Week of 1/8/12 - Shopping

I ended last week with still $11 for the budget (spent $5 mid-week for coffee creamer), added to this weeks total gives me $96 for this weeks shopping.  There were a lot of sales this week at Safeway which helped a ton. I saved 41% of my bill.

Safeway:

1 bag Dry Black Beans      $1.99

1 bag Dry Split Peas          $1.99

2 Quaker Oat Containers   $5.49  (BOGOF)

1 box Nut Thin Crackers   $3.49 (my favorite GF cracker!)

1 Large Container Coffee  $7.99

4 bags of Frozen Veggies  $6.38 (buy 2 get 2 free)

1 brick of cheese                $4.49

1 container cream cheese   $2.00

Orange Juice                      $2.50

2 boxes stick butter            $5.00

Lunch Meat                       $1.99 

31 lbs Pork Spareribs         $15.76 (BOGOF)

Green Cabbage                  $1.68

Baby Carrots                      $1.50

2 packs of berries               $3.99 (BOGOF)

Total: $66.24

Trader Joes:

Earth Balance Spread     $3.99

TJ's High Fiber Cereal   $2.29

Raw Broccoli Slaw        $1.49

Organic Baby Spinach   $1.99

2 Red Bell Peppers         $2.29

1.5 lbs Zucchini              $2.29

Pearl Tomatoes               $2.49

Soy Sauce                       $2.99

Applesauce                     $1.69

Half & Half                     $1.79

11 Bananas                     $2.09

2 Dz Eggs                      $3.58

Milk                               $3.29

Total : $32.26

My grand total is $98.50, putting me $2.50 over for the week.  That gets taken from next weeks total!  

Side note, the pork ribs were an unplanned buy. We couldn't pass up that price though.  When I got the packages home, I cut the ribs up into smaller portions. Two large-ish portions for two rib night meals, and then 7 smaller portions that will be cooked and cut up for other meals (like pork fried rice).  So I have 9 pork meals I can plan.  I probably wouldn't plan more than two pork nights a week, so we are looking at at least 4-5 weeks of pork meals.  That combined with my chicken deal last week means my freezer is full of meat to last me the next two months!  

Week of 1/8/12 - Meal Plan

One of my meals from last week got pushed back. My husband loves tamales and he had to work late, so the kids and I had a pack of GF waffles that were still in my freezer for dinner. Then a party we went to on Saturday ran late so we didn't need dinner that night either.

Dinners:

Sunday - Tamales and Spanish Rice

Monday - Black Beans & Rice

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Teriyaki Chicken w/ Rice & Broccoli

Thursday - Homemade Mac & Cheese

Friday - Italian Chicken over Rice

Saturday - Leftovers

Lunches: 

Sandwiches or leftovers

Jen's GF lunch - leftovers or GF Tabbouleh

Breakfast: 

Eggs, Oatmeal or GF Blueberry Muffins

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Snacks around these parts are usually raw fruit and veggies; the occasional rice cake or cereal bar makes its way in to my children's snack times too.  Plus cheese and crackers.  My new budget, however, is not refined enough for me to have figured out our snacks yet.  Especially with the amount of food these two small things eat; seriously, they eat more than me.

So while I work on making my budget stretch, I've decided I need to get a little creative in the snack department.  So here come the muffins!  I'm not going to fool myself into thinking these are a super healthy choice, but they aren't the worst thing ever either.

I found the original recipe for this on Allrecipies.com, but ended up tweaking it a lot. I grate fresh zucchini (which I already buy for my egg breakfast mornings) AND fresh carrots into the batter. I cut the sugar by more than half and used applesauce in place of most of the oil.  This time I added a handful of chocolate chips too, but I think I may do apple chunks next time (I'll let you know how they turn out!).

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
2/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini and carrot
3 cups all-purpose flour (Haven't tried GF flour with this yet)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease or line two 12 cup muffin tins. (note: I did one 12 cup tin and a mini 24 cup tin. I freeze the mini ones and they will be put into school lunches).

In a large bowl beat the eggs.  Beat in the sugar, oil and applesauce. Add the cocoa, vanilla, and veggies and mix well.

Stir in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin spice. Mix until moist. Add chocolate chips and stir just until mixed.

Pour batter into prepared muffin tins, filling about 2/3rds full. Bake for 20-25 mins for a 12 cup tin and about 10-15 mins for a 24 cup tin. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Week of 1/1/12 - Shopping Trip

This week I have 3 lists: diapers/soap.com, Safeway, and Trader Joes.  I frequent all of these, but that may change as I refine my shopping needs within my budget.  I have never been much of a coupon person, but maybe that will have to change.

The biggest issue I see right now is that my diapers/soap.com purchase is front loaded at the beginning of the month. For now, I've decided to divide that total over my weekly goal of $100. I spent $100.02 on the site this month, leaving me about $85 a week for food and any extras that pop up that can't wait until the next month. While this seems incredibly low, I shouldn't have to buy anymore diapers, wipes, toilet paper or paper towels for the month. *fingers crossed*  I have the advantage, also, of having a healthy pantry do to overbuying of previous months. This gives me a little safety as I consider this first month a transition and re-learning how to be frugal.

Safeway Receipt:
4 cans diced tomatoes    $4.00
3 cans tomato sauce       $2.07
Spaghetti Noodles          $1.09
Toilet Paper                   $1.39 (waited until the first to order so needed a couple rolls until delivery!)
Half & Half                    $2.49
Garlic Bread                   $2.79 (should probably make my own!)
Italian Sausage               $3.49 (cooked and split into three helpings for spaghetti sauce)
Chicken Thighs              $4.75
4 Bananas                       $1.75
1 Green Bell Pepper       $1.25
4 Zucchini                      $2.59
4 Avocados                    $5.00
Total                             $32.77


Trader Joes:
Organic Sugar               $3.49
Cream Cheese               $1.79
Mushroom Bag             $2.29
Organic Baby Carrots    $1.49
7 Bananas                      $1.33 (yes I bought more bananas)
Rice Cakes                    $1.49
Celery                            $1.69
Popcorn Kernels            $1.99
Olive Oil Spray             $2.99
Organic Applesauce      $2.29
Milk                               $3.29
Onions                           $1.79
Multigrain Bread            $2.59
Organic Apples              $2.49
2 Dozen Eggs                $3.58
Total                            $36.27


Grand Total: $69.04
That leaves me nearly $16 for the rest of the week. I don't think anything else is needed, but my decaf coffee is definitely low.

Week of 1/1/12 - Meal Plan

Since this blog was started on a Tuesday instead of a Sunday, this is being posted later then I hope to in the future. Here is our meal plan for the week. We still have a stockpile of some things from last month (when I was still over spending), so I'm trying to use up what I have.

Dinner:
Sunday - Spaghetti w/ asparagus and French garlic bread
Monday - Roast Chicken w/ mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts
Tuesday - Chicken Pot Pie (Jen's GF meal - one scrambled egg w/ corn tortilla wrap)
Wednesday - Chicken Stir Fry w/ rice
Thursday - leftover night or GF pancakes
Friday - Tamales w/ Spanish Rice
Saturday - Leftovers

Lunches: Sandwiches and/or leftovers w/ fruit  (Jen's GF - rice cakes w/ cream cheese and fruit)

Breakfast: eggs or oatmeal.


I probably should mention that I am Gluten Free (GF). Usually I make meals that I can have, but there are still some I don't. At those times, I will make an altranate meal for myself. Chicken pot pies are one such meal. I've never been a fan anyway (husband and kids love it) and I can't find a good gluten free pie crust recipe. If you have any suggestions I'd love to hear about it!

Let the Journey Begin

Once upon a time, I was a frugal shopper. I treated budgeting like a game, proud of when I saved more than half my grocery bill. We rarely spent money, hoarding it like miserly hermits. Then we had kids...

I got lazy. I admit it. While cheap food seemed fine for my husband and I, I wanted my children to eat better. I started spending more. Then we had to go dairy free because my oldest was allergic. I started spending more. Even when my oldest outgrew her allergy, I was still spending more. Until I finally awoke to the reality last month that my food budget had grown to $800 a month for a family of 4.  Yes, we live in a high cost of living area (SF Bay Area) and many people feel thats reasonable, but I refuse to believe that I can't eat well on less.

Moreover, it wasn't just the food budget that had grown out of control. As a stay at home mom with young children, I found myself often going to Target just to get out of the house. And that lead to buying things because we "could use" them. Not to mention Starbucks runs, or clothing for the kids, or activities for the kids, or .....  I was out of control.

So join me as I try to reign my finances back under control.  My number one goal for now is to only spend $450 a month on food, toiletries, and diapers.  Well that, and getting my youngest out of diapers.