Grocery Spending/Menu Plan | except I didn't shop
On Saturdays, I share my menu plan for the upcoming week along with a photo of my groceries and a tally of my spending. My goal is to spend $100/week for our food, toiletries, and cleaning products. I'm currently in the midst of trying to buy more local, sustainably-produced food while sticking to my budget. Can it be done? I don't know, but I'm going to try, and I'll share what I learn as I go along.
You know by now that grocery shopping isn't really my favorite activity, mostly because I'd rather use that time to do school with my kids (fitting shopping AND school into an afternoon is busy!)
Earlier this week, I really, really, REALLY didn't feel like going shopping, and as I looked over my menu, I realized that I could probably make it through the week without doing a grocery trip.
Then I was very happy.
And I heard angel choirs.
It's actually turned out to be quite a good thing to have an unplanned off-week because it's forced me to use up a lot of the food I had in the house (of course, that's aside from the benefit of not having had to drag myself to the grocery store!)
Of course, the downside is that I have no grocery photo for you. So, here's a photo of something I'm going to tell you about next week.
Breakfasts this week will be cranberry bread, granola, cereal, fruit, and yogurt smoothies.
Lunches (we eat this meal at night during the week and at noon on the weekends) will be comprised of sandwiches made with whole wheat bread, homemade yogurt, yogurt smoothies, cottage cheese, fruit, raw veggies, nuts, cheese, and leftovers as necessary. Of course, we don't eat all of that every single day...it's just a list of the things we choose from for lunch each day. And Mr. FG eats leftovers for lunch pretty much every day.
Our main meals (which we eat at noon during the week and at night on the weekends) will be as follows:
Saturday
- Date night for Mr. FG and me, something easy for the offspring
Sunday
- We didn't make crepes last week, so I think we're going to try to get it done this week.
- Orange Julius
Monday
- Chipped Beef on Toast
- green salad
- oranges
Tuesday
- Chicken Parmesan Risotto (bumped from a previous week. Chicken will be from local organic store.)
- green beans
Wednesday
- Shrimp and Ravioli in Creamy Tomato Sauce (because I found some ravioli in my freezer)
- french bread
- green salad
Thursday
- Onion Braised Beef Brisket (a new recipe from my new Cook's Illustrated Cookbook
, and I'll use my local beef)) - English Muffins
- steamed broccoli
, and I'll use my local beef))Friday
____________________________
Today's 365 post: All the boys
Joshua's 365 post: Afternoon School
Ooooh, a teaser! 🙂 Can't wait to hear about it!
We make that brisket all the time! It's fantastic! (Occasionally I have had to cook it a little longer than the recipe calls for - just keep going until it's soft. And they say you can make it and eat it the same day, but there's NO comparison to making it the day before and letting it sit overnight.)
I am new to your blog and had to tell you how much I've enjoyed reading it. My husband and I are working towards becoming debt free (through the Dave Ramsey program), so saving money is very important to us. I've been a Wal Mart shopper for quite awhile now, but have recently started shopping more at Aldis and like it so much more! We've also really enjoyed many of your recipes. Thanks so much for such a wonderful blog!
Oh, I just love Orange Julius and crepes 🙂 🙂 I remember making a homemade version of an Orange Julius when I was in 7th grade Home Ec class 🙂 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
p.s. Is that a glass straw that I spy in that photo? I've never tried them,but I think I want to. My dad LOVES plastic straws for his juice..but I don't like them, because you can only use them once and then throw them away 🙂 The glass option sounds really good 🙂 🙂
heather, i have some plastic straws that are reusable. they're heavyweight and washable and super-cute! we love them. i got some as gifts and some on clearance at pottery barn. check them out this spring/summer.
grocery shopping is a mixed bag for me... love it when i'm going to trader joe's. safeway or the like, i try to send my husband. 😉
Shopping with my children, although draining, can be a good learning experience for them. I've found that it helps them practice patience and good manners, and I love having them work with our list. I completely agree with you that less is more, though! My hubby is out shopping for our trip to the Middle East (getting gifts for everyone)...shopping during Christmas season is not quite as much fun, with all the crowds! Bless his heart for taking one for the team. Thanks for sharing all of your yummy recipes, Frugal Girl! You are awesome.
I have been avoiding the grocery store myself this week. I cleaned out my fridge and found a little of this and a little of that to make meals from and it has been just fine. Of course now the fridge is starting to look a little bare and I will need to plan and shop again.
We have the glass straws. They are pretty, but break! What has been great for us is the straws that come with camelbak water bottles. Each bottle comes with two and we don't even use them in the bottles. The plastic straws are wide enough for thick smoothies and can hit the tile floor with nothing more than a splatter. 😉
We've been using up our leftovers in our freezer since Thanksgiving weekend. I ran out of milk though and we needed light bulbs so had to go get some on Wednesday. I have to say it has been nice having a break from grocery shopping. I am planning my regular trip next Friday after work, however. I'll be ready by then. 🙂
I love avoiding grocery shopping! I've been pulling lots out of the freezer lately (and making big batches to put in the freezer so I don't have to cook later).
You've probably answered this many times but when you say Mr FG eats leftovers for his meal at work, do you mean you deliberately cook a little extra the night before (or whenever) and take his out before serving the meal? If so, it must save a lot of time.
I made the Cook's Illustrated brisket for my daughter's christening brunch this summer and it was fantastic. I think it didn't make as much sauce as I was expecting, but I'm that was my fault and not the recipe's. I hope your family enjoys it too. We used beef from the 1/2 beef we bought from a local farm though, so I'll need to wait until we get the next beef to make it again.
I was so happy to see the link to the Cranberry Bread recipe. I have been in a banana bread/pumpkin gingerbread mode and was trying to think of something else for Christmas time! Yeah~ After reading the post, I could not remember if you ever ended up blogging about the Cook's recipe? Do you remember? 🙂 Blessings!