Hey Guys! I hope everyone’s enjoying Memorial weekend :) General Mills is having a $1,500 grocery giveaway sweepstakes for one lucky winner, and they’ve also given us a $25 Grocery gift card to give away here too! If you’re around the interwebs today here’s your chance to win…
The main goal of Eat Better America is to have people take an active role in living a healthier lifestyle. There are tons of healthy tips and recipes, and even more information can be found on Eat Better America Facebook Page and on Twitter @eatbetter.
From the looks of it you actually CAN eat healthier on budget! I’m probably too lazy to do it myself (haha…) but if you’re looking for new ways to stay on track and be better about it you should def. check out the site. Maybe a recipe or two will stand out? And whoever wins can put their new skills to work w/ a free $25.00!
You have two ways to enter the $25 Grocery card giveaway:
- Follow/friend Eat Better America on twitter or facebook and then let me know so in the comments.
- OR, leave a food tip or budget-friendly recipe here in the comments so we can all learn from you! Especially people like me ;)
That’s it! We’ll random.org a winner on Wednesday, June 2nd at 10pm, and it’s open to U.S. residents only. GOOD LUCK! Can’t wait to give you $25!
********GIVEAWAY NOW OVER******
Congrats to Beth – You’re the big winner!!! I shall be contacting you shortly my friend :) Thanks to everyone else who entered! Will be doing another giveaway here shortly…
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Just followed on Twitter. Always looking for help eating healthy!
I made the switch to club soda instead of coke 6 months ago. It was hard at first, but now I can’t imagine drinking anything but a nice club soda with lime.
Just followed on facebook. Great idea!
Following on twitter! And I am loving the website. Thanks for letting us know about it.
I think this is a great movement! I followed on Facebook, but I have several tips to add – Drink water, not soda. Switch pastas and breads to whole grains. Limit portions, so you can still enjoy all foods, up fruits & veggies and add them into each meal.
Meatloaf muffins are my favorite low-fat/low calorie food:
1 box Stovetop stuffing mis
1 cup water
2 egg whites
green pepper as you like
onion as you like
Mix all together, put in muffin tin (12 muffins), cook 350 for 35 mins. Yummmm!
A recipe for the most challenged (like me)…I mix up all the dry ingredients in a big container, store in fridge (and i don’t use any salt but that is up to you)…
Then when i am ready to make pancakes or waffles i pour the required amount into a bowl, add an egg, enough milk to make the thickness that we like and we are ready to go. No muss, no fuss….
Some days i will just make the whole darn batch, (i use 2 eggs then) and make up as many pancakes or waffles that i can…freeze on cookie sheets in the freezer and then put in zip lock baggies. Pull them out when needed and pop into the toaster.
Pancake Mix
4 ½ cup flour
¼ cup baking powder
2 ¼ tsp salt
½ cup sugar
Add 1 egg /milk to moisten….mix
Just followed on Twitter!
My husband and I are currently trying to get healthier. We’ve cut out soda and juice and have started running in the mornings.
I also download or rent excercise DVDs so I don’t have to buy.
In terms of recipe my staple has been grilled chicken, stir fry veggies and brown rice whichcan be prepared in 20 mins. I also put together trail mix in ziplock bags to throw in my bag or hubby’s lunch.
Thanks for providing another resource!
just followed on twitter
my tip is to cut out soda and juice and just drink good old fashioned water. saves money and is better for you. win-win!
I crave fruit all year round, not just in summer–so I’ll buy lots of berries when prices are low and flavor is high, and freeze them. I then use the fruit to make smoothies well into winter–just fruit, water, a few packets of Splenda. It’s tasty, low-calorie, filling, and fibrous–and inexpensive! My roommate just confessed to spending $80 last month on smoothies from Robeks….eeyikes.
I’m following on Twitter. Thanks!
Following on Twitter!!!!
Just followed/friended on Facebook!
I joined that eat better program (and got a ring with the words eat better on it) and gave up drinking soda as well. My food tip is to spend a few minutes to prepare healthy snacks so that you can just grab and go when you are hungry.
I shop on Sundays and get a bag of pecans and some canned fruits. I take about 15 minutes to make snack size bags of pecans and split the large can of fruits into smaller plastic containers and stack them in the fridge. In the morning I just grab one of each and stick them in my lunch bag and have two healthy snacks to fight off cravings.
My healthy tip is to plan each meal with fruits and veggies- versus around meats. For example, instead of saying “we are having chicken tonight” I would start off thinking ” We are having broccoli tonight” This helps us eat much better!
LOVE THESE! Keep on droppin’ the tips if you’ve got them – might be printing some out for use myself ;)
My best tip is to eliminate waste — I try to plan meals around what ingredients I have and what may spoil (eggs, leeks, bread…) to keep from literally throwing money away!
Following on Facebook. What a great site!
Also following on twitter!!
Ooo, cool! Just followed them on Twitter.
An easy way to cut some fat grams out of a meal – next time you have a baked potato, instead of topping it with butter and sour cream, try drizzling some of your favorite fat-free salad dressing on top. It’s delicious and much better for you!
followed on twitter :)
I follow Eat Better America on Twitter @mami2jcn
Get in the habit of cooking for six. Freeze half the leftovers in individual portions. Use the rest for leftovers or brown-bag lunches. Eventually you’ll have a freezer full of different meals that you can pull out and nuke when you’re too tired to cook (or too rushed to make that brown-bag lunch).
And if there are six in your family? Get in the habit of cooking for twelve. (And consider birth control.)
I followed Eat Better America on Facebook :)
Just followed on Facebook. My husband and I bring our lunch to work everyday. helps the waistline and the budget!
Just followed them on Twitter…thanks for the tip!
Following on Facebook. Before shopping for the week, I take stock of the freezer and pantry. I also check the frig. This helps me know what I need to use up and keeps me from overbuying and wasting food. I want to remember how blessed I am to have a kitchen and food.
I like to eat soy since it’s good for you. Instead of buying soy nuts, you can buy the actual beans and make them yourself.
Just soak them in water for a few hours or overnight, drain the water, and bake them at about 250 degrees for 30 minutes.
They taste like peanuts to me, and they’re a healthy snack.
Just started following on Twitter–this sounds like a great idea. Lots of coupons out there for processed foods, but eating healthfully AND cheaply is much harder!
Instead of butter, I pour a tsp or two of olive oil on my popcorn for a healthier oil.
Followed on twitter and joined up. I’ve recently been inspired by the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution and this new site looks like a great place for resources!
Instead of drinking soda, drink tea. Make up a big batch of iced tea at the beginning of the week, and fill your re-usable bottles with it each day. Tea is cheap compared to soda, and it is significantly better for your health!
Hit it up on Facebook.
In addition to echoing all of the suggestions to drink water and tea, there are a couple of other things I’ve done lately. Plain yogurt, even light or fat-free, is great in almost anything. I’ll mix a bit of that with salsa, and YUM. Fantastic replacement for sour cream. Second, this was stolen from another blog (and I’d leave the link if I could remember which one…), frozen bananas make the best fake-out ice cream I’ve ever had. Just remember to peel the banana before you freeze it, otherwise it’ll be messy, or you might (like me) really have your patience tested.
I’m now following on twitter!
I make fruit smoothies in the morning with non-fat milk or yogurt, and often throw in a few veggies (you’d never know spinach is in there)! It gets me on my way to the servings of fruits and veggies that I need for the day, and I find I’m more likely to eat healthier the rest of the day.
just followed on facebook…always looking for new recipes and tips for eating healthier!
Just added on twitter and facebook. excited to get some new healthy recipes.
Dry beans are usually a huge money saver over canned, pre-cooked beans. For $1.19, I can make 1 lb. of pintos (dry) versus $1.49 for 12 oz. (canned). Plus you can streeeettttch those puppies all week long!
Eat better and save money by starting a little garden. Even if all you grow is fresh herbs, you will save some serious cash! How much does one little bundle of basil cost? Like $4? You can grow a whole herb garden for that much!
I follow Eat Better America on twitter as “calidreamin87”
I fan eat better America.
pauleyd68 (at) yahoo (dot) com
Budget plus Healthy huh? The first recommendation I have is to grow a garden. If you don’t have space, at least grow some herbs in pots on your windowsill. They are a healthy way to increase flavor.
One of my favorite healthy recipes is for black bean soup. This can be made either on the stove top or in the crockpot – you just adjust the amount of liquids you use if you make it in the crockpot.
2-3 cans of black beans (You can use dried black beans, you just have to soak them and cook them first which adds significantly to the cooking/prep time).
1 medium onion
2-3 medium carrots
2-3 stalks of celery
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves (can use dried, but decrease to 3/4 to 1 tsp depending on your tastes)
a pinch of ground white pepper (can substitute black pepper)
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup cooking sherry (can substitute white wine, apple juice with a splash of cider vinegar, or even just water – this just adds more complexity to the flavors)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp of lemon juice
salt to taste
roughly chop onion, celery and carrots heat olive oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven saute onions for 1-2 minutes, add celery and saute for another minute, add all other ingredients – except salt, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, remove lid and allow to boil for another 10 minutes (this soup is forgiving, you can go shorter or longer if you choose, but if you use the alcohol you definitely want to simmer/boil for at least 30 minutes.) At this point, I would advise tasting and salting to your tastes. After this is done, puree the soup with an immersion blender (you can use a regular blender, or even a food processor if you work in batches, but be careful it’s hot and can splash) If you don’t want to puree it, just chop all the veggies smaller and uniformly.
If you decrease quantities and boil this a bit longer until more water is out, you can also use it as a black bean dip after you puree it.
Loads of fiber, loads of flavor, super cheap and easy!
following eatbetter on twitter (oshkoshbgosh123)
My tip is to shop sales, use coupons and send in for all rebates. Also, use the food you buy. When you end up throwing it away, you waste money instead of saving it. Find creative ways to use leftovers.
I’m following eat better america on twitter! (@slavetosave)
its the summer time and eating healthy will show now more than ever. as you look to make a dish to bring to a friends house go the extra mile and don’t just get chips and salsa.
if you buy fruit on sale you can make a wonderfully fresh salad that people can eat as an appetizer or for desert.
Basic tip is just to plan your meals ahead of time. You can save alot of money. It’s effective because you cut wastage and large food bills.
Use coupons and shop sales; its a great way to save on your meals.
Find a Produce Junction near you. Not only will you be able to get fresh fruits and vegetables but they are a very low price due to the fact that they were bought in bulk for typically restaurants such such. Make a Fruit salad over the weekend, separate into individual containers and have one for each week. Do this with vegetables too and use these for snacking instead of anything that comes out of the vending machine.
When I make a meal such as lasagna, split pea soup, meatloaf, etc., I portion out 1-2 meal size servings and freeze them for a quick homemade meal. I end up with less leftovers – so I don’t have to worry about eating it all before it goes bad – and I can eat healthy homemade even on busy days.
I became a friend of Eat Better America on Facebook.
shawn113(at)hotmail(dot)
Just befriended Eat Better America on twitter.
~herncpa
Farmer’s markets. They have local food, much of it unsprayed, in-season and come to a neighborhood near you! What more could you ask for. They usually have really good prices too.
My tip is drink lots of water before you eat to fill you up.
MCJunkie off Twitter
Just followed on twitter.
Following on Facebook :) Yahoo! :)
Here’s a budget-friendly recipe I eat all the time…
Easy Open-Faced Tuna Melt
Ingredients:
2 slices bread (I use Udi’s gluten-free sandwich bread, but use whatever you like!)
2 slices American cheese (I use Trader Joe’s organic)
1 can tuna
2 TB mayo (can use less if you prefer)
Spices (get creative. My favorite combo is “It’s a Dilly”, garlic powder, onion powder, Shoup’s seasoning [can subst. salt and pepper for Shoups])
Preheat oven (I use a convection oven) to 425.
Mix tuna, mayo, and spices in bowl until mixed together. Lay 2 slices of bread onto oven sheet. Put 1 slice of cheese on each bread piece. Spoon tuna mixture out onto cheese slices…make sure it is an even height.
Put in oven for 5-6 minutes at 425 or until tuna is warm and bread starts to get crusty.
Eat. Yum! Kids love these, too.
-Erica
Following on Twitter
shop the perimeter, no soda at home, buy organic when it matters (certain produce) and save $ on rest. If you can’t pronounce the ingredients, you probably shouldn’t eat it.
***GIVEAWAY OVER***
Congrats to Beth – You’re the big winner!!! I shall be contacting you shortly my friend :) Thanks to everyone else who entered! Will be doing another giveaway here shortly…