What I Spent, What We Ate | Welp. I did not go under. At all.
What I Spent
I started out with my $25 Hungry Harvest box.
I spent $55.48 at the store where Lisey works.
I spent $98.59 at Aldi.
And I made a $9.30 stop for panko, soy sauce, ginger, a red pepper, and lettuce.
So, I spent $188.
Which, ahahaha, is not what I planned to do this week, since I spent more than my allotted $150/week last week too.
BUT.
I'm planning to do a Use Up Things From The Freezer challenge this coming week, which means my grocery spending should be super low. So, I'm thinkin' that'll probably get me back on budget.
October Spending
Week 1: $208
Week 2: $188
What We Ate
Monday
This is the night I made the pork tenderloins and roasted potatoes.
And I also made these sauteed green beans.
Tuesday
I made Asian Lettuce Wraps, teriyaki meatballs, and some chicken dumpings (dumplings were frozen, from Costco)
And I cut up some pears.
Wednesday
I wasn't sure what I wanted to make, which is generally a recipe for disaster.
(Or, you know, takeout.)
But I found some shrimp in the freezer, and I decided to make Shrimp Viennese.
And I threw together a green salad.
Thursday
Joshua made a panini, the girls made mac n cheese, and Mr. FG and I went and picked up subs after rehearsal.
(I had points for a free one, so our meal only cost $5. Whee!)
Friday
I have book club Saturday night, so maybe we'll do our date night tonight, and pizza Saturday night.
Meanwhile, on the Canadian border this week . . .
Monday: Lamb backstrap on the grill, braised leeks with cream, leftover mashed potatoes or rice, green salad
Teusday: Choice of seafood chowder, leftover lamb chili, or leftover vegetable-beef soup, and carrot sticks
Wednesday: Another exciting (formerly) happy chicken roasted over potatoes, carrots, and onions, random steamed broccoli
Thursday: More lamb testicles, cooked parmigiana-style with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, and Italian sausages roasted with peppers/onions/mushrooms, pasta with roasted tomato sauce, roasted beets
Tonight: We're cutting up another lamb today, which probably means I will not be all that jazzed to actually eat the meat tonight, but I was planning on making a curry with some of it. Then again, I woke up with the household cold this morning, so maybe I'll punk out and make scrambled eggs. The uncertainty is what makes it so exciting, right? Right.
I totally did the same thing last month. Went over alot, then had to tighten the belt and eat up our pantry to save the money.
My husband is out of town this week, and I lose all desire to make real meals when he's gone. So I had an assortment for the kids and myself.
M- Pizza made at home (lactose intolerant boys make that a necessity with pizza)
T- Went to Chik fil a to burn some energy off the kids (too wet to go outside). I did use one of my typical frugal eating out tips by taking food for the kids. They just care about the playground anyway.
W- Leftovers!
T - Breakfast: home grown ham from my dad's pig, eggs, and biscuits with jam
F- Hubs will be back, so I'm not sure what will happen for dinner... which is probably a recipe for eating out. 😉
Sat: roast chicken, quinoa and kale pilaf, peas and carrots
Sun: pulled pork sandwiches, baby carrots
Mon: grilled pork chops, quinoa and kale pilaf, Brussels sprouts
Tues: smorgasbord (the fancy sounding name that gets the kids to eat leftovers!)
Wed: concoction (aka "put together the last bits and pieces of stuff from the fridge into hopefully something tasty"), pears
Thurs: waffles, fruit
Fri: smorgasbord
Friends moved out of state this week and gifted us with the contents of their two freezers. Our freezers are now packed, and we'll be eating from them for a long time, so hopefully our grocery bill will be down quite a bit in the next few months. I'll be cooking the turkey and ham that wouldn't fit over the weekend--Thankssgiving is coming early at the BNC household!
Serious budgeting question: When do you raise your grocery budget? How often do you go over before you decide it just needs to be higher? I know the other side of this is to be more careful/frugal, but with a growing family sometimes up is necessary...right?
For sure...and if I keep having consistent trouble sticking to $150/week, I'll go ahead and bump it up. I'm not married to that number. 🙂
We also have trouble sticking to our food budget. Ideally, I'd like for us to spend $500/mo on food for a family of 4 (3 adults and one toddler), but our food budget has also doubled that amount for the past 2 months.
I'm struggling to keep our groceries under budget but also wonder if I should just raise the limit a little bit to avoid stress *sigh*.
It could be more expensive depending on which part of the country you live in. We move a lot. San Francisco’s groceries cost me so much more than Arkansas where I live now. Housing too!!
Volleyball is over .. for now... so I am trying to get back into a cooking routine.. except that the adults in the house are fighting crud and this cooking adult is just not feeling creative.....
Sunday- Husband and boys worked at my inlaws and came home filthy and hungry.. I tossed precooked frozen grounds beef into a large pan added jarred sauce and extra seasonings.. served over some penne and fresh sourdough on the side! Quick and filling!
Monday- I grilled hamburgers I grabbed at the store and used some insta hash browns from the pantry... served with canned corn and fresh fruit
Tuesday- I remember I made Corn cake casserole for the house.. I also made one to take to work... Pulled chili from the freezer and the family had it over baked potatos.. the chili hater ate a leftover hot dog and baked potato... (I ate at my work meeting.. Mexican themed!)
Wednesday- I felt horrible.. took oldest to orthodontist check up and was trying to convince us to get chinese takeout.. Instead I came home and make a quick pot of chicken veggie stew- homemade stock from freezer.. tossed in a bag of frozen mixed veggies, a few diced potatoes and half a package of diced chicken tender.. seasoned and thickened.. kids happy, mama happy to have not spent money... Husband doesn't like soups and was not in the mood to be a good example for the kids.. He made PBJ and ate a can of mini ravioli! lol
Thursday- pulled a bag of frozen stuffed shells from freezer and cooked them for kids before they went to TKD class with dad... I ate the last 2 they did not and the last of an apple dessert I took to work...
Friday... Tonight.. not sure if we will run over to finish what husband has been working on at inlaws... if so pizza or another take out after sun sets...
I am using my day off to batch cook some stuff from the freezer for future dinners.. Beef tips and sauce going into the oven- should provide 2 dinners... A large pork shoulder is in the crock pot to be shredded later... Might even make cookies for kids snacks...
I used to plan out meals, and then I became too stressed to plan make because life never worked out the way I had planned and i didn't have ingredients i need (this dinner s tasted bland) or were wasted. Now I pick 2-3 meals I want to make for the week, and every other night is a home version of mystery box challenges. Shockingly, this works for me. I'm such a planner that it took a lot to let go of planning, but there's been so much freedom and success in it, I'm not sure I'll turn back. Flexibility is the key to air power, or so my husband tells me.
Monday: white chili, salad, bread
Tuesday: fish and potatoes with salad and veggies
Wednesday: Jamaican breaks and rice with salad and veggies
Thursday: crockpot couscous and pesto chicken (new to us meal! thrown together in the afternoon after coming home from an early morning ER run-yes, I patted myself on my back)
Friday: leftovers (if we have any?)or eating out, probably, since we had to go back to the ER late last night and are now staying here for a little while.
Hope things turn out OK (ER visits)
What is Jamaican breaks?
Thanks!
Your food looks so delicious! I'm glad your kids are helping out with the cooking. I can't wait until our toddler is old enough to make us some yummy food!
I like how your meals always consist of fresh and healthy ingredients, but you're still able to keep your groceries under budget. Frugal wins!
I noticed the Aldi brand toilet paper and laundry detergent in your picture. How are these compared to national brands? I do a lot of store brands, including Aldi, but those are two categories where I have been hesitant to switch.
We think they work just fine and dandy. Aldi has a 200% guarantee behind their products, so go ahead and try them! If you think they're inferior to the name brands, Aldi will happily give you your money back, no questions asked.
You've got nothing to lose, and you might find a new store brand that you like. 🙂
Good job saving your Wednesday dinner with the shrimp! We spent $102 for the two of us plus 6 critters (dog n cats).
Day 1 garlic spinach pizza
Day 2 meatloaf n veggies (sliced and froze leftover meatloaf for lunch sandwiches)
Day 3 cheesy omlettes n veggies
Day 4 chicken bean n veggie soup
Day 5 beans n cornbread
Day 6 beans n cornbread leftovers
Day 7 cheesy omlettes n veggies again
Another week cooked and eaten!
Saturday - Pizza, salad, fruit
Sunday - Leftovers
Monday - Baked crispy chicken, squash casserole, fruit, wheat rolls
Tuesday - Ham, mac and cheese, broccoli, fruit
Wednesday - Bbq chicken, hash brown casserole, cucumbers, fruit
Thursday - Baked cod, leftover squash casserole, sautéed string beans, fruit salad
Friday - Dinner out (planned)
Saturday - Chicken tacos, fruit
Sunday - LEFTOVERS! (before the refrigerator explodes! )
How did I miss the shrimp recipe? Know what's for dinner tomorrow night! Thanks!
Monday: Dinnerly box of honey mustard chicken, green beans and roasted carrots
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Dinnerly box of italian sausage pasta with salad
Thursday: Taco Bell
Friday: Pizza and salad
Nothing exciting this week, but it was good! I think I only spent less than $100 this week on food for five of us.
That's awesome that even with buying a Dinnerly box, you saved more money than usual!
Monday- wild salmon, sweet potato fries, fruit
Tuesday- pasta, applesauce, lettuce salad
Wednesday- chicken salad sandwiches, tortilla chips with salsa, fruit
Thursday- beef tacos
Friday- Pizza
Sunday- meatloaf, potatoes, spinach, corn, tomatoes
Monday- planned Chinese restaurant dinner with friend $10 + Boston Market meal for DH, which had enough for 2 lunches also!
Tuesday- garden pasta (uses garden tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, celery, onion, herbs)
Wednesday-chicken burritos w vegs and Spanish rice
Thursday- leftover meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans
Friday- fish, potatoes, green beans, corn
Saturday- BLT, melon
Thanks- this helps me to pay attention and plan! I appreciate you, Kristen, and all the commenters!
So super busy week at our house with me working two nights and son's rabbit shows all this weekend. Spent $50 this week and used up a bunch of stuff we already had.
Monday- freezer meal tater tot casserole, salad
Tuesday- was supposed to be salad with grilled chicken but son cut his finger while I was at work and husband had to make a quick ER trip with him fir stitches before 4-H meeting so they did a fast food drive through.
Wednesday- salad with grilled chicken, fruit
Thursday- chicken stir fry, fruit
Friday- Spaghetti with meat sauce, steamed veggies, salad
Saturday- crockpot beef stew w/veggies, salad
Sunday-will be leftovers!!