How to get all that Protein on a Budget

 Dieters and diabetics alike eat protein!  It keeps us full, it keeps us happy and it doesn't cause sugar spikes.  For most people protein means meat.  Meat is expensive!  One of the biggest reasons that people think they can't stick to a healthy living plan, is how expensive healthy food is.  Mac-n-cheese is cheap.  Steak is not.  Even Chicken is so expensive, unless you are willing to buy the whole bird, and a dieter usually only wants the white meat. And then there is the "the-hormones-in-the-meat-are-making-us-fat" argument.  I don't know if that is true or not.  This is what I know:

1) I want to eat.
2) I want it to taste good.
3) I want it to be healthy to fuel my body.
4) I want to cook one meal for the whole family (see number 2).
5) I want to be able to afford to eat this way.

I don't consider any of these wants unreasonable.  But to accomplish them all, I buy in bulk.  I buy from a place called Zaycon foods.  I buy the beef which is 97/3 and tasty.  I buy the chicken, which is boneless, skinless, hormone free and not previously frozen- so fresh.  I do buy it in 40 lb increments. It is worth it to me.  I get it home and repackage the meat into quart sized freezer bags and I add marinades to about 1/2 of what I get.  That way, I take a package out of the freezer in the morning and by dinner time, I have a nice marinated chicken breast to cook up.  Easy!  I pay $1.00-$2.00 less per pound by doing this.  When you buy 80 lbs of meat that adds up!  I think it takes my family of 6 3-5 months to go through this much chicken.  Although, some days we are having beef, but we mostly eat chicken.

For me the quality is better that my local grocery store and the price is lower, so it is worth the extra work of rebagging. I know for others this is not the case, but for me it works.

What do you do to keep the cost of eating correctly down?

By the way, I am including a link to Zaycon Foods here for you.  Go ahead and take a look.  See if they deliver in your area of the country. If so, give it a try and let me know what you think.  They have a lot of great products.  And before anyone asks, NO! +Zaycon Foods  did not pay me to write this. Yes! I like the service that much! And the only sort of compensation I might get is that if you buy something, and go through my link, I get $1.00 off on my next order.  It is not enough for me to write a blog post.  I have to actually like them.  :)

https://www.zayconfoods.com/refer/zf1982

Cheeseburger Salad

Cheeseburger-Salad

A fun recipe for you.  I have some friends who have tried it, and their boys now ask for it.  Yup!  That's boys asking for salad.  I'm telling you, this is good stuff, and sooooo easy!

Seriously, this is more a guide than a recipe. Its sort of 'a little of this, a little of that' in nature. I'll tell you how I did it, and you can make it work for your family. :)

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 small or 1/2 large yellow or white onion
cook together in a frying pan

When the meat is done add:
About 3 Tbl. Ketchup
about 1 Tbl. Mustard (yellow prepared mustard, just the plain stuff)
about 1 1/2 tsp pickle juice (Dill)
Cook and stir and taste. If it needs more of anything add it. don't get it too wet though.

To your lettuce add:
3-4 pickles chopped
1 large tomato chopped
1 avocado chopped (I LOVE avocados! I use them for everything!)

Put your hamburger (or turkey) mixture on top. Add about 2 cups of Med. cheddar cheese grated.

You can serve with some home-made croutons.

I served with Ketchup on top, but you can use thousand Island or Ranch or nothing. The meat has plenty of flavor. I actually think some french fries or potato chips would be tasty, but I am not advocating it. lol.

Cheeseburger-Salad