What I Spent, What We Ate | Mostly a March week
What I Spent
I did all the spending in March, so we are counting this as a March week. Even though it's April today. 😉
I did several random small trips this week for a total of $62.86. I also got a $33 produce box delivery.
So, my spending was only $95.86, but we are definitely getting a bit low on some essentials, so I imagine I'll need to do a fairly big shop to start April off.
March Spending
(last year’s average was $200/week)
Week one: $220
Week two: $87
Week three: $177.95
Week four: $242
Week five: $96
My end of the month average is $164.56/week, and my monthly total for March is $822.95.
What We Ate
Monday
Aussie Chicken was our main dish and to go with it, I cut up a bunch of veggies to dip in ranch.
Tuesday
I grilled some bratwurst and asparagus, and the kids had some kettle potato chips from Aldi (me, I'm not much on potato chips!)
Wednesday
I made smoked turkey and chipotle panini sandwiches (a recipe from my Cook's Country magazine.)
Chipotles are my favorite.
We had grapes with our sandwiches.
Thursday
We ate tortellini soup, canteloupe, and toasted egg bread.
Friday
It's a pizza night. I haven't decided if I'm going to make pizza....I may opt to buy it and use the time to knock out a few tasks I'm behind on.
But if I do make pizza, I'm feeling regular crust this week.
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So. That's the food report from my house! What been on the table this week at your house?
My husband is leaving for three months of work training on May 1, so I had him make me a list of all his favorite meals. Last night I turned that into a month long meal plan for April. (We also did a monthly schedule, so I knew when to plan simple meals and when we had time for more.) Hopefully we'll have a month of good food before he is stuck eating cafeteria food and I'm just cooking for a three and under crowd.
That said, we are having Hawaiian pizza tonight. You usually post what crusts you make, but I'd love to know how you top your pizzas. A post of ideas would be super helpful since we're moving toward a weekly pizza night too. 🙂
That's so sweet!
I'm pretty boring with pizza toppings...usually just tomato sauce and cheese, and if we want more toppings, I do pepperoni, bacon, or sausage, and sometimes mushrooms.
Here is a great post from Mel's Kitchen Cafe on pizza toppings. She rocks and has never steered me wrong! http://www.melskitchencafe.com/perfect-homemade-pizza-the-best-pizza-combinations-and-tips-on-pizza-toppings/
I hope your planning leads to great success.
Kristin, you're lucky you aren't a fan of potato chips. I love them! They're my weakness. I'm not a sweets person at all.
I can pass up potato chips just fine, but place a chewy homemade cookie in front me and I'm putty in your hands! 😉
Yay, someone else besides me who can take or leave potato chips! People always act like I'm weird for that.
We've had an unusual week in that I kept a grandchild part of the week, so I cooked a bit differently for her.
We had baked chops, sautéed squash with onions and sweet potatoes one night.
One night was stir fry including cabbage and green onions from the garden, no meat.
One night she ate with her friends at a church youth event and the husband and I had leftovers.
One night we had ham, asparagus and mashed potatoes (Easter leftovers, of course)
And tonight, who knows?
I spend more money than I have to for food for what is usually just two of us, but that's because we eat local, organic, and grass-fed for nearly all of our food. Both of us have chronic health conditions -- an auto-immune disease for me and Type I diabetes for him -- so we feel eating the best, healthiest diet we can is an investment in our health.
Fried potatoes just aren't my thing! Hash browns, French fries, potato chips, etc. don't much tempt me.
I do love brownies and cookies, though. 😉
I'm with you on that, too. I could eat a whole pan of brownies by myself if I didn't practice strong self control.
Monday-Grilled cheese sandwiches and some of us ate bologna sandwiches. Not going to win mom of the year for this night, for sure!
Tuesday-Baked BBQ chicken with roasted orange bell peppers and onions, baked sweet potatoes, and homemade berry cobbler
Wednesday-Hamburger steak with onions, mushrooms, green bell peppers, gravy, and hasselback potatoes
Thursday-Lemon pepper chicken thighs, roasted green beans with turkey bacon, and California blend Veggies.
Friday-Not sure, maybe pizza because I am starting a diet Monday.
Also, I roasted some carrots with one of those meals but darn if I can remember which one!
Maybe it was on crappy meal Monday.
I don't remember all my meals, but last night's was spot-on. The weather was perfect - warm but not hot - clear, and too early for bugs. I made biscuits with the last of the Angel Roll batter, sliced some ham and a cucumber; washed some blueberries. All this and butter (because hot biscuits cry out for butter) went on a tray for a perfect outside meal that took me a total of 15 minutes to make.
There may have been some napping on the new, all-weather, *cushioned* outdoor furniture to go with.
Oooh, that does sound perfect.
Nice!
This week was a mega-fridge clean out from Easter/freezer foods.
Monday - Chicken fajita (pre-cooked and frozen) salad w/ leftover scalloped potatoes
Tuesday - Dinner out for me / frozen pizza topped with leftover easter ham for him
Wednesday - Leftovers from the restaurant with leftover green bean casserole and steamed broccoli
Thursday - Breakfast casserole with leftover ham, biscuits, cheese, and eggs
Friday - Either leftover bfast casserole or frozen pizza
I just love that tortellini soup picture. Looks so delicious! Also, I'm glad you mentioned cantaloupe. I'm going to pick up one of those because they are on sale this week.
It's been a chaotic menu free for all this week.
Here's why:
My husband, a CPA, now comes home at whenever p.m. (tax season)
My daughter was out of town
My son had his wisdom teeth removed
I'm pre diabetic so I am very picky about kind/amount of carbs
Let's just say rotisserie chicken, quinoa, tuna fish and lots of ice cream were menu highlights
An unrelated question: How much do your you pay for your yearly beef? Do you prorate that into your weekly grocery tab?
I believe I paid around $650 for my last quarter of beef, and yep, I just added that in with last year's grocery spending. So, I did spend less than $200 a week at the grocery store...the beef purchase just bumped up my average.
I think I might be able to not buy another quarter in 2016, so I expect my grocery spending to be lower than my 2015 spending.
But then of course, I'll definitely need a quarter in 2017.
I was lazy this week. My grandmother sent me home with a ton of leftovers from Easter so we found things to do with ham and turkey and that got us through Monday to Wednesday. Last night was breakfast for dinner (because 50 cents/doz. eggs at Target!) and tonight we're doing pork chops.
Since BJs had a sale on formula we went over budget stocking up on it but this means I won't be buying it again for a while so April should be better.
Yay for sharing the Aussie chicken recipe! I'm definitely going to try this! I love that kind of chicken, but couldn't get the sauce right. I'm with you on the mushrooms, though. I have tried them every way they can be made, and I just don't care for them. 🙂
Love your blog!
Excellent! I hope you love the recipe.
I have discovered that I can tolerate mushrooms on pizza. But that's pretty much as far as I've been able to go! 😉
Pretty much, Avocado,tomatoes, romaine salary, chocolate pudding from scratch.rotisserie chicken, oranges, cucumbers, it's only myself, so I pretty much eat what I like, oh ! ,last night a friend had dinner with me, I cooked,couscous, goulash, tzatziki, and a great salad! Bon Appetite!
I'm feeling good about the meal planning I did this week that used up various leftovers (chicken salad after roast chicken, etc...basic, but I'm still a novice). I made minestrone soup last night from a new-to-me recipe, and my 18-month-old LOVED it! Hubs and I were thrilled to see her gobble down vegetables, which she normally doesn't go for.
Unfortunately I had too many nights ordering out as I wasn't feeling well this week :/
Where do you get your produce box? Everything always looks so fresh!
Thanks in advance
It's a local produce delivery company. They bring it right to my door, which is pretty handy. 🙂
Can you please remind me if you are including bulk meat in the monthly budget? $200 a week includes ALL the food you eat, minus take out?
We hit $1300 last month. I suspect we could eat for two weeks with what I still have in the pantry/fridge/freezer, but I'm not doing one of those challenges now. I did that in January. I just bought stuff that was priced well and stocked up.
I only have four people, not six in my family! Tears! My husband eats more than yours does, I think, but that shouldn't amount to $500 a month!
Yeah, the bulk meat is the reason I averaged at $200 last year....I spent less than $200 a week at the store, but the beef purchase bumped up my average weekly total to $200.
How big are your kids? People's appetites vary a lot, and if you just have hungrier people than I do, you'll need to spend more, you know?
If you stocked up this past month, then your spending will probably be lower this month, right? So it'll average out over time.
April, don't assume that prices are the same where you live and where FG lives. Or that your family has the same appetites and needs. Or - perhaps most importantly - that FG's budget number is the right one for you. Your number should depend on your family's specifics, includng income, nutritional needs and preferences.
It's so easy to compare based just on the total number, but like Kristen says, each family is so different you really can't compare. My family of four (ages38, 33, 5 and 2) spend about $1000 each month in groceries alone. I don't count toiletries in that number. We also don't eat out. Ever. My husband has an auto immune disease and my son a tree nut allergy so I take nutrition seriously. we also just eat a lot. Two active kids, a very active husband and I am very active as well so I figure it's all going to something good! We actually cancelled our cable tv so we had some extra funds each month for groceries.
WilliamB and Laura:
Thanks much for the reminders that we should not compare our specific grocery situation to anyone else's! I would LOVE to meet Kristen's grocery budget goal (wouldn't we all?) but our family has some health concerns and also religious dietary requirements that make it really tough to keep to a low budget.
I think the takeaway though is that we can all be thoughtful about what we purchase, in our own ways. After reading Kristen's spending post, I took more care during grocery shopping yesterday. (A cheaper variety of pear is just as healthy as the more expensive kind!)
Monday: We ended up having a belated Easter dinner because a couple of the kiddos were sick on Sunday. I curled up with them reading books and watching movies instead of cooking, and it was great.
Tuesday: Chef salads with leftover eggs and ham from Easter.
Wednesday: Taco bar!
Thursday: I used up leftover buttermilk and overripe bananas in pancakes. We had sausage on the side.
Tonight: Slow cooker split pea soup using the ham bone from Easter.
Our week didn't go exactly as planned, but it ended up being a rather frugal and tasty week of meals. I love when one meal can stretch for so many days.
We had a rather uneventful food week. Everyone got fed, didn't break the bank for groceries so I'll take it!
Monday: Sliced turkey, cantaloupe, brown rice, asparagus
Tuesday: Grilled cheese and tomato basil soup (baseball practice)
Wednesday: Ham, applesauce, scalloped potatoes, broccoli casserole
Thursday: Chicken salad, croissants, fruit salad
Friday: Pizza and salad
Monday - My husband and daughter ate at a family restaurant with my in-laws. My son and I had a variety of leftovers that didn't go together beautifully, but he's 3 so no complaints from him.
Tuesday - homemade macaroni and cheese with some veggies and fruit.
Wednesday - Take out Thai chicken and veggie curry for me. The kids and my husband were with my in-laws.
Thursday - chicken tortellini soup with buns, roasted asparagus and fresh pineapple.
Friday - pulled pork in the crock pot now ready for tonight's dinner. I browned it for the first time as how could I not with such a strong endorsement from the Frugal Girl for browning all the things? It smells great - can't wait. I have some yummy store bought buns but will probably make your hamburger buns tomorrow for leftovers. Yum!
Woohoo! I hope the pork is great.
I made both a ham and a leg of lamb over the weekend thanks to Easter sales, so a bunch of that went into the freezer. We have a lot of meat in there now.
Monday - leftover hamburgers, deviled eggs, and a tasty new side-dish/salad I tried (corn, peas, avocado, basic vinaigrette)
Tuesday - greens cooked with Easter ham, and boxed macaroni and cheese
Wednesday - I was in the area, so I surprised my favorite in-laws with stopping in to cook them dinner. We also had a variation of Aussie chicken! Served it with salad and lemon vinaigrette, and boiled potatoes served with butter, salt, and pepper.
Thursday - takeout from Chipotle
Friday - don't know, but tortellini soup is the intention. I'm sensing a theme in this blog's crowd. 🙂
The clouds parted and angels sang... my crazy-busy time of the year is over! I can actually cook and enjoy the dinnertime company of that handsome man I married.
Lunches: I made a crustless vegetable quiche. It's soooo good.
Monday: chicken tacos, salad
Tuesday: leftover spaghetti sauce & turkey sausage over sauteed squash/onion/mushroom mixture.
Wednesday: homemade soup with the stock we made from roasting a chicken over the weekend; salad
Thursday: The hubs was sick, so I met a friend and grabbed a quick bite
Tonight: stirfry over rice noodles. Fridays are use-it-up night for the produce, so it's usually stirfry, throw-it-on-pasta, or Just Eat It Already. 😉
So glad to hear that your life is calming down a bit now. Yay!
My week has been crazy. My mother was admitted to hospital. Most unexpected and at the time quite dramatic. I am sure that a tv show would have great fun producing a version of it as I had my father with me who is blind and has advanced Alzheimer's disease. Mum was quite ill and dad was very confused and the restaurant was so very small. She is on the mend now but I have eaten so many sandwiches bought at the hospital canteen that I feel like a lump of bread.
I know I spent about $140 (Aus) but much of that was toiletries etc.
I understand about potato. If I never saw another potato meal in my lifetime I would not notice. I have grown to dislike it as a plain vegetable, mashed, fried, scalloped, roasted, chips, salads and even as gnocchi. My family find it amusing that almost every meal I prepare it for them and then force myself to eat a little of it. The joys of being a three generational household.
Aww, I'm sorry that you had such a rough week! I hope your mom is feeling like herself soon.
She came home today but is still not well. But things will rock along. She is classed as frail elderly.
Monday - leftover stuffed pasta shells from Easter; I made peas and carrots to go with it.
Tuesday - quick takeout from Whole Foods: shredded pork, mashed potatoes. I made a green salad
Wednesday - chicken and cheese sandwiches on sourdough bread, broccoli
Thursday - chicken noodle soup at Panera, with a cookie (had a salad earlier that day)
Tonight - tuna melt with diced onion, celery, tomato, avocado, and a bit of cheese
Ate out twice this past week, just wasn't up to cooking every day for just myself. Still I'm doing more menu planning, using up leftovers, and saving money!
Spring Break is over and DS#2 wasn't happy about it. He enjoys relaxing. The week wasn't terribly busy so here was my dinner menu:
mon-leftover chicken, mashed potatoes, homemade bread
tues-leftover chicken,spinach, bananas & strawberries w/cream
wed-chicken potpie (using boxed pie crust/frozen veg/can of cream of chicken/leftover chicken)
thurs- jersey mike's turkey sub, bacon pretzels and a cookie
fri- beef stew (freezer) and homemade bread
Not sure I remember all the meals from this past week but here goes:
Taco salad, spaghetti, Italian wedding soup with grilled cheese, turkey burgers and dogs with coleslaw, pizza and maybe a stir fry? Tonight the plan is either quiche or frittata with sausage and salad.
Spent about $190 this week which is fairly average. Bought a few splurge items such as steak for homemade jerky, snack foods that are completely extras like Barbara's cheese puffs (um, yum:) and then I spent extra on the final winter CSA to load up in beets, potatoes, apples and carrots.
I'm thinking of having an "empty the store cupboard month". It's a good way of using up all those things that you use once then lurk in the back of the cupboard for all of eternity. And when you need them again, they're usually out of date, so you buy again, and the cycle goes on...