Day 9: Grocery Shopping Surprise

I went to the grocery store today armed with a long list (about twice as long as normal) and I was almost afraid to see the checkout total since I keep reading about how eating "healthy" is more expensive.  I guess in a way it is, processed canned food is certainly much cheaper, but I figure once you add the cost of health care into that equation it's much cheaper to eat whole foods than the processed options.  I always make my list in the order of the grocery store. Yes, I'm Type A like that!  But that makes my shopping trips shorter since I don't have to keep scanning the list or doubling back for things I forgot...usually!

Since I was mainly buying whole foods today it was very simple, spent a few minutes in the produce section and voila, half my cart was full!  Some ground turkey (on sale, yay) and a few pantry staples, mustard, soy sauce, canned mandarin oranges (love those in salads), whole wheat pita bread, etc.  Finished up with some turkey bacon (Jennie-O, my favorite and on sale...score), sharp cheeses, frozen vegetables, eggs, milk, and a carton of frozen yogurt for a party tonight.  All in all...I spent around $40 and have a week's worth of food, that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner...how incredible is that!

Of course it helps that my pantry was already fairly well stocked.  I have a variety of dried beans, whole wheat pastas, brown rice, salad dressings, flavored vinegars, spices, cereals, and grains.  I've been in a major quinoa phase lately and during my last trip to Trader Joe's (2 hours away) I bought 4 boxes!  I also already had fresh strawberries, apples, a big container of plain yogurt and cottage cheese, frozen chicken, canned tuna (in water), and lots of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the freezer.  I bought a vacuum sealer a few months ago and it's been a great investment!  And I did skip getting a few things on my list, I am not paying $4 for cauliflower.  There's a fresh produce shop near my house that I've been wanting to check out, this is my perfect excuse to go!

So last week I added more fruits and veggies...this week my goal is more whole foods, less processed and I'm well on my way.  I can't wait to check out the local shop and start cooking tomorrow...so much deliciousness to choose from!  I'm off to check out new recipes and get some ideas for the week...I'm open to suggestions...