What I Spent, What We Ate | We're halfway through the year!
June ends in just a few days, so I'm officially halfway through my grocery budget for the year. Totals and averages all tallied up below!
What I Spent
I got a $25 Hungry Harvest box and then spent $7.48 at Harris Teeter and $107.78 at Aldi.
So, I ended up at $140 this week, which is a lot better than my last few weeks!
June Spending
Week 1: $235
Week 2: $164
Week 3: $210
Week 4: $140
2018 Monthly Averages
(goal is $150/week)
January: $544
February: $588
March: $641
April: $728
May: $535
June: $749
Yearly average so far:
$3785/26 weeks = $145/week
So, despite high spending in April and June, I'm still right on target for the year. SWEET.
What We Ate
Saturday
Mr. FG and I went out for dinner, using a gift card someone had given us. Woohoo for a cheap date night!
Sunday
I pressed the easy button and baked frozen pizza. I hope you're very impressed.
Monday
I grilled chipotle chicken kebabs, made cornmeal muffins, and cut up some fruits and veggies.
Tuesday
Sonia wanted to cook dinner, so she and I made sausage and orzo, using kale and broccoli as the veggies.
This used up my jar of chicken broth from this week's freezer challenge basket, so I was very pleased about that.
Also, just FYI, I've added two cups of thinly sliced kale to this recipe several times, and it works out great. I just stir it in a few minutes before adding the Parmesan at the end and that's enough to soften it a bit.
Wednesday
I used up my bag of Aussie Chicken sauce from the freezer by making a recipe of Aussie Chicken.
VERY CREATIVE.
I also used a bag of red potatoes from Hungry Harvest to make potato cubes.
(Here's the secret to making really good potato cubes)
And I cut up some raw fruits and veggies to eat on the side.
Thursday
We had a night of randomness, using up the butternut squash soup, the last package of quinoa, and the tortillas, which are all things from my freezer basket.
(Checkmarks on the stuff I used, arrows pointing to stuff I used Thursday night)
Friday
I'm planning to make Asian chicken lettuce wraps. However, I'm going to have to modify them a bit for Sonia because hoisin sauce has sesame in it, and we discovered Sonia is allergic to sesame.
Oof.
I made my own Hoisin once, but the recipe called for peanut butter, which Sonia is also allergic to.
Asian food is hard when you have a kid who is allergic to nuts and to sesame! Luckily she's not allergic to soy or we'd really be in trouble.
(I don't have this recipe posted, apparently, but here's another lettuce wrap recipe if you're feeling a hankering.)
What did you eat for dinner this week?
And how's your grocery budget doing at this halfway point in the year?
We're moving this week (yes, all week, in stages), so it's been a pretty random week for us. But still, with the exception of a grocery store rotisserie chicken and prepared mashed potatoes (gross), still no eating out. I just can't seem to make myself do it if there's any alternative. 🙂
Are you all settled now? I've been wondering how the week is going for you!
And I'd check your blog to see how you're doing, but my browsers are all telling me I can't access your blog because it's not secure. Hmm.
We're currently at our old house/my MiL's house. We went 6 hours back up north to our rental house Thursday to pack up there (leaving the older boys with Grandma, but taking the baby), came back yesterday, and unloaded a third of the truck with things that are staying here. We'll RE-load again this morning with things from here that are going to New Mexico, then my husband and eldest son will drive the truck to NM, unload there, and drive the truck back here. The whole family won't be moving out there until the end of July.
So no, I am not settled. I am quite unmoored, as a matter of fact. Not the best for a person of my personality, but I'm trying to "go with the flow" and "be flexible" and all those other things other people seem able to do, but it sure doesn't come easy for me.:-)
No idea what's up with my blog. Blogger may have changed something. Must check.
Here's the message I get on Firefox: The owner of http://www.going-country.blogspot.com has configured their website improperly. To protect your information from being stolen, Firefox has not connected to this website.
This site uses HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) to specify that Firefox may only connect to it securely. As a result, it is not possible to add an exception for this certificate.
It's been doing that for months now. Not sure why! But of course this should not be high on your priority list at the moment! Ha.
I figured it out. Blogger recently rolled out an option for an HTTPS re-direct. If you don't choose the re-direct, then people who visit the HTTP address won't be automatically re-directed to the secure site at the HTTPS address. I just hadn't manually chosen the re-direct. But I did now, so all should be good. Thanks for letting me know.
Yay! Just got caught up on your life via the blog. 😉
It’s our first full week of summer vacation, and we just didn’t feel like grocery shopping. So the week started out strong, but petered to, “what randomness is there in the fridge?”
Homemade bread,sauteed zucchine with basil, mozarella cheese, olives
Stir fried veg with tofu, rice
Pasta with tomato sauce with rosemary and sage and parsley, green beans
Rice and beans, cucumber salad
Could you use sunbutter in the asian recipes? I’m sorry you have a new allergy. My little one has been getting a rash on her arm and I hope she isn’t developing a new allergy. I think we may just be overdoing the goat cheese so we are taking a few days off. She can’t have cow’s milk, but goat cheese is generally ok. She’s been eating a lot more of it though now that she’s on vacation.
I thought of that, but then remembered that Sonia is allergic to sunflower seeds too!
That’s a bummer. When my Olivia was little she was not only allergic to gluten, but she couldn’t digest several of the gluten-free flours either. So much more complicated.
I’m glad you can use soy sauce at least.
Right? When the kid is allergic to the alternatives, it's a little tough!
Oh dear, poor Sonia! I second what Kathleen suggested about sunflower seed butter as a possible substitute. Although if she’s allergic to sesame seed I wonder if she would be allergic to sunflower seed as well? Ugh, food allergies are tough!
Yep, sunflower seeds are out too. Poor kid!
Yay to a successful freezer challenge and delicious food so far!
I'm so sorry to hear that Sonia is allergic to sesame and peanuts. They are used in a lot of Asian recipes. But I'm sure there are a lot of other yummy Asian dishes and sauces she can try 🙂
I can't recall which days we ate which food, but I do know we had these meals:
- Dinner out one evening for 50 cent wings
- Roasted pork loin with an asparagus, bacon, onion "stir fry" SO delicious
- Pork sandwiches on cloud bread with odds & ends as sides to use up leftovers in the fridge
- Ground beef bowls with sauteed zucchs, onions, peppers, and mushrooms
Tonight we are having coconut flour pancakes with a side of local bacon!
Would you mind sharing your recipe for the asparagus, bacon & onion stir fry? That sounds intriguing...
Hi! So super easy! Cut up some bacon (maybe 6 strips) into bite size pieces, cook until almost done. Throw in maybe half a chopped onion and cook until see through. Rough chop asparagus into two to three inch pieces throw them in and cook until your preferred dinners. I throw cracked pepper on. It is SO good!
Thank u! I can’t wait to try it!
What is cloud bread?
It is a very low carb bread made with eggs, cream cheese, Crest of tartar and seasoning. There are many many versions of it out there! A quick Google will give you tons of options. We love it!
Wow, I can't believe someone actually likes cloud bread. I have made several versions and my family and I have detested absolutely every one. Tastes like a crappy omelet masquerading as bread. I'll have to keep trying if you say there are some good recipes.
Really?! We love it. It didn't seem eggy to us at all. I mean, if you're looking for a hard swap to mimic bread - this isn't it. It doesn't resemble the taste of bread at all, but it's a great substitute to make you feel like you're having a real sandwich
That's an important point-are you expecting it to be bread or not?
Like when someone told me that kale chips were pretty much like Doritos...that wasn't helpful! It made my expectations way too high. Whereas if they'd said something like, "Kale chips are a relatively non-disgusting way to eat a super food!", that would have been way more helpful.
Since I can eat moderate amounts of tomato now, that's eased up meal planning for me, and since we have tomato plants producing, it's a good thing I can eat them.
In no order, we had:
Spaghetti squash with sauce to which I added fresh mushrooms, no meat. My cheese had molded while I was out of town, argh, so no cheese. We survived. We had this twice, on busy nights. I cooked the squash ahead and the sauce was from a jar. Super easy.
Bacon, sauteed okra, fresh tomatoes plus potato salad for the husband.
Pork chops, sweet potato, and some other veggie that I've forgotten.
A big salad with hard boiled eggs. My husband is not a fan of eggs (or meat) in his salad, so I put his eggs on the side and he'll eat them that way.
Since I came back from my trip on the 23rd, I've bought no groceries, so my total for last week was 0. I'm going today, though, so look out.
I'm incredibly impressed you are on track for your weekly grocery budget for the year! Great job! My mom is here this week so she and my sister have been cooking and it's been fabulous.
Do those totals include Zaycon?
Nope-I took those out, since my credit card company is taking care of those charges for me. Also, I never received either of my orders.
I love mid year check ins! $150/week bill is excellent for a family of growing kids like yours. Ours is already $100 for 2.5 people haha.
I've been on a diet this week so I've counted everything I've eaten on MyFitnessPal. It's been rice, veggies and pork.....and I gave into 2 double quarter pounders... But it was $ frugal at BOGO haha. Tonight we're having Trinidad marinated steak with rice and beans cooked in lard.
When I make lettuce wraps I use soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, hot sauce, brown sugar and ginger and garlic. Add cornstarch to thicken. Tastes great and everyone eats them
Sounds delish! I love the "anything goes" meals. They're so great for using up odds and ends.
This week we ate:
Monday: DIY night! I had a homemade version of a Starbucks bistro box and hubs had pork chops with mashed potatoes.
Tuesday: Chicken pad thai. This was a weird dish, but it did taste good. It just definitely was NOT pad thai.
Wednesday: Minestrone soup. I cooked this over the weekend, and was so thankful to have a fast 'n' easy dinner today.
Thursday: Pumpkin chipotle quesadillas. I'm still going through tons of pumpkin puree from last fall. This recipe is by far my fave way to use up pumpkin.
Friday: Wing night! We're baking wings at home for dinner, serving them with celery and carrots.
Not sure if it’s helpful, but my homemade (completely unauthentic) Chinese food usually has a sauce made from oyster sauce, soy sauce and ginger. My family enjoys it. Maybe you can toy around a figure out something with those ingredients (hopefully they’re peanut and sesame free). Good luck!
Allergies are tough. Food allergies are especially bothersome. For awhile my daughter was off of wheat, dairy, tomatoes, citrus and peanuts! AH!
Thankfully now she only is allergic to peanuts.
As for our food of the week:
Monday - ....don't remember but probably something with brown rice, and ground meat. It may or may not have resembled tacos.
Tuesday - Taco Wraps
Wednesday - Taco Bake
Thursday - I roasted a chicken with rice and zucchini and salad
Friday - Tonight we'll have tomato pasta with salad.
I'm 3 days away from my due date with baby #3 and it shows in my meals this week... I would menu plan a couple of days, be optimistic that I'd be in the hospital and not menu plan...
Monday- Spaghetti and corn
Tuesday- Sloppy joes (from my freezer stash of post-baby meals), zucchini (from our garden!! So excited), and watermelon
Wednesday- Had nothing planned but thankfully ended up at my parents' house where they fed us pizza.
Thursday- Asked my husband to pick up dinner and he got Taco Bell (plenty of hot sauce was consumed... Did nothing for starting labor)
Friday- Planning on having my husband grill chicken and potatoes and we'll have strawberries with that.
On the plus side, I've been able to prep a couple more meals for the freezer in the last day and a half. But I'm so ready for this baby to be born!!
Have you tried Coconut Aminos instead of soy sauce? Its a soy free seasoning sauce with way less sodium than soy sauce. It is basically organic coconut tree sap aged and blended with sun-dried, mineral rich sea salt. I don’t taste a difference with it. Its organic, gluten free, non GMO, No MSG and vegan. I get it near the soy saice section on the supermarket. I’m sure you can get it on amazon too.
So, Sonia's ok with soy sauce thus far (crossing fingers!) It's just the sesame that she has an issue with.
But I will definitely look into the coconut aminos if soy starts to be a problem.
145 a week for 6 people is excellent in my opinion!! Thank you so much for everything you share on your blog! It is all very much appreciated!!
Our family has many allergies and the food ones are...deadly. No nuts, nut oils, etc. Pesto is out of the question. Capers are a tree nut and we learned that the hard way...….
Our meals can be bland at times but that's ok.
Anywho, we ate: breaded pork chops (no oil), sloppy joes,gilled kielbasa, chicken parm (no oil used), cornbread, banana muffins, Subway....That's all I can remember....
Ruth- Congrats! Wishing you a speedy delivery!
I'm really lucky that none of ours are of the deadly sort, at least not at this point. Sonia's peanut allergy seems to be worsening, though. Oy. Her allergist said they'll probably have peanut allergy shots out by the time she's in college, so right about the time she finishes her other allergy shots, perhaps a peanut set will be available!
I am curious- did you eat the butternut squash soup hot or cold? Cold doesn’t sound good, but I’d like to hear your impression.
Well, I heated it up, but then decided it was a little too hot to eat REALLY hot soup. So I let it cool down.
I'd say I ate it lukewarm. It wasn't my favorite thing ever, but hey, I am all in on this freezer challenge. 😉
I ate some leftover mashed winter squash this morning straight out of the refrigerator. It was too hot in the house to contemplate a steaming bowl of squash, and to my surprise, I found I liked it cold. You just never know.
Kikkoman Plum Sauce has a taste similar to hoisin sauce and no sesame. The ingredients are Sugar, Water, Plum Puree, Vinegar, Ginger, Salt, Modified Corn Starch, Fermented Wheat Protein, Citric Acid, Xanthan Gum.
I use it in place of hoisin when cooking for my nephew who is allergic to sesame, peanuts and other. I think it's a little sweeter but a close flavor. I find it in the grocery store but it is on amazon too.
Good to know! Thanks for sharing.
Congrats on keeping to your budget - one of my friends keeps a frozen pizza on hand to use when he and his family have nothing left to eat - he says when they get to the frozen pizza they know they need to do a big food shop the next day 🙂
I am still eating ready made freezer meals regularly but found a brand that actually resembles real food amazingly enough, my sis shouted Indian the other night which was aweasome - tandoori mushrooms and capsicum, fish curry, cauliflower curry, lemon rice, roti and stuffed paratha bread, so good.
This week I finished the deep freezer clean-out, defrost, and scrub. (Full disclosure - the roommate did the scrub, which is fine since it was his apple cider that made the scrub necessry.) I had plenty of foods left. Some are long-term (5 lbs of smoked bacon skin for beans, 3 pints of apple cider caramel sauce), some fit into the fridge freezer (dumplings), using them up remains a priority.
I kept spending on dog food, beverages, and produce but didn't track how much I spent on it.
Next project is to clear out the pantry foods that have accumulated and I don't use much any more. Those tasty-looking sauces seem to breed when I'm not looking.