WIS, WWA | $157 is the magic number
What I Spent
- $56 at Harris Teeter
- $70 at Aldi
- $6 at Weis
- $25 on a Hungry Harvest box
That adds up to $157.
July Spending
Week 1: $157
Week 2: $183
Week 3: $157
Ummmm. Apparently, I spent exactly the same amount on week one as I did on this week.
I couldn't do that again if I tried!
What We Ate
Saturday
My friend and her two kids were with us; we grilled sausages by my parents' pool, and we had fruit and chips on the side.
Sunday
We had dinner plans with a friend, but they fell through. Lisey has been obsessed with a waffle chicken sandwiches from a local place, so we all got one to try.
They are tasty, and if you are trying to keep weight on your frame, these are helpful because they pack almost 1,000 calories into a pretty small package. Ha.
So. Good for Lisey to eat on the regular while she works a physically demanding job, not so good for me to eat regularly!
Monday
I tried to donate blood last week, but my iron levels were a teeny bit too low.
(BOO. I was really hoping to do my civic duty and save lives!)
I'm trying to get them up high enough to donate, so I decided to make Swedish meatballs, since beef is a good source of iron.
Tuesday
I made breakfast for dinner; blueberry pancakes this time around.
Wednesday
Lisey and Zoe were out with a friend, so it was just Sonia, Mr. FG, and me!
Mr. FG picked up a rotisserie chicken while I made some gravy, threw some frozen sweet potato fries into the oven and cut up some fruit and veggies.
Thursday
I made chicken katsu (from Dinner Illustrated), and we had watermelon on the side.
Friday
It has been too hot to think about turning the oven on for pizza, so I was thinking about making some grilled pizzas.
Although then I have to decide if I'm up for standing in the summer heat over a hot grill...
I have heard if you have vitamin c (like orange juice or fresh tomato) with the meat, you’ll absorb more iron (not a doctor though!)
It’s pretty cold in our corner of the Southern Hemisphere right now so very jealous of your summer meals!
@Emma, Also not a doctor here. . . but my mother-in-law had some amazing results with using yellow dock to boost really low iron during pregnancy.
Yes! I've read that as well; to eat things with vitamin C along with the iron-containing foods.
@Emma, Yes, also avoid calcium when consuming your iron. Calcium keeps iron from absorbing.
I have decided the food bill is out of hand so I have written 7 meals down and topped up the groceries. I spent an eye water $200 plus which seems huge for two. But it really isn't two as I supply an extra three family meals each week. So in reality I cook at least 23 main meals. I also look after my granddaughter and she eats a huge amount for a three year old. She is tiny for her age but most of the time she is here she asks for food every half hour or so. Then around one pm she is done till almost dinner time. I then have to spin her eating out so she eats her dinner.
Hi Kristen! The same thing happened to me when I tried to donate blood last fall. I started taking a daily multivitamin which included iron; several weeks later I returned to try donating again- and iron levels were solid. I've kept up the daily multivitamin since then and feel like it has helped my energy levels in general. Red meat, spinach, and other sources of iron are in my diet, but this extra boost really helped. Just a thought 🙂
@PD, If you don’t mind me asking, which vitamin do you take? I have looked many times, and the choices overwhelm me lol. I have never been able to decide on one because I don’t know which is the better choice. Thanks.
Chicken and waffles are the bomb diggity, for sure! I was just sitting there thinking that I would rather pick up takeout tonight than cook, since we are doing early evening yardwork...maybe pizza! This week:
Monday - Taco Chicken Bites, crockpot pintos, 1/2 bag spinach salad
Tuesday - Salmon Burgers, brussels sprouts
Wednesday - Red Beans and rice with pulled pork, zucchini
Thursday - Truffle Alfredo Linguini, some TJ's turkey meatballs, broccoli
Friday - TBD
Saturday - Mexican breakfast, snacky lunch, grilling in p.m. {major yardwork at our place in the country, the grass is so high we can't even walk through it}
Sunday - BBQ Shrimp, baby potatoes, the rest of the spinach salad - all dependent on my exhaustion level.
Too bad you can't eat at our house for a week. Your iron levels would probably be through the roof. 🙂
Saturday: Waffles, bacon, carrot sticks with curry dip (before dinner), because my husband and eldest son were still not home from their trip and no one was very happy about that. I figured a fun dinner was in order.
Sunday: Still just the three kids, so I let my eldest son make the tomato soup from his ATK cookbook. The kids had that with salami and cream cheese roll ups (I had a salad), and then peanut butter balls/chocolate chip balls for dessert.
Monday: The travelers finally returned. To celebrate, I made a leg of lamb (ram, actually 🙂 with potatoes, roasted carrots, and frozen peas
Tuesday: Breakfast sausage patties, garlic bread, green salad with ranch dressing, homemade ice cream sandwiches at middle son's request for his birthday dinner
Wednesday: A curry made with leftover ram, carrots, potatoes from the garden, and a bit of the tomato soup, plus leftover rice. And ice cream, which I promised to the children as a reward for cooperating with an unexpected trip to the mechanic an hour away to pick up our van. We had to make the drive the day before to drop it off, and then it turned out to only need something minor, so we did the same trip to get it the next day. No one was pleased to take another 2-hour drive for the second day in a row, but ice cream softened the blow.
Thursday: Roasted roosters (we eat a lot of excess males, because in nature, the males are always the extraneous ones) with carrots, roasted potatoes, carrot sticks for the kids
@kristin @ going country,
Is the ATK cookbook your son uses The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs? We have it from the library right now and it looks like a really good cookbook! I was curious about the Creamy Dreamy Tomato Soup in there.
@Ruth T, That's the one. A lot of the recipes are needlessly complex, in the great tradition of ATK, but that tomato soup recipe really is good. We use onion instead of shallot, which we never have. The other recipe that even I use all the time from that book is the chocolate chip cookie recipe. Because the butter is melted, instead of at room temperature. So much easier. And they're really delicious. Although, again, there are ways to streamline that recipe to make fewer dishes and steps. But I figure that's my role as Mom. He can read a cookbook recipe, but he needs me to make his life easier. 🙂
I spent $89 at Costco and $123 at Kroger.
Many items purchased were ingredients to go along with the large amounts of tomatoes our garden is producing right now. Think limes, cilantro, onions and fresh garlic to make loads of fresh salsa.
Saturday…we spent the day with friends and I had to hit the grocery store so we hit the easy button and picked up inexpensive takeout.
Sunday….a friend of mine came over to help can tomatoes and I made jasmine rice, green coconut curry with chicken and veggies, and stir fry with chicken and a random assortment of veggies that needed to be used up.
Monday….corned beef hash using leftover potatoes & veg, served over leftover rice. Chocolate gravy over homemade biscuits for dessert.
Tuesday….sautéed cod with cherry tomatoes and red onion, baked potatoes, and white beans
Wednesday….the hubby was off work so we got pizza together.
Thursday….this was the night I made the salsa….about 26 jars total. Takeout was ordered.
Friday…..I am defrosting a pork loin and will make a batch of homemade tomato sauce to go over pasta alongside. Fresh fruit to go with.
Happy weekend everyone!
@Angie, I've never heard of chocolate gravy. Could you share what this is?
@Lisa, it’s thin chocolate pudding!
I spent approximately $40 this week on groceries. I was home alone Monday thru Thursday as my husband began traveling again for work. It is very strange after being together nearly 24/7 for 16 months.
Saturday - falafel pitas with tzatziki and veggies with hummus on the side.
Sunday - Hamburgers, oven fries and salad
Monday thru Thursday - I bought a rotisserie chicken and made a small pot of rice. I ate this every night for dinner with assorted fruits and veggies.
Friday - My sister and I are going out for a bite. My husband will not be home until 9ish this evening.
Have a great weekend everyone!
I donate platelets every two weeks. I used to have low iron on the reg, even with a multivitamin with iron. I've started eating a burger the night before donation, and I haven't had any issues since.
Oh wow, every two weeks! I didn't realize you could even do it that often.
@Kristen and Jen,
Thank you both SO much for donating blood and platelets! We know first hand what a life-saving gift blood donation is. When our youngest was in the thick of his leukemia treatment he needed a LOT of blood and platelets and my husband and I can't donate as we both lived in England for too long (apparently we are still ruled out because of potential Mad Cow issues). Your donations truly save lives and I said a thank you prayer every time our son got a bag of someone's donated love. Now he is cancer-free and gets IViG every month (also from donated blood product.) The fact that you both try and figure out how to get your iron levels up so that you can donate instead of just giving up really strengthens my faith in humanity. Thank you so very, very much!
xoxoxo
@MB, when I gave blood earlier this year, one of the Red Cross workers said they would be changing the mad cow restrictions because of how long it had been, so you may find that you can give once those guidelines are updated.
Even though I don’t technically need iron at my age, I started taking a half dose of a multi with iron after reading that post-menopausal women who give more than twice a year should supplement with iron. It makes a big difference in how I feel post-donation.
Jan
@Jan, I don't think they have changed the mad cow restrictions yet. My husband went in to donate and was refused because we lived on a sheep and cow farm in Scotland in the 1980s.
@Lindsey, This is interesting. So I did some research and found this article:
https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/press-release/2020/red-cross-to-implement-fda-eligibility-changes.html
But when I click the links to the documents that include the changes, it looks like they ended up making no changes to the CJD time in the UK or other European countries deferrals. They did reduce the deferral for visits to areas with malaria to 3 months, down from the previous 12 months. Not that that helps your husband. 🙂
@Jan, @Lindsey,
Thanks everyone! I'll double check when I go back to the hospital. I don't think they've changed the rules for Great Britain and Ireland yet, unfortunately, but I will keep asking because there is always someone who needs blood products and we are SO grateful to all who donate!
@Kristen, it depends on many things. Platelets, plasma, and white cells can be donated much more often than whole blood/red blood cells. Even though I had low hematocrit sometimes so was unable to give the traditional donation, I almost always was able to give something! But some centers only take some types of donations. You can check around. I was honored to give many gallons before health problems and medications I have to take prevented any more donations. But I’m hoping to be an organ donor someday.
We've found raisins to be a cheap and easy way to increase iron at our house! Since we've gone lazy vegetarian, we just make an effort to toss raisins into the mix more often, and our toddler's anemia seems to have been resolved 🙂
I'm jealous of all of you with garden grown tomatoes. Ours are still a bit away.
WWS: $25; WWA:
Sat: baked haddock; sauteéd mix of corn, red peppers, zucchini & spinach
Sun: pan-fried haddock sandwiches with herb remoulade; leftover veg from Sat.; arugula and goat cheese salad.
Mon: homemade fresh chorizo (serious eats) tacos with all the fixings; black beans
Tues: turkey and black bean empanada with salsa verde; salad
Wed: leftovers
Thurs: galette Bretonne (buckwheat crepes) with kale, guanciale, goat cheese and a fried egg
Fri: homemade pizza with scape pesto, soppressata & broccoli
We had one of the best watermelons this week! It seems so long since we've had a really good one. This one was locally grown, and I found it at our food co-op.
What we ate:
Hot dogs, beans for him, cottage cheese and fruit, and I think I had carrot sticks too.
Sale-purchased shrimp from the freezer, French fries for him, salad.
Tuna salad with all the normal shredded veggies I always put in it, watermelon on the side.
Fried chicken thighs, asparagus, peas and carrots.
Tomato soup and grilled cheese with dill pickles in the middle for him. Leftover chicken "chili" from the freezer for me.
Pork chops with a sort of stir-fry skillet of cabbage, onions, garlic and mushrooms.
Leftover chop and stir-fry for him, a couple of cassava flour biscuits for me, because I wasn't hungry.
Watermelon for dessert several of those days.
We're in "use up stuff from the garden" mode. We had:
-Zucchini fritters & caprese salad
-Steak & caprese salad
-Salmon & cauliflower rice
-Chicken curry & cauliflower rice
-Egg roll in a bowl, along with chicken tikka samosas (from Trader Joes), which I keep on hand for a night where we need something small to fill in
All dinners served with a large green salad, using up lots of garden veggies & herbs
When you grill pizzas, do you stick your dough directly on the grates? Or on a pre-heated metal pan on the grill? This sounds like a great idea that I want to try,... but I'd like to spare my grill the horror of dough seeping into the flames if possible ;D
Yep, it goes right onto the grates. I do brush and then oil the grates first, but I haven't had much trouble at all with the dough sinking or sticking. It goes much better than, say, grilling fish.
Monday: Pasta with homemade tomato sauce and a salad.
Tuesday: We went to my parents, who made stir-fry.
Wednesday: I got home early and wolfed down a veggie quesadilla, then made chicken and rice for dinner.
Thursday: A combination of grocery-store takeout for my husband and leftovers for me.
Friday: Likely chicken!
Not sure what we'll do for the weekend meals, but I have some frozen chicken bones that need to be turned into soup, so that'll be some weekend freezer-prep.
We get a CSA box delivered weekly: $33
I shop every 2 weeks.
Trader Joe’s: $32
Lucky’s: $128
Costco: $196
Saturday: homemade mushroom & sausage pizza. I buy bulk sausage, portion and freeze it so we have it when the pizza mood strikes
Sunday: Leftover pizza
Monday: Salmon (wild frozen individual fillets), roasted zucchini rounds, and mashed potatoes with peas
Tuesday: Indian feast: instant pot red lentil dal, zucchini and potatoes, saag paneer, saffron rice and raita.
Wednesday: leftover Indian food
Thursday: leftover Indian food
Friday: smoked carne asada style beef round eye of round, vegetables and probably leftover saffron rice
We didn't have a very healthy week, although I did manage not to get takeout. Two of the kids had day camp this week (at different places), so I was making good use of the easy button.
Sat- I attended an evening bridal shower, where I had salmon which was delicious. Husband and kids stopped for chicken pot pies on their way home from the pool while I was at the shower.
Sun- macaroni and cheese, turkey hot dogs. We were out all day, so definitely wasn't up for making a big meal when we got home. 🙂
Mon- Aldi pizza, raw veggies
Tues- pigs in a blanket, sweet potato fries, blueberries
Weds- Mississippi pot roast (yum! Definitely putting it into our rotation), leftover mashed potatoes, blueberries/grapes (we're almost out of vegetables)
Thurs- leftover pot roast, roasted potatoes with onions (I tried parboiling them first, worked so well!!), cucumber slices, random fruit
Fri- I'm not feeling well today. My daughter has a cold and she kept me up most of the night last night, and now I feel very under the weather myself. I may not be cooking tonight. But if I do, it will be goulash.
Kristen, how do you make gravy without meat drippings? Is it basically a thin white sauce made with chicken broth or stock? This would be handy to know, especially with escalating meat prices and also not heating up the kitchen.
Usually there is some liquid in the bottom of the rotisserie chicken box, so I use that in the gravy. If not, I use some of my homemade chicken stock and that does the trick.
@Kristen, oh, I didn’t even consider there is some chicken flavored liquid in the box. I’m new to not being a food waster. Thank you for answering.
Sorry to hear you couldn't donate blood. When my mom & I had low iron the nurses at the donation center suggested eating raisins for a few days prior to donation. My mom didn't like plain raisins and would get chocolate covered. Did the trick.
Kristen, I also suffer from low iron, and need to prepare before I give blood. I've tried just about everything (steak, etc.). What seems to give me the most bang for my buck is greens, especially kale, spinach and collards.
Thanks for being someone who donates blood! My dad needed blood after his heart surgery when I was in college and ever since then I've really appreciated those who are able to donate.
Sunday: We hosted our church life group and did a sub bar. It was one of the more expensive main dishes we've made for life group, but it worked well for summer and the leftovers were easy to use up.
Monday: Enchiladas with chips and salsa
Tuesday: Pork BBQ sandwiches, green beans, and zucchini (veggies all from the garden!)
Wednesday: Spaghetti and strawberries. What a combo, right? But my kids were more concerned about getting to eat the strawberries we had just purchased than whether or not they paired well with spaghetti.
Thursday: Date night at a local place.
Friday: I'm moving my weekend meals around to accommodate a last-minute afternoon playdate on this rainy day. We will have haluski with sausages tonight because it's pretty quick to make and I won't have to thaw anything.
I had really bad anemia from hemorrhaging after my daughter was born, and I found that a food-based supplement called Floradix did the best job of restoring my iron levels while not being as constipating as other supplements. I actually liked the taste of the liquid, but I think there are capsules or tablets if you don't like the liquid. Thanks for donating blood!
I spent $80 at Aldi and $40 at Walmart.
Monday:Homemade barbecue chicken pizza, salad, chocolate chip cookies
Tuesday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, black eyed peas with ham
Wednesday: cooks night off, hubby had leftover homemade chicken soup, I had leftover black eyed peas and a biscuit
Thursday: whole roasted chicken in the air fryer, wild rice cranberry dressing, fresh green beans. Amaretto bundt cake
We spent $121 on groceries, which was all spent on food except for $4.50 on a package of bath soap. Bought lots of cheese, eggs, frozen things and fresh produce.
I did not feel well this week and mostly had peanut butter toast and a huge mug of decaff tea for supper. Lunches for me were plates of black beans and sweet corn mixed, creamy chicken rice, cheddar broccoli and some turkey, followed by frozen berries and yogurt.
I have a funny problem with anemia in that my hemoglobin looks fine but the ferritin level drops extremely low and I feel very tired.Taking Solgar vitamin's gentle iron formula fixes it without the stomach ache that other kinds of iron supplements give me.
Thank you for attempting to donate blood and mentioning it here so that others may decide to donate. During one of my surgeries I needed almost half my blood replaced and have ever since been most thankful when I hear about folks who donate.
This was an easy week. Zucchini latkes for two of the dinners, ghetta ( a German food my husband was raised on that takes steel cut oats and pork and sage and onions) for two dinners, French toast for two meals to use up more eggs, and tonight it will be Filet 'o Fish for me and beans and hot dogs for the husband. I hate it when he eats beans because I detest the smell and taste of all beans; they make me want to retch. But the man loves them and I love him, so there you are.
I really, really wanted to donate! There's such a shortage of blood right now, and I was pretty sad I didn't qualify.
But hopefully in a week or two I will be able to.
@Kristen, I used to be anemic and wasn’t able to donate. I take a iron supplement pill with a vitamin C tablet once a day, and it’s no longer an issue.
I struggle to meet the iron requirements when giving blood also. Sometimes I am just a smidge under which is really frustrating. I love seeing the new suggestions that others are offering. I was told, by one of the Red Cross workers, that drinking black tea can inhibit the absorption of iron so I have to give up black tea for about a week before giving in order to meet their level. I'm always glad to give and to hear that others are giving also.
Use your cast iron skillet for some iron, my doc recommended long ago
Saturday - chicken, cheesy rice, sugar snap peas
Sunday - takeout ramen
Monday - caprese chicken skillet, Texas toast
Tuesday - one pot beef and mushroom stroganoff
Wednesday - Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes
Thursday - kale minestrone, crescent rolls
Friday - takeout Chinese
Sunday - for breakfast I made an egg casserole. We normally eat out after church, but opted to order carryout for supper (Asian Buffet)
Monday - Spaghetti (using the homemade sauce I make and can in the summers), corn from our freezer (which is grown in our field), and made some garlic toast using up some bun halves
Tuesday - Thriving Home's Beef Tacqoritos - we love these!
Wednesday - Had our first sweet corn from our field! fried zucchini with zucchini from the garden, chicken salad
Thursday - grilled chicken to top chef salads. blueberry cobbler served with ice cream
Friday - had our son's 4 children with us - meatloaf, leftover corn, baked sweet potatoes, chocolate chip zucchini cookies, which were quite delicious and my adult son has repeatedly said "Why are these so good?"
Saturday - ate out at Red Robin's with long-time friends
Sunday - breakfast - homemade cinnamon rolls, after church Bob Evan's with my cousin and her husband