What I Spent
Sunrise from the hospital parking garage
This week, I spent:
- $7 at Safeway
- $89 at Aldi
- $16 on a dinner out after orientation (see Thursday)
That’s $112, which means I would already be an abject failure on the $45/two weeks budget!
A $16 meal would be a terrible no-no on such a budget.
However…I got through a whole ‘nother week of orientation and aside from yesterday’s meal out, I packed all my meals, ate all my prepped breakfasts, and also brought all my own coffee from home.
Sooo, I did make my $112 work for me.
I meant to add this to yesterday’s post, but I forgot. Please enjoy this red mushroom from one of my walks!
What We Ate
Saturday
I rectified my no-pancakes-for-two-weeks situation by eating pancakes plus a green smoothie.
Ahhh, order has been restored.
Sunday
I went to a friend’s house for a game night and had dinner there. This is where I learned the Barilla protein pasta is not terrible.
Which is more than we can say for the 100% chickpea pasta. 😉
Monday
I bought a case of chickpeas* from Sam’s Club a little while back, and while I have made a dent in my stash, there are still quite a few cans left.
*I have no objection to eating chickpeas as chickpeas. I just maintain they aren’t pasta material. 😉
I made some falafel pitas with tzatziki sauce, and now my pile of cans has shrunk ever so slightly.
Tuesday
I made a chicken taco salad for Zoe and me, with cilantro lime dressing and some fried tortilla strips.
I hope you catch some home design inspiration by gazing at my formica countertops.
In other news, Chiquita tried to take my seat.
Wednesday
Zoe was gone, and I fried up the rest of the falafel mixture for a repeat of Monday night.
Thursday
As you know, it was the first nurse-rate payday for all of us new grads on my unit! So we celebrated by going to a local Mexican restaurant after our last day of boot camp.
I ordered a chimichanga, but failed to take into account both the size and also the overwhelming nature of it being covered in queso.
So I ate half and took the rest home.
Friday
Well…Zoe will be working, and I have the other half of my chimichanga on hand. So I will probably eat that along with some veggies.
Wendy
Monday 1st of September 2025
Our meal plan Thursday 8/28-9/05 allowance 175$ for 2 adults, whatever cash is left at the end of the week goes to the bulk shopping envelope. (nearest food overstock store is an hour away so I don't go to it, but i do go to Costco for some things. Don't do shopping online, very oldschool, as I don't really like other people doing my shopping for me).Also we are dairy free, grain free, legume free, sugar free. We don't buy alcohol or processed meats. We make our own sausage, son-in-law smokes our porkbelly to get bacon that I can eat, without swelling up with inflammation. Every dinner we cook gets doubled for lunch the next day, he works and right now I don't. Adult kids and grandkids come over often and raid the fridge too! Th-fish and salad=we had cod Fr-fast day Sat-Meat sauce over roasted cauliflower Sun-roasted chicken with roasted carrots and parsnips, plum tart Mon-chicken salad-from roasted chicken Tue-taco salad Wed-turkey patties,oven roasted sweet pots, steamed broccoli Th-Fish and slaw Fr-fast day or slaw with fried tofu, (I don't do well with whole day fasting but I give it my best.)
Fru-gal Lisa
Saturday 30th of August 2025
I usually don't post on What I Ate days, and this is a day late, but I'm here munching on a hot lunch I had to tell you about! Ergo, here is my new product evaluation. A few months ago, I saw a pizza cooker on Aldi's Aisle of Shame, and bought it. It's official name is Ambiano (brand) "The Everything Pizza Grill". Thought it'd be good thing to buy bc (1) I live alone (except for Snuggles Dog of course) and (2) my 1964 oven does not work (and it's ridiculously small measurement of 24 inches wide means I'd have to spend a fortune replacing it with something that fits the built-in space.) Procrastinator that I am, I put off taking the pizza cooker out of the box. But since it's raining today, I figured why not? and did it. Wish I'd done this months ago! This thing is like a supersized George Foreman grill without the ridges. It is non-stick and large enough for a huge pie. I baked an Amy's brand organic tomato, cheese and basil pizza in it. Talk about heaven! I intended to only eat a couple of slices, but it's like finding a wonderful pizza on the pizza buffet. Aldi is not currently selling it's pizza cookers right now, but if they come back, be sure and get yourself one. They are great, they are easy to use and they don't heat up the kitchen. Oh, and the crust is crisp, not at all soggy. Bonus: Its instruction book also comes with recipes for things like baked sweet potatoes; pita sandwiches; Italian-style omelets; and more. I want to try those! Bottom line, IMHO: This thing is a great help for those of us who are cooking for one. If it comes around again, it'd be the perfect gift for any singles, widows, college students, studio apartment dwellers.....or to take along if you're going on a road trip and want to cook in your motel room. Perhaps this item is for sale elsewhere, but I got mine at Aldi and haven't seen it anywhere else. I think I paid about 20 or 30 bucks for it IIRC, but it doesn't have a price sticker on it so this may be wrong.
Becca
Saturday 30th of August 2025
WIS: 26 bucks on treats @Aldi
WWA:
Fri: broccoli and focaccia.
Sat: sliced tomatoes, sausages in brioche hotdog buns.
Sun: youngest turned 11, so we had lasagna, sourdough bread ring, watermelon and brownies, and all were shark-themed.
Mon: salmon, jasmine rice, fresh fruit
Tue: leftover lasagna and leftover fruit
Wed: I think we had pasta carbonara, but I didn’t take a picture so I’m not sure. Whatever it was, there were no leftovers.
Thu: homemade ramen bowls with soy eggs and leftover salmon
Fri: salad and focaccia
Tonight: maybe spaghetti? I have a lot of tomatoes that need to be dealt with, so I’m planning to make a giant batch of sauce.
Happy weekend, everyone!
It's me, Sam
Saturday 30th of August 2025
Oh boy, we spent close to 550 in groceries this week. A Costco run. 280 170 Walmart and another 100 at the Superstore.
We bought Mandarin oranges, peaches, cherries, avacados, chicken wings, rottesserie chicken, ham, prosciutto, watermelon. Eggs, coffee, chocolate chips. We also bought 3 small boxes of sugared cereal, 3 boxes of pop tarts, chips, pretzels, vinegar, sugar, and a bunch of other stuff. Non-grocrey purchases are also included ( mini food warmer, a Stanley style cup, a new bed shirt, Our first exchange student is here, and my partner told her to pick out what ever she wanted to try. It was an eye opener for her! She was a smidge overwhelmed with both Costco and Walmart. I did let her know that we don't usually eat that type of food, but it will be interesting to see if she enjoys the taste.
We did eat burgers with homemade mustard beans, beets, snap peas Rottesserie chicken with potatoes, green and yellow beans We also tried a new food truck, I had a smash burger, he had brisket. Both came with homemade fries that need no ketchup. Bruschetta with leftover chicken, and tomato/feta salad We'll have corn on the cob with pork tenderloin and a beet and peach salad ( I'll make some type of pasta salad too).
I'll bake something too, maybe a blueberry/ lemon loaf... And cookie's for lunches and snacks.
Susan_SFl
Saturday 30th of August 2025
@It's me, Sam, I was an exchange student in France when I was in high school, and it was a great experience. I loved going to the markets on Saturday and Sunday, and the food was simple but amazing. Where is your exchange student from, if you don’t mind sharing? I wish we had been able to host when my sons were in middle or high school.
AZ Lynn
Friday 29th of August 2025
Last month I inventoried my pantry. Was very chagrined to discover an embarrassing amount of food that was either past or kissing the best buy date. So was born the "Shelf of Shame Grocery Store" which is housed on the top shelf of my baker's rack. I have been slowly working through the stock. Was a little concerned by the recent conversations about chick pea pasta, because I had 2 boxes of Barilla 100% chick pea spaghetti! Last night made spaghetti with a jar of "shameful" Ragu sauce with mushrooms and 1 box of the pasta. Browned ground turkey that was edging to "shameful" with garlic and a healthy dose of Worcestershire sauce before adding the sauce. Rinsed jar with about half a jar of water dumped into pan to make it soupy. Broke up the pasta into halves and cooked it in the sauce. When I plated it a used more than the usual amount of parm., because you all scared me. It was not bad. Today for lunch it was really pretty good. I do not love the pasta. But maybe because the pieces were smaller, spaghetti is thinner and it was cooked in the sauce it was a decent dish. Won't buy it again, but it wasn't torture either.