Ramekins & Skewers

Today was pretty good. We had banana walnut muffins for breakfast:

Tofurkey Sandwiches with Pop Chips for lunch:

And for dinner, Baked Spinach Macaroni & Cheese, with Vegetarian sausage & cherry tomato skewers on the side:

I picked up some vegetarian sausages at the store yesterday. I can't remember if they were on my original list, but they made the final cut. And we had a handful of cherry tomatoes left over from last week, so I popped those babies on some skewers and roasted them in the oven at the same time the Mac & Cheese was baking. No additional seasoning. I give the Eating Well recipe two thumbs up. It was tasty - how could it not be - but just as importantly it was simple and quick to make. As you can see from the picture above, I prepared it in individual ramekins. Everything is more fun in individual serving sizes, don't you think? Just like everything is better on a skewer. Ha! But really, presentation is so important when trying to get your kids to eat. Plus, the adults don't mind either.

$108.59

Not bad, eh? Not amazing either, but it's real, solid progress. Our grocery spending was getting a little out of control, and bringing it closer to $100 is a much more reasonable weekly budget for a family of four. Here's a shot of our grocery cart about midway through: 

This week is all about trying and experimenting. The hardest part for me was limiting variety. It was hard when I was preparing the grocery list, and it was really hard in the actual grocery store. Silly went with me and kept pointing to yummy fruits and vegetables and suggesting we add them to our cart. I realized that I usually say "yes" to anything that is healthy. It was hard telling her "no brussel sprouts this week" and "we can get plums next week, honey". In fact, it was more than hard - it sucked. We have been very spoiled by the variety we enjoy in our diets.

But let's be clear: I intend to continue offering the same variety, but not on a daily or meal-to-meal basis. For instance, we will totally change it up next week. No apples and bananas. Perhaps grapes and plums. And no carrots and green beans. Maybe squash and brussel sprouts. But it'll take some getting used to - that's for sure. It's cheaper to buy in bulk. Buying a bag of Organic Pears is a fraction of the price of buying 2 Organic pears, 2 Organic apples, a small bunch of Organic grapes, and 2 Organic bananas.

Also, if the item on my list had an organic option, that's what I bought. This fact probably increased my grocery bill by about 30% at least. Some things, like milk and butter were nearly 40% more for organic. The walnuts were only about 10% more. I guesstimate I could bring our grocery bill down to about $70 if I were willing to forgo organic eating. But, well, I'm not.

Lastly, I worked on being flexible. For example, I had apples on my list. But in fact, I saw a better deal for a whole bag of Organic Pears. It was only $3.89 for a big bag. That's a great deal. Apples are available pretty much all year, but Pears are special - seasonal. Also, the stores are packed with Pumpkins right now, so I'm going to incorporate that ingredient into next week's menu. Pumpkin muffins? Pumpkin curry? Who knows! But being in the store, seeing what's in season, was very helpful.

Oh, and just so everyone knows, that $108 included a few staples, like olive oil spray, as well as a small potted rose bush. Silly insisted on getting her dad some pink roses. I couldn't convince her otherwise, so getting a plant rather than the cut flowers was our compromise. Now we have pretty little rose bush in our bathroom! I'll update tomorrow with a picture. 

More Budget Brainstorming!

This morning I cranked out some lunch and dinner ideas and put together a grocery list. There is only one new recipe here, the Baked Spinach & Cheese Macaroni, and it will probably go over just fine in our house. Otherwise, the recipes I chose are tried and true family favorites. I find my self asking again if these is the best I can do, budget-wise. I tried to limit the variety. Carrots can be prepared so many different ways, in lunch, dinner & snacks. Plus they are great in baby food. Dried beans are so so cheap and so so good for you, it's a no-brainer to include a meal with those; same for Lentils. Also, I had a bunch of half used bags of lentils and other grains, so the Turkish Spinach and Lentil Soup was practically free. Check out the menu:

Dinner Ideas:
Turkish Spinach and Lentil Soup (from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant)
Red Beans and Rice (vegetarian adaptation of Emeril Lagasse's recipe) and corn bread
Vegetarian Burgers, French Fries and Roasted Carrots
Baked Spinach and Cheese Macaroni (from the Eating Well website)
Nuggets, left over Baked Mac & Cheese, Steamed Green Beans

Lunch Ideas:
Almond Butter and Jam Sandwich, tomatoes and cucumbers on the side
Cheese Quesadilla with Black beans and tomatoes on the side, salsa for dipping
Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Apples & Carrots on the side
Leftovers!
Leftovers!

Snack Ideas:
Gram Crackers with Almond butter & bananas
Yogurt cup with Apple slices and Almonds
Cheese & Crackers

Grocery List:
4 Onions
tomato paste
fresh parsley
2 stalks celery
1 green bell pepper
vegetarian sausage
garlic
corn bread mix
dry red beans
fake chicken nuggets
frozen french fries
carrots
hamburger buns
1 bag frozen spinach
1 bag fresh spinach
bag of shredded cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
8oz penne pasta
Flour Tortillas
1 can Black beans
2 yogurt cups
apple sauce cups

Stuff we already have:
Fresh green beans, from garden
Vegetable bullion
raw bulghur
lentils
salt
pepper
cayenne
fresh rosemary, from garden
fresh tomatoes, from garden
Bay leaves, from garden
rice
frozen vegetarian burgers
Almond butter (we buy in bulk online)
Various Jams
Salsa
Almonds (we buy in bulk online)
Sliced cheese (happen to have a lot left over from last week)
Crackers/triskets (happen to have a couple half full boxes in the pantry)

Now it's time to head to the store!

A Better Breakfast

After thinking about the budget goal for a bit more, I realize I'm not doing a very good job of cutting corners. If the husband lost his job today, we'd probably have to cut back more than I tried in the last post about breakfast. In fact, if we were broke, breakfast would probably look more like this:

Oatmeal with apples and walnuts
scrambled eggs with apples and toast
banana walnut muffins with scrambled eggs
Poached egg sandwich, with apples & bananas on the side
Oatmeal with bananas & walnuts
Apple cinnamon walnut muffins with scrambled eggs
French toast with (you guessed it) apples and bananas


With a grocery list that looks more like this:

Oatmeal
2 dozen eggs
bag of walnuts
bag of apples
bunch of bananas
loaf of sandwich bread
Coffee
Milk

And if the staples were low, we might have to throw in a bag of flour or some powdered sugar, or baking soda or something. The main thing that got cut was the variety of fruit and the vegetarian sausage, neither of which are cheap. Oh, and the fancy creamer for our coffee; milk will work fine. And the nice thing about this menu, is Valentine can eat everything but the walnuts and coffee. So I won't have to budget in separate baby food items for breakfast. Now I've got to get thinking about dinners.

Get Started With Breakfast

I'm going to use the rest of this week to plan, plan, plan. We've already got a kitchen full of food, so the budget tightening will commence next week. Let's get started with breakfast.

Breakfast is definitely the easiest meal to trim down, simply because we are almost always at home first thing in the morning, not tempted by eating on the go. Also, breakfast foods tend to be cheap for some reason. Eggs? Cheap. Oatmeal? Cheap. Pancakes or muffins? Cheap.

I'm going to change the format up a bit to accommodate this challenge. I'll write up a menu, and then a grocery list with the store I expect to find it cheapest. I'm not including basic pantry items, like baking soda or salt, unless I really do run out.

Monday
Breakfast: Oatmeal, chopped apple, chopped walnuts, drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkle of brown sugar.

Tuesday
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Whole Wheat Toast w/butter, Apple slices

Wednesday
Breakfast: Banana Walnut muffins, Breakfast sausage, Grapes

Thursday
Breakfast: Cream of Wheat, Breakfast sausage, Apple slices

Friday
Breakfast: Oatmeal, chopped pear, chopped walnuts, drizzle of maple syrup and a sprinkle of brown sugar.

Saturday
Breakfast: Cinnamon Apple muffins, breakfast sausage, Grapes

Sunday
Breakfast: Pancakes, Scrambled eggs, Grapes

Grocery List
Bag of Oats (QFC)
dozen eggs (farmers market)
bunch of bananas (trader joes)
Bag of apples  (trader joes)
1 pear (QFC)
Bunch of grapes (QFC)
Frozen vegetarian breakfast sausage (trader joes)
Bag of walnuts (trader joes)
Bag of coffee (trader joes)
quart of creamer (trader joes)
Butter (QFC)
Loaf of bread (trader joes)

That's a good start. I know it seems like a lot for breakfast. Some will say, "why not buy a few boxes of cereal and be done with it?"
Well, anyone that knows us, knows that breakfast is a big deal in our house. We all sit together as a family. It's important to my husband and me that breakfast be a hot, balanced meal. We notice that our toddler always has a better day after a nice big breakfast. And so do we.

If you have any suggestions please share them in the comments. What's your go-to breakfast? Are you a smoothie person, a breakfast burrito kind of person, or do skip breakfast and simply down a hot cup of coffee as you run out the door? I'll be back tomorrow to brainstorm about lunches and dinners.

Welcome back!

It's September and the chaos of summer has finally subsided. Silly started preschool 3 mornings a week, and Valentine is enrolled in a Mommy & Me music class on Fridays. Life has become more routine and as things settle down, we turn our attention back to the blog. But why today and not yesterday or tomorrow? Well, because today I've come up with a food challenge to get things going!

The husband and I have decided that we need to tighten the belt around here. My general philosophy about budgeting is that groceries get cut dead last. I'd rather live in a tent than feed my family junk. Your body is your temple after all. You only get one, and just about everything in your life is made possible by a healthy mind and body, so food is a priority around here.

That being said, we can eat very well and not spend nearly as much as we currently do on food. We've been spending between $150-$250 each week and there is no rhyme or reason. That figure includes eating out which is why it varies so wildly. Eating out adds up really quickly! So, in the spirit of "tightening the belt" I've decided take on the challenge of seeing how cheaply I can feed my family of four for a WHOLE MONTH without compromising quality. I still intend to buy organic, provide variety, and keep it fresh.

Summer Vacation

Silly & Valentine have decided to take a little summer break from the blog world. It's birthday season around here, with all but one family member having a birthday in the hot months. We're going to be busy, busy, busy and so you can expect our next post this fall, when Silly starts preschool. There will be lunches to pack, snacks on the go, and I suspect more pizza nights than I'll want to admit! Thanks for reading! Have a great summer!

-- Silly & Valentine's Mom