Costco Items

I am trying to get back on the wagon (again!), but before I go to the store and fill my freezer with frozen, convenient goodies, I am trying to use the foods that I have. I also need to take the brownies and cupcakes I made for Easter to school to be eaten by others!

While I was on Spring Break, I made a pass through Costco. If you are looking for inexpensive frozen meals, they usually have at least two bulk items of four. Mostly, it’s Lean Cuisine, but I have also seen Kashi meals there – a really good deal!

Here is what was there last week:

Package 1 -
Lean Cuisine Spa Classics Ginger Garlic Stir Fry with Chicken – 5 pts.
Lean Cuisine Spa Classics Sesame Stir Fry with Chicken – 6 pts.
Lean Cuisine Spa Classics Grilled Chicken Primavera – 5 pts.
Lean Cuisine Spa Classics Butternut Squash Ravioli – 7 pts.

Package 2 -
Lean Cuisine Comfort Classics Roasted Turkey Breast – 5 pts.
Lean Cuisine Cafe Classics Sesame Chicken – 7 pts.
Lean Cuisine Comfort Classics Sweet & Sour Chicken – 8 pts.
Lean Cuisine Cafe Classics Glazed Chicken – 5 pts.

Package 3 -
2 Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Chicken Margherita – 5 pts.
2 Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Grilled Chicken Marinara – 5 pts.

This time, they didn’t have the panini, but often they do. All three of the above were around $8 or $9, making them between $2 and $2.25 apiece. The plus side is that most of them are 5 Weight Watcher points each. The downside is that there is not too much variety – most of it is chicken-based. Also, I have actually scored cheaper Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones meals at Walmart and Publix.

In the canned goods aisle, they also carry the Progresso and Healthy Choice low calorie soups, but I am not a big fan of canned soup. I usually have to doctor up canned soups, so I might as well make my own.

Other convenience foods I was looking at were frozen fruits and vegetables. There were two interesting fruit blends:

Spectrum Blend – 6 colorful fruits: yellow peach slices, pineapple chunks, red whole strawberries, white peach slices, green honeydew chunks 10 svgs (1 cup each)- I don’t recall the price – probably $7-$9.

Kirkland’s Trader Farms Triple Berry – Raspberry, Blueberry, Marionberry (Blackberry)

There are also many vegetable blends, including Asian Stir Fry and Normandy Blend (carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli). Right now, I am really into the steam in the bag blends, but I might need to check those out, too.

Chobani Nonfat flavored Greek yogurt – 12 – 4 each of blueberry, peach, and strawberry. Now, I bought these, and they are fine. Greek yogurt is all the rage right now, but it is not as sweet as regular yogurt. And, although it is 0% fat, it must contain sugar, because it is 3 WW pts. per serving.

Other things I saw were fruit cups (pkg. of 12 tropical blend), Weight Watchers Oreo Cookie popsicles, individual portions of hummus, individual portions of apples, and probably the Healthy Choice Fudgesicles. Those are great, if you don’t mind eating the same thing over and over.

I haven’t even mentioned the produce – salad greens and all. Maybe I will plan a one week Costco menu next.

Alternative Frozen Entree Diet Sites

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I am currently paying for Weight Watchers.  I am paying the $39.99 per month fee that includes unlimited meetings and access to eTools, which is WW diet recording software.  Lately I have been very frustrated with the online tools – there are so many glitches in the FlashPlayer Diet Planner/Activity Planner that it often takes several tries to get my entries to post.

I am, for the most part, sticking to frozen entrees – especially for breakfast and lunch.  Sometimes, for dinner, I will make something in a large quantity – like a soup or stew in the crockpot.  Then I freeze the remainder so that my husband has meals when I am not cooking.

I was looking up the nutritional information for a Healthy Choice entree when I noticed that they have expanded their site to include a diet and exercise planner called Start Making Choices.  I have not signed up yet, but I may.

Other sites that have diet plans are Amy’s Kitchen and Lean Cuisine.  Of course, Smart Ones has a site:  It’s called WeightWatchers, but they also have a community message board on their frozen entree site.  Kashi also has a community message board as well as coupons for free entrees.

The Amy’s Kitchen website has a pretty extensive section on what they call the Amy’s Diet Plan.  There are 14 days worth of menus and shopping lists as well.  I might try that sometime, but it has usually been difficult for me to plan ahead when I am eating or dieting.  I guess I got that from my parents.  I am a very impulsive eater.

Lean Cuisine’s website offers Wellness Tools, and you must also sign up for that.  It is supposed to include a meal planner and a fitness planner, with pre-planned menus.  I will check it out later.

Shopping Receipt from WalMart

I am trying to get back on the wagon again and am going to eat mainly portion-controlled meals for a while.  I am trying to balance the expensive Amy’s Organic and Kashi Entrees with Michelina’s and Smart Ones on sale.  It’s more complicated than that, though.  The Amy’s are organic – not necessarily low fat and calorie.  So, if I get am entree that is high in WW Points, I have to have one that day with lower points!

I stopped by Aldi first, because I hadn’t been there in a while.  I bought one each of their Fiber One Bars knock offs.  I had tried the Peanut Butter ones in Asheville last week and thought they were pretty good.  I got one box of the Millville Fiber NOW chewy bars in Oats and Chocolate and one in Oats and Caramel.  I had one in the car before I went to WalMart so that I would not “hunger shop” and it was fantastic!  Really chocolate-y and rich and only 2 WW Pts per bar.  I am going to keep them at school in case I have a craving for a candy bar.

At WalMart, I bought a couple of Amy’s Organic Dinners.  WalMart has them for only $3.14 to $3.28 each.  I bought two packages each of the Cheese Enchiladas and the Cheese Tamale Verde, because they are gluten-free and will make an easy dinner for my hubby as well.  I also bought one package of the Indian Mattar Paneer and the Tortilla Casserole and Black Beans Bowl.  That last one was a stretch, at 9 WW Pts. per dinner.  I will have to eat really light on my other meals that day.

After that, I headed for the Michelina’s Lean Gourmet section.  Those are really cheap.  I bought one entree with the old packaging – you cook it in the box.  It was Chicken Alfredo Florentine, and cost $1.18.  The new packaging looks like it has a baking dish enclosed and costs $1.68 per entree.  I cannot find information yet on the new ones, but I think I got Curry Chicken, Mandarin Chicken and Pad Thai Chicken.   There are coupons on the back to get the 50 cents you paid extra off on another purchase.  We’ll see.

I bought only three Kashi entrees this time:  Sweet and Sour Chicken (my favorite – I had it for lunch when I got home), Lemon Coconut Chicken, and the Tuscan Veggie Bake.   I then went to the Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones aisle, because the WW Points are prominently displayed on the box.  I got Smart Ones Fettuccine Alfredo Smart Ones Lemon Chicken, and Lean Cuisine Pasta Romano with Bacon (It’s also new -I ate it yesterday and loved it!).   I also bought Lean Cuisine Santa Fe Rice and Beans, and two Healthy Choice French Bread Pizzas:  one cheese and one pepperoni.  The total came to about $45, but if you subtract the two entrees I bought for my husband, it was only $37 for 17 meals.

I didn’t buy any breakfasts:  I already had some.  I have two servings of Trader Joe’s Steel Cut Oatmeal and a package of Kashi Heart to Heart Waffles – I think that’s 3 servings of 2 waffles each.  I’ll lay out my daily menus in my Weight Watchers food diary.  It’s a start.

What I bought at Trader Joe’s

I have been reading all sorts of reviews of Trader Joe’s frozen and shelf meals on HeatEatReview.com and IEatAPie , so I went to the one nearest to my house and splurged. Here is what I bought:

2 Asian Soba Noodle Bowls with Vegetables
2 Spinach Lasagnas
1 Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas
1 Organic Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas
2 Sesame Chicken Noodle Bowls
2 Chicken Massaman Rice Bowls
1 bag Nasi Goreng Rice Stir Fry
1 bag Asparagus Risotto
1 pkg. Southwest Chicken Quesadillas
2 Eggplant Parmesan Entrees
1 bag Biryani Rice Stir Fry
1 bag Cioppino Seafood Stew
1 bag Chimichurri Rice with Vegetables
1 bag Thai Ginger Organic Carrots
1 bag Green With Envy Organic Stir Fry
1 box with 2 Greek Olympiad Pizzas
1 Beef Shepherd’s Pie
1 box Z-Meal Pav Bhaji
1 box Z-Meal Punjab Choley
1 microwave White Bean with vegetables
1 Indian Eggplant Punjab (box)
2 Indian Madras Lentils
1 microwave Vegetable Jambalaya
1 bag frozen chicken thighs
1 loaf multigrain sourdough bread
1 jar Mojito Simmer Sauce
1 jar Cacciatore Simmer Sauce

My total bill was $87.89. Most of the entrees were between $2 to $2.50. I decided to go ahead and buy doubles of some things for my husband to eat with me. Lately, I have been emptying out the freezer of other things I have made for him to eat for dinner. I don’t know what-all he eats for the other meals – except for cereal for breakfast.

I just had the Chicken Massaman Curry for lunch.  It has 390 calories and 10 grams of fat. I am a big fan of curry – very good.

Dinner List

Amy’s Cheese Ravioli with Sauce (only see a Bowl)

Amy’s Santa Fe Enchilada (also a Bowl – see link above)

Ethnic Gourmet Chicken Biryani Over Brown Rice

Healthy Choice Salisbury Steak

Lean Cuisine Dinnertime Selects Chicken Fettuccini

Lean Cuisine Dinnertime Selects Chicken Portobello

Organic Classics Cajun Style Chicken Tettrazini with Penne Pasta

Organic Classics Chicken Cacciatore with Penne Pasta

Organic Classics Penne Pasta with Sauce and Meatballs

South Beach Cashew Chicken with Sugar Snap Peas

Stouffer’s Rigatoni Pasta with Roasted White Meat Chicken

Stouffer’s Tuna Noodle Casserole

Uncle Ben’s Sweet and Sour Chicken (I think the bowls are discontinued)

Uncle Ben’s Thai-Style Chicken

Lunch List

Ethnic Gourmet Chicken Korma

Ethnic Gourmet Chicken Tandoori with Spinach

Ethnic Gourmet Kung Pao Chicken

Healthy Choice Apple Glazed Pork Medallions

Healthy Choice Princess Chicken (I think it is discontinued)

Lean Cuisine Dinnertime Selects Steak Tips Dijon

Lean Cuisine Spa Cuisine Salmon with Basil (add 1 extra serving of fruit when selecting this meal)

Smart Ones Chicken Parmesan

Smart Ones Chicken Tenderloins with Barbecue Sauce

Smart Ones Lasagna Florentine

South Beach Mediterranean Style Chicken with Couscous

Stouffer’s Grilled Chicken Teriyaki

Uncle Ben’s Roasted Chicken & Vegetable Bowl

Uncle Ben’s Savory Beef Portabello Bowl (Uncle Ben’s is hard to find – here is a Pasta Bowl review)