I love a good deal.

Now, to be clear, I am not a crazy coupon lady. I ain’t got no time for that…nor do I have a newspaper subscription or own a printer (#millenial). But that being said, I do leverage Target’s Cartwheel app*, weekly sales, and a little bit of retail know-how in our weekly meal planning.

{Note: If you don’t use Target’s Cartwheel app you are MISSING OUT. I’ve heard a lot of people say that it’s too much of a hassle to scan/search out items to get a typical 5%-10% discount, but we frequently use offers for up to 50% off AND they just added manufacturer coupons for $ off to the app. Also, if you have one person scan & one person shop it’s beautifully efficient…and you know I love me some efficiency!}

Why do I do this? Because nothing beats the rush of getting a super good deal on nutritious food to feed our little family…and because there is nothing little about the size of my husband’s appetite.

Now here’s the extra fun part–if you just put on your retail merchant cap (which who DOESN’T want to do that?!) you can really save even more in your weekly grocery shopping.

For example:

• Stock up on baking items between Q4 (November/December) and Easter–this is when you’ll find the best deals on flour (even almond flour!), raw nuts, and BUTTER*. These items really don’t go on a decent sale outside of these time frames…and the nuts and butter freeze super well!
  • I regularly get made fun of for getting giddy when a pound of butter comes down to $2.50. Knowing it was the last time it would be on sale for a while I may or may have not have bought five pounds of butter during Easter peak week. I mean, TWO FIFTY, PEOPLE! Normally it’s around $5! STOCK UP!

 

• Stock up on grilling items (ground beef/ground turkey/burgers/hot dogs/buns) during May through July and freeze it. These items last for months in the freezer–and then you’re set for when you need some ground turkey for chili once it gets colder out!
  • This timeframe is also the best time to buy ice cream. Regular pricing is usually already lower than other times of the year, and you can find some screamin’ good deals around 4th of July. And guess what? A little bit of ice cream is good for the soul #treatyoself

 

• Wait until peak holiday weeks to purchase your food for a holiday meal–you may think you’re getting a good deal on your Thanksgiving turkey two weeks prior, but most retailers offer their hottest deals the peak holiday week (or even offer deals like “Spend $50 on food, get a $10 giftcard)

 

• And finally, keep your eyes peeled for CRAZY deals on seasonally-sensitive bulky items post-holiday–you can frequently get deals at LEAST 40%-50% off normal retail price (ie: watermelons post-4th of July/Labor Day, turkeys post-Thanksgiving, and hams post-Easter). A retailer never wants to run out of these key items for a holiday, so they tend to over-order. This means there will almost always be some product leftover that they cannot fit in their backrooms due to its bulky size.

This last tip is what got me last week–50% off a spiral-cut ham.

Now, there may be a reason I get teased for how excited I get about getting a good deal…

Exhibit A:

• Tom sends me a picture of his AWESOME seats at the Wild game
• I send him a picture of our fridge

Now I know that everyone is usually hammed-out post-Easter, but I don’t think Tom could ever turn down a ham sandwich on pumpernickel bread with all the fixings…nor could I. I knew we would be able eat this huge ham eventually…I just didn’t know how to keep us from eating it immediately in the form of delicious sandwiches.

And while sandwiches are pretty great, I have to be careful about the amount of bread I eat (for me, carbs–> sugar–> diabetic blood sugar spiking= no bueno), so I needed to get creative in ensuring that we could use the remaining nine pounds of ham (or at least some of it!) in a way that we could both enjoy without worry.

So…where’s the compromise?

Here’s our answer:

• Lean on my grandma’s traditional split pea and ham soup recipe, but eliminate the sugar and increase the amount of naturally-sweet carrots in the base to maintain a hint of sweetness
• Significantly increase the amount of vegetables (celery, onions, carrots, and, of course, peas!) found in a traditional split pea soup–upping the nutritional value and making the soup base hearty enough for a 26 year old man’s appetite
• Elevate the flavor profile by using bay leaves, thyme, and crushed red pepper to make this healthy soup intriguing enough to keep your taste buds wanting more
• Add lots and lots of ham…because, well, I’ve got a lot of ham on my hands!

| Post-Holiday Ham & Split Pea Soup |

Serves: 6 Tom’s or 8 Alaina’s

Ingredients Needed:

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 ham hock (ham bone), ideally with some meat still attached
• 2 cups split peas
  • If you’re like me, you have no idea where to find split peas in a grocery store. They’re by the dried beans and rice! 
• 1 large, flat sweet yellow onion, chopped
  • Remember, the flatter they are the sweeter they are!
• 1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
  • I promise this does not make the soup spicy–it just adds a bit of extra flavor!
• 2 cups skim milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • Now before you freak out, this makes the soup and is something I will never change from my grandma’s original recipe. Why? I’ve said it before= fat=flavor! And this one cup of heavy whipping cream has only 150 calories, 13 grams of fat, 7 carbs, and 4 sugars. Your body needs some fat–and this is the only fat in the dish. Trust me, don’t dare leave this out. 
  • If you just can’t stand it, add another cup of milk…but I’d recommend using a fattier milk like 2% instead of skim for all the milk in the dish.
  • And also, DO NOT SUBSTITUTE GREEK YOGURT. That is, unless you like chunky bits of slightly chalky-tasting dairy be-bopping around your soup bowl. 
• 2 cups ham, chopped
• Salt, to taste

Directions: 

• In a large dutch oven or stock pot, add your water, broth, ham hock, and split peas

• Bring ingredients to a boil and then simmer on medium-low for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally (feel free to cover pot)

• After 30 minutes have passed, add your onion, carrots, celery, and spices

• After stirring to combine, let simmer on medium-low for 45 minutes; stirring occasionally (feel free to cover pot)

• Once 45 minutes have passed and you’re sure your peas have softened, remove your ham hock and bay leaf

• Your next step is to puree your soup–either by pouring soup into a blender or by using a handheld immersion blender
  • If you use an immersion blender, be SURE you do not lift it up while blending–you will have pea soup splattered everywhere!
  • If you use a normal blender, return soup to pot after you have pureed

• Once pureed, gradually stir in your milk and cream

• Once your milk/cream has been added, stir in your ham pieces and add salt for taste. Just ensure you add the ham before you salt the soup–the ham will be adding a majority of the salt that you need!

• After all ingredients have been added, cover and let soup simmer on low for at least 10 minutes and for up to an hour or two–this soup is perfect for lazy days–it’s ready when you are! Just remember to stir occasionally to avoid a top layer forming on the soup.

• For serving, I recommend serving with a side of good bakery-bought rye bread (Swedish Orange Limpa is ideal!) and a side salad
  • We always try to eat bakery-bought bread if we’re going to any bread at all–it’s less processed and doesn’t include the added sugars and preservatives you find in store-bought bread. 

Now I would be remiss if I didn’t note the following about the above recipe:

1. This only used like 25% the massive amount of ham we currently have at our house…luckily, sliced ham freezes and de-thaws really well. This recipe uses the ham bone though–so put together that’s like at least 3-4 lbs of the ham!
2. Tom had never had pea soup before and was MAJORLY skeptical of this green goop when I served it to him. If you’re a little dubious that you’re going to like this soup, I urge you to at least give it a try. It tastes like a rich, flavorful chicken noodle soup with a tomato soup-like texture. This soup is basic enough to serve to a two year-old, but it has flavor depth that will please the palette of event the most gourmet cook. And also, Tom ate two HEAPING bowls of it despite his original hesitation!
3. It’s really, really good with bread. So even if I originally made this soup to avoid having to eat the ham leftovers with bread…just keep in mind that if you’re not diabetic you should DEFINITELY eat this soup with a slice good rye bread. It’s insanely good together….and then you can use some of that butter you stocked up on!

So even if you don’t love good deal as much as I do (and you probably don’t, which is totally okay…and probably normal), I still challenge you to head out to your favorite local grocery store this week and see what sort of deal you can get on a “leftover” Easter ham. It’s supremely easy to just cut off the pre-cut slices* and freeze whatever you don’t plan on using within the week, and then you can try this even easier one-pot soup.

{Note: Much to contrary belief, you do NOT need to use the glaze packet that comes with your ham! Save yourself the sugar…and the time it takes to apply!}

At the end of the day, we all want to feed our family healthy meals that will nourish both their bodies and their soul. Even if you’re one of the supremely lucky individuals in this world who doesn’t have to worry about finding a “good deal” to be able to afford nutrient-dense food, it never hurts to have a recipe in your back pocket that can allow you to feed your family a good meal at a good price.

So while Tom still may not agree with me that my deal on a ham was as awesome as his seats at the Wild game, I know he appreciates this approach that we take to feeding our family. Although we are almost always purchasing the traditionally more expensive non-packaged/non-processed foods, we are thoughtful about how much we spend and how we spend it.

Why? Because there’s lots of people in our world and in our own backyard that can’t afford to eat in a way that is nourishes their body. We can gain empathy by reminding ourselves of this while we are running around town doing our monotonous weekly errands and maybe even potentially thinking about either donating the money we save, donating items to our local food bank, or donating our time to an organization like  Feed My Starving Children.

So while I hope you enjoy our latest culinary compromise, I also hope I can give you some food for thought. Tom and I feel so blessed that we even have the opportunity to access and afford healthy meals for our little family of two, and we never want to forget how there are so many others in this world who don’t have this same luxury.

And even though there are just two of us and we can’t tackle this reality by ourselves, we can still do a good deal more than we think to help our neighbors both near and far away.

Here’s to making many more culinary compromises…all in the name of love.

xoxo,

alaina