Monday: Our family is having a rough time right now, and friends have been showing support by giving us food. This day a friend from school made us a whole dinner of ravioli lasagna--ravioli in place of the lasagna noodles--bread, green salad, and chocolate chip cookies. Way better than the cobbled-together leftovers we would have had.
Tuesday: I had some chili beans to be used, so I combined those with the last of the beef pot roast my other friend had given us last week, and then used that mixture to make quesadillas. More raw radishes, because they really needed to be used up.
Wednesday: One child had leftover baked beans with bread and butter. Everyone else had the leftover lasagna.
Thursday: Barbecue meatballs made with ground elk, mashed potatoes, green salad with ranch dressing, and chocolate pudding to use up some elderly milk.
Tonight: It's nice that Lent coincides with the chickens returning to laying, so I have a lot of eggs on hand. I think tonight I'll make a Spanish tortilla for our meatless Friday. That will also use the red bell pepper that came with my friend's salad. I don't really care for bell pepper in my salads--and I know my children don't--but sauteed with onions, it will be a good addition to the tortilla.
@kristin @ going country, sorry to hear about the rough time. Hoping that whatever it is straightens out soon.
@kristin @ going country, I join @PD in good wishes.
@kristin @ going country, I’m so sorry that things are difficult for your family right now and hope the problem is soon resolved. Thank goodness for caring friends.
@kristin @ going country, keeping you in my thoughts and wishing peace.
Sending love to you, dear friend. And I am so glad that people are rallying around you. Good on them for being solid friends, and good on you for letting them know you're having a rough time.
@kristin @ going country,
Wishing you peace and I too am thankful for the kindness of the people around you.
@kristin @ going country, so truly sorry about your rough time. Thankful you have nice friends. Hugs!
@kristin @ going country, We all know what a tough cookie you are! Wishing you and your family well with whatever you're going through.
@kristin @ going country,
I join in with everyone to wish you and your family safe passage through this current rough time. Hoping better times are in your sights.
Man, we need some salads in our life right now! Ha! This week we had:
Saturday - Leftover pizza
Sunday - FG enchiladas (my plan for last Friday that got kicked to Sunday), grapes, and strawberries
Monday - Pork chops, zucchini, broccoli, rolls
Tuesday - Tacos and strawberries
Wednesday - Ice cream. Yup. Plan A was to have slow cooker jambalaya after an afternoon at the pool, then get ice cream for dessert. But I missed a step in the instructions and thought it told me to put uncooked rice in the crockpot when I was really supposed to cook the rice first. So when it became clear that dinner was not going to be ready anytime soon, I suggested that we just go get ice cream. I've gotten more flexible as I've aged.
Thursday - The jambalaya from the day before (the rice eventually cooked) and pineapple
Friday - I think we will have tacos again. We're going to the zoo today and I forgot that the crock-pot meal I had planned for today had an overnight prep component. We have a ton of leftover taco meat from Tuesday, so this seems like a good time to use it.
@Ruth T, Boy do I relate to your disordered week of planning, throwing out plans, making new plans, doing something else! Way to roll with the waves.
Salads with a protein are my go-to meal. So easy. I'm all about the easy lately. I've been spending just under $100 a week on food and etc.
M - I had Chik-Fil-A, the new BBQ sammie, with free waffle fries
T - picked up a ready to cook meal at HEB. Chicken Bacon Alfredo with butternut squash. I added a bit of broccoli before I popped it into the oven. (Can we call it homemade if I cooked it at home?)
W - Made a taco salad with taco meat from the freezer. Added avocado, tomato, cucumber, jalapenos.
Th - Half an HEB Flatbread pizza with Tyson grilled chicken chunks on top, side salad using up the rest of the cucumber and avocado.
F - I have a frozen eggplant parm to cook. Salad might make an appearance again...
Although I have meals to pack for work, and salads travel very well.
Happy Weekend!
WIS: $68 at Food Lion.
WWA: A lot of salads. I made up a jar of homemade less-sweet Catalina dressing from pantry ingredients to go on mine, which I ate with dollops of cottage cheese, a side of cantaloupe and some crispy Wasa crackers. DH had meatloaf, salad, and the occasional baked potato. For snacks we had popcorn and store-bought caramels.
WIS: $42 at Wegmans (after $6.60 in container returns).
WIA: This won't win any "top chef" points, but this week I'm proudest of the fact that I took a lunch to the courthouse yesterday. (And I managed to get out of jury duty into the bargain. See my update to my Thankful Thursday comment.) It turns out there's no rule against bringing food in your bag into the courthouse; you just can't eat it there. So I took it outside into the courthouse square and enjoyed it under a brilliantly sunny (if slightly chilly) sky. A PBJ, an apple, and a bottle of Gatorade have never tasted so good!
Yes to lunch packing! It’s very satisfying.
@Kristen, and meanwhile, almost all the other prospective jurors were heading out for whatever they could find by way of a quick lunch at cafes near the courthouse. And most of them came back grumbling.
That is an under-appreciated benefit of lunch packing: you get to spend your entire lunch break eating rather than spending part of it obtaining food.
It's a big part of why I pack lunches for work! I want to spend the entire 30 minute break feeding myself. Heh.
@A. Marie, When I had jury duty last, knowing I would be there for hours...... I packed my refillable water bottle, granola bars, nuts, and fruit in my bag with a good book -- that way I wasn't forced to spend money in their overpriced vending machines and/or cafe. Their are no other places to eat within walking distance at this county courthouse - so you are trapped.
@A. Marie, I've been on two juries and really enjoyed it! In one case, I was actually a participant in jury nullification, we made the decision in about two minutes and to this day, I have no doubt we did the right thing. It was a truly a case that never should have been adjudicated.
I am very proud of my husband and I as we didn't get one ounce of takeout for 10 days straight. That's a record for us!! We cooked at home and ate most leftovers for lunches.
Sunday: pork chops and kraut in the crockpot all day and I made mashed potatoes to go with them.
Monday: tacos (leftover meat from Saturday evening)
Tuesday: goulash, garlic breadsticks and salad
Wednesday: Grilled BBQ pork roast, cucumber salad, macaroni salad
Thursday: chicken fajitas
Tonight: either local fish dinners or pizza (hubby's been craving it)
Woohoo!! Cheering you on in the no take out efforts.
Monday: Roasted Mediterranean salmon, rice, and veggies.
Tuesday: Potstickers and salad
Wednesday: dinner at my SIL’s house. She made crispy carnitas and roasted potatoes that we ate as tacos.
Thursday: a really lovely, celebratory family dinner at a local restaurant! Eating out is of course not the most frugal dinner, but I have three young girls (6, 4, and 2) and we never do kids meals. A regular entree nearly always feeds them sufficiently and it’s so much less than buying three kids meals. Plus it tastes like actual food, ha. I had a hot honey chicken sandwich (delicious).
Friday: homemade pizza and a movie, made extra special because Grandma (my mom) is in town!
That's smart to have your kids share an adult entree!
@Kyndra,when my son was 3 yo our group stopped at a breakfast diner and he insisted that he wanted the pictured meal that came on a serving size platter. thinking it would provide a great "doggybag" for lunch when we arrived at our camping spot . this would make one less thing to do when we were setting up camp.
imagine all the surprised looks when he at every bit for his breakfast. Just saying not to be surprised when the adult meal stops being enough. yes he maintained that eating habit and has been very energetic and thin built.
You probably could have returned the pancake stuff. I would throw it away.
ALDIs gluten free
boom boom shrimp
general chicken
chicken taquitos
Sunflower chopped salad
Gluten free bread and deli meat and cheese
At Walmart I get some chicken bone broth and squeeze guacamole, fruit and popcorn
If you eat snacky stuff the scratch and dent freight places are great for chips, nuts, candy and cookies at about 1/4 the cost.
@Tiana, I dislike the Kodiak brand of stuff, too, and knowing me I would have tossed it. Life is too short to eat food you don't like when there are so many choices!
My waste-averse side keeps hoping I can just manage to make it palatable instead.
It came with three packs of mix inside, so I probably will just make it through the one pack and give away the other two!
@Kristen, Sam’s would refund your money. I’ve even returned peaches, no problems.
Oh yes, I know. The waste I'm referring to is the actual food waste; I know Sam's will throw it away if I return it, and I'd rather it get eaten than thrown out.
That's why I'd be inclined to give it away on my Buy Nothing group instead.
Why do your chicken sausages all have bullseyes in them? (insert snarky face here)
WIS: $171 and change for two weeks, including two farm orders.
WIA: Cuban picadillo (got the recipe from a Cuban) and served it with rice. I used tomato sauce in this recipe, and so far, no reactions, so yay! This made a lunch or two as well.
Stuffed sweet potato, (recipe also from a Cuban) which was a baked sweet potato stuffed with leftover picadillo and sweet plantain and avocado chunks. Fruit on the side.
I had made a pot of rice for the picadillo so I used the rest of it under oyakodon, topped with green onions. Fruit and carrots on the side. This also made lunches.
I used a really meaty beef soup bone and cooked vegetable beef soup in the little crockpot with bone broth, green beans, carrots, celery, onion and garlic. I used the rest of the tomato sauce in it, too. I got another lunch out of this and have about one lunch's worth left.
Bacon, chard sautéed in a little of the pan grease and sweet potato. Blueberries and cottage cheese for dessert. I cooked extra bacon so the next night I could make:
Bacon and cheese grilled sandwich on homemade cassava flatbread, raw beet slaw and berries for dessert.
Last night was the banquet, where I had parmesan crusted chicken breast, Brussels sprouts cooked some way that I actually liked them, rustic mashed potatoes with crumbled bacon in it, salad with honey-balsamic dressing and a small slice of pound cake with fresh strawberries. The pound cake wasn't gluten-free, and I don't care.
Tonight, I have a little of the bacon and some flatbread left, so it will probably be another bacon-cheese sandwich and beet slaw.
Oh I am so excited for you about the tomato sauce!!
This week we enjoyed:
- Vegetable gyozas with sweet chili sauce
- Vegetable jambalaya (x2)
- Mushroom stroganoff (x2)
- Corn chowder with jalapenos
- Going out to dinner tonight
It’s mostly been a mailing-it-in sort of week for us. WWA:
Saturday- beef and clean out the crisper stir fry, rice
Sunday - pork and root vegetable stew
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - frozen pizza
Wednesday - last of the frozen Christmas tenderloin, baked potatoes, leftover asparagus, frozen corn
Thursday- individual meat pies from the freezer
Friday - planning on pork schnitzel, boiled baby potatoes, and whatever veg I can find in the freezer
Wishing everyone a happier week ahead
I'm a big fan of using salads as the base of at least one meal a day, so I would have loved eating with you this week. 🙂 I'm thrilled, as I was just able to cut the first of our volunteer lettuce from the garden. We will also plant a bunch more, but got lucky with this volunteer lettuce. It even helpfully made its way into a planter. Not the lettuce planter, but it's growing around a pepper plant and seems to be doing fine. Anyway, yeah for fresh lettuce you can use for salads!
Goodness, it was a week! We had:
-Orange chicken & cauilflower rice
-I made a very light dinner of a bagged salad & cheese/crackers + fruit on a night it was just me eating
-Tacos
-Grilled burgers. We were supposed to have leftovers, but DS18 ended up inviting friends over for poker, and they finished all of those leftover burgers, plus almost everything else in the fridge/pantry. 😉
-Salads with grilled chicken (from the freezer)
-Spaghetti & meatballs + garlic bread
-As for tonight, DH is grilling chicken & serving that with Persian rice
Your son and his friends are helping you avoid food waste. 😉
Friday: Introduced my niece to MN comfort food - Tater Tot Hot Dish! Paired with a side of salad.
Saturday: My parents brought over Carnitas with all the fixings!
Sunday: Dinner at my grandparent’s – ribs, chicken, potatoes, veggies.
Monday: Out – we went to a local place and the table was full of salads and pizza.
Tuesday: Cheeseburger Soup –this was a great way to use up most of the toppings left over from the carnitas.
Wednesday: Pantry Raid Skillet – package of gnocchi, two sausages from the freezer, the last of some mini sweet peppers, a shallot, a jar of cacio e pepe sauce.
Thursday: Lentils and Rice.
@Geneva, tater tot hot dish! Ruth T's comment on a WIS, WWA post a few weeks back is the reason I first made it (and have made it again since). It's delicious.
Did you put any kind of dressing on your taco salad? That looks really good and I know I have some taco meat in my freezer . . . Also, what did you think of the TJ's chicken sausages? I've never tried those!
This time I just added the Mexican crema that I had in my fridge and called it good. Kinda like a softer more saucy sour cream. I do often make a quick sauce for my taco salads by blending up some sour cream, salt, pepper, cilantro, and lime juice. Easy and tasty!
The chicken sausages were pretty good but not very spicy. Which is what I expect when I buy something from Trader Joe's vs. a Hispanic food store. Ha.
Spent 101 at Kroger pickup
Sunday: salmon rice broccali and salad
Monday: leftovers from Sunday
Tuesday: tuna salad sandwiches and tater tots sliced apples
Wednesday: Jersey mikes subs on day of giving! Delish!
Thursday: grilled chicken mashed potatoes and corn
Friday: veggie pizza and salad
Tomorrow: not sure but something from home. Maybe breakfast for dinner.
I love salad kits. It’s a healthy convenience food.
WIS: I admit that I have not one clue. I have not yet been to grocery store this week and I plan to do that tonight so we shall see.
WWA:
Saturday: I was still at the beach with my son and we had charcuterie, chips & guac, and a blueberry muffin - a really great vacation dinner if you ask me.
Sunday: Pot Roast with veggies and leftover rice
Monday: Homemade Chicken Alfredo with steamed broccoli and garlic bread
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Baked Chicken Drumsticks, Jasmine Rice, green beans, Tomato gravy and biscuits
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: I have absolutely no idea and given the kind of week we have had it will probably include some kind of takeout. And you know what else? That is A-ok 🙂
This week I spent:
$49.72 at Walmart for weekend food
$99.57 at Aldi for our week of groceries
$10.30 at Dollar General for a few fill in things
$21.43 at Target
$23.33 at Aldi again for fill in things
$4.03 at CVS
For a total of $208.60. This was actually a light week for our family of 6 thanks to the haul of free food my mother in law gave us Saturday. We had all those fill-in stops because several of us came down with a virus that made crackers and soda much more palatable that we had initially imagined.
WIS: New Season’s - 24.99; Pho - 16.00
New Season’s is a locally owned chain with lots of upscale and specialty items. Because of my allergies, there are certain products I can get there I can’t get anywhere else. I utilize their senior discount (10% on Wednesdays) and military discount (10% on Tuesdays) and try to stock up when something I use frequently is on sale. I had a coupon for a free box of pasta, used the senior discount, and had $5 neighbor rewards. I also bought a treat to eat while I sat outside with a friend and soaked up the lovely unseasonable weather and chatted with her. We also went out to lunch. I brought my leftovers home.
WWA:
M - Leftover meatloaf, mashed potatoes, sautéed squash, & applesauce
T - Leftover lamb stew & artichokes (1.25 @ Winco the previous week)
W - Dinner salads with canned tuna & crackers
Th - Another crust less quiche with duck eggs from a friend, ground pork, olives, feta, & veggies; toast and fruit salad
F - Garlic shrimp with cheesy grits, sautéed onions, grape tomatoes, & peppers, and coleslaw
S - Potato soup with bacon and salad
S - Will probably go out for lunch again. It’s my last Sunday of a temporary church assignment. Then easy pizza (naan bread) and salad for dinner.
I have salad heavy periods in my life too. Salad ingredients tend to be on the perishable side. Living alone I have to make a concerted effort to use that fragile produce before I loose it so I tend to have a week full of salad and then a week or two w/o any.
I commend you on your salad intake, of course!
WIS: about 200, I was just under that at Aldi and then my husband went to Lidl to pick up ramen and old bay seasoning. My total did include about 50 worth of Easter basket candy and toys. Oh, random crap aisle, why do you have such a clutch on me?
WWA:
Fri: salad and focaccia
Sat: salad and leftover colcannon fried into bubble and squeak plus leftover beans and rice fried into taquitos.
Sun: salad and pasta primavera
Mon: salad and leftover pasta primavera
Tue: younger son’s night and he made rice cake pizzas which weren’t half bad and a fruit salad. I added a spinach salad as well.
Wed: black eyed pea stew made in the crock pot served over quinoa with sourdough Brie ring on the side.
Thu: older son’s night and he made pulled barbecue chicken sandwiches on homemade pretzel buns and topped with spinach, soft boiled eggs and cheddar cheese.
Fri: salad and focaccia
Have a great weekend, everyone!
I knew you would support this behavior.
Sat - fast food burger/fries
Sun - dine out pizza/chicken
Mon - tacos using Mexican style shredded beef and the usual assortment toppings
Tue - bbq pork “tenders” and enhanced leftover pasta from the freezer
Wed - meatloaf, baked potatoes
Thu - cheese burgers, fried potatoes
Fri - steak/fish, potatoes
I eat a bagged salad kit from Aldi for lunch almost every day. I dump it in a big bowl and eat the whole thing by myself! For me, lunch is typically my largest meal of the day. Those salad kits are really good!