A while back someone had commented in my blog that she had a whopping failure cooking soup at home and my response was to direct them to another web site. Not cool of me. It was a flip answer in hindsight.
For people who are having to forgo eating out and eating in, they may not have the skills to cook at home. Like many things, cooking is a skill learned. Most people are not born being great chefs or cooks. Plus, unless you are used to cooking at home, it can be expensive to start out. The key to making low cost meals is not to use the cheapest ingredients, but to make sure you have a stocked kitchen with the items that you need to make your meals.
I strongly suggest that if you are trying to give up eating out, buying take out or ready made meals that you don't go all Martha Stewart and try to cook fabulous complicated meals unless you are a practiced cook. Start with the basics.
When my ex BF and broke up, I moved into my own apartment and spent a small freaking fortune on stocking up my kitchen. Butter, flour, pasta, cooking oils, vinegars, spices, canned beans, dried beans, mustard, ketchup, BBQ sauce, sugar, honey, etc. You get the picture. I had to start from scratch. I knew what items I used on a regular basis so I wrote out my list and did my shopping. I will admit, it did take two or three shops to stock up the cupboard. I'd forget that I needed soy sauce and tamari sauce for when I'd do a stir fry. That I really did need curry powder for my homemade curries and that having a couple boxed of Kraft Mac and Cheese is really a good thing.
To ease yourself into cooking at home, you need to do the following things:
1) Get a couple basic cookbooks- I highly recommend the Joy of Cooking, it is my bible for anything and everything kitchen related. It has answers for almost all your cooking questions.
2) Find a good food blog: I highly recommend A Year Of Crockpotting. Yes, it's all about the crock pot, but there is an amazing variety of recipes and lets face it, the crock pot does the cooking! I use my crock pot a least once a week in the winter. I've never had a bad recipe from AYOC.
3) Think about the foods you and your family like to eat, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Meat and Potatoes, etc. Learn to cook some of those foods.
4) Become proficient at a couple basic items. A roast chicken is one of my favorite meals. I roast the chicken and have that with a couple sides for dinner. I use the leftover meat for sandwiches and I save the carcass and make stock with it. The stock gets frozen and stored in my freezer and use the stock as a base for soups. I make a lot of basic soups. That $7-$9 chicken makes at least 4 meals for one.
I happen to like rice and beans and I frequently make black beans and rice. My recipe for that comes straight off of the can of Goya black beans. Over the years, I've modified the recipe a bit to suit my tastes. I also use this recipe for any kind of beans and rice.
Since I'm not a huge fan of eating the same food day in and day out, if I go overboard and make too much of the black beans and rice, I'll take the leftovers and make burritos, or mash up the beans with some stock and make black bean soup. if I go overboard on the lentil soup, I'll add in pasta or wild rice or some cut up sausages to change it up a bit.
I make a pretty decent tomato sauce (gravy if you are from the NYC area). I eat a lot of pasta. I keep a variety of pasta shapes in my cupboard, spaghetti, ziti, fettuccine, shells, rotini. Sometimes I add in olives, hot pepper flakes capers to my basic red tomato sauce for a little extra zing, that sauce is known as Puttanesca sauce (less the anchovies). I learned how to make pesto and usually make a couple jars to freeze each summer.
I was lucky, I grew up around people who liked to eat and liked to cook. Cooking was a pleasure, not a chore. This is not to say that I have not had some spectacular failures. I've made things that are just plain horrible and a few items that ended up being inedible. It's part of the learning process. I've been making soup since I was 12. I wanted to learn how to make soup and I did.
Again, start small, start with the easy stuff and work your way up. There is no shame in using pre- prepared items. I don't cook beans well, so I use a lot of canned beans. My freezer is small, and if I run out of room or don't have any stock, I pick up a container of stock at the grocery store. I've tried a couple brands and found the ones that I like and when they are on sale, I pick up a couple containers to keep in the cupboard. Trader Joe's makes a dammed fine Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup. For $1.89 a quart it's cheaper and easier for me to buy that than to make the soup if I feel like a treat. I use frozen veg as well as fresh. I have on more than one occasion, made Rice A Roni as a side dish. I've even used the ramen noodles from cup o noodles as a base for a noodle and veg stir fry (I omitted the tasteless broth).
I pick up almost all my herbs and spices from the local health food store. They have a bulk section and I am an avid collector of jars. This has several advantages, 1) I can pick and choose the spices I want in the quantities I want. 2) Bulk spices tend to be so much less expensive than the jars you get at the grocery store. I tend to use a lot of specific spices and I buy larger quantities of those and the spices I use infrequently, I keep in the smaller jars. Baby food jars are great, I reuse old spice jars, I use old mustard and jelly jars. My spice shell is an eclectic mix of herbs and spices in jars. None of it matches and I really don't care! I paid $1.10 for a bunch of dried rosemary at the health food store. One of those small spice jars at the grocery store would have run me almost $5. The other advantage to getting my spices at the health food store is at least once a year I just dump them all. Dried herbs and spices have a finite shelf life. I paid around $12 to restock my spice collection two weeks ago. $12 would have gotten me, what two, maybe three jars at the grocery store? I keep a selection of various condiments in the fridge, curry pastes, Chinese sauces, etc for when the mood strikes that I might want a curry or a fancier stir fry.
Maybe you don't have the time or the skill to make your own home made pizza dough, but you can pick up a pre-made shell, a jar of tomato sauce and some cheese, and I know some stores carry fresh dough in the dairy section. I've even picked up a basic frozen cheese pizza and added my own toppings. Still less expensive than take out and not as labor intensive as making the sauce, dough, slice and dice the cheese and other stuff.
Getting out of the habit of eating out or getting take out takes time. I also suggest that you plan a couple meals a week that are quick and easy to make. Use the weekends to fiddle in the kitchen. Don't get too upset if the first few times the dish does not turn out well. This is cooking, not brain surgery. When I started to make meatloaf, each loaf tasted horrible. I used a friends recipe, watched her make the meatloaf and the first few I made were awful. All of sudden, I got the knack for making a decent meat loaf. The same with scalloped potatoes. I used the wrong type of potatoes, I under cooked or over cooked the potatoes, now I "get" how to make the perfect blend of potatoes, milk, onions and flour. I make really good scalloped potatoes. It took time!
I now have a list of dishes I can make and make well, I keep my pantry stocked with items for those dishes, I shop the specials to stick up on those pantry staples and I'm not afraid to branch out (I've been doing a lot of Indian cooking this year). Mistakes happen, food burns or is undercooked (Invest in a good kitchen timer!).
Hopefully, these few tips are of good use for you! As Jacque Pepin would say Happy cooking!
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Gotta Love Monday Night Shopping!
I went whipping through four stores last night, with successful shops at three of them. Costco was the purchase of those items in bulk that I actually use and a stop at the food court for a hot dog and soda-best $1.79 spent. My other shop was at the Aldi for a mini restock of the basics. I went to this Aldi since it was on my way to and fro the Costco. I always find it interesting that prices can vary from one store location to the next. The Aldi I usally shop at is a little less expensive than this one. Since I pretty much buy the same items each time I'm in Aldi, I know what they cost (beans, cereal, eggs, milk, flour). Almost without exception, each canned item was 10c more expensive at this store as compared to the other Aldi.
My stop at the ethnic market was a bit of a disappointment. They changed ownership a few months back and I'm not liking it. Prices are slowly creeping up there as well and they have eliminated almost all of their grocery items. I used to love shopping in this store with Salsa music playing in the background, happy families wandering the isles, the rows of different foods, one row Indian/Asian, one row Mexican, one row Italian, one row Caribbean food, one row Middle Eastern food. The produce was fresh and cheap. Now they have eliminated almost all the grocery items and you really have to pick over your produce, some of it is at or past it's sell by date. Disappointing to me as it was one of the few places I could pick up 3 onions, 2 sweet potatoes and 1 bunch of scallions at a reasonable price and not having to purchase 5 pounds of onions that I won't use.
Oh well, I managed to do a decent restock of the pantry for just under $55. I also remembered to pull a pork tenderloin out of the freezer and made a marinade for it to soak in-it will be the thrill of the grill tonight at casa Betty!
My stop at the ethnic market was a bit of a disappointment. They changed ownership a few months back and I'm not liking it. Prices are slowly creeping up there as well and they have eliminated almost all of their grocery items. I used to love shopping in this store with Salsa music playing in the background, happy families wandering the isles, the rows of different foods, one row Indian/Asian, one row Mexican, one row Italian, one row Caribbean food, one row Middle Eastern food. The produce was fresh and cheap. Now they have eliminated almost all the grocery items and you really have to pick over your produce, some of it is at or past it's sell by date. Disappointing to me as it was one of the few places I could pick up 3 onions, 2 sweet potatoes and 1 bunch of scallions at a reasonable price and not having to purchase 5 pounds of onions that I won't use.
Oh well, I managed to do a decent restock of the pantry for just under $55. I also remembered to pull a pork tenderloin out of the freezer and made a marinade for it to soak in-it will be the thrill of the grill tonight at casa Betty!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Grocery Challenge Is Working!
So far I've spent about $50 on food and groceries. Not bad considering I needed some pantry staples, which accounted for $20 of the money spent. Using the money envelope kept me from shopping needlessly at the store. I went "Ohhhh if I buy X by the end of the month I won't have enough cash! Plus it motivated me to use up a couple items from the pantry and freezer.
As of today, I have meals planned out through the end of the week, lunches and dinners. I'll do a small shop over the weekend to round out the pantry items.
I did stop in the local grocery store to the weekend job and by habit pulled out my debit card. I had already swiped and signed, but took the money out of my cash envelope and dropped it in the bank today at lunch.
I am not including cleaning and laundry supplies in my $125 budget. So we shall see how it goes. May was a disaster, June a bit better (I am eating the last of the car snacks from the cousin trip) and I'm hoping July will be a turning point!
As of today, I have meals planned out through the end of the week, lunches and dinners. I'll do a small shop over the weekend to round out the pantry items.
I did stop in the local grocery store to the weekend job and by habit pulled out my debit card. I had already swiped and signed, but took the money out of my cash envelope and dropped it in the bank today at lunch.
I am not including cleaning and laundry supplies in my $125 budget. So we shall see how it goes. May was a disaster, June a bit better (I am eating the last of the car snacks from the cousin trip) and I'm hoping July will be a turning point!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Freaking Out Travel Mates
I had my conference last week in New York City. It went well! I had to get up way before God to drive like forever to catch the early commuter train, but I did nap a bit on the way down to NYC.
I did, however, freak out one of my fellow attendees. I did what oh so many thousands of people do in New York City. I grabbed my meals from a street vendor. I get to the city so infrequently that when I can get a knish, soft pretzel and Hebrew National hot dog, I do. Plus the lunch places around the facility where the conference was held were EXPENSIVO. Like crazy expensive for even a basic sandwich. I spent a whopping $6 on my knish, pretzel and Hot Dog. When in Rome, do like the Romans, street food for me!
My travel companion, who is not adventurous when it comes to food, was shocked and horrified that I ate not just one of those items, but all three (the hotdog had mustard, relish and onions thank you very much). I think she expected me to get some sort of food poisioning. I did not have the heart to tell her that I also got a cup of coffee and a hard roll with a schmer of butter at Grand Central. IMO-you can't get a decent hard roll outside of the New York Metro area. My travel companion shelled out the bucks for one of those sandwiches and said to me " You know, you do get a meal allowance for the conference?" Yes I did know that, but I wanted street food!
The weather was nice and I took my food stash found a place to sit and happily ate my street food. I'm still alive and kicking and no GI issues (save for a very small satisfiying and discrete burb after the hot dog).
I did, however, freak out one of my fellow attendees. I did what oh so many thousands of people do in New York City. I grabbed my meals from a street vendor. I get to the city so infrequently that when I can get a knish, soft pretzel and Hebrew National hot dog, I do. Plus the lunch places around the facility where the conference was held were EXPENSIVO. Like crazy expensive for even a basic sandwich. I spent a whopping $6 on my knish, pretzel and Hot Dog. When in Rome, do like the Romans, street food for me!
My travel companion, who is not adventurous when it comes to food, was shocked and horrified that I ate not just one of those items, but all three (the hotdog had mustard, relish and onions thank you very much). I think she expected me to get some sort of food poisioning. I did not have the heart to tell her that I also got a cup of coffee and a hard roll with a schmer of butter at Grand Central. IMO-you can't get a decent hard roll outside of the New York Metro area. My travel companion shelled out the bucks for one of those sandwiches and said to me " You know, you do get a meal allowance for the conference?" Yes I did know that, but I wanted street food!
The weather was nice and I took my food stash found a place to sit and happily ate my street food. I'm still alive and kicking and no GI issues (save for a very small satisfiying and discrete burb after the hot dog).
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
How Far Can $10 Go?
I cashed my $10 check and went traipsing off to the grocery store last night. I spent $3.13 on one bottle of tonic water, one bottle of ginger ale and a bottle of grated horseradish sauce. I have $6.87 left to spend on food between now and Monday morning.
My biggest complaint about my local grocery store is it is next to impossible to purchase things like onions, all purpose potatoes and some other basic veg unless they are pre-packaged in bags of 3,5 and 10 pounds or four to five peppers to a shrink wrapped carton. This seriously irks me. I'm trying to be a good, thrifty person and all I needed was two very small onions. I could buy a 3lb bag of onions for $2.69 or a big sweet onion for 99c per pound. I've blogged about this before. I like selecting my own produce, I like getting the tactile sensation of going through a pile of peppers to find the "right ones". I really wish my local grocery store would have more bulk bins. I left the grocery store without the onions, knowing I had one big one at home I was planning on bringing with me this weekend but decided to use it up instead.
I switched up my meal planning for the week. I had my veggie burgers and fries last night and made a pasta sauce for tonight’s dinner. The purpose of this meal planning is to clean out my cupboards of the odds and ends that are sitting in there that are perfectly edible and not to spend money at the grocery store because I'm to flipping lazy to use my brain to cook out of the cupboard. A couple months ago, I bought some whole wheat pasta. I really don't like it, could be the brand, could be that my palate just does not like whole wheat pasta, but I still have 4 pounds sitting in my pantry (I bought 8 boxes of Barilla Whole Wheat Pasta at Costco thinking it would be "good for me and my diet"-WRONG). I'll cook it up tonight and have that as my dinner.
The upside to all this meal planning from the pantry is that I am using up food in the pantry and not spending money at the store. I'm trying to see what I can make with the variety of interesting and odd canned and dried goods I have in my cupboard if I decide to swap out my meal plan for the week.
My biggest complaint about my local grocery store is it is next to impossible to purchase things like onions, all purpose potatoes and some other basic veg unless they are pre-packaged in bags of 3,5 and 10 pounds or four to five peppers to a shrink wrapped carton. This seriously irks me. I'm trying to be a good, thrifty person and all I needed was two very small onions. I could buy a 3lb bag of onions for $2.69 or a big sweet onion for 99c per pound. I've blogged about this before. I like selecting my own produce, I like getting the tactile sensation of going through a pile of peppers to find the "right ones". I really wish my local grocery store would have more bulk bins. I left the grocery store without the onions, knowing I had one big one at home I was planning on bringing with me this weekend but decided to use it up instead.
I switched up my meal planning for the week. I had my veggie burgers and fries last night and made a pasta sauce for tonight’s dinner. The purpose of this meal planning is to clean out my cupboards of the odds and ends that are sitting in there that are perfectly edible and not to spend money at the grocery store because I'm to flipping lazy to use my brain to cook out of the cupboard. A couple months ago, I bought some whole wheat pasta. I really don't like it, could be the brand, could be that my palate just does not like whole wheat pasta, but I still have 4 pounds sitting in my pantry (I bought 8 boxes of Barilla Whole Wheat Pasta at Costco thinking it would be "good for me and my diet"-WRONG). I'll cook it up tonight and have that as my dinner.
The upside to all this meal planning from the pantry is that I am using up food in the pantry and not spending money at the store. I'm trying to see what I can make with the variety of interesting and odd canned and dried goods I have in my cupboard if I decide to swap out my meal plan for the week.
Monday, October 20, 2008
This Weeks Goal
Try to only go to the grocery store ONCE (like tonight). I've got the overabundance of pantry staples that need using up. I'd like to rid my cupboard of the whole wheat pasta I bought that I don't like. I had thought about donating it to my local food pantry, but read somewhere that if you donate, donate food stuffs you would like to have to eat as as well as staples. Made me stop and think and then decide that I can suffer and eat the whole wheat pasta and I'll make a cash donation to the food pantry instead. They know what they need better than I do!
I have not made a loaf of bread in my bread machine in a while. I'm planning on doing that this evening. I'm in the mood for really fresh bread...
I have not made a loaf of bread in my bread machine in a while. I'm planning on doing that this evening. I'm in the mood for really fresh bread...
Sunday, June 29, 2008
I'm Dreaming of Food Shopping..
True to my word, for this month, I've been doing most of my meal planning from what I have in the cupboards and in the fridge, with very few visits to the grocery store, except for some fresh veg and fruit. Yesterday I made a refried bean soup I got off of a year of crockpotting blog. I made the recipe before and liked it and decided to make it again. I used up 5 cans from my cupboard (beans, refried beans, tomato chunks, broth, and canned corn) and I had all the spices. The soup is yummy, I spiced it up with some extra dried hot peppers and I also made some tortilla strips from left over corn tortillas. I have enough left over for one more lunch and one dinner.
BUT I am craving a food shop. I've been making lists, I am getting low on staple items, I am losing some of my creativity, I am down to one onion and three cloves of garlic. I have 1/2 pound of angle hair pasta and 1 pound of elbow macaroni, I still have pounds of rice (I bought a 10 pound bag a in late April), I've used up the frozen meat, most of the frozen veg and the most of the canned items. I even went a little OCD and washed the cupboard shelves since the larder is getting bare.
Things I've used up, pesto made last year from my garden, 4 chicken thighs, 4 boneless chicken breast, 2 small steaks, 1 quart of chicken stock, I replaced the stock by boiling up a carcass I had from the last time I roasted a chicken, lots of pasta, two hunks of frozen mozzarella I forgot I had, ate one full package of Hebrew National Hot Dogs, finished off a bag of frozen tater tots, various grains, dried beans, canned tomatoes, canned beans, onions, peppers, various and assorted jars of condiments and sauces (Indian, Oriental and some salad dressing) used up the onions, potatoes, garlic and ginger root, sour cream, yogurt, salsa, a lot of pasta and bag of noodles called Singapore noodles (A type of egg noodle from Singapore), you get the picture. I don't think I can really make a meal out of brown sugar, baking soda and malt vinegar, but I did replace the old boxes of baking soda in the fridge and freezer and poured one box down the kitchen drain (followed by a hefty dose of white vinegar) and used the other box on the tub instead of using Ajax cleanser. That also kept me in line with my goal for being as green as I can and not using toxic chemicals and cleaners.
I'll be at my second job for the upcoming holiday and my meals will be taken care of, so there is no reason for me to do a serious food shop until at least next Tuesday. I'll be a "big girl" do some meal planning and then plan my shop around the menu. But between now and then, I can betcha I'll be dreaming of wandering up and down the food aisles at Trader Joes,Aldi and Costco.
BUT I am craving a food shop. I've been making lists, I am getting low on staple items, I am losing some of my creativity, I am down to one onion and three cloves of garlic. I have 1/2 pound of angle hair pasta and 1 pound of elbow macaroni, I still have pounds of rice (I bought a 10 pound bag a in late April), I've used up the frozen meat, most of the frozen veg and the most of the canned items. I even went a little OCD and washed the cupboard shelves since the larder is getting bare.
Things I've used up, pesto made last year from my garden, 4 chicken thighs, 4 boneless chicken breast, 2 small steaks, 1 quart of chicken stock, I replaced the stock by boiling up a carcass I had from the last time I roasted a chicken, lots of pasta, two hunks of frozen mozzarella I forgot I had, ate one full package of Hebrew National Hot Dogs, finished off a bag of frozen tater tots, various grains, dried beans, canned tomatoes, canned beans, onions, peppers, various and assorted jars of condiments and sauces (Indian, Oriental and some salad dressing) used up the onions, potatoes, garlic and ginger root, sour cream, yogurt, salsa, a lot of pasta and bag of noodles called Singapore noodles (A type of egg noodle from Singapore), you get the picture. I don't think I can really make a meal out of brown sugar, baking soda and malt vinegar, but I did replace the old boxes of baking soda in the fridge and freezer and poured one box down the kitchen drain (followed by a hefty dose of white vinegar) and used the other box on the tub instead of using Ajax cleanser. That also kept me in line with my goal for being as green as I can and not using toxic chemicals and cleaners.
I'll be at my second job for the upcoming holiday and my meals will be taken care of, so there is no reason for me to do a serious food shop until at least next Tuesday. I'll be a "big girl" do some meal planning and then plan my shop around the menu. But between now and then, I can betcha I'll be dreaming of wandering up and down the food aisles at Trader Joes,Aldi and Costco.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
What's In Your Food Cupboard?
I made a decision a couple weeks ago to cut back on my food shopping. The amount of food in my cupboards was insane and I've been in the bad habit of going to the grocery store and buying things I don't really need, but might need in the future when I have a perfectly good and well stocked pantry. In the past few days I have made the following meals:
1) Chicken and Vegetable stir fry with Hoisin Sauce-the leftovers made into a second meal with the addition of some Singapore Noodles I had in the cabinet.
2) Nachos-using up some salsa, really bad fake cheese sauce, sour cream, pickled jalapenos I made last month, refried beans, enchilada sauce, onions and tomatoes. I did buy the Nacho chips at Aldi, that I will admit, but I had a HUGE craving for them. I still have half a bag at home, the craving passed after I made the nachos.
3) African Peanut Stew/Soup-made entirely with items from my cupboard and I got to use some of the extra veg I had sitting around. I got the recipe for this dish from A Year of Crockpotting (I have really become enamoured of my old crock pot this year-mainly because I've been lazy, this is the easy way to cook a bunch of meals). I've made a similar dish in the past, but thought I'd try this one. It was really good!
I did a small shop for fresh fruit and veg last week, got a load of vegetables from the reduced produce section of the store on the premise I was going to roast or grill them and use them for sandwiches or on pasta. I just did not feel like dicing, slicing, marinating, and grilling on Sunday and instead of letting the vegetable become part of my mulch pile, I used my brain, did five minutes of on line research (ie- I read a couple blogs) and voila`, a ton of meals with very little effort.
I still have a ton of food (and yes that is my freezer) that can be re-purposed into meals. All it takes is being a bit creative and I've made some pretty darned good meals with just the items I have on hand. Granted this is a bit easier if you have a well stocked pantry with the basics, not so easy if you are not in the habit of cooking or really don't like to cook. My friends who don't like to cook don't understand why I have both sweet and hot paprika or the difference between chili powder and cayenne pepper.
I am looking forward to my next adventure in cooking based on what's in the pantry, fridge and freezer.
Monday, May 26, 2008
The Holiday Weekend Was A Good One
I got sooo much done this past weekend. I did another bunch of laundry at the Laundromat, but think I'm all caught up on the big stuff (sheets, blankets, pillows), managed to redo a couple of the flower beds (moving plants around), repotted some of the house plants, moved the lawn (both the 'old' and 'new' grass), cleaned the patio furniture (I am typing this on my patio on my old laptop!), re-organized my garden shed (again), got a trash run in, had a nice pizza dinner with some friends on Saturday, re-read two books I wanted to re-read, organized my bookshelves, did a mini closet purge, the list goes on and I feel pretty darned good about it. And the weather here was and is just FABULOUS-perfect Holiday weekend weather.
Lots of the stuff I did was all piddly little stuff, but things that I kept putting off and putting off, so my to do list just got longer and longer. I feel sooo much better getting a lot of the small chores done and out of the way. Something as simple as re-hanging a couple pictures and tidying my bookshelves make me feel really good. I did a long overdue purge of my skirt collection. Since my consignment shop sales have been painfully low, I packed it all in a bag and took the skirts I no longer fit into to Goodwill. I'll take the tax write off. I can't be bothered to wait for someone to buy my clothes at the consignment shop. My goal was to purge the skirts this weekend and purge I did. I did donate some nice skirts, but I've gotten so heavy that I don't fit into them. Instead of having them sit in my closet and REMIND me just how chunky I've become, off they go to Goodwill!
To counteract the chunky feeling, I bought a new bathroom scale and will go back to weekly weigh ins. The nice (read expensive) health club is running a summer special-12 weeks for $150. As I've said before, it's a doctors order that I lose weight. I was not liking the number I saw on the scale. I've gone back to walking about 1.5 to 2 miles a day with the dogs, but I need some sustained cardio (spinning, elliptical trainer, Stairmaster) and weights to jumpstart my metabolism. I'm not thrilled to spend the $150 for the twelve weeks, but this is a medical necessity. Just go check out Jennsylvania and Such a Pretty Fat and you will see where I'm coming from. I will also publicly declare that I will not be buying beer and wine~well at least, I won't be buying it to have with meals while I do the summer special. I finished the last of some really bad box wine this week (given to me, I did not buy it) and if I'm going to drink, it's diet tonic and all that gin and vodka sitting in my cupboard.
My cupboards are bursting with a lot of foodstuff. I have about 6 pounds of pasta, lots of dried beans, 8 pounds of rice (I bought a ten pound bag a while back) a bunch of stuff in the freezer and other assorted canned items. I'm hoping to do a few weeks of 'eat up the pantry staples' before I have to do a serious food shop. The month of April showed me I could survive on a food budget of $100 and I think I spent $105 total. Five bucks was for food for a forgotten pot lock. If I planned properly, I probably would have come in well under the $100. My "plan" is to really only buy things like fresh fruit and veg and some milk if I need it.
Meals I can make just off the top of my head from my staples
1) Pasta-with pesto, with tomato sauce, with a cheese sauce, with butter and cheese, -you get the picture
2) Beans: burritos, beans and rice, bean soup, enchiladas, baked beans
3) Chicken stock: can make chicken soup-regular, rice or vegetable
4) Veggie Burgers and Hot dogs-slap those babies on the grill, make a salad, use up the frozen French fries-quick easy dinner.
5) Eggs: Breakfast for dinner-pancakes, omelets, egg salad
6) Chicken Breast: Grilled, poached, with BBQ sauce, stir fried,
7) Chicken thighs: I love these on the grill period
8) 3 small Steaks: grill them for supper, slice up for steak sandwich, cube into a mini beef stew
9) Pizza dough- make pizzas regular and mini sized (take a mini to lunch), make a calzone (use up leftover veg and cheese).
10) Guava paste: on crackers with cream cheese is a great after dinner sweet treat.
11) Crackers: I have a boat load of crackers, I can eat them plain, have them with soup, put some peanut butter and jelly on them, eat them with cheese.
12) Curry Sauces: bean curry, chicken curry, beef curry, vegetarian curry
The list goes on…
I can plan at least two weeks worth of meals with just what I have in the pantry and fridge. As far as I know, I have no pot lucks planned that will require me shopping for additional food items, I can start on the food purge this week (I already made a really great macaroni salad for my lunches and sandwiches).
As weird as it sounds, having the extra time off gave me the time to just sit and "look" at my cupboards. No Costco shopping for at least two weeks!
Lots of the stuff I did was all piddly little stuff, but things that I kept putting off and putting off, so my to do list just got longer and longer. I feel sooo much better getting a lot of the small chores done and out of the way. Something as simple as re-hanging a couple pictures and tidying my bookshelves make me feel really good. I did a long overdue purge of my skirt collection. Since my consignment shop sales have been painfully low, I packed it all in a bag and took the skirts I no longer fit into to Goodwill. I'll take the tax write off. I can't be bothered to wait for someone to buy my clothes at the consignment shop. My goal was to purge the skirts this weekend and purge I did. I did donate some nice skirts, but I've gotten so heavy that I don't fit into them. Instead of having them sit in my closet and REMIND me just how chunky I've become, off they go to Goodwill!
To counteract the chunky feeling, I bought a new bathroom scale and will go back to weekly weigh ins. The nice (read expensive) health club is running a summer special-12 weeks for $150. As I've said before, it's a doctors order that I lose weight. I was not liking the number I saw on the scale. I've gone back to walking about 1.5 to 2 miles a day with the dogs, but I need some sustained cardio (spinning, elliptical trainer, Stairmaster) and weights to jumpstart my metabolism. I'm not thrilled to spend the $150 for the twelve weeks, but this is a medical necessity. Just go check out Jennsylvania and Such a Pretty Fat and you will see where I'm coming from. I will also publicly declare that I will not be buying beer and wine~well at least, I won't be buying it to have with meals while I do the summer special. I finished the last of some really bad box wine this week (given to me, I did not buy it) and if I'm going to drink, it's diet tonic and all that gin and vodka sitting in my cupboard.
My cupboards are bursting with a lot of foodstuff. I have about 6 pounds of pasta, lots of dried beans, 8 pounds of rice (I bought a ten pound bag a while back) a bunch of stuff in the freezer and other assorted canned items. I'm hoping to do a few weeks of 'eat up the pantry staples' before I have to do a serious food shop. The month of April showed me I could survive on a food budget of $100 and I think I spent $105 total. Five bucks was for food for a forgotten pot lock. If I planned properly, I probably would have come in well under the $100. My "plan" is to really only buy things like fresh fruit and veg and some milk if I need it.
Meals I can make just off the top of my head from my staples
1) Pasta-with pesto, with tomato sauce, with a cheese sauce, with butter and cheese, -you get the picture
2) Beans: burritos, beans and rice, bean soup, enchiladas, baked beans
3) Chicken stock: can make chicken soup-regular, rice or vegetable
4) Veggie Burgers and Hot dogs-slap those babies on the grill, make a salad, use up the frozen French fries-quick easy dinner.
5) Eggs: Breakfast for dinner-pancakes, omelets, egg salad
6) Chicken Breast: Grilled, poached, with BBQ sauce, stir fried,
7) Chicken thighs: I love these on the grill period
8) 3 small Steaks: grill them for supper, slice up for steak sandwich, cube into a mini beef stew
9) Pizza dough- make pizzas regular and mini sized (take a mini to lunch), make a calzone (use up leftover veg and cheese).
10) Guava paste: on crackers with cream cheese is a great after dinner sweet treat.
11) Crackers: I have a boat load of crackers, I can eat them plain, have them with soup, put some peanut butter and jelly on them, eat them with cheese.
12) Curry Sauces: bean curry, chicken curry, beef curry, vegetarian curry
The list goes on…
I can plan at least two weeks worth of meals with just what I have in the pantry and fridge. As far as I know, I have no pot lucks planned that will require me shopping for additional food items, I can start on the food purge this week (I already made a really great macaroni salad for my lunches and sandwiches).
As weird as it sounds, having the extra time off gave me the time to just sit and "look" at my cupboards. No Costco shopping for at least two weeks!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Grocery Budget Challenge
I added up my grocery shopping bills and to date I have spent $58.21 on food for me. I did buy a case of seltzer water, the expensive organic greens and a large box of crackers at Costco. The water and crackers should last me until next week, the crackers probably until the end of the month. I drink the seltzer water instead of soda, my well water sometimes tastes off and honestly, I like the bubbles! I did a fruit and veg shop at the really cool ethnic market. They had a ten pound bag of onions for $2.00, but I really don't have the space or plans for ten pounds of onions, I got two pounds for 79c.
I can't complain that I am lacking in the food department. I have lots of things in my larder and freezer and I'm making enough food at dinner time to get me at least one, if not two lunches and one extra dinner. And I have not even tackled half of my planned menu ideas.
This is good. I just don't go to the grocery store to "see what might be good for dinner". That's OK every so often, but my food purchases were out of control for a while. I'm getting better at controlling the urge to stress shop as well. Plus it's good to do a cupboard clean out and restock with fresh items. Even dried pasta has a shelf life! I think I can do this $100 april food bill.
I ran out of gas for my gas grill, I do have to refill the propane tank, and it will be good to get back into the grilling mode now that the weather is getting better!
I can't complain that I am lacking in the food department. I have lots of things in my larder and freezer and I'm making enough food at dinner time to get me at least one, if not two lunches and one extra dinner. And I have not even tackled half of my planned menu ideas.
This is good. I just don't go to the grocery store to "see what might be good for dinner". That's OK every so often, but my food purchases were out of control for a while. I'm getting better at controlling the urge to stress shop as well. Plus it's good to do a cupboard clean out and restock with fresh items. Even dried pasta has a shelf life! I think I can do this $100 april food bill.
I ran out of gas for my gas grill, I do have to refill the propane tank, and it will be good to get back into the grilling mode now that the weather is getting better!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The April Challenge~Trim The Food Budget
Because I like contests and challenges, I joined a Krystal's April challenge to trim one part of my budget. I choose my food budget. I decided to only spend $100 on my food for the month of April. My food budget in the past has included all alcohol purchases and animal food as well. This month, I'm tracking what food I buy. I have taken out of the budget things like cleaning supplies and animal food, because I really want to see how much I spend on food for me alone. One reason I picked this category is that I stress shop. I get stressed and I shop, then I cook and eat way more than my fair share of food or I toss it because it goes bad.
I live alone, I occasionally have folks over for dinner, I do participate in the odd pot luck meal and will contribute to that. I usually pack my own lunch for work (only one meal out of three weeks in March was a purchased meal). I should not be spending $200 in food for me.
Here is the breakdown of my first April Grocery Shop
Aldi:
Dried Cranberries $1.39
Bamboo Shoots: .69c
Spaghetti Os .59c
Diced Tomatoes 3 cans $1.35
Beef broth 2 cans .78c
Re fried Beans .59c
Oyster Crackers .69c
Crinkle Cut Potatoes $1.39
Cream Cheese .99c
Eggs $1.59
Sharp Cheddar $1.79
Jar of Salsa $1.49
Butter $1.79
Total: 15.12
Stop and Shop
Can of Baked Beans (B&M) $1.67
Corn Meal $1.99
Carrots 2 lb $1.79
Canned Crushed Tomatoes :$1.34
White Vinegar $1.19
Imported Crushed tomatoes: $1.00
2 boxes of Mac/Cheese $1.00
Can of Baby Corn :56c
Green Cabbage: .82c
Garlic: .27c
Olive Bar :$2.45
$14.74
Total Spent: $29.86
To be purchased at Costco this weekend: Lettuce or Spinach, Seltzer Water, maybe cold cereal
To be purchased at the ethnic market: onions, potatoes, fruit, peppers, celery, parsley and fresh tomatoes. I like to shop at the Ethnic Market when I am able to go to it. I can buy just what I need and not have to buy 5 lbs of potatoes when I only need two.
Part of my purchases was geared to pantry restocking (cornmeal, white vinegar, canned tomatoes, emergency mac and cheese, butter). I took a good hard look at my food cupboard and freezer over the weekend. I still have a whole chicken that I can turn into soup or roast. I have a pork loin roast (that is currently marinating in honey and chipolata sauce), I have two packs of Hebrew National Beef Hot dogs, a couple containers of soup and chicken stock, bacon and a variety of frozen veg. I have an assortment of dried beans, some grains, whole wheat and AP flour, pasta, rice~ I'm in pretty good shape. I'm test marketing some of the Aldi products. A couple Aldi products I've used haven't thrilled me, so before I stock my pantry with things I don't like, I'm test buying a couple at a time.
What I need to do is a pantry clean out. I need to plan my meals from my pantry. Tonight will be the pork loin done in the oven or on the grill (but I think I need more propane, I have to check the tank), frozen veg and a baked potato. I'm going to thaw the chicken and debate soup or roast-probably a roast, I can turn the bones into stock and use the leftover meat for sandwiches. I made a pretty good batch of chili soup from 365 days of Crockpotting over the weekend. I had all the ingredients, except for the re fried beans and was able to grab a can in the dented can section for 67c. I've got plans for home made pizza (and I'll make the dough in my bread maker) and a pasta dish or two. I like to make things that I can take to work as a lunchover. I don't like having things sit in my fridge or freezer for days on end.
I need to be more creative and cook with what I have in the cupboard and not feel this compulsion to go to the store every day after work. What ends up happening is I buy what I need, then a little extra. This has to stop.
Meals planned for this week are
Pork Loin w sweet spicy sauce, beef curry and rice, baked rice and vegetables, roasted herb chicken, pasta with assorted sauces. All this made from what is currently in my cupboard and in my fridge. I can do this.
Wish me luck.... :)
I live alone, I occasionally have folks over for dinner, I do participate in the odd pot luck meal and will contribute to that. I usually pack my own lunch for work (only one meal out of three weeks in March was a purchased meal). I should not be spending $200 in food for me.
Here is the breakdown of my first April Grocery Shop
Aldi:
Dried Cranberries $1.39
Bamboo Shoots: .69c
Spaghetti Os .59c
Diced Tomatoes 3 cans $1.35
Beef broth 2 cans .78c
Re fried Beans .59c
Oyster Crackers .69c
Crinkle Cut Potatoes $1.39
Cream Cheese .99c
Eggs $1.59
Sharp Cheddar $1.79
Jar of Salsa $1.49
Butter $1.79
Total: 15.12
Stop and Shop
Can of Baked Beans (B&M) $1.67
Corn Meal $1.99
Carrots 2 lb $1.79
Canned Crushed Tomatoes :$1.34
White Vinegar $1.19
Imported Crushed tomatoes: $1.00
2 boxes of Mac/Cheese $1.00
Can of Baby Corn :56c
Green Cabbage: .82c
Garlic: .27c
Olive Bar :$2.45
$14.74
Total Spent: $29.86
To be purchased at Costco this weekend: Lettuce or Spinach, Seltzer Water, maybe cold cereal
To be purchased at the ethnic market: onions, potatoes, fruit, peppers, celery, parsley and fresh tomatoes. I like to shop at the Ethnic Market when I am able to go to it. I can buy just what I need and not have to buy 5 lbs of potatoes when I only need two.
Part of my purchases was geared to pantry restocking (cornmeal, white vinegar, canned tomatoes, emergency mac and cheese, butter). I took a good hard look at my food cupboard and freezer over the weekend. I still have a whole chicken that I can turn into soup or roast. I have a pork loin roast (that is currently marinating in honey and chipolata sauce), I have two packs of Hebrew National Beef Hot dogs, a couple containers of soup and chicken stock, bacon and a variety of frozen veg. I have an assortment of dried beans, some grains, whole wheat and AP flour, pasta, rice~ I'm in pretty good shape. I'm test marketing some of the Aldi products. A couple Aldi products I've used haven't thrilled me, so before I stock my pantry with things I don't like, I'm test buying a couple at a time.
What I need to do is a pantry clean out. I need to plan my meals from my pantry. Tonight will be the pork loin done in the oven or on the grill (but I think I need more propane, I have to check the tank), frozen veg and a baked potato. I'm going to thaw the chicken and debate soup or roast-probably a roast, I can turn the bones into stock and use the leftover meat for sandwiches. I made a pretty good batch of chili soup from 365 days of Crockpotting over the weekend. I had all the ingredients, except for the re fried beans and was able to grab a can in the dented can section for 67c. I've got plans for home made pizza (and I'll make the dough in my bread maker) and a pasta dish or two. I like to make things that I can take to work as a lunchover. I don't like having things sit in my fridge or freezer for days on end.
I need to be more creative and cook with what I have in the cupboard and not feel this compulsion to go to the store every day after work. What ends up happening is I buy what I need, then a little extra. This has to stop.
Meals planned for this week are
Pork Loin w sweet spicy sauce, beef curry and rice, baked rice and vegetables, roasted herb chicken, pasta with assorted sauces. All this made from what is currently in my cupboard and in my fridge. I can do this.
Wish me luck.... :)
Monday, March 17, 2008
This Weeks Meal Plan and Meal Planning in General
Since I made little to no progress in sticking to last weeks Meal Plans, I'm giving it another go this week. Most of my lunches this week will be leftovers based on what I'm planning to cook.
I made this amazing pork roast in my crock pot yesterday and will be using that this week.
Part of my "problem" is I go to the grocery store to pick up a container of milk or some other mundane staple. I see something that gives me inspiration and my meal planning goes out the door. Saturday was a perfect example. I went to the grocery store looking for chicken (my local market will do a selection of chicken pieces, usually on special, perfect for the grill or as I had planned as a baked rice and chicken dish). No chicken to be had, but I did find a pork roast for $1.46 per pound. That is a great deal.
I grabbed the smallest roast they had (5.4 pounds) had the butcher cut it in half. I stuck half in the freezer and the other half ended up in my crock pot, simmered all day with onions, apples, carrots, herbs, some wine and a chipolata pepper in adobe sauce. It was really good and I have a bunch of food I can use as leftovers. It's nice when the inspiration hits, but I find I tend to go 'off my menu" frequently. Which I find funny, because I really don't enjoy grocery shopping all that much. Yet a hunk of pork makes me change my whole weeks menu.
Ah, well. I have lunch packed for today, dinner planned out and will make a loaf of bread in the bread maker this evening and hopefully I won't have to go near a grocery store until the weekend! I may dye some Easter eggs and then be eating a lot of egg salad next week.
Here's the tentative plan.
Dinners: Beans and Rice, enchiladas using left over beans, rice and pork, pork BBQ sandwiches, pasta with either pesto or tomato sauce, butternut squash stuffed with wild rice.
Lunches: Leftovers from dinner a couple days, salads (using the last of my Romain lettuce I bought at Costco) and using up the frozen containers of soup I made last week.
I made this amazing pork roast in my crock pot yesterday and will be using that this week.
Part of my "problem" is I go to the grocery store to pick up a container of milk or some other mundane staple. I see something that gives me inspiration and my meal planning goes out the door. Saturday was a perfect example. I went to the grocery store looking for chicken (my local market will do a selection of chicken pieces, usually on special, perfect for the grill or as I had planned as a baked rice and chicken dish). No chicken to be had, but I did find a pork roast for $1.46 per pound. That is a great deal.
I grabbed the smallest roast they had (5.4 pounds) had the butcher cut it in half. I stuck half in the freezer and the other half ended up in my crock pot, simmered all day with onions, apples, carrots, herbs, some wine and a chipolata pepper in adobe sauce. It was really good and I have a bunch of food I can use as leftovers. It's nice when the inspiration hits, but I find I tend to go 'off my menu" frequently. Which I find funny, because I really don't enjoy grocery shopping all that much. Yet a hunk of pork makes me change my whole weeks menu.
Ah, well. I have lunch packed for today, dinner planned out and will make a loaf of bread in the bread maker this evening and hopefully I won't have to go near a grocery store until the weekend! I may dye some Easter eggs and then be eating a lot of egg salad next week.
Here's the tentative plan.
Dinners: Beans and Rice, enchiladas using left over beans, rice and pork, pork BBQ sandwiches, pasta with either pesto or tomato sauce, butternut squash stuffed with wild rice.
Lunches: Leftovers from dinner a couple days, salads (using the last of my Romain lettuce I bought at Costco) and using up the frozen containers of soup I made last week.
The April Challenge
Krystal at Give Me Back My Five Bucks is doing another challenge for the month of April. I like challenges, they give me motivation and I like the "competition" aspect of them. I've thought about the April Challenge and have decided that I need to seriously cut back on my food budget. It's been out of control.
I lump all grocery store, alcohol and animal food purchases under food. This month I know I will probably go over budget and a large part is due to alcohol purchases. I've been invited out a couple times for dinner (Me: What Can I Bring? Host: Oh Nothing. Me: Are you sure? : Host: Well, how about a bottle of wine or a six pack?) A decent bottle of wine is not cheap, and my little local liquor store does not carry a huge selection of good, yet inexpensive wines. They range from very cheap and cheerful to exquisite and expensive. Not a lot in the middle range suitable as a present.
Plus I have a bunch of staples in my house that I'm not using. I bought canned black beans when I could have just as easily used dried beans. But going through the process of soaking and cooking the beans, not difficult at all, just takes time, and I tend not to take the time. I just need to use up the staples, I can clean out my cupboards for a proper shop come May as I would like to do and it's cheaper as well. I have some Roman beans soaking at home as I write this. Beans and Rice are on the menu for tomorrow.
To motivate myself, I'll join in the challenge and dare I say, only spend $125 on groceries (me and the animals) for the month of April. Wish me luck! :)
I lump all grocery store, alcohol and animal food purchases under food. This month I know I will probably go over budget and a large part is due to alcohol purchases. I've been invited out a couple times for dinner (Me: What Can I Bring? Host: Oh Nothing. Me: Are you sure? : Host: Well, how about a bottle of wine or a six pack?) A decent bottle of wine is not cheap, and my little local liquor store does not carry a huge selection of good, yet inexpensive wines. They range from very cheap and cheerful to exquisite and expensive. Not a lot in the middle range suitable as a present.
Plus I have a bunch of staples in my house that I'm not using. I bought canned black beans when I could have just as easily used dried beans. But going through the process of soaking and cooking the beans, not difficult at all, just takes time, and I tend not to take the time. I just need to use up the staples, I can clean out my cupboards for a proper shop come May as I would like to do and it's cheaper as well. I have some Roman beans soaking at home as I write this. Beans and Rice are on the menu for tomorrow.
To motivate myself, I'll join in the challenge and dare I say, only spend $125 on groceries (me and the animals) for the month of April. Wish me luck! :)
Friday, March 7, 2008
The Lunch Challenge Week 1
Did not spend one thin dime on food for lunches or snacks this week. Yea Ha!. I am actually looking forward to doing some cooking this weekend and planning next weeks meals.
Sometimes it's the small things that really make you feel good! Not only packing my lunch, but remembering to pack snacks has been a big help.
My basic plan for next week's meals include using up a bag of wild rice I got as a present last fall. I love rice of all types and I've someplace, a recipe for wild rice and squash. I have a recipe for red lentil and ginger soup and I do have a small pork loin that is screaming to be marinated in an adobe and honey sauce. Now just to figure out what days would be good to do this!
BB
Sometimes it's the small things that really make you feel good! Not only packing my lunch, but remembering to pack snacks has been a big help.
My basic plan for next week's meals include using up a bag of wild rice I got as a present last fall. I love rice of all types and I've someplace, a recipe for wild rice and squash. I have a recipe for red lentil and ginger soup and I do have a small pork loin that is screaming to be marinated in an adobe and honey sauce. Now just to figure out what days would be good to do this!
BB
Monday, March 3, 2008
Starting Off The Month With A More Optimistic Look and a Lot of Shopping
Not having reliable Internet access at home means I'm way behind in my posts. Even though Friday was still February, I did start on my March food shopping. On my way home I stopped at the Aldi and spent $23.33 on a lot of staples (sugar, flour, eggs, pasta, canned beans, dairy items, tortillas) that I needed for my food cupboards.
I also went to Target, I needed my Method cleaning products and some toiletries. I found two great airtight storage containers for my flour and sugar. The old fashioned metal sugar container is not airtight and my sugar has been getting damp. I got two nice sized containers for $4.99 each and each holds 5 lbs of flour and at least 5lbs of sugar. I like being able to see what's in the containers in my cupboards. I did give myself a little treat, I spent $5.50 on a DVD-actually two DVD's for $5.50. Not a bad purchase! Total spent at Target $40.46
Grocery Shop for fruits, salad items, meats, grains, at Ethnic Grocery Stores: $35.72 (includes some laundry detergent as well)
Costco Shop: $83.31-Includes new car charger and blue tooth headset for phone ($30.00), I'm just not getting the hang of the new phone with the speakerphone option, I keep disconnecting callers.
I've spent $122.36 of my food budget ($175) and the month is three days old. I did however, get a ton of things I can use for my lunches (Part of Costco shop, meats, fruit and veg) and I have meats in the freezer that I can use for my meal planning.
I made a huge pot of chicken soup yesterday, some to be eaten, most to be frozen for soup and stock. The actual chicken itself will be turned into chicken salad tonight and some chicken kept aside to make a chicken pot pie. I restocked my flour and grain supply and have plans to make more interesting breads in the bread maker, make some pizza dough for pizza or calzones, make some Indian and Chinese inspired meals. I'm thinking about a noodle stir fry tonight!
Part of my shopping was geared towards having alternative foods for my lunches. By alternative foods, I mean pre-made/ready made food that if I forget to pack my lunch, I will have at work or be able to grab and toss in my lunch sack on my way out the door. Some of these pre-made meals are high in sodium and I've been searching for ones that are not 30% of my daily requirement.
I also went to Target, I needed my Method cleaning products and some toiletries. I found two great airtight storage containers for my flour and sugar. The old fashioned metal sugar container is not airtight and my sugar has been getting damp. I got two nice sized containers for $4.99 each and each holds 5 lbs of flour and at least 5lbs of sugar. I like being able to see what's in the containers in my cupboards. I did give myself a little treat, I spent $5.50 on a DVD-actually two DVD's for $5.50. Not a bad purchase! Total spent at Target $40.46
Grocery Shop for fruits, salad items, meats, grains, at Ethnic Grocery Stores: $35.72 (includes some laundry detergent as well)
Costco Shop: $83.31-Includes new car charger and blue tooth headset for phone ($30.00), I'm just not getting the hang of the new phone with the speakerphone option, I keep disconnecting callers.
I've spent $122.36 of my food budget ($175) and the month is three days old. I did however, get a ton of things I can use for my lunches (Part of Costco shop, meats, fruit and veg) and I have meats in the freezer that I can use for my meal planning.
I made a huge pot of chicken soup yesterday, some to be eaten, most to be frozen for soup and stock. The actual chicken itself will be turned into chicken salad tonight and some chicken kept aside to make a chicken pot pie. I restocked my flour and grain supply and have plans to make more interesting breads in the bread maker, make some pizza dough for pizza or calzones, make some Indian and Chinese inspired meals. I'm thinking about a noodle stir fry tonight!
Part of my shopping was geared towards having alternative foods for my lunches. By alternative foods, I mean pre-made/ready made food that if I forget to pack my lunch, I will have at work or be able to grab and toss in my lunch sack on my way out the door. Some of these pre-made meals are high in sodium and I've been searching for ones that are not 30% of my daily requirement.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
The Lure of Trader Joe's
I love Trader Joes. If I lived closer to one I'd shop there on a daily basis. The closest one to me is about 30 miles away and I only go when I'm on my way home and traveling by the store. I stopped the other day and spend $40 on groceries and a few other assorted items. Out of that $40, $15 was spent on things like a bouquet of flowers, body scrub, and pate. The pate was on sale and I wanted a little food treat! I could have easily spent an additional $40 on food, but lack of freezer space kept me from blowing my entire food budget.
I was out of some of the sauces and condiments I use in cooking and part of this shopping trip was to restock my cupboards with these items and I got a few of TJ's ready meals. My lunchovers have been dismall these past few weeks and at least having a pad thai bowl to bring to work is at least better than spending $7-$9 on lunch out.
I'm planning a couple days of cooking so I can at least have some decent leftovers for lunch next week and resist the urge to stop by TJ's again this weekend as I drive on by.........
I was out of some of the sauces and condiments I use in cooking and part of this shopping trip was to restock my cupboards with these items and I got a few of TJ's ready meals. My lunchovers have been dismall these past few weeks and at least having a pad thai bowl to bring to work is at least better than spending $7-$9 on lunch out.
I'm planning a couple days of cooking so I can at least have some decent leftovers for lunch next week and resist the urge to stop by TJ's again this weekend as I drive on by.........
Thursday, January 24, 2008
One More No Spend Day, Using Up Food Staples, and the Job Hunt Continues
Yesterday was another no spend day (thank goodness these are becoming habits!) and I'm in the middle of a pantry clean out.
I've gone back to cooking my meals and instead of aimlessly wandering the grocery store with no set menu in mind, I've been planning meals from what's in the cupboards. I keep thinking I'll use up what I have in the cupboards, but it does not always happen. Many of us talk about using up the food in the cupboard, but how many of us really do? This month, I am. I wanted to make black bean soup last night only to find I was out of canned (and dried) black beans. Quick menu change, I made Tuscan White Bean Soup, as I had two cans of white beans. Improvisation is key. I looked at my supply of potatoes and they are starting to look a little under the weather. Plan for those is either scalloped potatoes, or potato and corn chowder (I have a can of corn in the cupboard, I prefer fresh or frozen). I'm just not quite sure what to do with the can of cream of something unusual soup I have no memory of buying (not mushroom, or chicken, or celery). Some sort of a creamy casserole? I will have to figure that out for one of my weekend meals. I'm almost out of all my frozen veg, just have a few burgers left in the freezer (which may become some sort of ground beef casserole), soup sized pasta, assortment of dried beans, etc.
I can honestly say that my stress eating has decreased dramatically in the past few weeks. I feel like I'm getting back to normal eating patterns. Since I don't have to stress eat, I'm not stress food shopping and I'm saving some money. I don't have this complusion to run to the grocery store every day. I envy those folks when stressed they lose weight, I eat and gain weight :(
I've gotten a couple second job ideas from folks and I'm looking into them. I never connected with my friend who will be looking for extra help starting in March, our paths just did not cross. So it's on my agenda to touch base with him in the next few weeks and see if that is still available. Job pickings in the local papers are small this time of year.
Something will turn up, I'm sure of that. Now that I have my new TV, I'm focusing my energy on a new to me car.
I've gone back to cooking my meals and instead of aimlessly wandering the grocery store with no set menu in mind, I've been planning meals from what's in the cupboards. I keep thinking I'll use up what I have in the cupboards, but it does not always happen. Many of us talk about using up the food in the cupboard, but how many of us really do? This month, I am. I wanted to make black bean soup last night only to find I was out of canned (and dried) black beans. Quick menu change, I made Tuscan White Bean Soup, as I had two cans of white beans. Improvisation is key. I looked at my supply of potatoes and they are starting to look a little under the weather. Plan for those is either scalloped potatoes, or potato and corn chowder (I have a can of corn in the cupboard, I prefer fresh or frozen). I'm just not quite sure what to do with the can of cream of something unusual soup I have no memory of buying (not mushroom, or chicken, or celery). Some sort of a creamy casserole? I will have to figure that out for one of my weekend meals. I'm almost out of all my frozen veg, just have a few burgers left in the freezer (which may become some sort of ground beef casserole), soup sized pasta, assortment of dried beans, etc.
I can honestly say that my stress eating has decreased dramatically in the past few weeks. I feel like I'm getting back to normal eating patterns. Since I don't have to stress eat, I'm not stress food shopping and I'm saving some money. I don't have this complusion to run to the grocery store every day. I envy those folks when stressed they lose weight, I eat and gain weight :(
I've gotten a couple second job ideas from folks and I'm looking into them. I never connected with my friend who will be looking for extra help starting in March, our paths just did not cross. So it's on my agenda to touch base with him in the next few weeks and see if that is still available. Job pickings in the local papers are small this time of year.
Something will turn up, I'm sure of that. Now that I have my new TV, I'm focusing my energy on a new to me car.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
No Spend Day and How to Have More
Yee Ha, another no spend day. It's the little things that get me (postage for a letter because I forgot my stamps, an extra drink at lunch, a craving for potato chips/crisps).
I've taken over the snack buying for the office. I am now in charge of ordering coffee and tea making supplies (I volunteered for this, my boss was doing it and not doing it well, he's not a shopper). I also picked up some salty and savoury snacks for our kitchen and ice tea mix. My office is small, but we do like to have a small assortment of drinks and snacks and now that this is one of my weekly chores, I'm buying a few treats that I like and won't be tempted to buy each time I run out. My fellow office mates are happy (we seem to have similar snack tastes), my boss is happy (he does not have to deal with the grocery store ) and best of all, it's no money out of my budget.
I've taken over the snack buying for the office. I am now in charge of ordering coffee and tea making supplies (I volunteered for this, my boss was doing it and not doing it well, he's not a shopper). I also picked up some salty and savoury snacks for our kitchen and ice tea mix. My office is small, but we do like to have a small assortment of drinks and snacks and now that this is one of my weekly chores, I'm buying a few treats that I like and won't be tempted to buy each time I run out. My fellow office mates are happy (we seem to have similar snack tastes), my boss is happy (he does not have to deal with the grocery store ) and best of all, it's no money out of my budget.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Getting Back To A More Normal Routine~Next Weeks Meal Planning
The kitchen has been repainted, the shelves put up, a majority of the clutter gone, things put back neatly, and I'm back to cooking my own meals again. One more goal for this month done!
While I was in the middle of the kitchen painting, I stopped cooking. It was too difficult to do food prep and cook amongst all my debris (I'm not the tidiest of painters). If it wasn't microwaveable, it was not being cooked. Plus I ate lunch out a lot since I had no leftovers to bring to work. Laziness on my part as well, I don't deny that at all.
I did a mini food shop yesterday, cooked dinner last night, have leftovers for tomorrows lunch, made a quiche for dinner tonight (unless I end up going out with freinds) and spent some time getting my mindset back into a make your food mood. Over coffee break this morning I read the store circulars and it looks like it's going to be a soup, salad, pasta and pork week. The local grocery store has pork tenderloin on sale and one of those babies will make three meals.
Right now there is something very soothing getting back into a domestice routine.
While I was in the middle of the kitchen painting, I stopped cooking. It was too difficult to do food prep and cook amongst all my debris (I'm not the tidiest of painters). If it wasn't microwaveable, it was not being cooked. Plus I ate lunch out a lot since I had no leftovers to bring to work. Laziness on my part as well, I don't deny that at all.
I did a mini food shop yesterday, cooked dinner last night, have leftovers for tomorrows lunch, made a quiche for dinner tonight (unless I end up going out with freinds) and spent some time getting my mindset back into a make your food mood. Over coffee break this morning I read the store circulars and it looks like it's going to be a soup, salad, pasta and pork week. The local grocery store has pork tenderloin on sale and one of those babies will make three meals.
Right now there is something very soothing getting back into a domestice routine.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
No Spend Day #2 and Grocery Shopping
Yesterday was No Spend Day #2, I brought lunch to work, had enough gas in the car, and had no reason to buy anything. Life is good!
I find I tend to blow my no spend days by grocery shopping or forgetting my lunch. The grocery store is on my way home and I usually get to the traffic light, decide I need something and then turn in and end up buying more than I need.
I will say I did my first shop of the New Year on Saturday and only spent $21. Most of this was due to the fact I have enough groceries in my cupboard (lots of staples left over from last month and all my re-stocking of various and assorted goods). I have a bunch of food in the freezer that can be eaten, so it's going to be a thaw-out-the-food-in-the-freezer week. I have burger, chicken, frozen veg, a couple containers of soup, some great pesto and pasta sauce. I've not been thrilled with my soups recently, so time to search a couple cookbooks for new soup recipes.
I'll plan a Costco shop for mid-month and figure out the protein product of the month (chicken, beef, pork), shop for the bulk items I'll need and plan an ALDI shopping for my frozen veg and other items. Even though I have not posted my January budget (I know, lazy of me), I'm planning on a budget of $150 (including alcohol) and making better use of the food stuffs I have in the house.
I will say I love my bread machine. I use it at least once a week. I just have to remember to start it as soon as I come home, it can take up to 4 hours to make a loaf of bread. I am also going to budget and search for a variety of flours so I can make something other than a typical white bread loaf.
I find I tend to blow my no spend days by grocery shopping or forgetting my lunch. The grocery store is on my way home and I usually get to the traffic light, decide I need something and then turn in and end up buying more than I need.
I will say I did my first shop of the New Year on Saturday and only spent $21. Most of this was due to the fact I have enough groceries in my cupboard (lots of staples left over from last month and all my re-stocking of various and assorted goods). I have a bunch of food in the freezer that can be eaten, so it's going to be a thaw-out-the-food-in-the-freezer week. I have burger, chicken, frozen veg, a couple containers of soup, some great pesto and pasta sauce. I've not been thrilled with my soups recently, so time to search a couple cookbooks for new soup recipes.
I'll plan a Costco shop for mid-month and figure out the protein product of the month (chicken, beef, pork), shop for the bulk items I'll need and plan an ALDI shopping for my frozen veg and other items. Even though I have not posted my January budget (I know, lazy of me), I'm planning on a budget of $150 (including alcohol) and making better use of the food stuffs I have in the house.
I will say I love my bread machine. I use it at least once a week. I just have to remember to start it as soon as I come home, it can take up to 4 hours to make a loaf of bread. I am also going to budget and search for a variety of flours so I can make something other than a typical white bread loaf.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)