Originally, I was going to get off WIC when The Man made got a promotion and a raise. The promotion and raise didn't happen, but after a few months I have decided I am going to give it a go and try to go without it anyway. I was supposed to go in and do my recertification this week and I didn't feel good about having to go in and get WIC again so I cancelled my appointment. Could we use it? Sure we could, it is a big help when money is tight. Do we need it? I don't *think* so. I really feel that we in our house should change our priorities and try to go without it. I dont like depending on others when it is not a need. In a year, if things are worse than they are now, since The Man probably wont have a job, we will reconsider our options. I am hoping that things will get better even with the chance of The Man losing his job. Our priorities in life have changed quite a bit from even a few years ago and we are going to do our best to keep our heads up even in the rough times and try to get through it in one piece.
I am in no way bashing WIC or anybody who receives it. It is an AWESOME program that provides food for women, infants, and children. It has been a great help for us during our times of need. I am just hoping for my family to try to become a little more self sufficient and for me sometimes it takes just jumping in feet first.
Showing posts with label Grocery Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grocery Challenge. Show all posts
Friday, September 14, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Live Below The Line 2012 - Wrap Up
As I posted before we did the Live Below The Line challenge. We had to eat for 30 GBP for 5 days. We survived but buy the end of day 4 we were sick of eating such boring food and wished we had more fruit and meat. We had plenty of food it just was high in carbs and low in vitamins. We did continue to take our daily vitamins because I could not risk everybody getting really sick.
I learned that oatmeal is a very filling, cheap breakfast. Even if a tablespoon of sugar is added for flavor it is still very cheap. I know I will be eating more oatmeal because it is not only filling and cheap but it is also quite low in calories and I am on a diet via the doctors now. I prefer to have my oatmeal with a bit of banana added for flavor too.
I have learned that nobody in my house really likes white bread and that the tortillas made with plain white flour are more pliable than the ones we normally make with whole wheat flour. I will not go back to white bread as a daily supplement as it is quite flavorless compared to the whole wheat alternative. I am not sure what we will do about the tortillas as I think we all liked the white ones better. I think maybe we will cut some but not all of the whole wheat flour and maybe add a little more water.
I learned that I do not like my spaghetti without a little bit of meat. Normally we make our spaghetti with whatever extra veggies we have in the fridge plus one pound of ground beef. For the challenge we couldn't afford to buy a bunch of meat so we had to eat our spaghetti without. It was boring tasting to say the least.
I did find out that we all liked lentil taco filling without ground beef. Prior to this challenge we would make the lentil filling and add a pound of ground beef. I think we will stop this now and make tacos into a meatless meal. It was really good and had lots of flavor and there were no texture issues like I thought there would be.
I also found that lentil chili without meat is tasty too. I do like chili with meat so I think this will be an alternating thing. Sometimes we will make lentil chili and others we will make chili the way we normally would with meat.
I also found that the generic store brands that I can buy here in the UK are of a great quality and the prices are amazing. A can of sliced peaches in juice at Sainsburys is 29 pence or about 48 cents. A box of generic corn flakes at Tesco is 31 pence or about 51 cents. These sizes are the same as the name brand equivalent and are really good in comparison. It would be nice if a store in the US could do the same without compromising the quality. It would help out immensely.
All in all I don't think we had a terrible week. I think we all took a little something from the experience and will move forward with more compassion and even some knowledge on how to stretch our own budget a little more.
If you would like to find out a little more please visit the website here.
I learned that oatmeal is a very filling, cheap breakfast. Even if a tablespoon of sugar is added for flavor it is still very cheap. I know I will be eating more oatmeal because it is not only filling and cheap but it is also quite low in calories and I am on a diet via the doctors now. I prefer to have my oatmeal with a bit of banana added for flavor too.
I have learned that nobody in my house really likes white bread and that the tortillas made with plain white flour are more pliable than the ones we normally make with whole wheat flour. I will not go back to white bread as a daily supplement as it is quite flavorless compared to the whole wheat alternative. I am not sure what we will do about the tortillas as I think we all liked the white ones better. I think maybe we will cut some but not all of the whole wheat flour and maybe add a little more water.
I learned that I do not like my spaghetti without a little bit of meat. Normally we make our spaghetti with whatever extra veggies we have in the fridge plus one pound of ground beef. For the challenge we couldn't afford to buy a bunch of meat so we had to eat our spaghetti without. It was boring tasting to say the least.
I did find out that we all liked lentil taco filling without ground beef. Prior to this challenge we would make the lentil filling and add a pound of ground beef. I think we will stop this now and make tacos into a meatless meal. It was really good and had lots of flavor and there were no texture issues like I thought there would be.
I also found that lentil chili without meat is tasty too. I do like chili with meat so I think this will be an alternating thing. Sometimes we will make lentil chili and others we will make chili the way we normally would with meat.
I also found that the generic store brands that I can buy here in the UK are of a great quality and the prices are amazing. A can of sliced peaches in juice at Sainsburys is 29 pence or about 48 cents. A box of generic corn flakes at Tesco is 31 pence or about 51 cents. These sizes are the same as the name brand equivalent and are really good in comparison. It would be nice if a store in the US could do the same without compromising the quality. It would help out immensely.
All in all I don't think we had a terrible week. I think we all took a little something from the experience and will move forward with more compassion and even some knowledge on how to stretch our own budget a little more.
If you would like to find out a little more please visit the website here.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
LIve Below The Line 2012
I mentioned that our family is doing the Live Below the Line challenge this week. I thought I would share a little about what we have been eating.
Sunday we made two loaves of white bread. We normally only eat whole wheat bread but for the purpose of this challenge the plain while all purpose flour was the cheapest. We put them up and cut into the first loaf on Monday when we started this challenge. I am surprised how bland white bread tastes. We make most of our bread here at the house and I haven't had white bread since I married The Man in 2005. The recipes are almost identical but it just doesn't seem to have the depth of the wheat bread we normally eat. I will be thankful to have wheat bread back when this challenge is done.
The kids have been doing OK but they sure miss the options to have as much fruit and veg as they like for snacks as well as yogurt, cheese, or applesauce. I have been trying get them on a feeding schedule always but it has always failed me. They are grazers which is probably better for them but I have been thwarting that this week. Life will be back to normal come Saturday. They older two are quite picky eaters while the little two will eat almost anything. It has been easy feeding the little two. The older two not so much.
The Man and I have also not been able to have our several snacks of fruit or veg this week. The food portions have been fine it is just having snacks that is hard. We are both on a diet to lose weight at the moment as well. He is on a diet to lose weight for his job and I am on a diet from the doctor due to some health issues. I have lost one pound this week. I haven't found that the meals are too small or not fulfilling but I will be thankful to be able to have my two small snacks back everyday come Saturday. Also to have more fruit and veg in our meals will be nice.
Meals:
Day 1 for me-
Breakfast was oatmeal with a bit of sugar
Lunch was spaghetti noodles with butter, garlic, onion, and carrot
Snack was an orange that one of the kids didn't finish
Dinner was lentil tacos- homemade tortilla, lentil taco filling, cheddar, lettuce, soured cream, and salsa
Day 2:
Breakfast- oatmeal with sugar and jam
Lunch- Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich
Snack- canned peach slices
dinner- lentil chili and rice
Day 3 so far:
Breakfast- oatmeal with sugar and cinnamon
Lunch- potato topped with leftover lentil chili
My drinks have been water or plain unsweetened cold tea.
I must say I am super impressed with the number and quality of the generic store brand foods here.
Sunday we made two loaves of white bread. We normally only eat whole wheat bread but for the purpose of this challenge the plain while all purpose flour was the cheapest. We put them up and cut into the first loaf on Monday when we started this challenge. I am surprised how bland white bread tastes. We make most of our bread here at the house and I haven't had white bread since I married The Man in 2005. The recipes are almost identical but it just doesn't seem to have the depth of the wheat bread we normally eat. I will be thankful to have wheat bread back when this challenge is done.
The kids have been doing OK but they sure miss the options to have as much fruit and veg as they like for snacks as well as yogurt, cheese, or applesauce. I have been trying get them on a feeding schedule always but it has always failed me. They are grazers which is probably better for them but I have been thwarting that this week. Life will be back to normal come Saturday. They older two are quite picky eaters while the little two will eat almost anything. It has been easy feeding the little two. The older two not so much.
The Man and I have also not been able to have our several snacks of fruit or veg this week. The food portions have been fine it is just having snacks that is hard. We are both on a diet to lose weight at the moment as well. He is on a diet to lose weight for his job and I am on a diet from the doctor due to some health issues. I have lost one pound this week. I haven't found that the meals are too small or not fulfilling but I will be thankful to be able to have my two small snacks back everyday come Saturday. Also to have more fruit and veg in our meals will be nice.
Meals:
Day 1 for me-
Breakfast was oatmeal with a bit of sugar
Lunch was spaghetti noodles with butter, garlic, onion, and carrot
Snack was an orange that one of the kids didn't finish
Dinner was lentil tacos- homemade tortilla, lentil taco filling, cheddar, lettuce, soured cream, and salsa
Day 2:
Breakfast- oatmeal with sugar and jam
Lunch- Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich
Snack- canned peach slices
dinner- lentil chili and rice
Day 3 so far:
Breakfast- oatmeal with sugar and cinnamon
Lunch- potato topped with leftover lentil chili
My drinks have been water or plain unsweetened cold tea.
I must say I am super impressed with the number and quality of the generic store brand foods here.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Live Below The Line 2012
May 7-11, 2012 we are doing the Live below the line challenge. We had the option living where we do to choose to do the US or UK versions. We decided to do the UK version as we have access to more options for UK stores than we have for US stores. We got 1 pound per person per day for 5 days. We have 6 of us in this house so it worked out to being 30 pounds for 5 days. I took our 30 Pounds out and basically started from scratch to make it a bit more of a challenge and so I wouldnt have to figure out how much a teaspoon of salt or sugar would cost.
Here is my grocery list and the costs associated with what we bought:
Here is my grocery list and the costs associated with what we bought:
TESCO |
||
| tesco everyday spaghetti | 2 | 0.35 |
| almond milk | 2 | 2 |
| cathedral mature cheddar | 1 | 1.99 |
| country life butter | 2 | 2 |
| table salt | 1 | 0.29 |
| tesco everyday pepper | 1 | 0.18 |
| tesco mixed herbs | 1 | 0.19 |
| Tesco chicken cubes | 1 | 0.1 |
| tesco sieved passata | 2 | 0.58 |
| molases sugar | 1 | 1.19 |
| discounter sunflower oil | 1 | 1.39 |
| red lentils | 1 | 0.83 |
| chopped tomatoes | 1 | 0.31 |
| kidney beans | 1 | 0.18 |
| oaklane blackcurrant jam | 1 | 0.89 |
| tesco everyday peanut butter | 1 | 0.62 |
| granulated sugar 1kg | 1 | 0.98 |
| allinsons yeast | 1 | 0.64 |
| tesco oats | 1 | 0.75 |
| tea | 1 | 0.27 |
| cornflakes | 2 | 0.62 |
| flour | 2 | 1.04 |
| 17.39 | ||
| SAINSBURYS | ||
| rice | 1 | 0.4 |
| baking powder | 1 | 0.83 |
| salsa | 1 | 0.69 |
| chili powder | 1 | 0.63 |
| peaches canned | 3 | 0.87 |
| 3.42 | ||
| ASDA | ||
| cinnamon | 1 | 0.55 |
| cumin | 1 | 0.48 |
| 1.03 | ||
| SAINSBURYS DAY BEFORE | ||
| cooking bacon | 1 | 0.99 |
| 0.99 | ||
| TESCO DAY BEFORE | ||
| garlic | 1 | 0.26 |
| soured cream | 1 | 0.6 |
| oranges | 1 | 0.5 |
| lettuce | 1 | 0.5 |
| 1.86 | ||
| ALDI DAY BEFORE | ||
| maris piper potatoes | 1 | 0.69 |
| Bag onions | 1 | 0.69 |
| Bag carrots | 1 | 0.65 |
| Eggs 15 pk | 1 | 1.25 |
| 3.28 | ||
| FARM FOODS DAY BEFORE | ||
| milk 2 ltr | 2 | 1.8 |
| 1.8 | ||
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Grocery Update 5/1-5/14
I did my grocery shopping today and I am over by a little bit but I am doing pretty good so far this pay period. The three littles and I went to Sainsburys and I spent 24.17 pounds. The boys were good so I spent the rest of the pounds along with some change from the change cup in the car to treat them to McDonald's. I spent 9.20 pounds there. I also went and cashed in WIC and picked up a few random groceries at the commissary. I spent $0.50 extra on WIC fruit and $46.08 on random groceries. The reason I spent so little and got such random things is that The Man was gone and I spent money on Burger King (ewww).
Burger King - $22.56
Burger King - $18.16
Ikea sauce from mom - $13.13
WIC overage - $0.50
Commissary (tip included) - $46.08
Budgeted - $100 and 30 pounds
Spent - $ 100.43 and 33.37 pounds
What I got-
Sainsburys:
4 pks diapers
4 organic butter
2 organic whole wheat flour
1 organic cane sugar
1 baking powder
1 ltr organic sunflower oil
WIC:
3 gallons milk
2 boxes cereal
1 lb mozzarella cheese
2 frozen orange juice
1 doz eggs
6 pouches salmon
1 bag granny smith apples
5 containers blackberries (jam time)
1 container strawberries
Commissary:
1 dried apples
1 can organic diced tomatoes
1 pk pectin
1 6 pk toilet paper
4 semi sweet chocolate chips
1 frozen blackberries
1 frozen mixed veg
1 frozen broccoli
1 frozen carrots
1 large beef piece (will be cut into a roast and some steaks)
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground chuck (reduced)
2 lbs ground beef
1 boneless pork ham
All together I think I have done pretty good but would have done a lot better if I had not given into my laziness and taken the kids to get Burger King. I tend to not give into the eating out as much when The Man is home. He is home now and hopefully wont be leaving again soon so I wont fall into that crazy trap of myself.
Burger King - $22.56
Burger King - $18.16
Ikea sauce from mom - $13.13
WIC overage - $0.50
Commissary (tip included) - $46.08
Budgeted - $100 and 30 pounds
Spent - $ 100.43 and 33.37 pounds
What I got-
Sainsburys:
4 pks diapers
4 organic butter
2 organic whole wheat flour
1 organic cane sugar
1 baking powder
1 ltr organic sunflower oil
WIC:
3 gallons milk
2 boxes cereal
1 lb mozzarella cheese
2 frozen orange juice
1 doz eggs
6 pouches salmon
1 bag granny smith apples
5 containers blackberries (jam time)
1 container strawberries
Commissary:
1 dried apples
1 can organic diced tomatoes
1 pk pectin
1 6 pk toilet paper
4 semi sweet chocolate chips
1 frozen blackberries
1 frozen mixed veg
1 frozen broccoli
1 frozen carrots
1 large beef piece (will be cut into a roast and some steaks)
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground chuck (reduced)
2 lbs ground beef
1 boneless pork ham
All together I think I have done pretty good but would have done a lot better if I had not given into my laziness and taken the kids to get Burger King. I tend to not give into the eating out as much when The Man is home. He is home now and hopefully wont be leaving again soon so I wont fall into that crazy trap of myself.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Grocery Challenge Update
I went over on the dollars amount this last pay period but managed to have a few pounds left over.
Budgeted - $66.16 and 80 pounds
Spent - $113.96 and 74.91 pounds
For this pay period (May 1-14) I am going to budget $100 and 30 pounds. All of our visitors have come and gone now so we should be able to stick to this budget a lot more easily. I don't plan to go grocery shopping at the store this first week unless we absolutely need something but will probably place a drugstore.com order for a few things.
Budgeted - $100 and 30 pounds
Budgeted - $66.16 and 80 pounds
Spent - $113.96 and 74.91 pounds
For this pay period (May 1-14) I am going to budget $100 and 30 pounds. All of our visitors have come and gone now so we should be able to stick to this budget a lot more easily. I don't plan to go grocery shopping at the store this first week unless we absolutely need something but will probably place a drugstore.com order for a few things.
Budgeted - $100 and 30 pounds
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Good and The Not So Good
I did my shopping this past week on base and off base. I am still on track with my pounds spending but I over spent on the dollars shopping trip. I spent about $88 and it wasn't all good food that I would normally buy. It was easy things that would be quick to prepare while our friends are here. Combine this total with the money I spent on drugstore.com and I am way over in the dollars amount.
I spent 30.56 pounds on the off base shop. This one I was better about sticking to my budget and bought better foods for the house. I bought diapers, organic sugar, organic flours, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, and Coke. I will go shopping again off base next week since Sunday is Easter and if I do good about the budget maybe I will have a couple pounds to carry over to next pay period.
I also made a quick WIC trip to get milk, cheese, eggs, juice, bread, strawberries, and a big bag of salad greens.
Budgeted - $66.16 and 80 pounds
Spent - $113.96 and 47.36 pounds
The extra dollars money got pulled out of savings for the overage.
I spent 30.56 pounds on the off base shop. This one I was better about sticking to my budget and bought better foods for the house. I bought diapers, organic sugar, organic flours, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, and Coke. I will go shopping again off base next week since Sunday is Easter and if I do good about the budget maybe I will have a couple pounds to carry over to next pay period.
I also made a quick WIC trip to get milk, cheese, eggs, juice, bread, strawberries, and a big bag of salad greens.
Budgeted - $66.16 and 80 pounds
Spent - $113.96 and 47.36 pounds
The extra dollars money got pulled out of savings for the overage.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Today's Spending
I placed an order at Drugstore.com in the amount of 25.96. They had sent me an email for free shipping on any order over $25 so I could get the few things I needed to order instead of having to place an order for $49. I love websites that will not only ship to my APO address but also offer free shipping.
For $25.96 I got:
1 Little Twig Gift Bag - 1 set $.00
1 Puristics Baby Daily Diapering Cream - .1 fl oz $.00
1 Puristics Pure Protection 100% Organic Cotton Feminine Care Sample, Tampon & Pad - 1 ea $.00
1 Avent Soothie Pacifier, 0-6 months, Pink/Purple - 2 ea $3.99
1 biokleen Oxygen Bleach Plus with GSE - 32 oz $3.89
1 biokleen All Temperature Laundry Liquid with Grapefruit Seed and Orange Peel Extract - 64 fl oz $8.09
1 Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Training Pants, 3T-4T, 26 ea
I also made a quick trip to Sainsburys to get diapers and some produce.
I spent 16.80 pounds on:
2 pks diapers
2 6pks fancy yogurts (these have the separate mix ins)
2 4 pks Asian pears
2 8 count kiwi
9 bananas
1 container strawberries
1 loaf whole wheat seed bread
Budgeted - $66.16 and 80 pounds
Spent - $25.96 and 16.80 pounds
I really need to get in the swing of using my cloth diapers again it would save a bunch of money. I have had a hard time keeping up using the cloth since having two in diapers when my 2 year old was born. It seems to be a huge challenge. Between trying to keep them washed and keep up on my normal family laundry and moving to England where I am having a harder time figuring out a good wash routine so the diapers don't have stink or stains. Now we have thrush going on with the baby and me so I am not even going to touch the cloth til we manage to get rid of it. I just feel like a ton of excuses about it but the paper diapers have been so much easier and less stressful on me and the family.
For $25.96 I got:
1 Little Twig Gift Bag - 1 set $.00
1 Puristics Baby Daily Diapering Cream - .1 fl oz $.00
1 Puristics Pure Protection 100% Organic Cotton Feminine Care Sample, Tampon & Pad - 1 ea $.00
1 Avent Soothie Pacifier, 0-6 months, Pink/Purple - 2 ea $3.99
1 biokleen Oxygen Bleach Plus with GSE - 32 oz $3.89
1 biokleen All Temperature Laundry Liquid with Grapefruit Seed and Orange Peel Extract - 64 fl oz $8.09
1 Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Training Pants, 3T-4T, 26 ea
I also made a quick trip to Sainsburys to get diapers and some produce.
I spent 16.80 pounds on:
2 pks diapers
2 6pks fancy yogurts (these have the separate mix ins)
2 4 pks Asian pears
2 8 count kiwi
9 bananas
1 container strawberries
1 loaf whole wheat seed bread
Budgeted - $66.16 and 80 pounds
Spent - $25.96 and 16.80 pounds
I really need to get in the swing of using my cloth diapers again it would save a bunch of money. I have had a hard time keeping up using the cloth since having two in diapers when my 2 year old was born. It seems to be a huge challenge. Between trying to keep them washed and keep up on my normal family laundry and moving to England where I am having a harder time figuring out a good wash routine so the diapers don't have stink or stains. Now we have thrush going on with the baby and me so I am not even going to touch the cloth til we manage to get rid of it. I just feel like a ton of excuses about it but the paper diapers have been so much easier and less stressful on me and the family.
Grocery Challenge....Take 2
So I failed miserably on the last grocery challenge and went over by quite a bit. I think that my biggest failure was not being prepared for extras when guests were here. I have bumped my budget up a little bit this pay period (15-30 April). I am putting my dollars grocery money into a separate account so if I don't end up using it all then I can roll it into the next pay period. I had $16.16 in that account already so I am going to add $50 and have a dollars budget of $66.16. I am also going to have 80 pounds to spend off base. For this I have my grocery pounds separated into a Ziploc bag in my purse. I also keep the off base coupons and store cards in that bag as well so that I can find everything easily. I still have guests at my house this weekend and next weekend so that is why I put the budget up a little higher. In dollars this makes our budget for the pay period a total of $200.56 plus any WIC foods that we are allowed. I am really hoping that I can stick to this budget a little better and go back to the $150 budget when we are not going to have guests.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Way Over On The Grocery Challenge
I'm quite busy today but as of now I have gone way over on my budget for groceries. I probably shouldn't have started to try a tighter grocery budget when we had friends visiting but oh well. Friday is a new pay period so I can try again.
Total budgeted- $50 and 60 pounds
Total spent- $52.28 and 96.41 pounds (ouch!!)
ETA: I had to go off base and get a couple more items and managed to lose my receipt. I am guessing I probably spent another 20 pounds on top of what I accurately have accounted for. I am hoping to do much better next pay period.
Total budgeted- $50 and 60 pounds
Total spent- $52.28 and 96.41 pounds (ouch!!)
ETA: I had to go off base and get a couple more items and managed to lose my receipt. I am guessing I probably spent another 20 pounds on top of what I accurately have accounted for. I am hoping to do much better next pay period.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Grocery Update and Food Plan 4/6-4/10
I have not spent any more money on groceries. I did go today and pick up a little more of my WIC food because they are threatening to close the commissary if the U.S. budget doesn't pass and WIC checks cannot be used off base here. I luckily know how to deal with grocery shopping off base and have a bit of a stockpile of food so we would be able to eat if they choose to hold our pay for a bit. I have money pulled out to make a grocery trip on Sunday off base anyway so that will help with fresh foods if they do close the commissary.
On WIC today I got:
-2 gallons milk
-1lb mozzarella cheese
-1 container frozen grape juice
-2 boxes cereal
-1doz eggs
-1 loaf whole wheat bread
-1 pineapple
-8 bananas
Dinner plans:
4/6- We had chicken nuggets, corn and macaroni and cheese. This is not a normal meal for us but once in a while it will not hurt anything.
4/7- The Man made bourbon chicken and rice. This was the first time we made this recipe and it is a definite keeper.
4/8- We will be having our turkey legs. They are currently marinating in a brine. I have not figured out the side items but we will probably have mashed potatoes and some kind of vegetable.
4/9 & 4/10- Our friends will be visiting and we will be having lasagna with homemade bread one night and homemade whole wheat pizzas the other night. The Man will for sure be cooking pizzas because he loves to make pizza and might possibly be making the lasagna if we choose to have it on Saturday.
Total budgeted- $50 and 60 pounds
Total spent- $52.28 and 35.99 pounds
On WIC today I got:
-2 gallons milk
-1lb mozzarella cheese
-1 container frozen grape juice
-2 boxes cereal
-1doz eggs
-1 loaf whole wheat bread
-1 pineapple
-8 bananas
Dinner plans:
4/6- We had chicken nuggets, corn and macaroni and cheese. This is not a normal meal for us but once in a while it will not hurt anything.
4/7- The Man made bourbon chicken and rice. This was the first time we made this recipe and it is a definite keeper.
4/8- We will be having our turkey legs. They are currently marinating in a brine. I have not figured out the side items but we will probably have mashed potatoes and some kind of vegetable.
4/9 & 4/10- Our friends will be visiting and we will be having lasagna with homemade bread one night and homemade whole wheat pizzas the other night. The Man will for sure be cooking pizzas because he loves to make pizza and might possibly be making the lasagna if we choose to have it on Saturday.
Total budgeted- $50 and 60 pounds
Total spent- $52.28 and 35.99 pounds
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Spices
Ok so I am no good at trying to stick to a budget. I had bought two turkey legs when I went shopping the other day but have no idea how to cook them. I looked up recipes online and rather than attempting to grill them (I dont use the grill that is The Man's job) I found a recipe for a brining marinade so I could cook them in the oven. The sad part is that I needed a couple more spices. So off to Sainsburys I went once again. I spent 7.11 pounds. I found 6 of those pounds in the change in the van so it is going to make me go over in budget but I didnt have to pull more money out of the bank so that is good. The Man also requested a beer to drink and a beer to make the jalepeno beer bread mix that my parents brought over when they came.
For 7.11 pounds I got:
-2 organic ales
-3 cloves organic garlic
-cayenne pepper
-dried thyme
-ground allspice
Total budgeted- $50 and 60 pounds
Total spent- $52.28 and 35.99 pounds
For 7.11 pounds I got:
-2 organic ales
-3 cloves organic garlic
-cayenne pepper
-dried thyme
-ground allspice
Total budgeted- $50 and 60 pounds
Total spent- $52.28 and 35.99 pounds
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Week One Of Off Base Shopping
This was the first weekly shop on my $150 + WIC challenge at the off base store. I decided to do a weekly shop at Sainsburys since they had sent me a group 6 off 30 pound purchase coupons that could be used weekly. It is also quite close to my house and has a decent amount of whole or organic options. I think I did pretty good as I am still learning the store and what things cost with the exchange rate. I had pulled out 60 pounds for my 2 weekly shopping trips to the off base store. I figured I would have about 30 pounds per trip. I came in under today with my total being 28.88 pounds. I am quite proud of my trip although I hope to buy a few more organic items next time since I will still have meat in the freezer.
for my 28.88 pounds I got:
-3 1.5l cokes
-1 bag of smoked salmon fillets (frozen)
-1 bag frozen bell pepper pieces
-1 bag frozen diced onions
-1 bag organic whole wheat bread flour
-1 pk newborn diapers
-2 bags salad greens
-2 bags braeburn apples
-3 onions
-1 organic butter
-2 turkey legs
-2 4pks yogurt
-1 pk ground beef (almost 2 lbs)
-2 2pks of smoked back bacon (different than U.S. bacon)
-2 pks organic mushrooms
-1 organic bread mix
Budgeted: $50 and 60 pounds
Spent: $52.28 and 28.88 pounds
for my 28.88 pounds I got:
-3 1.5l cokes
-1 bag of smoked salmon fillets (frozen)
-1 bag frozen bell pepper pieces
-1 bag frozen diced onions
-1 bag organic whole wheat bread flour
-1 pk newborn diapers
-2 bags salad greens
-2 bags braeburn apples
-3 onions
-1 organic butter
-2 turkey legs
-2 4pks yogurt
-1 pk ground beef (almost 2 lbs)
-2 2pks of smoked back bacon (different than U.S. bacon)
-2 pks organic mushrooms
-1 organic bread mix
Budgeted: $50 and 60 pounds
Spent: $52.28 and 28.88 pounds
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Already Over :(
I went to the commissary today to pick up the few things I needed to buy at the commissary and a few extras that I had coupons for and were a good deal. I had another $22.10 to spend from my dollars budget but ended up spending $24.38 and giving up $5 of my fun money for the tip for the bagger. The surcharge was $1.59. When I figured in my head the things I would need to buy I totally forgot to budget for the surcharge and the bagger at the commissary. Oh well live and learn I guess. I also cashed in some WIC checks today as well. As of today I am over $2.28 on the budget.
I got this stuff on WIC:
-2.5 gallons of milk
-2 jars of peanut butter
-2 loaves of whole wheat bread
-2 frozen orange juice
I bought this with the $24.38:
-1 gallon of 100% orange juice
-2 lbs of natural sausage
-2 12oz string cheese
-1 dill pickle relish
-1 white cooking wine
-1 5lbs King Arthur all purpose flour
-1 6ct mega rolls toilet paper
-1 20lbs dog food
The Man also wanted soda and didn't want to wait til tomorrow when I could go off base and use the pounds so he bought a 24 pk of natural sierra mist for $5.XX of his fun money.
Budgeted: $50 and 60 pounds
Spent: $52.28 and 0 pounds
I am not counting the fun money spent in this as that is money for anything we want to buy.
I got this stuff on WIC:
-2.5 gallons of milk
-2 jars of peanut butter
-2 loaves of whole wheat bread
-2 frozen orange juice
I bought this with the $24.38:
-1 gallon of 100% orange juice
-2 lbs of natural sausage
-2 12oz string cheese
-1 dill pickle relish
-1 white cooking wine
-1 5lbs King Arthur all purpose flour
-1 6ct mega rolls toilet paper
-1 20lbs dog food
The Man also wanted soda and didn't want to wait til tomorrow when I could go off base and use the pounds so he bought a 24 pk of natural sierra mist for $5.XX of his fun money.
Budgeted: $50 and 60 pounds
Spent: $52.28 and 0 pounds
I am not counting the fun money spent in this as that is money for anything we want to buy.
Friday, April 1, 2011
My Drugstore.com Order
My Drugstore.com order total was $27.90. I was able to use the 10% off Facebook discount and I had earned some drugstore.com dollars to put towards this order.
-1 Little Twig Gift Bag - 1 set (free with 7th gen pullups)
-1 Puristics Pure Protection 100% Organic Cotton Feminine Care Sample, Tampon & Pad - 1 ea (free sample)
-1 Puristics Baby Daily Diapering Cream - .1 fl oz (free sample)
-1 Almay Travel Size Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover Pads - 15 ea (small filler for free shipping)
-1 The First Years GumDrop Newborn Pacifier, Ages 0 months+, Girl - 2 ea
-1 Act Kids Alcohol Free Anticavity Fluoride Rinse for Kids, Bubble Gum - 18 fl oz
-1 Band-Aid Clear Perfect Blend Clear Bandages, One Size - 30 ea
-1 Huggies Overnites Diapers, Big Pack, Size 6, 35 lbs+ - 48 ea
-1 Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Training Pants, 3T-4T - 26 ea
I have $22.10 and 60 pounds left for this pay period.
-1 Little Twig Gift Bag - 1 set (free with 7th gen pullups)
-1 Puristics Pure Protection 100% Organic Cotton Feminine Care Sample, Tampon & Pad - 1 ea (free sample)
-1 Puristics Baby Daily Diapering Cream - .1 fl oz (free sample)
-1 Almay Travel Size Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover Pads - 15 ea (small filler for free shipping)
-1 The First Years GumDrop Newborn Pacifier, Ages 0 months+, Girl - 2 ea
-1 Act Kids Alcohol Free Anticavity Fluoride Rinse for Kids, Bubble Gum - 18 fl oz
-1 Band-Aid Clear Perfect Blend Clear Bandages, One Size - 30 ea
-1 Huggies Overnites Diapers, Big Pack, Size 6, 35 lbs+ - 48 ea
-1 Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Training Pants, 3T-4T - 26 ea
I have $22.10 and 60 pounds left for this pay period.
My $150 + WIC Grocery Challenge
I have to admit that I have a huge problem with shopping. Not just shopping but grocery shopping in general. There were a few years when I had no money and lived on $.99 hamburger helper with no meat added because that is all I could afford and I had no cooking skills or any idea about how to use coupons. I now know how to use coupons to my advantage but since trying to adopt a healthier eating lifestyle I find this is more challenging. I still do find some coupons for whole or organic foods and use them when at all possible. I found a good resource of coupons at this website for organic foods. I also keep watch on Swagbucks or Mypoints for other printable coupons as well. My hamburger helper life has made it so I feel the need to keep my pantry stocked with at least several weeks of food at all times. I also love the feeling of getting a good deal which in reality I know that a good deal is only a good deal if I need it but I still love feeling like I have scored an amazing bargain. I have more food that I really need in the house.
I try to find the good deals and coupons to stock my pantry but I have noticed that my grocery budget had crept up to over $400 a month plus WIC foods. I do have a nicely stocked pantry so I figured I need to learn how to cut my budget even more and get some things down to a reasonable level. I am challenging myself to stick to $150 plus WIC foods for the pay period (April 1-15). I am going to change some of this into pounds to use at off base stores and then use the rest on base at the Commissary and on my Drugstore.com order. The positives going for me are that I do have a decently stocked pantry and I have 2 coupons for the off base store (one for each week). The negatives are that I still need to keep my pantry going and not clean it completely out and we have some friends coming to visit from the states. This budget also has to include dog food and any paper/household items we may need. I am quite nervous about doing this since I am the one who loves to grocery shop and find a bargain. My other challenge is going to be that The Man will not be able to go to the market since not only does it cost for the fruit/veg but the one he LOVES going to costs money to park and is about 30 minutes away. The gas money and parking just makes the savings on the vegetables and fruit not worth it.
I know that getting WIC may offend some people but I decided that for the time being this is something that my family will use. I was used to paying less than $2 per gallon of milk when we lived in the states and when we moved here a gallon of milk costs about $3.40 or more. That cost difference alone made it worth it to us. We only plan to use this while we live here as the children will be a bit older and drinking less milk and the grocery options will be greater offering a larger variety of pricing once we get back to the states. This program helps me to keep my grocery budget a bit lower and give my children healthier foods since the costs of food here is so much different than Tucson.
At this point I plan to spend about $50 and 60 Pounds and use the remaining WIC checks. I will update once I do my shopping to see how I am keeping to this challenge.
I try to find the good deals and coupons to stock my pantry but I have noticed that my grocery budget had crept up to over $400 a month plus WIC foods. I do have a nicely stocked pantry so I figured I need to learn how to cut my budget even more and get some things down to a reasonable level. I am challenging myself to stick to $150 plus WIC foods for the pay period (April 1-15). I am going to change some of this into pounds to use at off base stores and then use the rest on base at the Commissary and on my Drugstore.com order. The positives going for me are that I do have a decently stocked pantry and I have 2 coupons for the off base store (one for each week). The negatives are that I still need to keep my pantry going and not clean it completely out and we have some friends coming to visit from the states. This budget also has to include dog food and any paper/household items we may need. I am quite nervous about doing this since I am the one who loves to grocery shop and find a bargain. My other challenge is going to be that The Man will not be able to go to the market since not only does it cost for the fruit/veg but the one he LOVES going to costs money to park and is about 30 minutes away. The gas money and parking just makes the savings on the vegetables and fruit not worth it.
I know that getting WIC may offend some people but I decided that for the time being this is something that my family will use. I was used to paying less than $2 per gallon of milk when we lived in the states and when we moved here a gallon of milk costs about $3.40 or more. That cost difference alone made it worth it to us. We only plan to use this while we live here as the children will be a bit older and drinking less milk and the grocery options will be greater offering a larger variety of pricing once we get back to the states. This program helps me to keep my grocery budget a bit lower and give my children healthier foods since the costs of food here is so much different than Tucson.
At this point I plan to spend about $50 and 60 Pounds and use the remaining WIC checks. I will update once I do my shopping to see how I am keeping to this challenge.
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