How I Maximized on a Sale!

Hello all! I hope that you guys had a great Memorial Day and to all the families who have lost a loved one: thank you for their courage and thank you for being a family that breeds and supports patriotism!

Whenever I am shopping and am looking to cook something fancy (usually requiring seafood) I always check the prices. Unfortunately, most of the prices- except for the salmon fillets- are expensive so I am left to do without shrimp, lobster, and crab. However, this time was different! While crabs can be sold whole, my local HEB has a fish market that declaws them and sells the meat individually. They are usually $5 a pounds but they were on sale today for just $5 a pound! 

In cases like these, if there is a sale or price reduction on a regular item or item that you've always wanted to try, then stock up! I can't tell you how many times I have not bought something, then bought it on sale then gone back the next week to be disappointed by the higher prices. 

For this recipe, I sauteed a handful of green beans with fresh sliced jalepeno. In a separate skillet, I sautee the diced crab that I have seasoned with black pepper and a low sodium spicy herb mix and voila! I have a quick and delicious meal that I enjoyed indulging in.

In case you too want to start stocking your fridge and pantry with sale items, I first recommend that you determine which stores (based on sales) carry those stock  up items. Next, create a list of items that you MUST have each week (hopefully over time, this list is very small and primarily consists of perishables) My weekly list usually consists of 

• Natural or Greek yogurt
• Eggs
• Milk
• Produce

What I stock up on:

• Boxed pastas/brown rice
• Frozen veggies
• Meats on sale at the deli/butcher that I portion out and freeze, as noted here
• Boxed milk alternatives (trust me, this comes in handy when you can't make it to the store for cow's milk)
• Oatmeal
• Nuts

For those items, look for the best price is sales of the store which you already shop. You can look online and see the weekly ad if you don't get spammed in your mail inbox. Finally, if can make a mock menu for the week. This step is as simple as looking at all the foods in your cart and asking yourself: what can I make from all of this and will I eat this? How long will this last if I don't use it this week/month?

How to Grocery Shop is a great resource on how to effectively grocery shop.

-Eating Clean in College