I have only stayed in a budget that tight once and that was last year when I was only spending $100 a week for groceries so I could have more money to spend in Puerto Rico. (priorities people!) I emptied out my pantry and made some very creative things and going organic was not on my list. But once I came back, I went right back to my old habits and just bought what I felt like eating. Here's my trick. Get ready! It is magic! .......Hold on.....I only buy the food I need. Yeah. I know....craziness!
Okay, it is a little more than that....kind of. My husband is the kind of man who will eat whatever I make and will never complain. You will never hear him say, "There ain't no meat in this. This ain't no meal! I need meat." So making vegetable based meals isn't an issue. Which if you have looked at the prices of organic meat, you will see why that matters. He also is never here, so I really don't include him in my meal planning. I buy him almond milk and make sure that there is something for him to eat, but I pretty much get to plan the weekly menu without any comments from the peanut gallery. I have this rule for the girls about food.....suck it up if you don't like it. I don't care. Makes my life pretty simple when it comes to meal planning.
I buy for three meals that will be big enough for leftovers for my lunch and dinner the next night. We make a loaf of bread every night. And I do buy those Peter Rabbit Organic fruit and veggie squeezes. The girls love them. I don't buy juice boxes. Why? Sugar in a box. They can drink water and eat the fruit. I have limited the girls to one gallon of milk a week and now buy almond milk and coconut milk. I never buy cereal. The girls will make themselves some scrabbled eggs or banana pancakes for breakfast. And we do not have meat with every meal.
That was the sticker price that shocked me the most. I buy one thing of chicken and one thing of frozen fish and that is our meat for the week. I did splurge a little bit this week and got Zoe some ham for her sandwiches.
I figured that even though the organic peanut butter is almost $10 for a big jar, it will last a little over 2 weeks using it for dips for apples and sandwiches every day. That is feeding my babies for less that $1 a day. I can live with that.
I actually only spent $170 for this week's groceries. I like to give myself a little wiggle room just in case I forgot or run out of something. I make it into a game and always ask the checker if they think I will come in under $200. This serves two purposes. It makes me accountable and if I go over, I won't feel so stupid asking them to take things off. I make it into a game. A couple of the checkers now follow the blog to see how I am doing on my endeavor and ask me if I am in my budget.
Last week, we ate like royalty. We had baked chicken thighs with rice, red bell peppers, and asparagus cooked in a dutch oven, (that I love almost as much as my steam cleaner) That meal fed me, my daughters, my eldest daughter's 3 overnight guests, and gave me a nice little meal to soak up last night's vodka. I made this amazing soup with orzo, spinach, garlic, ginger, and avocados. Fed myself and my husband two servings each that night and I had a nice little lunch. And of course the butternut squash coconut curry with rice. We still have some of that leftover. That went nicely with some pan seared halibut. Oh and I cannot forget the bananas in sweet coconut milk for dessert. Yummy!
This week our meal plan is Nicoise Salad, chicken salad lettuce wraps, chicken vegetable soup, pan seared dover sole with rice and vegies. I made the Nicoise Salad tonite and will sever it over spinach for my lunches for the next two days. I baked all the chicken breast tonight and that will make the chicken salad and chicken vegetable soup. I splurged and got some smoked salmon too and feta cheese for our eggs in the morning or a salad I may be craving. And if we need more food, I do still have $30 to spend for the week. If all else fails, we can have banana pancakes for dinner. Who doesn't like breakfast for dinner?
I like eating all the food I buy. I like feeding my family food that is good for them and kind to the environment. And I really like my grocery bill. Buy simple. Buy basic. Be healthy. Save money. Holler!
Recipe of the week
The orzo soup I made last week was so delicious. I looked in the pot and was surprised to see that what was in my pot looked just like the picture from the recipe. Because I am on a budget, I used ginger for a jar I already had and I didn't use the mustard seeds or any of the fresh herbs. It was still fabulous. Try it this week. http://marcussamuelsson.com/news/recipe-my-veggie-soup
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