What I Spent, What We Ate | I tried a Twinkie.
What I Spent
First up, my $25 Hungry Harvest box:
And here's a $102 trip to Aldi.
Do you see the Twinkies in there? When I was in kindergarten, a kid at my table always had a Twinkie for his morning snack, while I had a banana.
When I was 5, I thought surely the Twinkie would be better. But I've never actually had one, even as an adult.
So when I saw Aldi had Twinkies, I thought, "Ooh! Here's my chance to actually try one."
BLECH. So chewy. So weird-tasting. So much worse than a banana.
I didn't even finish it.
Bananas > Twinkies
Anyway. My other spending was an unpictured $15.57 fill-in trip.
That puts me at $143 for the week.
August Spending
Week 1: $176
Week 2: $110
Week 3: $143
What We Ate
Monday
I made a shrimp taco salad, plus garlic breadsticks.
Tuesday
I grilled a spice-rubbed flank steak, plus we had corn from my Hungry Harvest box, steamed broccoli, and garlic bread made with some homemade French bread from the freezer.
Wednesday
I made Indian-Spiced chicken (cooked on the grill), plus homemade naan, and sauteed green beans.
Thursday
Mr. FG got off of work early, so he invited me to meet him for a quick dinner at Chick Fil A before band rehearsal.
(I said yes, OF COURSE.)
Joshua made himself a bowl of homemade ramen, using leftover flank steak, homemade chicken broth, and various other things.
And the girls made sandwiches for themselves.
Friday
By dinnertime it's supposed to be in the low 80s, so I'm planning to make pizza.
(I'm not that inclined to heat my oven up to 500 ° when it's really hot out!)
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What's been coming out of your kitchen this week?
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P.S. An addendum to my kindergarten snack story: the Twinkie boy also always got chocolate milk instead of regular milk, and my 5 year old self concluded that boys get chocolate milk, and girls get regular milk. This cracks me up now, but at the time it seemed logical.
Also, looking back, a Twinkie and chocolate milk seems like an excessively sugary morning snack to me. Now, chocolate milk and a banana...that I could get behind. 😉
I'll admit, I'm more about the Twinkies. But I really don't like bananas, so between the two there's not competition.
What recipe did you use for that flank steak? It looks so good and I've never cooked one!
We had fried rice this week, which is undeniably better than a restaurant version.
My daughter turns 6 today and requested a full breakfast array, so that's our dinner tonight. Followed by ice cream
Yes, I would like the flank steak recipe too, please... 🙂
Me three!
This has been a terribly expensive week in our house. We have had five (!!) opportunities to go the 40 miles into the bigger nearby town and so I've visited all but one of the places I could buy groceries — with a spending total that's near stratospheric, and a menu that reflects a lot of "hey I spent the day in town" non-effort. But with all the people coming to Nebraska for the eclipse, I'll be glad I went before and not while all of them are here!
My in-laws sent chocolate Twinkies home with my husband this week, ostensibly for the kids, but there were seven in the box. Oh man. If there's anything worse than a Twinkie, it's a chocolate Twinkie. Shoosh.
I'm imagining the dry, chewy cake of a Twinkie except in chocolate...nope. That doesn't sound good at all!
To be fair, the current Twinkies you buy are pretty different than they used to be. I don't buy them but my parents do (they still eat like teenagers) and before Hostess went out of business and then was bought by someone else their snack cakes, Twinkies included, really did taste different. The current Twinkies are much denser and chewier than their predecessors. I used to take one when I was at their house and now I just leave them be because they are nowhere near as good.
I was wondering about that. I am no fan of the Twinkie, but I'd never describe it as chewy or dry. It was a sponge cake, with an overly sweet and light fluff filling. Nothing I was excited to eat, even as a kid, but not too bad. I haven't had one in at least 20 years, though.
For whatever reason, all the females in my family as well as my family of origin (parents and siblings) have blue eyes while all the males have brown. So my son assumed at age 3 that all girls have blue eyes, all boys brown.
Yes! That is just the kind of logic that 5 year old Kristen used.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Twinkies are gross. My husband and kids like them, and think I'm weird because I can't stand them. They taste so artificial to me!
Ugh, twinkies never struck me as appetizing! My brother went through a phase in middle school of loving them and I just could not stomach it!
And that flank steak looks delicious! I love summer bbq season 🙂
Twinkies are nothing like they were 35+ years ago. Back then they were a light sponge cake with most of the sugar from the cream. Now there are so many chemicals/un-natural ingredients in them, they are tasteless. Enjoy the banana!!!
So correct about all the ingredients in commercially baked goods. I remember twinkles tasting so good when I was younger, now they are gross.
I jumped on to say the same thing. However, I've always preferred Ding-Dongs or Ho-Ho's to Twinkies, with the occasional pink or white Sno-Ball thrown in for variety. IIRC, the bakery that invented these iconic products has gone the way of the Dodo bird, so the current iterations are nothing like their yummy-delicious predecessors.
The best thing about these treats is they were kid-sized and individually wrapped, which was a treat in those days. Unwrapping the foil on a Ding-Dong was half the fun. And they were never a regular part of out diet, so that made them doubly desirable.
And bananas have never tripped my trigger, or raisins, alas. That's something that hasn't changed as I've aged either, lol.
I have such a great childhood memory of ring dings (same as ding dongs just different brand). When we visited my Grandma (just a few times a year - she lived far away - we had to fly) we always got a ring ding for dessert after lunch. My brother and I loved them. Thanks for making me think of my grandma and put a smile on my face. I will have to facetime her tonight and reminder her of that. Yes, she is 95 and loves to facetime.
Maureen, I was thinking the same thing. When I was a child, I loved them, they were moist and tasty. Now they taste chemically awful and I'm 99% sure it's not my adult tastes talking here...
Yep same here. My kids won't even touch twinkies. I used to love them as a kid. They were so moist and creamy. Now they taste like plastic or something.
I love garlic bread! It just tastes and smell so much better than the regular bread.
I've tried Twinkies before and wasn't impressed. It was just too sweet for my taste. I usually just give my son fruit or unsweetened cereal for snacks. I don't think he even know what ice-cream is because I have never given it to him.
LOL twinkies gross me out. I don't know why people like that nasty stuff
Your banana/Twinkie story is hilarious
mom does know best...
As a teacher, I totally cringe at that breakfast! But as an adult I approve except swap the Twinkie fur a ho-go or ding-dong (neither of which I had regularly growing up!)
Hostess Cupcake for me. Pull off the top, eat the cupcake around to the filling, then the filling bite, then eat the tasty iced top.
I always felt like I got gypped at lunch because other kids got store-bought cookies and most of the time I had to suffer with homemade. Oh the trials of my life! 😉 I agree with you, Twinkies have a chemical taste. I find that most pre-packaged cake treats do.
Didn't they cease production on Twinkies a few years ago, or was that another sweet cake snack? I was Christmas shopping with my mom and sister-in-law and a news team approached us asking if we would do an interview about how sad we were at the loss of this snack food. I told them that MY mom (who was standing right there) made delicious homemade treats for me and so I didn't any sense of loss about Twinkies no longer being made. Ha. Needless to say, they didn't interview us.
Hostess went bankrupt a few years ago. After about a year, the intellectual property and rights to recipes were bought by another company, which brought back the Twinkie, the Cupcake, and all the rest.
As a child I loved grilled cheese. I spent the summers with family in Virginia where there is a slight southern accent. My grandmas always said "girl cheese" <- insert souther accent. I therefor thought it was called girl cheese, I also didn't have any close boy cousins and thought only girls ate it. I think I was 11/12 before I read it on a restaurant billboard, and it was spelled correctly. I was shocked! I went around and asked every boy I knew if he liked grilled cheese.
This is SO funny! I will say though, that after the Hostess company was purchased, Twinkies and all their other products, changed flavor considerably.
My grandpa used to have a Twinkie and a Mt. Dew every afternoon for a snack. We only ate them when we were visiting, but I remember the Twinkie practically melting in my mouth! I had one recently and it was not like I remember them at all!! My grandpa no longer eats them, either.
Ok, that makes sense, because there was NOTHING melt-in-your-mouth about this one. Just so chewy.
When I was in the 3rd grade, I had a deal worked out with a friend that she would read the math problems off the chalkboard, and I would solve them. I thought that different people had different talents, and hers was reading things far away. Turns out I needed glasses in a big way. For TWO YEARS, I persuaded people to read the chalkboard for me.
That's funny! I can't imagine how you managed that way for two years!
I got glasses in third grade -- my third grade teacher was my maternal aunt's sister-in-law, and when she saw me squinting, she told me to tell my mom I needed glasses that day, or she would tell her for me. That took care of that in short order.
I know, right? Because I REALLY couldn't see. I marveled that other kids could recognize people across the playground. And didn't complain at all, since I was convinced it was like any other difference - Frances' hair curled, mine didn't. I could do math, she could read the chalkboard.
I had all the cliched reactions when I finally got my glasses. Trees have bunches of separate leaves! You can see what's on the wall of the drug store from across the street! There is a Baskin-Robbins between home and piano lessons?!!? When riding in a car at night, no one else sees the lights all spiky and star-shaped? I also believe I thought identifying constellations was more metaphoric than literal. LOL.
Me, too, and at about the same age! I didn't know I wasn't seeing what everyone else could. My vision still can't be corrected to 20/20, but with glasses I see well enough. (They're high-index, of course.) My darling spouse has 20/10 Superman vision. Any time we're together on a walk or in the car, he constantly sees stuff that I'm oblivious to. It took him a long time to believe it wasn't just lack of attention on my part. As he's aged, though, he's becoming farsighted. Because he doesn't wear glasses all the time and because we don't eat out all that often, he is often without them when he has a menu in hand. I love that I have to read the menu for him if the font is small.
Ohh, the things we think when we're in grade school!
I never cared for Twinkies as a kid -- too sticky and sweet for me-- but I only had them when someone outside the family served them to me, because my mom would not let us have snack cakes, Cokes and candy bars and stuff. Comparing lunches at school wasn't an issue because my siblings and I walked home for lunch every day, from first grade on. I walked home to a hot meal made by my mom, who didn't believe in kids studying all day at school fueled only by a sandwich, apple and chips, either. That was after the hot cooked breakfast, and before our cooked supper, which was usually a meat and three sides. She wasn't just a stay at home mom, she was a stay in the kitchen mom! 🙂
This week I made beef and vegetable soup recipe that was from ATK, and was pretty darn tasty.
One night was just veggies -- English peas, candied carrots, and cauliflower in cheese sauce.
I tried the bacon/burger/topped with onions thing, and I liked it, my husband did not. For the side, I used the rest of the English peas and made pea salad, which I've not had in decades and had forgotten I knew how to make it. It suddenly came back to me. He liked the pea salad.
I used a new marinade recipe to marinate sliced chicken breasts, and my chicken-disliking husband liked it! We had a green salad and homemade pear sauce to go with the chicken, and watermelon for dessert. Tonight is still a mystery, but no way am I using the oven. It was 97 here yesterday, and the humidity had dropped (!) to 77%. UGH.
I expect a higher grocery bill, since it's time to do a "big" shopping again, but I'm under budget for the first two weeks, so that will help.
LOVE "the stay in the kitchen mom" .
Twinkies are edible if you: Stuff them with (cooked) sausage links, wrap them in bacon, and deep fry them (with or without batter). They taste a bit like cooked banana at that point and are good with ice cream. Best to share because even one of these is a bit hard on the digestive system.
Hahaha! Well you now know you aren't missing anything with Twinkies. I always think they sound tasty, and then I eat one and remember that, yeah, they're kinda gross. But as a kid they were ~uh-mazing.~ Your parents probably did you a favor by not feeding them to you. 😉
This week we ate:
Monday: Coney Island chili dogs with chips.
Tuesday: Baked chicken parm with sliced French bread.
Wednesday: Tomato cream sliders with cabbage and rice. Soooo gooooood.
Thursday: We picked up dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant tonight. We got plenty of leftovers, so I'm not too mad about this. 😉
Friday: Tonight we're grilling fajitas for Mr. Picky Pincher's family visiting from out of town.
Even as a kid, I always hated Twinkies! Blech!
What do your kids think of the Twinkies?
Mixed, but mostly negative! I know Sonia likes them, but I think that's about it.
Thanks for keeping it real with the buyer's remorse impulse purchase. 🙂 I can't think of my last incident of this but it definitely happens to me!
It was Little Debbie star crunch or oatmeal cream pies for me growing up, not twinkles. Now I think the sweetness would give me a stomach ache!
Happy weekend!
Oatmeal cream pies are wonderful and haven't changed a bit. My favorite. I probably eat one or two a year, though. Really not good for me. haha!
I could eat a twinkie once every 25 years and call it good. Blech. When I was a kid my mom packed: bologna sammie, brand X ruffle chips, an unpeeled orange, and sugar cookies (homemade). Super boring. So when I was in high school and had a part time job I bought myself a lunch card and put an end to boring lunches, opting instead for homemade enchiladas from the sweet old ladies in the cafeteria! I admit I have exposed my kids to all kinds of junk food. They're pretty healthy people who enjoy snacks in moderation.
I do not know if this is true, but I once heard a story that the shelf life of a Twinkie is years because there is so many chemicals and artificial ingredients in them that bacteria will not even eat them. It might make an interesting experiment to try.
Twinkies are so full of chemicals that they are vegan. Not a real ingredient in sight. (Yes, I know that vegan treats can be made with real ingredients, but Twinkies aren't) A vegan friend had a whole table of Hostess cakes at his wedding because they are vegan. I took one bite of one and that was more than enough. Gross~
The only memory I have of snack cakes as a kid is when we were on vacation on my sister's birthday, staying in one of those tiny marshmallow trailers, and instead of a cake, my mom let us pick out a snack cake. I seem to recall my brother getting a Twinkie, while I opted for one of those Hostess cupcakes. I do not recall any great excitement or disgust at the taste of them, however.
We've been at our old house/my MiL's house all week, so it's been a bit of a random week.
Monday: (I literally just sat here for a full two minutes trying to remember what we ate this day.) We had the supreme treat of cod. A treat because even on sale at 7.99 a pound that's a lot to spend for one meal to feed the five of us, but we can't get good ocean fish in our rural area and my husband and oldest son LOVE it, so I try to get it when I'm in any kind of urban center. Also we had roasted zucchini/tomatoes/eggplant/onions, raw cucumbers, and bread and butter for the kids.
Tuesday: Beef soft tacos with corn tortillas, black beans, Mexican slaw (finely sliced cabbage, diced onion, vinegar, cumin, salt), tomatoes
Wednesday: Top sirloin steaks, boiled potatoes, tomato and cucumber salad, sauteed green beans
Thursday: Very ad hoc tuna skillet with bacon, onion, canned tuna, and cheddar cheese which was at least edible--the kids ate theirs as sandwiches; sauteed garlic scapes and snow peas; cauliflower with olive oil garlic, and lemon; raw cucumbers
Tonight: Tuna melts for the children with the leftover tuna, another top sirloin steak for the adults, more tomato and cucumber salad, and probably sauteed snow peas again.
Lots of repetition this week, but I consider keeping everyone fed a reasonably balanced diet when we're here to be a victory, what with all the extra activities that keep me out of the kitchen and away from regular trips to a store.
I'll be very glad to get home to my kitchen tomorrow, though.
I'm older than you, but like so many foods now days, Twinkies tasted better back in the 1970's then they do in the 21st century.
I think it is hilarious that you bought Twinkies. Did your kids like them?
When I was in 1st grade, there was a girl at my table who had a Twinkie in her lunch box every single day. I, on the other hand, had homemade whole wheat bread sandwiches, sunflower seeds and carob chips, and other healthy options that were popular in the 80's. I was green with envy.
And then...as an adult, I tried one. I think I might have eaten half? It was gross, I do remember that. It was about 15 years ago, I was helping with a kids program and they passed out Twinkies to everyone and I took the opportunity to try one out. LOL
They had mixed opinions. Lisey thought they were disgusting, and so did Joshua. I think Sonia might be the only one who liked them!
I also never was given twinkies in my lunch, but would sometimes trade my healthy snacks with classmates for them. They are totally different now, as many people pointed out.
What really blows my mind as an adult is that the original twinkie of our childhood -- which was viewed as practically the most unhealthy thing possible to eat -- had 150 calories. Today, all those "100 calorie snacks" are promoted as being so few calories as to be negligible. Wow, what a difference.
As always, your meals sound delicious!
Monday: Had a family birthday celebration.
Barbecue ribs on the grill, baked beans, potato salad, zucchini and chocolate cake and ice cream.
Tuesday: hamburgers, fruit and coconut custard
Wednesday: Pork chops, sweet potato fries, corn, and vanilla ice cream
Thursday: salmon, mixed veggies and fruit
Friday: mustard baked chicken, brown rice, fruit and chocolate pie.
To make the Twinkie even worse some people/places deep fry them! I would definitely pick the banana. Shortly after getting married my husband saw me fixing a banana sandwich and thought I had gone completely crazy. I still occasionally make one for me and fondly remember his initial reaction! He's since learned that other people make them too.
I love peanut butter banana toast
I always liked Twinkies as a kid, but I haven't tried one in years.....sounds like I haven't missed anything.
What I do miss are Devil Dogs. I used to LOVE them as a teenager living on Long Island....and the potato knishes from the deli near where my mom would go grocery shopping. And the yummy baked farmer's cheese from "the cheese man", whose shop sold all kinds of exotic cheeses. It's a wonder I didn't weigh 5,000 pounds back then. I can't get any of these yummy foods here in Ohio, but msybe that's a GOOD thing....lol!
Twinkies are weird! I always think they will be better than they are. My mother made treats for us when I was a kid (lucky me!) but I was always super jealous of the kids who got Hostess treats and remember very clearly getting a Hostess fruit pie after participating in a gymathon at age 8. It was super exciting. It was the first and only Hostess treat I had until I was a teenager!
Anyhoo - I stuck to my grocery budget last week but only because I used my spending money budget for the farmers market. Eh. Prices continue to climb in my area and I may have to adjust my grocery budget again.
Saturday - I made it to the farmers market but not the grocery store so dinner was peaches, corn on the cob, and cottage cheese.
Sunday/Monday/Tuesday - tacos.
Wednesday - homemade pizza with salami, olives and fresh tomatoes. Had green salad with it.
Thursday - Salad comprised of whatever was in the fridge and big fat slices of ripe tomato with blue cheese crumbles. (Ah summer!)
Friday - Grilled chicken, stove top stuffing, and squash.
I've enjoyed your blog for awhile and like your meal posts. I haven't seen you talk about lunch much. Would you consider doing a post? It would be helpful to see how you save money then too, ie mainly eating leftovers or sandwiches. Thanks for your blog!
I remember trying a twinkie and a cupcake in the late 1970's. At the time I thought they were good. I haven't had one since then. I saw them recently and they were nearly $20 (Aus) for a pack of 6 or 8. No way I am spending that.
This week has been a mixed bag food wise. I seem to have been at the shop. My son works as a chef for hire and has been here most days this week. Boy can that lad put food away. Six slices of bread for lunch alone. He popped in after work last night and this morning there was no bread for breakfast and no one would accept my offer of a gluten free bread roll. Therefore I visited our local supermarket too much. Yesterday it was four times. Once for bread. Second was something mum wanted. Third time was to buy sink unblocking stuff. Forgot to buy the sink stuff but had a full trolley of mum treats and food. Four times saw me buying the sink stuff and mum buying more food. Since I pay almost all of the food bill I was feeling steamed.
Meals this week included roast pork with vegetables, roast pork sandwiches, fish pie, meatballs with pasta, grilled steak and veges. There were also the many eat the leftover meals as well.
I agree that Twinkies used to be much tastier. Never being a "vanilla" fan, I always preferred a Hostess Chocolate Cupcake. A Ho-Ho or Ding-Dong was also acceptable. Deep fried Twinkies are served at our state fair which is coming up the end of August. I also see frozen deep fried Twinkies at Wal-Mart. I guess that is convenience for people who don't attend the state fair but can't live without deep fried Twinkies??
I never had a Twinkie either; I thought I was the only one!
My husband and I often talk about how snacks and sweet treats don't taste as good as they used to. Companies can cheapen the ingredients and today's generation will never know the difference! Sad.
My daughter just had peanut butter on toast as a snack, and said "Just like a nutter butter cookie!" because that's what I always say! She then paused and said "Actually I've never had a nutter butter cookie... but Daniel used to get them in his lunch sometimes..." I think I may have had a nutter butter cookie once. But seriously - peanut butter on toast is exactly the same!
You do know Twinkies are the only food in heaven, right?
I don't know if we have Twinkies in Canada?? Never tasted it. Looks like I am not missing much!
In defense of Twinkies... do you remember when Hostess said they were discontinuing Twinkies? People stocked up, sold them on eBay for ridiculous prices, etc?
THOSE were the good Twinkies.
After, they changed the recipe. So now it's spongier, denser, and.... smaller. Just not really as good overall. The Twinkies of the past man... that's where it's at! Maybe you can still get a vintage one on eBay? 😉