What I Spent, What We Ate | Panera, for one thing.
What I Spent
I made a stop at Costco for nuts, butter, and frozen fruit, and spent $52.25.
A stop at a local store cost $18, and a trip to Aldi ran me $75.45.
I do have a photo of my Aldi groceries, but nothin' else!
June Weekly Spending
Week 1: $92.35
Week 2: $171.93
Week 3: $145.70
What We Ate
Monday
I made a taco salad, and we had fruit with that.
Tuesday
Sonia was pleased because Swedish meatballs (one of her faves) was on the menu.
Wednesday
I grilled shrimp and veggies (well, fish for Zoe, who is allergic to shrimp). And the kids had toasted bagels too.
Thursday
This was a rough day, and we ended up getting takeout from Panera. Luckily, I was under budget with groceries this week, so even with the Panera trip, I'm still good.
Friday
I think I might just make last night's menu tonight (I'd planned to make bacon BBQ chicken kebabs with mashed potatoes).
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We are wayyy under budget - which makes for a great week 🙂 I get paid once a month, so I do a rather large shopping trip at the beginning of the month for all of our shelf stable items. I stop each week to get our non-stable items.
This week I made 2 stops at Aldi, one for $5.88 and one for $22.50 and one stop at Giant Eagle for our laundry detergent and toilet paper (my husband is very particular about his t.p...) for $16
Monday: steak, mashed potatoes and asparagus
Tuesday: Tuna melts with chips
Wednesday: Ground beef, rice, and cheese skillet with french bread
Thursday: spaghetti at my mom's, I provided a tossed salad
Friday: Usually we do pizza, but since we had Italian last night; I'm not sure what we will have tonight!
I am doing pretty well because I have been staying out of grocery stores and forcing myself to make meals out of what we already have.
Monday-Baked Salmon with delicious roasted squash and zucchini from the garden and a cheesy baked potato
Tuesday- Hamburgers with caramelized onions and tomatoes, and more yummy squash
Wednesday-Some us us ate hamburgers and some ate baked chicken. Tonight was a little weird because we had a unexpected death in the family so no one ate at the same time.
Thursday- Due to the stress of the above I almost brought home a pizza but made homemade beanie weinies instead.They really were filling and good....and of course the kids were elated, lol.
Friday- I have no idea what we will have tonight but a good friend of ours brought us some gorgeous purple and orangey red heirloom tomatoes so that will definately be on the menu.
Dark chocolate from Aldi! My stars. It is great. I may or may not have eaten like half of one those giant bars you have in the photo last Sunday....um, anti-oxidants, right? :/
I'm a bit over budget 🙁
Monday: I honestly can not remember!!!
Tuesday: grilled bbq chicken, rice, corn, broccoli and cauliflower.
Wednesday: ate at friends
Thursday: fried rice with philly steak pieces, onion, peppers, and scrambled egg pieces.
Friday: tonight will be a beans and rice dish.
Ah ha! Monday was chili (I looked back through my text to my husband)
I meal prep which means I prep my breakfast, lunch, and dinner 3 days at a time.
Last week I ate: overnight yogurt oats, chicken tikka masala, stir fried bok choy, and Hoisin shrimp salad with walnuts.
I also made a guide showing how to make all this in around 3 hours: http://www.mealpreprockstar.com/2016/06/14/meal-prep-guide-menu-002-chicken-tikka-masala-hoisin-shrimp-salad-overnight-yogurt-oats/
Weird week here too--dh out of town till late tonight.
Monday - Chicken, potatoes, fruit
Tuesday - Lasagna, garlic bread, salad (tomato, cucumber, onion, basil and mozzarella cheese with balsamic vinegar).
Wednesday - Pizza
Thursday - Oven fajitas, rice, guacamole, chips and salsa
Friday - Baked fish, macaroni and cheese, green salad with fruit
Last week I stopped and just picked up the items I had great coupons deals for.. and a bit of produce. I sat and made a list of everything in the freezer so we could really tackle that!
Last Saturday I tossed 1 pack of Chicken breast into the crock with salsa and then grilled another pack for sandwiches or salads. This provided dinner for me and the kids as husband ate a big lunch with his parents.
Sunday- Fend for yourself day! Lots of produce, and leftovers in the fridge.. everyone prepped their own lunch and dinner when I called it!
Monday- Finished up the leftovers for supper! chicken salads, sandwiches and taco bowls!
Tuesday- Husband skipped supper so I chopped down the 4 random hotdogs I found in the freezer and tossed those into a box of Kraft! Served with canned pears. I had an appt.. My mom took kids to TaeKwonDo and apparently snacked them on Wendy's Frosties and Fries! lol
Wednesday- 1 kid wanted to go to a friends VBS and the other 2 begged dad for a bike ride and picnic.. They made PBJ, Carrots and crackers to picnic on, My kiddo ate a can of spaghettios! I was not hungry then so while running my errands waiting on his event to be over.. I ended up sipping on a Starbucks protein smoothie wandering Walmart...
Thursday- Family skipped TKD class and I made real food! Grilled a flat of thin pork chops- used a new rub I picked up at Trader Joes.. SO GOOD! Served with a rice and veggie bagged mix, steamed green beans, apple sauce and frozen peas!
Friday- Pulled 2 pints of frozen chili out of freezer, a pack of Angus beef hot dogs and a pack of buns! Sounds like an easy dinner! Served with fresh strawberries and 3 nectarines that need eaten before they get too mushy!
I need to reconfigure my budget in a different way. I shop once at the beginning of the month for my preplanned meal plan . I think the problem is that I am getting great prices on our groceries and that I am over buying. We have quite a bit left over each month but yet I know the kids are eating like they haven't eaten in a week. ( this is a good problem to have) After evaluating my spending, I think I will move a small portion over to a stock pile category. This winter it will make a difference as my heating bill is outrageous. I only cooked two large meals this week.
Cheeseburger pie from a Bisquick recipe . broccoli
Roasted chicken with an assortment of roasted vegetables.
My son ordered pizza with pizza reward points we have accumulated
The children eat leftovers the next day so cooking is minimal
I am thinking tonight is pizza- I have 1 free one from rewards also!
Monday- homemade baked mac & cheese with brussell sprouts and applesauce
Tuesday-had supper at mother-in-law's
Wednesday- bought a pizza
Thursday - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans
Friday- fried chicken, rice, corn-on-the-cob
I have a turkey breast in the frig thawing for this weekend
I went over budget, as one does when making a few New Mommy dinners for a good friend.
We had the most random tidbits and leftovers this week. Since we left for vacation today I wanted ALL the perishable food eaten before we left. Mission accomplished.
This week has been one of top up shops. Bread, milk and eggs seem to be the most frequent purchases. It is also mandarin (clementine) season and I seem to be buying them daily. I have had three hospital appointments just for me so it has been a little crazy.
Sunday was roasted lamb and vegetables.
Monday was rehearsal night so it was left over rehashed.
Tuesday was homemade burger patties etc.
Wednesday we had fish at lunch time and toast for dinner.
Thursday was avocado on toast for me as mum had been so violently ill she did not want to eat.
Friday was homemade potato and leek soup with chicken sandwich if that wasn't filling enough.
Those Swedish meatballs look divine! Mr. Picky Pincher and I will have to try those next week. Do you find that they freeze and reheat well? We're trying to up our frozen meal game.
This week we eeeeever so slightly went over our grocery budget--by a dollar and some change. We've really been good at sticking to our $100/week budget. If this continues (and I hope it does), that means we'll have cut our grocery costs in half! Just gotta take it a day at a time. 🙂
Yep, you can make the meatballs and freeze them, and then just make the sauce when you thaw the meatballs.
Just passing along a great Aldi find today, eggs are .59/dozen! Limit four which I got, because I'm taking deviled eggs to a Fathers Day barbecue tomorrow! Pretty decent timing, I'd say! On to last week's menu:
Monday: Subway takeout, I was seriously exhausted after a long day at work and totally caved.
Tuesday: whole roast chicken, cream cheese mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade rolls
Leftovers from Tuesday
Thursday: I had a sandwich, hubby ate at a meeting
Friday: grilled burgers, veggie chips, rice pudding for dessert
Tonight: t bone for me, grilled salmon for hubby, with a green salad with homemade blue cheese dressing
Nice! Enjoy your frugal eggs.
Late posting, but here I go. I spent $74 for our family of four (and one on the way!).
Monday: salad with popcorn chicken and fruit
Tuesday: spaghetti and meatsauce with fruit
Wednesday: spaghetti and meatballs at my parents house for me and the kids, chicken/pepper/corn enchiladas for my husband
Thursday: beef fajitas at my parents for me and kids, enchiladas for my husband
Friday: pizza with store bought crusts (we got home at 5:30 so I knew I'd need a shortcut in advance). We had some fresh organic strawberries from our CSA box. Yum!