Breakfast
Waffles 1.67
Milk 1.00
Fruit- 1.80
Lunch- 6.16
I had leftover waffles from breakfast, forgot to feed the husband and he was on the road today for work so not sure what he ate, but going to figure 2.16 for dollar menu takeout.
Dinner- 7.14
Me- leftovers meatballs and bread
Husband and 3 kids- frozen pot pies - 4.14
Kid number 4- 3.00 Sonic
Today was a great example of not having a plan, we had a lot of different places to be afterschool and this evening and I didn't have dinner ready early enough to feed everyone before I left. If I had planned a crockpot meal and had put it together before I left for work, today's dinner would have been a lot better. But the food budget handled it, just not the greatest food for dinner.
Total- 17.77
Friday, March 7, 2014
Wednesday - Treats in the Budget
Breakfast- 5.00
Bagels - 1.79
Sausage- 1.59
Fruit Smoothie- 1.20
Lunch- 5.47
Don had a youart, a 1.00 menu sandwich and leftover veggies, I had leftover Chicken Pot Pie.
Dinner- 8.00
Spaghetti- 1.00
Meatballs- 3.00
Sauce- 1.00
Chocolate Cake- 2.00
Bread 1.00
Treats are important to fit into a tight food budget, it is much easier to stick with a budget if you budget in the treats. For us that means dessert a few times a week, I buy dessert items usually at the end of season. For example cakes mixes were on sale at Christmas time and knowing that we would use one a week I bought 10 boxes, I even the day after Christmas scored chocolate chips for 1.00 a bag, bought a bunch those and placed in the freezer ( behind the frozen veggies just to keep prying kids from finding them) . They will be used to make cookies, added to pancakes, just a handful of chocolate makes everything taste better.
Total- 18.47
Bagels - 1.79
Sausage- 1.59
Fruit Smoothie- 1.20
Lunch- 5.47
Don had a youart, a 1.00 menu sandwich and leftover veggies, I had leftover Chicken Pot Pie.
Dinner- 8.00
Spaghetti- 1.00
Meatballs- 3.00
Sauce- 1.00
Chocolate Cake- 2.00
Bread 1.00
Treats are important to fit into a tight food budget, it is much easier to stick with a budget if you budget in the treats. For us that means dessert a few times a week, I buy dessert items usually at the end of season. For example cakes mixes were on sale at Christmas time and knowing that we would use one a week I bought 10 boxes, I even the day after Christmas scored chocolate chips for 1.00 a bag, bought a bunch those and placed in the freezer ( behind the frozen veggies just to keep prying kids from finding them) . They will be used to make cookies, added to pancakes, just a handful of chocolate makes everything taste better.
Total- 18.47
Tuesday - Planned leftovers
This week Tuesday we had:
Breakfast: 4.59
Cereal- 1.79
Milk- 1.00
Fruit- 1.80
Lunch- 4.75
PB and Jelly Sandwich for the Husband, Leftover Sloppy Joe and Rice for me, along with leftover veggies for me.
Dinner- 3.75
Chicken Pot Pie
Using the leftover chicken soup, I added some more chicken, some flour to thicken the broth and a couple potatoes, and topped it with a crust.
Using Planned leftovers is a great way to stretch a food budget. If you have teens who will eat everything in site pull out the amount you need for the planned leftovers before serving dinner. Chicken pot pie is just one way that we use planned leftovers here. The difference between a planned leftover and leftovers is just that it is planned ahead of time to be reused differently in another meal.
One thing to consider when using planned leftovers is cooking time, since the veggies in the soup were already cooked, I pre-cooked the chicken that I added. I also pre- boiled the potatoes, that way all the veggies were at the same consisity.
Total today - 13.09
Breakfast: 4.59
Cereal- 1.79
Milk- 1.00
Fruit- 1.80
Lunch- 4.75
PB and Jelly Sandwich for the Husband, Leftover Sloppy Joe and Rice for me, along with leftover veggies for me.
Dinner- 3.75
Chicken Pot Pie
Using the leftover chicken soup, I added some more chicken, some flour to thicken the broth and a couple potatoes, and topped it with a crust.
Using Planned leftovers is a great way to stretch a food budget. If you have teens who will eat everything in site pull out the amount you need for the planned leftovers before serving dinner. Chicken pot pie is just one way that we use planned leftovers here. The difference between a planned leftover and leftovers is just that it is planned ahead of time to be reused differently in another meal.
One thing to consider when using planned leftovers is cooking time, since the veggies in the soup were already cooked, I pre-cooked the chicken that I added. I also pre- boiled the potatoes, that way all the veggies were at the same consisity.
Total today - 13.09
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Monday's menu
Monday
Breakfast- 3.80
Milk- 1.00
Fruit- 1.80
Pancakes- 1.00
Lunch- 4.74
The Husband had:
leftover tuna casserole
youart- .39
banana bread
Fruit- .35
I had:
Leftover tuna casserole
banana bread
fruit-. 35
The Kids: To be honest the kids receive lunch right now at school, for the month of October our income was was severely cut as my husband was affect by the sequestion. With the way the program works once eligible you are for the rest of the year, so this year the kids are eating at school and I donate their lunch money to a local pantry.
Packed school lunches run 1.00 here
Fruit or Veggie- .35 cents
Snack- .25
Sandwich- .40 cents
Dinner- 8.18
Raw Veggies ( carrots, celery, broccoii) 2.00
Sloppy Joes- Meat 2.19
Sauce .79
bread 1.00
Rice- .50
Milk- 1.00
green beans 1.00
Monday's Total's
16.72 out of 18.00
Breakfast- 3.80
Milk- 1.00
Fruit- 1.80
Pancakes- 1.00
Lunch- 4.74
The Husband had:
leftover tuna casserole
youart- .39
banana bread
Fruit- .35
I had:
Leftover tuna casserole
banana bread
fruit-. 35
The Kids: To be honest the kids receive lunch right now at school, for the month of October our income was was severely cut as my husband was affect by the sequestion. With the way the program works once eligible you are for the rest of the year, so this year the kids are eating at school and I donate their lunch money to a local pantry.
Packed school lunches run 1.00 here
Fruit or Veggie- .35 cents
Snack- .25
Sandwich- .40 cents
Dinner- 8.18
Raw Veggies ( carrots, celery, broccoii) 2.00
Sloppy Joes- Meat 2.19
Sauce .79
bread 1.00
Rice- .50
Milk- 1.00
green beans 1.00
Monday's Total's
16.72 out of 18.00
Monday, March 3, 2014
Sunday's Meals and Potlucks
Sunday's Meals- for 6 people
Breakfast- 4.53
Milk 1.00 ( 1/2 gallon of milk)
Banana Bread 1.73 ( cost to make one loaf)
Fruit $1.80 ( .35 cents a piece is my budget but it can vary)
Lunch- 3.50
Macaroni Salad
Noodles- 1.50 ( 1 1/2 boxes)
Tuna- 1.20 ( 2 cans)
Mayo- .50
3eggs- .30
Dinner- 5.84
Chicken Noodle Soup
Carrots- .59 ( 2 lbs)
Celery- 1.00
Chicken Breasts - 2.50
Chicken broth- .50
egg noodles - 1.25
So on Sunday we had a potluck meal at lunch time, this time it was a reward ceremony for my youngest son's sports. Potlucks are a great way to get together on a budget, everyone brings enough of one item that their family will eat and all share.
This time we did bring enough leftover salad home to use for lunches on Monday and after school snacks for the kids. But if you are having a potluck with close friends a great idea is after all have eaten, is for everyone to make up a plate or two from the leftovers to take home for lunch the next day.
I did the chicken soup up in the crockpot knowing that even though the kids were going to eat their big meal at the potluck, they were going to be hungry at dinner time. The only feedback on dinner was that I should make more noodles next time, I did the noodles separate from the soup. As I have plans to turn the leftover soup into chicken pot pie later this week.
Sunday's Total's
13.87 out of a daily budget of 18.00
Breakfast- 4.53
Milk 1.00 ( 1/2 gallon of milk)
Banana Bread 1.73 ( cost to make one loaf)
Fruit $1.80 ( .35 cents a piece is my budget but it can vary)
Lunch- 3.50
Macaroni Salad
Noodles- 1.50 ( 1 1/2 boxes)
Tuna- 1.20 ( 2 cans)
Mayo- .50
3eggs- .30
Dinner- 5.84
Chicken Noodle Soup
Carrots- .59 ( 2 lbs)
Celery- 1.00
Chicken Breasts - 2.50
Chicken broth- .50
egg noodles - 1.25
So on Sunday we had a potluck meal at lunch time, this time it was a reward ceremony for my youngest son's sports. Potlucks are a great way to get together on a budget, everyone brings enough of one item that their family will eat and all share.
This time we did bring enough leftover salad home to use for lunches on Monday and after school snacks for the kids. But if you are having a potluck with close friends a great idea is after all have eaten, is for everyone to make up a plate or two from the leftovers to take home for lunch the next day.
I did the chicken soup up in the crockpot knowing that even though the kids were going to eat their big meal at the potluck, they were going to be hungry at dinner time. The only feedback on dinner was that I should make more noodles next time, I did the noodles separate from the soup. As I have plans to turn the leftover soup into chicken pot pie later this week.
Sunday's Total's
13.87 out of a daily budget of 18.00
Can you really eat for 21 dollars a week?
This blog is based on the idea of feeding yourself for 21 dollars a week or about a dollar per meal. It came about due to a lot of talk on facebook, in person, and in the media about the idea that no one can really eat for that much a week. When my older son talks about this topic with people, they are always saying no way can it done, it would have to be a miracle, his answer was well then I guess my mom has been doing miracles my whole life.
That 21 dollars a week per person is our food budget for the week per person so for us that is 126 a week or 252 per shopping week as we shop every two weeks, or 504 dollars per month. We are a family of 6 here at home still, but used to be a family of 8 eating within the same food budget and some nights still feed 8. It is doable and you can eat well for that amount.
*But please be aware that in the US food costs can vary greatly by region, some things that are inexpensive for me in my area might cost more in yours and vice versa.*
For comparison if a family our size received a full SNAP amount we would get 900 dollars a month, per the government's Thrifty Plan we should spend about 1,013.84 a month on food. When I see these numbers I laugh it would be great to be able to spend that amount on food but our budget does not allow for it.
Who Are We:
We are a middle class family living in Central New York composed of Dad, Mom, 2 teen boys, 1 teen girl and 1 little boy, we also have 2 young adult children who stop in now and then. We have two incomes my husband's pay covers the house bills, gas for the cars, health insurance and savings. My part-time job covers the food budget and kid expenses ( like trips, clothes, shoes), and animal and household supplies. I make about over the course of a year about 186 a week or 372 a pay period.
My budget is 252 for food, and what is left covers the rest which varies pay period by pay period as I only get paid if I work. But on average about 120 a pay period gets put away for non human food budget items.
But It's Only 21 dollars:
But please don't think of it as 21 dollars a week for food, it is better to think 90 dollars a month, 1,092 year. As some food you buy in the summer you are not eating till winter.
If you are a single person living alone and make a banana bread for example even though the cost happens at once you are not eating it all at once, you take the bread cut it into slices and freeze eating it over the course of a month or two.
Which is my biggest pet peeve with the lawmakers and others who try to live on a food stamp budget of 4.00 a day for a week to show that it can't be done, is that they only do it for a week. Do it for a month, two months and you will see that you can do it.
I hope to be able to offer idea's for eating within a budget, how to shop, make a list, and prepare food. All things that as a result of those conversations with others seem to be a need that needs to be met.
That 21 dollars a week per person is our food budget for the week per person so for us that is 126 a week or 252 per shopping week as we shop every two weeks, or 504 dollars per month. We are a family of 6 here at home still, but used to be a family of 8 eating within the same food budget and some nights still feed 8. It is doable and you can eat well for that amount.
*But please be aware that in the US food costs can vary greatly by region, some things that are inexpensive for me in my area might cost more in yours and vice versa.*
For comparison if a family our size received a full SNAP amount we would get 900 dollars a month, per the government's Thrifty Plan we should spend about 1,013.84 a month on food. When I see these numbers I laugh it would be great to be able to spend that amount on food but our budget does not allow for it.
Who Are We:
We are a middle class family living in Central New York composed of Dad, Mom, 2 teen boys, 1 teen girl and 1 little boy, we also have 2 young adult children who stop in now and then. We have two incomes my husband's pay covers the house bills, gas for the cars, health insurance and savings. My part-time job covers the food budget and kid expenses ( like trips, clothes, shoes), and animal and household supplies. I make about over the course of a year about 186 a week or 372 a pay period.
My budget is 252 for food, and what is left covers the rest which varies pay period by pay period as I only get paid if I work. But on average about 120 a pay period gets put away for non human food budget items.
But It's Only 21 dollars:
But please don't think of it as 21 dollars a week for food, it is better to think 90 dollars a month, 1,092 year. As some food you buy in the summer you are not eating till winter.
If you are a single person living alone and make a banana bread for example even though the cost happens at once you are not eating it all at once, you take the bread cut it into slices and freeze eating it over the course of a month or two.
Which is my biggest pet peeve with the lawmakers and others who try to live on a food stamp budget of 4.00 a day for a week to show that it can't be done, is that they only do it for a week. Do it for a month, two months and you will see that you can do it.
I hope to be able to offer idea's for eating within a budget, how to shop, make a list, and prepare food. All things that as a result of those conversations with others seem to be a need that needs to be met.
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