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Whole 30 Day 21: Let’s save some money.

After 20 days, the cravings are gone. All of them. I’m settled into a basic routine of making a lot of food on the weekend and keeping quick fix foods for during the week. The other surprise is my DECREASING grocery bill. I went to Whole Foods and spent $50 on local produce, almond butter, beef, chicken, frozen vegetables, and the salad bar. I usually add in foods from the beans/grains bin section, cheese, wine, gluten-free baking foods and prepared foods. This time, I left those out and brought home enough food to prepare a few days of meals. I had a similar experience at the grocery store. My cart is full of produce, mostly. With careful planning and paying attention to what is on sale, what is in season (and cheaper), and what gives you more bang for your buck, I have saved some money this weekend.

I had more soup for lunch and I can’t get enough of chicken soup made from a whole chicken. I always knew it tasted better, but many times  I would boil chicken breasts out of convenience. This is my 3rd pot of real chicken soup and I won’t go back to the plain tasteless chicken breast method. I also have frozen enough bones to make a few batches of bone broth this summer. Double duty from the lowly chicken!

soup

For dinner, I used some sausage made in house from the little grocery store down the road. I made a big pot of sausage chili! We had a big cold front move through for a few days and we both wanted some hot chili. It was spicy from the sausage but I added plenty of layers of flavor until the pot was anything but bland or boring.

~sausage chili

Spicy Sausage Chili

  • 1 lb of pork sausage
  • 1/2 cup of chopped bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup of chopped onions
  • 1/2 cup of chopped celery
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 cans of petite diced tomates
  • 4 cups of beef broth
  • 1 can of tomato paste
  • 2 Tablespoons of spicy Chili powder
  • 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoons of ground chipotle powder
  • 2 teaspoons of salt

1. In a large pot, saute the bell pepper, onions, celery, garlic for 3 minutes.

2. Add sausage to pot and cook fully.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients.

4. Simmer for 1-2 hours (the longer the better). Do NOT heat to rolling boil. Simmer only.