Week of 21 Nov 2010 Mealplan

Just for the record: HOLY CRAP this took a long time to figure out. The menu was easy...it was all the prices that were a total P.I.T.A.

This week is going to be Quick 'n' Dirty, as we are headed out of town at Crack o'clock on Wednesday morning to bask in the glow of my mother's amazing cooking. That also makes it a great way to start off this project. It's also going to involve at least one Happy Meal because the MiniMen are home from preschool. All. Week. Long.

I guess I should have budgeted in some wine.

That being said, here's the meal plan for the week (No, it doesn't include tax). A lot of my prices are based on what I could find in the Kroger and Publix circulars, since I had them in the pantry and don't remember what I paid for them. If I couldn't find it there, I looked it up on Amazon. I hope to give a better idea of what I'm paying as I move forward.

Monday

Breakfast: Oatmeal (1 cup (2.8 oz) @ $.10/oz)= $.28 with

Milk (2 cups @ $.33/cup)= $.66

Bananas (1 @ .30/ea)= $.30

Raisins (.25c (1.4 oz) @ $.17/oz)= $.24

Apples (.5lb @ $.99/lb)= $.50

Total: $1.98

Lunch:

Man: Turkey and Cheese Sandwich ($2.20)

Cheetoes (baked) ($.50)

Yogurt ($.31)

Orange ($.50)

Sugar Snap Peas ($.35)

2 Diet Cokes ($.46)

Man's Total: $4.32

Minis: Baked Chicken Nuggets ($1.05)

Sugar Snap Peas ($.35)

"Squishy" Carrots ($.38)

Pretzels ($.32)

Minis' Total: $ 2.10

Dinner: Grilled Chicken 12 oz@ $2.09/lb ($1.57)

Salad "To-Go" ($2.61)

Steamed carrots/mixed veggies ($.68)

Barley "Risotto" ($5.49)

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs ($.75)

Banana ($.30)

Lunch: Man: Same as Yesterday ($4.32)

Minis: PB and J ($.91)

Sliced Cucumbers ($.50)

Orange sections ($.50)

Dinner: Cheese Ravioli ($2.99)

Homemade tomato sauce ($1.57)

Homemade bread ($.60)

Salad ($2.61)

Okay, as far as a first menu pass goes, this was a decent learning experience. First, I need to start the menu plan earlier...trying to get this out for a Sunday afternoon post was a TOTAL fail!!

I welcome any questions or comments, oh dear lone reader that I have.

WTF Ad Campaign

Okay. I'm laying here, in my bed at 10:30 at night watching Food Network (one thing you'll eventually find out about me is that I HATE network TV. FN gives me ideas, although I'm getting tired of looking at them on 5 shows per host AND the commercials. Oh, and the only reason I get to do this is because the Man is visiting his mom.) and I'm PISSED at a soup commercial claiming that, by nuking a can of soup and putting it over rice is dinner. Seriously? The claim is $4, 4 minutes and dinner is served. First off, are you kidding me? Second, if it costs you four bucks for a can of soup and some minute rice, you have more money than sense.

I've had wine tonight. I may hold off on posting this until tomorrow.

I had 5 people (3 adults and 2 kids) over for dinner tonight, plus my two boys and myself. We made cheese pizza.

Here's the breakdown for 2 12-14-inch pizzas:

4ish cups of flour: $.40

yeast: $.25

Salt, water, olive oil and honey: $.50

Tomato Sauce: $.25

Cheese: $2

Basil: Free (from the garden)

I just fed 7 people for $3.40 with fresh ingredients. I admit, I'm not including wine (could I count that as a fruit?)or time and there wasn't a vegetable in sight, but which would you rather have? Pizza, fresh from the oven, or tinned soup over re-hydrated rice? Even if I'd used the Poppin' Fresh dough on sale, I'd STILL come out ahead!

Bite me. That's NOT mmm, mmm, good.

I feel better now. I'm going to bed.

Publix Shopping Trip 18 Nov 2010

It was one of my better days at Publix. I used the list from Southern Savers (Many thanks to Jenny and her hard work!) and, since this is my first pass at basing the menu on what they have on special and I haven't done the menu yet (week starts on Monday around here), there's no produce or meats on it--save for the lunch meats I got since it's a short week. I should actually have enough produce to get us to Wednesday morning when we leave for MeMa and Granddad's.

So, here's the loot (I may take a picture next time for posterity):

Rice Chex: $1.24

Multi-Bran Chex: $1.24

Corn Chex: $1.24

Honey Nut Chex: $1.24

Orville Redenbacher Popping Corn (2): $4.89

Bird's Eye Steamfresh (2): $.89 (yes, that's right)

Ritz (2): $2.09

Uncle Ben's (2): $1.34

Charmin 6Mega Rolls: $4.49

Bounty Paper Towels (6-pack): $4.99

Mt. Olive Gherkin 4-pack: $.37

Carmex Lip Balm (3): $1.17

SunDown Vitamin D (2): free

Worchestershire Sauce: $1.00

8th Continent Soy Milk: $2.09

Boar's Head Chicken (.5 lb): $4.18

Boar's Head Baby Swiss (1.07 lb): $9.42

Ricola Cough Drops (2): $.78

Publix Dijon Mustard (I was out): $1.50

Bic Multi-Purpose lighter (4): $.98

Total Before Discounts: $110.73

Total After Discounts: $ 45.67

Savings: $65.03

Keep in mind, my grocery bill usually consists of at least 2 gallons of organic milk at $5.29 a pop, so this round is deceptive. I also had a TON of produce from my last Costco trip. I hope it's gone before we leave for my parents' house.

Welcome to Veggies at Dinner

I have opted to jump on the bandwagon of stay-at-home moms who blog, lending credence to the belief that all we do is watch "Ellen" and play on Facebook. Seriously, I do more than that. Promise. I just can't think of what any of those things might be right now. In defense of that statement, this is the third blog that I've put out over the last 2 years...and I currently have the same number of posts for all of them (okay, fine. Maguire Maniacs and Mom has three entries, I think, but that just doesn't sound as good).

So, here are the challenges I currently face:

1. Getting 5 servings of fruit and vegetables into my husband and kids every day (the person this is the hardest to shovel this stuff into is--shockingly--my husband. I can at least threaten my boys with No Dessert.
2. Feeding my family healthfully on one income. My current monthly food budget is $750/month (I know. That's a lot. That doesn't even include wine. Sadly, that's even down from over $1000.). I'd like to cut that in half.
3. Having vegetables make up half of what shows up on our plates each night...while having everyone actually eat.

Here are my strategies:

1. I'm a HUGE fan of Southern Savers. When I talk about how much I spent on grocery shopping and how much I saved, this is my source, unless I say otherwise. I'm sure I'll say it again, but I don't want ANYONE telling me I'm stealing her stuff. I'm not. I have never met Jenny, but the work that she does has cut my grocery bills significantly and I would not demean her or myself by taking credit for it.
2. Costco. Ahh, how I love Costco. It's dangerous for me. If I walk in there with no list, I can drop at least $100. My last Costco run cost me $276. The good news is that we won't need protein for MONTHS. The bad news is that it cost me $276.
3. Stockpile. My father's mantra upon finding a good price on something was "buy twenty pounds and freeze it". I have followed that to an extreme and it drives my husband crazy. The chest freezer in our basement is filled. If it ever craps out on us, we're screwed.
4. Plan ahead. I sit down every week and make a menu for lunch and dinner (I rarely do breakfast because The Man eats the same thing every day (cereal, banana, milk, 2 yogurts), the Maniac (my oldest) eats everything (cereal first, followed by chicken nuggets or a sandwich, scrambled eggs, grapes and milk) and the Monkey (my youngest) grazes until school starts (Banana and milk until he wakes up, eggs later, followed by grapes). The Maniac goes to preschool 5 days per week, the Monkey goes 4 days and I pack a lunch and a snack for each of them. The Man takes his lunch every day, even if he has a lunch meeting that day (I'd rather not have to make his lunch the next day than have him go buy lunch if his meeting was cancelled). I usually just eat whatever is leftover from last night's dinner.

There are a few personal challenges in this venture:

1. I like Boar's Head lunch meats. Boar's Head is expensive, especially when you're using it for up to 14 lunches per week (One of the kids in Maniac's class has a serious nut allergy, so no PB and J there.). Monkey's my little vegetarian, so a container of edamame is all the main course he really needs, unless we go for hummus. Either way, it's not uncommon to shell out $15-20/week on lunch meat.
2. I use organic milk. Maybe I'm kidding myself, but we go through 4 gallons of milk per week around here (Monkey alone can drink a gallon in 2-3 days). If we're going to drink that much of something, I want as little additional crap in it as possible. If anyone knows of ways to "go organic" cheaper, let me know. I spend more money on milk than I do on meat.
3. Publix and Kroger are my "Go-To" stores. There's a Whole Foods and a Fresh Market up the road and I love them more than I can say. I could just wander around Whole Foods like some women wander around Rodeo Drive. I'd probably spend the same amount of money.

Here is what you, the Dear Reader, can expect from me:

1. A shopping list, complete with final prices (after coupons) from either Kroger or Publix. I may do both, depending on how sadistic I'm feeling that day.
2. A menu BASED ON THE SPECIALS AT THE STORE, along with final prices of what each meal cost.* I'll also include links to any recipes I use. I'm not a chef. Sometimes I wing it well, but Bobby Flay isn't going to issue a Throwdown any time soon.
3. A weekly and monthly breakdown of what I've spent at the grocery.

*This is going to be the toughest to complete. I'm pretty sure I'm on crack for throwing this out there.