A Lazy Girl's Guide to Meal Planning - Part 1: Costco Wholesale (the Mothership)

January 1st is now two days away and coming with it a swirl of resolutions, hope, and diets galore!  In preparation for this new year/chapter of my life, I have begun cleaning out my fridge and cabinets for all the healthy, delicious food that I hope to fill them with.  I will also be starting my second Fit Girl's Guide challenge on January 5th - the Fitkini Body Challenge!

For me, the key to staying on track is not only through meal planning, but also through "emergency" back-up plans (i.e. what the heck will I eat when I'm too busy/lazy to prep and cook!?!)  Therefore, I thought a proper Costco trip was in order, to see what goodies I could pick up.  I have yet to visit Costco since I began my first Fit Girl's Guide challenge on December 1st, so I was interested to go in with my Fit Girl mindset!  I have dieted in the past, but something about the Fit Girl's Guide has made it easier and more realistic for me to create healthy meals!  (For one, the fact that they didn't completely drop carbs was one of the biggest selling points!)  Anyways, back to the crowded aisles of Costco, where I stood with the eyes of a hawk, scanning for any potential Fit Girl Finds!

The goodies:

Skinny Pop Popcorn:  My boyfriend actually hunted this down at Costco because he loves the stuff!  How can you not for 39 calories per cup?!  This giant bag costs $5.29 and is worth every penny!  Snack away without the guilt!

Kirkland Premium Chunk Chicken Breast:  6 - 12.5 oz. cans for only $11.59!  That is $2 per can!  I felt like I was robbing Costco!  Get the chicken, make a delicious chicken salad and you will not be disappointed (reminder: post my easy-peasy chicken salad recipe asap!)

Minsley 100% Organic Brown Rice (Microwaveable):  90 seconds for delicious brown rice plus no dirty pan?  Sign me up!  6 bowls costs $6.99, not the cheapest, but I will gladly pay $1 for an easy, filling side!

Good Grains Organic Quinoa & Kale Blend (with citrus & black pepper seasoning):  Found this in the freezer section and the package includes 4 steamable bags.  1 cup is only 100 calories!  Contains approximately 11 - 1 cup servings for $9.99.  Oh the glorious recipes I will prepare with this!

Trident Alaskan Salmon Burgers: Best part is that they are made from wild salmon!  Each patty is 170 calories and I cannot wait to enjoy these on a salad, in a pita, or protein-style!  No fillers in these either, the main ingredient is the salmon and the rest of the ingredients (mainly seasonings) make up less than 2% of the burgers. Great price as well, only $13.99 for 12 burgers!

Kirkland Tilapia Loins:  These are another great backup plan for a quick and easy protein.  Found in the freezer section, they are only 110 calories for 4 oz. of tilapia.  Planning on some fish tacos and ceviche with these bad boys!  $14.99 buys you a 40 oz. bag (~10 - 4 oz. portions!)

Sabra Hummus Singles:   I love having these around when I am in a rush to get out the door for school or work.  Each package contains 1/4 cup of hummus, which is more than you technically need for a snack if you are watching calories, but can be great to have half for snacktime and save some for lunch!  (Still better than grabbing a bag of chips from the vending machine!)  Each package is 150 calories and the box of 16 singles is $5.99.

Kirkland Creamy Almond Butter:   I normally don't consume a lot of peanut butter or any nut butter for that matter, however, the Fit Girl's Guide has really gotten me into almond butter.  I bought a small jar from my grocery store (for $7, yikes!) and it is almost gone!  When I stumbled across this 26 oz. jar at Costco I was pretty stoked because it only cost $10.99!  Also, there is only one ingredient: roasted almonds.  Ah the simplicity, I love it.  (Forgot to add this to my group photo above, so it earned itself a premium solo photo).

So those are my Fit Girl finds at Costco!  This bounty cost me under $100 and will provide supplemental recipe material for many of my meals (I'm actually getting excited just thinking about all the different possibilities!)  Next week I'm planning on tackling Trader Joe's... it might be a VERY long post!  Well this is fit girl Shelby signing out -- stay fit and stay happy!