Making Healthy Choices At Sams Club
Anyone else out there have a membership to Sams Club? I used to frequent Costco, and still do on occasion, but there is now a Sam's right down the street from our house so it has become my go to. I make a trip about once every week and a half to two weeks to stock up on essentials that we fly through at our house. Going to warehouse type food places like this there are temptations lurking in every aisle. There are even temptations at the end of every aisle handing you 200 calories on a toothpick! It's easy to waver off your clean eating path when you are at these types of places so when I go I will typically go for the same things over and over again so that I have a one track mind and don't steer from the path. Except for that one time that I bought a bag of chex mix as big as me, because well it was only $4!! I digress, here are my top healthy food staples from Sam's Club. Happy shopping and meal planning!
Sam's Club Healthy Staples To Save On
Bananas- Maybe my family is a bunch of monkeys, I don't know. I do know that we go through bananas faster than a normal family does. I will usually buy two bunches at a time and we seem to run out well before the next run. When the bananas are $3 a bunch for organic, why not? What do we do with all the bananas you ask? The girls love to eat them plain and with peanut butter as a snack. My all time favorite snack is a toasted protein english muffin topped with almond butter and bananas. We also use them routinely in our smoothies to add natural sweetness without adding any sugar. Since I buy large amounts at the same time there are times when some are starting to get a little brown and soft if they are at the bottom of the pile. I will then make this awesome pumpkin banana bread recipe or throw them in the freezer to use in said recipe or in smoothies.
Ground Turkey - We love ground turkey at our house as a leaner alternative to ground beef. I love buying my ground turkey from Sam's because you pay the same or less than normal grocery stores for twice as much. The turkey comes in a package of two and each one has two pounds which easily feeds my family of four with lots of leftovers. Some of my favorite recipes for ground turkey are these sweet potato nachos, these stuffed peppers, and this green bean stir fry.
Greek Yogurt- Again, something that is about the same cost or less as normal grocers but twice the size! We use plain non fat Greek yogurt in our smoothies and to make fruit and granola parfaits for the mornings. One cup has 22 grams of protein and only 6 grams of sugar.
Strawberries- We can likely out eat anyone in a fruit eating contest I tell you. My family will gobble up fruit and this giant sized container of strawberries will go quickly. I give strawberries with breakfast, as an after dinner snack and toss them into smoothies. Hoping to make this paleo strawberry sorbet this summer!
Salmon- I'm about to tell you about the most impressive yet easiest dinner you can serve taught to me by my mother in law. Put a large plank of salmon like this in a baking pan. Preheat your oven to broil. Sprinkle ranch seasoning generously over the salmon. You can find a paleo ranch seasoning here. Now just stick it in your oven on broil for about 15 minutes or until it appears done and is flaky upon cutting. You can use this in salads or as a main entree with some delicious veggies sides. It also makes a glorious presentation for a dinner party especially if you garnish a its some lemons.
Blackberries- Blackberries are another fruit favorite in this house. Just like with strawberries, these are used with breakfast and snack times throughout the day. We also throw them into yogurt parfaits and smoothies regularly. I am also looking forward to making this paleo blackberry jam this summer! I have made other blackberry jams in the past but this one is made without any processed sugars and chia seeds added for texture and extra fiber!
Coconut Milk- So many uses for coconut milk here! Our main uses are for my steel cut tropical oatmeal and to have on hand for paleo sauces like this coconut caramel sauce, this coconut vanilla coffee creamer, and this ranch dressing. This is the perfect alternative for milk substitutes (as it says on the box) for those that need to be dairy free or are eliminating milk for diet purposes.
For my steel cut oats I add a ratio of 4 cups of liquid to one cup of steel cut oats. Each coconut milk can is about 1-2 cups worth of liquid so I just add water to make up the remaining four cups. After liquid comes to a simmer on the stove add the oats and cook on low until majority of the liquid is absorbed. I will then add about 1-2 tablespoons of 100% pure maple syrup for natural sweetness, some unsweetened coconut chips, and a pinch of ground vanilla bean. We store this in a large container and eat throughout the week for our busy mornings. When we make it in the morning we add fresh toppings of more unsweetened coconut flakes, sliced bananas or dried bananas and sometimes cocoa nibs. We don't eat this daily as it is not paleo or whole 30 approved but I will make it once or twice a month to get us by on those super chaotic mornings so we get something relatively healthy into our bellies!
Eggs- Okay, time to fess up about our egg consumption. You know in Beauty and the Beast when they sing about how Gaston eats 5 dozen eggs every morning? Well let's just say that we certainly approve of Gaston's egg affinity. On most days we cook at least half a dozen eggs for breakfast, whether it be scrambled or hard boiled or poached. I have tons of favorite egg recipes here, here, and here (the paleo sausage egg mcmuffin) but our simple staple is usually scrambled with sweet potatoes and avacado when we're fancy.
Tangerines- Okay, by now you are probably wondering how we have any other money outside of what we use to purchase food, sometimes I wonder that as well LOL. Let me tell you when I buy all these staples on a regular basis my bill usually comes out to $100 or less. Crazy right? So much good healthy food seems like it should be more doesn't it? Back to the tangerines, they are such an easy on the go snack. I look like the mom magician when I start pulling tangerines out of my purse at the park or store. Just say the magic word and the orange is yours. They are also wonderful for that last second request before bedtime when your kids want just a little something else to eat. Of course, just make sure to brush and floss afterwards!!
Looking for more grocery store and meal planning suggestions? Check out my favorites from Trader Joe's here!
