1.21.09

Breakfast
Today I had oatmeal-1/4 cup of quick oats with 3/4 cup of skim milk, with 11 sliced almonds and 1/4 cup of dried fruit. I found a great new option for dried fruit at Target. They sell Archer Farms dried fruit and berry blend for only $2.99 for a 13 oz package! It's a really good deal, considering some of the dried fruit I have bought in the past has only half that amount for twice the cost. This mix contains raisins, berries, pineapple and papaya. It was great in the oatmeal, too...along with my usual additions of Equal and cinnamon. I also had a 4 oz glass of Old Orchard Blueberry Pomegranate 100% juice blend.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 1 oz whole (oatmeal)
Fruits: 1 cup (1/2 from dried fruit, and 1/2 from juice)
Vegetables: 0
Milk: 3/4 cup (skim milk)
Meats & beans: 1 oz (almonds)
Oils: 1 teaspoon (almonds)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $0.77

Lunch/Snack
When I work the later shift, I usually continue "grazing" throughout the afternoon, to keep from starvation as I usually don't eat dinner until 8:30 or 9 these nights. Today, I had a PBJ sandwich with 2 tablespoons of Skippy Natural peanut butter (safe from the current contamination scare) and a teaspoon or so of grape jelly (right now I'm using the Target brand) on whole wheat bread (Sara Lee). I also had an ounce of Baked Lays (about 15 chips), and snacked on a 6 oz cup of Schnucks fat free yogurt and an Empire apple later in the afternoon.

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 2 oz whole (bread)
Fruits: 1 cup (small apple)
Vegetables: 1/2 cup (chips)
Milk: 3/4 cup (yogurt)
Meats & beans: 2 oz (peanut butter)
Oils: 2 teaspoons (peanut butter)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $1.69

Dinner
Tonight I made frozen tortellini with marinara sauce (Classico brand), with steamed frozen broccoli flourets and fresh baby carrots as sides. I had about 1 1/2 cups of the tortellini with 3/4 cup of sauce topped with 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese, along with 1 cup of broccoli and 9 baby carrots (3/4 cup). I added a teaspoon of Smart Balance Light and a little Mrs. Dash garlic herb seasoning to the veggies. This is a very satisfying meal that's very quick to prepare and not too expensive...perfect for an night when you worked all day and don't feel like doing much in the evening!

All together, this meal provided:
Grains: 3 oz (tortellini)
Fruits: 0
Vegetables: 1 1/2 cups (pasta sauce, carrots and broccoli)
Milk: 3/4 cup (1/4 cup from Parmesan cheese, plus 1/2 cup from cheese in tortellini)
Meats & beans: 0
Oils: 1 teaspoon (Smart Balance)

The cost of this meal was approximately: $2.20

How did I do today?
Grains: 6 oz out of 6 oz (3 were whole)
Fruits: 2 cups out of 2 cups
Vegetables: 3 cups out of 2 1/2 cups
Milk: 2 1/4 cups out of 3 cups
Meats & Beans: 3 oz out of 5 1/2 oz
Oils: 4 teaspoons out of 6 teaspoons

Total cost for the day: $4.65