What I Spent, What We Ate | $114
What I Spent
I spent $114 this week, to finish out March. Yay me!
March Spending
Week 1: $76
Week 2: $166
Week 3: $144
Week 4: $202
Week 5: $114
Year to Date Grocery Spending
January: $619
February: $485
March: $702
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I had our date night and memory fails me as to what the girls ate for dinner while we were gone!
Sunday
We had seafood subs, crackers, and fresh fruit for dinner.
Monday
We had chicken katsu with tonkatsu sauce, from Dinner Illustrated. This recipe includes a cabbage salad, and we had rice as well.
Tuesday
I made shrimp with cilantro-lime quinoa (chicken for Zoe).
Wednesday
Lisey had plans with friends on her actual birthday (Tuesday) so we had her family birthday meal a day late. She chose quesadillas with a corn and Monterey Jack filling, and we had fresh fruit with those.
Thursday
Lisey had requested pancakes with Nutella for her birthday breakfast, but then for one reason or another, we didn't make it work on her birthday or the day after.
So, pancakes for dinner it was. With Nutella. 😉
Friday
I'm planning to make a mozzarella pesto pizza from a past issue of Cook's Country.
You probably meant "finishing out March" up there...March HAS seemed like a looong month! This week we ate:
Monday - Italian Chicken Thighs, eggplant ragout (note to self: stop making eggplant)
Tuesday - Sloppy Joes (freezer) over whole wheat buns,fritos
Wednesday - Lemon Garlic Scallops with angel hair pasta, zucchini
Thursday - Lean Beef Patty with onions and peppers, collards with 7 grains
Friday - Not sure what I'm actually making for dinner tonight...
Saturday - Cast Iron Salmon, roasted radishes with Green Goddess dip
Sunday - Ham, Easy 123 Mac and Cheese, sweet potatoes
I still love getting the Imperfect Produce box, but I think I am over-ordering, so I need to scale back!
ughhhh typed out a whole reply, and forgot to add my name/email, so its deletes the post!
March does seem long. I get three bi-weekly paychecks (yay!) but grocery shop five times (boo!). Last week I went over budget by about $30 - I'd hoped to do better this week and stay in my monthly budget, but as I have only $25 left in my budget, and I have a farm order this week, that's going to be a big fail.
We had:
An autoimmune diet recipe, Basil Pesto Chicken with Roasted Vegetables -- everything coated in a basil "pesto" (minus cheese and any seeds or nuts) and roasted on a sheet pan. It was pretty good! I used basil that I grew last summer and froze. Not quite as good as fresh, but it works.
I cooked a pork roast in my crock pot then popped it in the oven for a few minutes to give it a crusty top. We had that twice, once with sweet potatoes and applesauce, once with sauteed cabbage and uh, something.
We had burgers and veggie oven "fries."
We had a chowder made with cauliflower instead of corn.
We had tacos. I can eat cumin now, but I made cassava flour tortillas and went light on the tomatoes on mine.
I will shop again today after work. I usually pick up a small steak for when I get home, but maybe not today -- I'll have to see what's out there. One thing is, it has to be easy and quick!
Sunday I made sheet pan sausage and peppers which we had with carrots and the never-ending frozen green beans.
Monday we finished the sausage and peppers and some slightly wrinkled sweet potatoes.
Tuesday I tried a fish recipe I tried before. I didn't like it any better this time--too bland. We had it with fried rice and bok choy.
Wednesday I took one for the team and finished the fish with carrots and fries.
Yesterday was pizza day which we ate with a winter salad.
Today is my husband's birthday. He asked for potato scallop and ham. And yes, there will be cake!
Saturday - movie theater popcorn and a frozen coke
Sunday - meatloaf and carrots
Monday - smoked salmon bowl (sushi rice, cucumber, carrots, cream cheese, and smoked salmon)
Tuesday - fish sticks, roasted potatoes and turnips
Wednesday - leftover meatloaf
Thursday - Reuben sandwich with coleslaw
Friday - this stir fry: https://www.budgetbytes.com/spicy-coconut-vegetable-stir-fry/
It's been a weird week. We have been significantly over budget the past two months, but I'm hopeful that April will set that straight.
Hah! I had the same dinner last night (Sat) - went for a nanna nap & accidentally slept until 8pm - supposed to be at friend's house 8:15 to go to movie - made it 8:16 & had popcorn & softdrink for tea 🙂
I had theatre popcorn & softdrink for dinner last night too! (nanna nap went accidentally to 8pm & I was supposed to meet friend for movie 8:15 - made it but had junk for tea 🙂
Monday- Chicken noodle soup without all of the broth (less messy for my littles)
Tuesday- I was sick and my husband had a meeting, so my mom brought over a pizza and salad. Yay, Mom!
Wednesday- Chicken tacos and pineapple
Thursday- Grabbed food at Aldi on our way to a park. Ham and cheese sandwiches, sweet potato chips, and mandarin oranges.
Friday- Burgers, broccoli with cheese, and probably smoothies.
In an effort to eat more healthy things and ditch the baby weight, I've started eating big salads for lunch everyday instead of random things or a peanut butter sandwich. This combined with my baby now eating a solid amount of regular food (instead of just breast milk) and we significantly went over budget. I spent $368 this month instead of our budgeted $300. Ugh. Time to rearrange the budget. 🙁
Your pancakes look so yummy!
Sunday: stuffed shells
Monday: Sausage and pepper sandwiches (fruit
Tuesday: Leftover chicken and fruit for my son, sandwich for me
Wednesday: Leftover chicken and fruit for my son (I snacked on cheese)
Thursday: Ate out (Soups and Sandwiches)
Friday: We should have warm weather this evening - burgers on the grill.
Sunday and Monday- BBQ chicken with roasted green beans
Tuesday and Wednesday- chicken makhani over brown rice
Thursday- ordered pizza because my in-laws are in town
Friday and Saturday- beef bourguignon over spaetzle
Did well on the grocery budget this week, but it was thrown off by buying dinner for my in-laws.
Sunday - baked potatoes with toppings (bacon!), green salad
Monday - Asian pork lettuce wraps, oranges
Tuesday - squash ravioli with tomato sauce, green peas
Wednesday - leftovers
Thursday-breakfast for dinner (french toast, bacon, oranges)
Friday-Buddha bowl, oranges
Can you tell I bought a lot of oranges this week? 🙂
I do make enchiladas every week as they're so easy and DH says he can eat them everyday...So that is always on the menu. I have to try new things to keep them interesting. I just haven't had time to play with recipes. Except the chicken Szechuan- everyone thought it was good except DH as it disagreed with him. Ugh....
Monday- Chicken enchiladas
Tuesday- Chicken Szechuan
Wednesday- Oven chicken bites and fries
Thursday-Cilantro & rice burrito, smoked chicken and broccoli
Friday- cheese pizza & garlic knots
Saturday- Chicken enchiladas
I had gotten away from poultry for a year as I thought that the family may want a change. They didn't seem to mind it, except my cholesterol went up! So, I nearly eliminated red meat, fried foods and cheese (like the pizza above and my enchiladas do not have cheese) and my cholesterol has been back to near- normal levels.
As the weeks bet busier my memory gets weaker...lol
I know we ate Cracker Barrel on Sunday on the way home from a volleyball match...
One night I pulled a small container of cooked ground beef from the freezer and used it and crescent rolls to make a cheeseburger ring.. I know this was served with buttered amish noodles and frozen corn...
I believe Corndogs were a quick heat up night.. but I cannot recall what they were served with...
I made a huge meatloaf and baked potatos one night...served with broccoli and cauliflower mix..
Lasagna was made and served with soft breadsticks the day my son had the rest of his baby molars pulled.. That I clearly recall! I also made and froze another for a future busy night and the last of the ricotta and meat sauce was mixed together and frozen.. I will make a pasta bake with that one night!
I defrosted a HUGE pork shoulder.. and then cut it in half and cooked it in 2 crock pots.. That was cooled and shredded down.. a portion eaten for supper one night with homemade macaroni and cheese with peas.. the rest was divided and frozen for 2 other meals...
(last night) Saturday I baked the rest of the random potatoes before they go funky... Ended up dicing and frying those with the last of the deli sliced Bavarian ham....mixed in a few sliced of diced colby/jack cheese and a half dozen eggs... Served with toast.. super simple!!