Thrifty Thursday and Operation Beautiful

June 18, 2009

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I have to chime in here with my girl, Caitlin, on her Operation Beautiful project. So often us women are viewed as the weaker link, but I pose to challenge that notion completely. How have YOU showed your inner strength and beauty so far this year? The year is only half over and so far I have graduated from culinary school (something that was a dream for me since I was a little girl), stood in for my mom as I held my little brother’s hand when he passed away, and have quit a “safe” job to pursue my dreams. Yes, I am much (Much) poorer than I wish I was right now, but I am much happier as well. I never in a million years could even think for a second that I would be strong enough to keep going after my brother died so suddenly but as they say, a woman is like a teabag—you don’t know her real strength until you put her in hot water. Amen? Amen.

Today was VERY productive in many, many ways that I just cannot share with you yet!!!! I promise it will be worth it and it will be soon. Is it killing you yet?! muhahahaha I snacked on a Super Charge Me cookie + another big crumble straight out of the freezer around 3:15—-

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Today was definitely a no-workout day. Not even walking; there just wasn’t enough time!
Dinner was a great example of cooking on a budget. Of course Ryan would have liked meat but I kindly reminded him that meat is expensive and we need to eat what we have right now! Let me introduce “Thrifty Girl’s Baked Ziti”
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I didn’t measure anything at all but what went into the casserole dish was the following:
  • almost half a box of whole wheat penne pasta
  • 1 jar of Whole Foods organic pasta sauce
  • 1 sliced summer squash
  • 1/2 sliced zucchini
  • 3 garlic cloves, grated on microplane
  • healthy pinch hot pepper flakes
  • 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • cheese! After I had cooked the pasta and combined it with all the above, I sprinkled mozzarella cheese over top. Cheese makes Ryan happy! :)

I baked my concoction for 15 minutes at 350 until the cheese was nice and bubbly.

Voila!

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And I washed it all down with yummy tea!
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See? It IS possible to eat healthy while on a budget. The above meal, which would probably feed five or six, only cost about $4 to make. I just had the sudden thought to make every Thursday “Thrifty Thursday” where I shall showcase a meal you can make for your family under $5. Sound okay to everyone?? Lord knows we could use cheap healthy meals in this crazy economic time!
I’ll probably have a little dessert later but wanted to get my blog post up there before we start the movie! Yep, Ryan actually wants to watch “He’s Just Not That Into You” with me tonight! I’ve been dying to see it so I can’t wait.
More AWESOME news!!!!! The folks over at Amazing Grass actually read each one of your comments two nights ago on why you feel like you deserve a large tub of Amazing Meal. They were very, very touched by what you all wrote and because of that they are extending a VERY special one time 40% discount on their large (2lb) containers of Amazing Meal—any flavor you choose. And….get this…..you also get a free shaker like the one I drink from every morning (love that thang)! I was almost floored by their generosity in this offer because as you all know, this stuff isn’t exactly cheap. Since its such a special offer though it only stands active for one week and will be cut off on June 25th. All you do is at check-out, type in the special code—EatLiveRun40%AM.

I hope that this special offer is enough so you, too, can experience the crazy energy that I now feel from my morning smoothies! Click on the yummy container below to order now! :) Remember, this offer is only good for ONE WEEK!

Time to start the movie! See you tomorrow for a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)

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Tagged as: Dinner, musings, Snack

{ 104 comments… read them below or add one }

Tracy June 19, 2009 at 12:16 pm

Jenna, please tell the Amazing Grass people THANK YOU SO MUCH for this amazing offer!!! And thank you for being such a wonderful blogger and all around sweetheart. You look awesome in that pic!!!! What foundation/powder do you use? I went to the derm for my acne and he says less is better…I am looking into switching to mineral makeup?? Any ideas?

Low June 19, 2009 at 12:26 pm

I love your Operation Beautiful message. Yours is one of my favorite blogs because of your wonderful outlook on life and how real you are.

The ziti looked terrific!

ashley June 19, 2009 at 12:53 pm

it’s not taking the code. =( not sure what i’m doing wrong and the customer service number isn’t working either. what gives?

Meghan June 19, 2009 at 3:35 pm

Thanks the awesome deal at Amazing Meal. I just bought mine and can’t wait to try it!

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