Turning Deals Into Meals

During the months that I've been couponing, I've heard it said a number of times, that you just can't save money and eat meals that are healthy.

I'll admit, it would certainly be far easier to coupon shop and come home with carts full of absolute junk, but it is far from the truth to say that saving money on healthy food is impossible.

I wanted to share our dinner from tonight, and explain how I used grocery store deals when buying the ingredients. In my opinion, it was a healthy, well balanced meal, but you can judge that for yourself. I'll share the price I paid for the item and try to give a final breakdown of the cost of the entire meal. This meal fed myself, Alex, and Nolan, and was also enough for a tupperware of leftovers.

Crock Pot Balsamic Chicken, Pasta, and Salads (broccoli for Nolan)



See - we ALL enjoyed the meal :)

sorry I couldn't get a better picture, also not as cute as the one above

Balsamic Chicken Ingredients (mixed ingredients and poured over chicken, cooked on low for the day)
Two chicken breasts (bought fresh, put in freezer) - bought during a B2G3 sale at Harris Teeter in a package of four for ~ $2.00 = $1.00

1 can of Hunt's Diced Tomatoes - bought during the last Kroger Mega event = $0.19

1/2 sliced onion - bought bag of 10 at Aldi for $1.66 = $0.16

Balsamic Vinegar - already in house (keep it in stock - not counting toward price)

Garlic - $0.79 for three heads, used 1/2 of one head = $0.13

Dried Basil - always in stock in pantry, didn't use much (not counting toward price)

Sargento Parmesan Cheese (didn't use much) - $1.00/bag at Harris Teeter (stocked up at this price and froze some), multiple uses from bag = $0.10 (approximation)

Pasta - bought penne for $1.00, used half the box, but I could have used the whole grain spaghetti we had in the house, bought on sale for $0.25/box = $0.50

Total for Main Dish = $2.08

Salads - All produce was bought at Aldi and will be used for multiple meals, not just these salads. For the purpose of this meal, I'll estimate four meals from each produce item (which is probably a low ball for some of the items).

Artisan Lettuce pack (now on sale for $1.19) - $1.99 /4 = $0.50
Cucumber - $0.50 /4 = $0.13
Carrots - $0.49/bag /4 - $0.13
Grape Tomatoes - $0.69 /4 = $0.17
Wish Bone Dressing (usually make my own dressing, too lazy today) - both bottles FREE at Harris Teeter during the Unilever promotion = $0.00

Total for Salad - $0.93


For $3.01, I made a meal that I was very comfortable feeding my family - no processed foods, no junk foods. Who says you can't eat healthy on a small budget?


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