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.