Our grocery shopping is done for this week. Assuming we don't need to buy more (and we shouldn't) I can now give you a breakdown for the month.
Not counting the week that was a wash because I was sick, based on a maximum benefit for food stamps in King County, we had $245 to spend on food. We spent $183.44, leaving us with $61.46 left for the month.
Week One:
Spaghetti with Sauce, Italian Sausage, Homemade Baguette
Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Tomato Soup
Fusilli with Creamy Pancetta and Pea Sauce
Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese with Roasted Tomatoes
Sandwiches with apples for lunch
Lemon blueberry muffins for breakfast
Week Two:
Wash, I was sick
Week Three:
Pork tacos with homemade corn tortillas
Buttermilk Oven "Fried" Chicken, Roasted Asparagus
Barbecued Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes
Sandwiches with apples for lunch
Lemon blueberry muffins for breakfast
Week Four:
Shrimp tacos with homemade corn tortillas, Mexican rice
Spaghetti with sauce and Italian sausage
Oriental Steak with Asparagus and Wild Rice Pilaf
Parmesan Chicken and Rice
Sandwiches with apples for lunch
Lemon blueberry muffins for breakfast
As food goes, this isn't an unusual month for us. I suppose we wouldn't have sandwiches as often for lunch, but we might. It just depends on my whims. And, other than our spice cabinet and other pantry items being off-limits, this wasn't terribly hard. We do typically go out to eat more often than we did this month, but, overall, it wasn't that bad. I think the hardest thing, at least for Alex, was that we couldn't buy alcohol (so no beer with his tacos!).
I'm grateful that we make enough money to buy what we want and eat what we want. But it's nice to know that, with a little effort, if we had to stick to a budget for food we could do so and eat how we like.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
A wash
I have to say, last week we came in on budget. We had great meals planned. Everything should have gone well.
Then I woke up Monday with a sore throat. By Monday night I was freezing and exhausted. Tuesday morning I woke up with a fever of nearly 102. It was pretty much downhill from there. Strep throat knocked me off my feet, and not in a good way. I got antibiotics on Wednesday, but I haven't been interested in eating since last weekend. Today is the first day I have really even thought about it.
I'll be honest. We didn't hold to the meal plan. When you're sick like I was, it's a matter of what your body can handle as well as what you want. I said from the beginning that our health was most important. So I allowed myself to eat on whim.
We're back on track for this week. The medicine is doing its job, and I've been fever-free for over 24-hours. (Fever started Monday, didn't go away until Friday morning). I feel wrung through the wringer. But as of this morning, we were on plan.
Then I woke up Monday with a sore throat. By Monday night I was freezing and exhausted. Tuesday morning I woke up with a fever of nearly 102. It was pretty much downhill from there. Strep throat knocked me off my feet, and not in a good way. I got antibiotics on Wednesday, but I haven't been interested in eating since last weekend. Today is the first day I have really even thought about it.
I'll be honest. We didn't hold to the meal plan. When you're sick like I was, it's a matter of what your body can handle as well as what you want. I said from the beginning that our health was most important. So I allowed myself to eat on whim.
We're back on track for this week. The medicine is doing its job, and I've been fever-free for over 24-hours. (Fever started Monday, didn't go away until Friday morning). I feel wrung through the wringer. But as of this morning, we were on plan.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Food Stamp: Week Two
We went to the grocery store tonight to save ourselves some time tomorrow (we have errands to run out of the city). We spent $68.59 at QFC, and we're counting $6.50 as pantry items (corn masa, some spices, sesame oil).
Here's some of the menu for week two:
Raspberry Muffins
Shrimp Tacos
Panko crusted chicken with brussels sprout slaw
Pork tenderloin with homemade bbq sauce and roasted vegetables
As for week one, here was the breakdown:
$69.58 at QFC
$2.39 for extra milk (at QFC)
$3.62 for extra apples (produce stand near my work)
Total: $75.59, $8.41 left
Here's some of the menu for week two:
Raspberry Muffins
Shrimp Tacos
Panko crusted chicken with brussels sprout slaw
Pork tenderloin with homemade bbq sauce and roasted vegetables
As for week one, here was the breakdown:
$69.58 at QFC
$2.39 for extra milk (at QFC)
$3.62 for extra apples (produce stand near my work)
Total: $75.59, $8.41 left
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Lesson to be learned:
Don't always try to get the best price.
I know that sounds silly, but hear me out.
We wanted to have apples with lunch. Fujis at the grocery store were $1.99/lb (and they were big apples). There was another apple that was $1.79/lb. I'd never heard of it, but I figured an apple was an apple so I got it because it was cheaper.
Now we will be eating the cost of them rather than the apples. They're terrible.
I used some of our leftover money for the week to buy better apples. The fruit stand across from my work was selling fujis for $0.89/lb. I used $3.62, leaving us with $10.80 for the week.
Lesson learned.
I know that sounds silly, but hear me out.
We wanted to have apples with lunch. Fujis at the grocery store were $1.99/lb (and they were big apples). There was another apple that was $1.79/lb. I'd never heard of it, but I figured an apple was an apple so I got it because it was cheaper.
Now we will be eating the cost of them rather than the apples. They're terrible.
I used some of our leftover money for the week to buy better apples. The fruit stand across from my work was selling fujis for $0.89/lb. I used $3.62, leaving us with $10.80 for the week.
Lesson learned.
First week: menu
We spent $69.58 at the grocery store, leaving us with $14.42 for the rest of the week. Alex happily pointed out that we could probably have pho or order a pizza if we wanted.
I wanted to share with you the meals we're having this week so that you know that we're still eating well, despite cutting spending. (Our bill included coffee and flavored syrup, so our food costs were even lower!)
Saturday night, Alex made some baguettes, and we had Spaghetti (with Italian sausage cooked into the sauce) and roasted garlic bread.
Sunday morning, we had French toast with leftover baguette.
For breakfast this week, we're having lemon blueberry muffins.
Our dinners this week include: a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with tomato soup (one of my favorite comfort meals), pasta with creamy pancetta and pea sauce, and stove-top macaroni and cheese with roasted tomatoes.
It's a pretty gluten heavy week, but we're celebrating since we can eat it again.
I wanted to share with you the meals we're having this week so that you know that we're still eating well, despite cutting spending. (Our bill included coffee and flavored syrup, so our food costs were even lower!)
Saturday night, Alex made some baguettes, and we had Spaghetti (with Italian sausage cooked into the sauce) and roasted garlic bread.
Sunday morning, we had French toast with leftover baguette.
For breakfast this week, we're having lemon blueberry muffins.
Our dinners this week include: a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with tomato soup (one of my favorite comfort meals), pasta with creamy pancetta and pea sauce, and stove-top macaroni and cheese with roasted tomatoes.
It's a pretty gluten heavy week, but we're celebrating since we can eat it again.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
April Challenge: Food Stamp Budget
The less said about being gluten-free the better. Neither of us liked it. We felt irritated a lot. We cheated (and it was worth it). I did enjoy experimenting with gluten-free flours (and adapted a kick-ass muffin recipe) but I'm glad to be done.
Which brings us into April.
Alex and I shop at Whole Foods. We indulge in exotic spices. We thoroughly enjoy eating out. We [unintentionally] waste food.
Not this month.
In April (starting on Saturday, to give us four full weeks, Saturday-Friday) we will be eating on a food stamp budget. The maximum benefit for a family of two in King County is $12/day or $84/week.
This was a blogger challenge back in January but I found out about it too late to join in. So we're doing it for a full month.
The challenge said you couldn't use any pantry items, couldn't accept food from anyone, and the only "free" spices were salt and pepper.
We're fudging that a bit, because, while it's fine for a week challenge, I think it's unreasonable for a month.
We will use pantry items on a case by case basis. AP flour, sugar, and white vinegar are some examples of what we have that we will continue to use. Our "fancy" flours and our extensive spice cabinet are off-limits.
We will accept food when it's offered. Easter dinner, for example, will be eaten at my dad's house.
We have pre-determined exceptions:
-April 23rd we're having an Iron Chef dinner. It's been planned for months. That dinner is exempt from the budget. (Meaning we only have $72 that week for food).
-If I get into graduate school, we are celebrating.
-I make cakes for people, for money and as gifts. If I need to exempt those ingredients, I will. But whenever possible I will include them in the budget. (I have two coworker birthdays, a baby shower, and Easter to supply baked goods for).
Everything else falls into the purview of the budget. We will eat breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks on $12/day. If I get ambitious, I'll scan in our receipts for each week.
So that's the deal.
Which brings us into April.
Alex and I shop at Whole Foods. We indulge in exotic spices. We thoroughly enjoy eating out. We [unintentionally] waste food.
Not this month.
In April (starting on Saturday, to give us four full weeks, Saturday-Friday) we will be eating on a food stamp budget. The maximum benefit for a family of two in King County is $12/day or $84/week.
This was a blogger challenge back in January but I found out about it too late to join in. So we're doing it for a full month.
The challenge said you couldn't use any pantry items, couldn't accept food from anyone, and the only "free" spices were salt and pepper.
We're fudging that a bit, because, while it's fine for a week challenge, I think it's unreasonable for a month.
We will use pantry items on a case by case basis. AP flour, sugar, and white vinegar are some examples of what we have that we will continue to use. Our "fancy" flours and our extensive spice cabinet are off-limits.
We will accept food when it's offered. Easter dinner, for example, will be eaten at my dad's house.
We have pre-determined exceptions:
-April 23rd we're having an Iron Chef dinner. It's been planned for months. That dinner is exempt from the budget. (Meaning we only have $72 that week for food).
-If I get into graduate school, we are celebrating.
-I make cakes for people, for money and as gifts. If I need to exempt those ingredients, I will. But whenever possible I will include them in the budget. (I have two coworker birthdays, a baby shower, and Easter to supply baked goods for).
Everything else falls into the purview of the budget. We will eat breakfast/lunch/dinner/snacks on $12/day. If I get ambitious, I'll scan in our receipts for each week.
So that's the deal.
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