Grocery Spending/Menu Plan | Our power went off last night.
Usually when this happens, there's been some sort of storm or at least a lot of wind, but last night, it just quietly went out. Thankfully, it happened around 8:00, when it wasn't quite as hot and when we were heading to bed anyway.
It came on a few hours later, much to my relief. In heat like this, it doesn't take long for the house to get hot and then for the freezer/fridge to get warm. That would make for a dreadful Food Waste Friday post.
Yay for power! I'm so grateful.
I am not as grateful for this wickedly hot weather. It's hard to believe just last weekend the weather was cooler, drier, and we had multiple picnics at multiple parks.
Photo by Sonia, who always has specific instructions. "Walk down there and hold Zoe's hand." A candid photographer, she is not.
But that's why we take advantage of breaks in the weather.
We know they're just that...breaks in a long string of hot and humid days.
It's hard to believe I will ever be cold again.
In fact, in these days when even a pool feels too warm, I almost forget what being cold is like.
But fall will come all too soon, I know, and then winter.
And in wintertime, days when it's pleasant to be outside are much rarer than they are in summer, so I'm not really wishing away these warm months.
At the same time, I'm not going to complain when the heat spell breaks (I think lower 90s are forecast for a few days next week, and at this point, lower 90s sound downright cool).
Hmm. I got a lot more picture-happy there than I was planning to. On to food!
This week was a mostly no-shopping week...at least, a no-big-shopping-trip week. I did stop at the produce stand and I spent $11 on corn, peaches, and strawberries. Totally delicious. Oh yes.
And after I went to the gym yesterday, I stopped at Aldi for milk and a few other things. I spent $12.81 there.
I also scored a whole bunch of produce from my parents' garden, and I'd like to show you a picture of all the cherry/grape tomatoes we got, but they're pretty much gone. My kids and I all love to eat them plain by the handful...they're so sweet, it's sort of like eating fruit.
So, most of the food that came into my house this week was produce, which is as it should be on an off-week.
What are we eating this week?
Breakfast options will be yogurt, smoothies, fruit, granola, scrambled eggs, and toast.
Lunches 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.
Here's my dinner plan.
Saturday
- French Bread Pizza
- green salad
Sunday
- I'm not sure...our plans are a little bit up in the air and I need to talk to Mr. FG before making any firm dinner decisions.
Monday
- Panini sandwiches
- Zucchini patties
- fresh fruit
Tuesday
- Chicken Quesadillas
- chips/salsa
- raw veggies
Wednesday
- Sauteed Tilapia Fillets
- Whole Wheat Rolls
- green beans
Thursday
- Mandarin Chicken Salad
- garlic bread
Friday
- takeout date night for Mr. FG and me and something easy for the kids
Is it crazy hot where you live? If it is, I hope you have A/C or access to a pool so that you can enjoy your weekend.
The news said that the electrical grids might not be able to take all of the power being used. Glad it came back on for you. It's crazy hot here, for sure. We are hanging out inside watching movies...waiting for the weather to break. We just got back from the lake, where it was just as hot, but our boat and the water made it bearable.
Thanks for the idea of mandarin chicken salad. It sounds perfect on days like today.
We lost ours last Sunday due to a wicked storm and I had the same fear about my freezer. I might have actually cried if I had to get rid of all my meat.
Not to gloat too much...but I believe we have had a couple of hours of over 80 degree weather and about two amybe three days of over 75 degree weather in Seattle! Yay! I am not a hot weather fan and have been thankful Seattle has not had to endure the unbelievably hot temperatures that you have.
We don't have the heat wave wither. Beautiful and sunny most of the week, but gloomy and windy today.
Thank goodness we have been alternating a week of hot, HOT weather, with a week of high 80's weather. I love that I can hang a load of laundry out on the line and it's dry within the hour. This has been super helpful, because I cannot seem to get caught up with laundry. I think it must be breeding in the dark. Summer does seem to be going by too quickly. Although, it could be 78 every day and I would be happy! 😀
Are you baking pizza and whole wheat rolls in your oven on these hot days? I live in New England where we rely on window a/c units. After growing up in the South where almost everyone has central air, it just seems silly to run the oven and have a dinky window unit straining to keep up.
So... since you do a lot of baking, do you have any tips for managing in the hot weather? Do yo do anything special like bake early in the morning or late in the evening? If so, how do you do your rising? For example, do you put it straight in the fridge before bed and pop in the oven first thing in the morning? Or is it better to bake at night? Any suggestions appreciated!
I asked these same questions. maybe it's just cooler where she lives. I would also like to know about a/c use. Are you frugal with that also? We are currently not running the a/c from about 9am until 7pm or later. This is partly because we have day ahead pricing and our electric rates change hourly and peak during heavy usage times. Due to the extreme heat, We are in day 6 of an excessive heat warning, and that no one seems to conserve energy, electric rates are much higher than in previous summers.
I should add too that I try to keep electric lights off as much as possible and that I open/shut blinds and curtains strategically to keep sunshine out of the house (I even put up the umbrella on our deck to keep sun from hitting the dining room window).
Well, I try to bake less in the summer than in the winter, and I try not to make foods that require crazy hot oven temperature or that need to bake a long time. So, for instance, I tend to make grilled pizza (the heat's outside) or pizza bagels (they just need to be quickly broiled) instead of deep dish pizza.
And I tend to make rolls (which bake quickly instead of large loaves), although I do keep up with baking our whole wheat bread loaves about once a week. The whole wheat rolls on this week's menu are in my freezer because I baked a large batch last time I made them.
Also, if we get a break in the heat, I try to do a bunch of baking on that day so that I can keep the kitchen cool on hotter days.
I have central air here, and we keep it set between 78 and 80. I'm a total humidity wimp, plus large fluctuations in humidity and temperature are bad for my piano, so I don't turn the AC off unless the outside air is dry.
I try not to complain about the heat. Yesterday, I was sweating so much it almost looked like I took a shower. We enjoyed some cold water at the beach this past week. The children buried themselves in the sand. The sand was cool below the surface. Until winter comes and we wish for the heat. lol
We're roasting (steaming?) here in New York too!
I wanted to comment that I made homemade hamburger buns last night and they were a home run! Every recipe I make from your site turns out amazing! I had been afraid of anything involving yeast for so long and your instructions made me the "bread maker" I am today. Thanks again!
It is super hot here-but then I'm in the desert so it's expected. Our big worry is the 3% humidity and fire danger. But thankfully we are finally hitting monsoon season. Hope things cool down soon where you are.
On another note-can I just say that the dress you are wearing in those photos is super cute! Really love it. Wish we had a beach. All we have is the sand!
I'm pilching some of your menu ideas for our house this week. Panini sandwiches and zucchini patties sounds yummy!
Sat summer we had a multi day blackout. It was much more stressful than the weeklong winter blackout because at least then we could but our frozen food in the garage in a cooler to keep.
I don't mean to be ugly, but to tease you - you mentioned "it's sort of like eating fruit" about the tomatoes, but tomatoes are fruit - so you should eat them like fruit!
Technically, that is very true. But there are a LOT of "fruits" that we typically think of as veggies, and tomatoes are one of those for me. I think of fruits as the super sweet produce and veggies as the not-so-sweet. 🙂
Great photos. Sorry about your power. If you need it very badly I found you can buy $2000 generators for only about $200 at pawn shops. They work great but, you have to have enough air flow to avoid too much carbon dioxide.
It's super-duper-extra crazy hot here in the midwest. Today we're having a "cool front" which means the high is only 90 with a 100 degree heat index instead of a high of 100 with a 110 heat index.
Needless to say it makes baking and cooking in the oven a lot less appealing. I've been pulling out the Crockpot a lot more lately.
Just wondering....do you have/use AC? I would love to stop using ours...but it is just so humid here that we choke without it. If you don't, what are some of your tricks to keep your house cool?
Oh yes, we do! It's crazy humid here too, and no A/C is bad for my piano.
We set it at 78, try to bake less, close blinds/curtains when the sun shines on them, and dress as minimally as possible (within reason. We don't run around naked!).