$260 groceries for the month...

So I know I started the $65 per week thing but it's actually $260 for food for the whole month. So, yeah, longer months require me to stretch that buck even further! So this week was what I would consider my stock up week.

I know this picture is not about food... but he is licking his lips AND I could just eat him right up!

I was on an "I'm so sick of the same old thing" kick and even though I had a meal plan for the week starting Sunday I thought I'd probably be making changes... and I did. I figured I'd wait until Wed and include my Aldi visit. Well, I was in Minneapolis on a freezing day this Wednesday and I thought ...

What better than make a quick trip with all three of my kids in this insane arctic weather to Costco. I'm ONLY going to spend $20. (cue laughter)

I LOVE Costco (even with three small kids chasing the samples like treasures around the store!) I love their prices and organic products. The only kicker is at the checkout you kind of want to yelp... "But I only got a few things! How is this $70??"

So I stocked up on:

Butter (4lbs)
Organic Ground Beef (4lbs) (After I bought it I realized it is not grass fed. BOOO hoo! So sad.)
Garbanzo Beans (their canned are cheaper than buying the dried beans in stores and canned garbanzo beans make smoother hummus)
Ground Sausage
Cuties (my kid's treat for being so good)
2 Jars of Organic Strawberry Jelly
A huge bag of Frozen Organic Green Beans

Ok, so I got more than a few things... I think.

So between my $45 Trader Joe's visit and my $12 Aldi visit... I have $35 for the rest of the month. That will be plenty to buy fresh essentials to go with my stocked up items. ie. Milk, Eggs, Fruits, Veggies and Bread.

So here is my menu plan for this week:

Sunday: Chili and crackers
Monday: Homemade Chicken Pot Pie (it was AHHHMAZING!)
Tuesday: Asian Cabbage Salad with Sesame Sticks and odds and ends
Wednesday: We basically ate supper at Costco aka sample side plus cuties and veggies at home
Thursday: Ham, Broc, Coconut Quinoa and Grilled Cheese
Friday: Ham Carbonara and Green Beans
Saturday: Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana (see in my pinterest board)
Sunday: Spaghetti Squash with Thai Peanut Sauce, Garbanzo Beans and Rice
**I am having a Norwex Party on Sunday and will be making Pumpkin Cheesecake. Don't you want to come? You are invited!**

I also made yogurt on Monday and Bone broth on Tuesday. I used the bits of chicken from the bone broth drumsticks in the pot pie and it was truly amazing. My MIL has the easiest and yummiest pie crust recipe. Ever. I might just be a pie maker after all! (See in future post!) Also, while I made it from scratch otherwise with no recipe I used Trader Joe's organic frozen veggie mix and it was really good. The sweet corn in it was like fresh off the cob. I will definitely do that again. It solved my food blahs and I'm back to feeling inspired by food. That and I am now obsessed with Master Chef Jr. Man those kids can cook!

Speaking of what kids can cook never underestimate what your kids might EAT. My kids begged for Apple Slices, Garbanzo Beans and Milk for breakfast. So that's what they got. Talk about some power food. In case you were wondering. :-)

Happy First Snow: Meal Plan and Real Food Hot Cacao

Well, Praise the Lord we have a play written for our Christmas show! A stellar cast, director and team... I am already in the Christmas Spirit or in the Exmas Spirit? See the show and then tell me. :-)

Interested in getting tickets for "Christmas in Niatirb" click the link! But don't wait because we do sell out early especially for our Christmas show!

My picture is not uploading correctly... let's just say this is from Becket's perspective. :-)

Today was the first snow. And I know for some that is dreaded news but... It is November and its pretty fitting for this area. The first snow is pretty magical for me. Exciting and fresh and new. It quickly wanes after that. But I'm embracing today and with it comes excited kids who scramble to get dressed and out the door to play in the snow!

Eager little morning faces peaking out their window at the fresh white world. All my Winter's and Christmases come rushing back to me in a warm wave of cool rush on my face and the scent of cookies, hot chocolate and red cheeks.

I make my own "real food" hot chocolate for my kids instead of the nasty packaged stuff and it's oh so good, simple and really chocolaty!

Homemade Hot Chocolate:

1 cup of warm/hot whole Organic Milk

1/2 tsp Organic Cacao Powder (more for me less for the kids to avoid a caffeine rush) 

1 tsp Organic Powder Sugar/or Regular Sugar/Honey/Real Maple Syrup

Stir and serve with homemade whipped cream or mini marshmallows. That marshmallow part isn't so "real food" but my kids love marshmallows and I got 6 bags for $1 this summer so it's a fun treat. 

Menu for the week:

Sunday: Cashew Chicken Fried Rice

Monday: Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff

Tuesday: Tater Tot Green Bean Casserole

Wednesday: Hummus, 100% Whole Wheat Pita Bread and Veggies

Thursday: Spaghetti and Veggie

Friday: Tilapia, Coconut Quinoa and Broccoli

Saturday: Black Bean Chili and Crackers

Trader Joes: Total $22.30

Maple Shredded Wheat

Joe's O's

Button Mushrooms

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Organic Gold Potatoes 4lbs

Organic Grape Jelly

Canned Coconut Milk

2 Bananas

Whole Organic Milk

Aldi: 

Tilapia

Boneless Pork Roast for pulled pork (next week)

In case you haven't noticed I plan to be under budget each week to leave room for special deals I come across. I also leave wiggle room since our grocery budget actually means our food budget. So if we go out to eat or grap a french fry to share or for Sunday donuts... that ALL comes out of my precious limited food budget. So I like to be spontaneously prepared!

Augustine has been skipping his daily nap most days and so that means he is consuming a LARGE mid-afternoon snack. He is SUCH a skinny boy and SUCH a big eater! He ate 3 bowls of buttered bone broth brown rice AND 2 slices of %100 whole wheat bread with butter. (He eats a lot of raw fruits and veggies so I let him eat reasonable snack requests of carbs and protein.) Gianna on the other hand eats like a little bird. She eats about 1/4 of whatever I give Augustine. So if he eats 2 PBJs, an apple and 4 carrot spears for lunch she eats 1/2 PBJ, a 1/2 apple and 2 carrot spears. And that is me MAKING her finish her food. It's quite a difference!

Becket is extremely allergic to eggs we recently found out. It was all pretty scary! But he is eating bone broth brown rice, ground turkey, beans, green beans, and even cheerios. He is the most peacful in his highchair surrounded by finger foods and he picks them up perfectly in his pincher grab. It is just darling. He is so quiet there I almost forget about him! What a darling!

Survival Mode - Food for now.

Ok, so... Its one of those weeks where I want to throw in a frozen pizza for every meal. My dear husband is completing the writing of our Theater's Christmas show and is basically "out of town" in so many words. The show is going to be AWESOME but it requires some sacrifices on our end. Don't all good things? Not seeing much of Daddy in the house is purely exhausting.

Even though he is gone... I am resisting the temptation to eh hem ... eat garbage for a week.

In fact I even threw bone broth in the crock pot tonight as I fed my kids peas, carrots, apples and PBJs. We will do better tomorrow. On a side note school went great today! I guess there is a trade off?

Here's a past peak on last weeks meals:

My experiment last week was trying Kerry Gold butter to see if that should be our next real food switch. It's made in Ireland from grass-fed cows and is supposed to be better for you. We switched from margarine (my ex-favorite) to real butter at least a year ago and I haven't looked back. Seems like a pretty straight forward real food switch. I stocked up on like 20lbs of organic butter for $1,99 per pound a while ago and I'm on my last pound. Getting close to the Holidays I'm hoping Aldi starts carrying butter closer to the $1.60 (?) I think that it was last year. Until then we will just stick with conventional butter.

This week I'm going to try to make a switch to organic eggs. It's so hard for me to pass up eggs for 0.99 a dozen but from what I've read it's probably the next most logical step. More on that....

1- Organic Spinach/Beet/Walnut Salad with homemade super healthy poppy seed dressing, Grilled Cheese, and Broccoli

2- Some kind of pasta

3- Organic Kale and Salisbury Steak with Organic Rice in bone broth

4- Grilled Tuna Sandwiches, Chips, Carrots and Apples (I didn't make this last week.)

5-Cheeseburger Soup w/Bone Broth and Buttered Toast/Crackers

6- Sausage/ Peppers/ Organic Potatoes in Crock Pot

7-  Whole Wheat Tacos with Guacamole

Shopping List this week:

I actually don't need the corn or any of the other items on my Aldi list just thought I should stock up on sale items. I might just skip Aldi and buy booze and chocolate at TJs....I'm going to need it this week!

**I just went to Trader Joe's and the prices were slightly different than my estimate... those Org eggs - yikes - expensive! I got organic celery instead of corn and -- Beer. No, not booze, beer of the root variety. I'm having a root beer float as I type! Total was slightly over $19.**

Healthy Eating at $65.00 - Meal plan and shopping

Some people have wondered how I feed my family of five on $65... Sometimes I wonder too! We are BIG eaters in this house and did I mention we love food?

I mentioned several of my tips already but here is an example meal plan for this week.

I think one thing that stands out is only buying perishables that I can use and will not waste. If I do stock up on something and can't use it. I find a way to freeze it.

Also I do stock up on stuff when it hits rock bottom prices...

For example last week I stocked up on bell peppers (not organic) 5 for $0.99! I bought 7 bags of 5... I couldn't resist. I made a huge pot of beans and started freezing beans and chopped peppers and onions for Chili and soup. As you will see from the following menu I will be making use of those YUMMY peppers. My kids and I love bell peppers (especially the red ones!)


Menu 10/19-10/25  * I actually won't make these meals in this order, I'm to spontaneous for such things.

Sunday (today) : Baked French Toast and Chili with (greek yogurt) sour cream, cheese, and organic corn chips

Monday: Organic Potato/Zuchini Latkes w/Homemade Organic Greek Yogurt, Pork Tenderloin and Broccoli

Tuesday: Crock Pot Stuffed Bell Peppers

Wednesday: Fajitas with Whole Wheat Tortilla Shells (I got these on clearance at Target last week)

Thursday: Frozen Pizza and Spinach Salad 

Friday: Tuna Sandwiches, Chips, Carrots and Apples

Saturday: Saute Pasta 

*Desserts*: Apple Crisp and Ice Cream, OJ/Whey/Spinach Julius, Frozen Blueberries

*Breakfast*: Homemade Organic Yogurt, Cereal, Butter Toast, Eggs, PBJs and Homemade Canned Apple Sauce

*Lunches*: Leftovers, PBJs, Veggies and Fruit

*Snacks*: Carrots, Apples and Peanut Butter, Frozen Peas, Cereal, Butter Toast, Peppers and Bananas

I actually made the most of the amazing gorgeous fall day and walked a mile to our local Trader Joes. I love that store! People are SO friendly and happy there. I got so many smiles from people ooing over Becket. He happily smiled back. Maybe people are so happy because they were sampling pumpkin cheesecake and spiced cider... oh, wow, YUMM! Did I mention that I love that store and that organic avacados were only $0,99? Booya!  (As a side note, I normally buy their organic chicken but the breast is SO expensive and I thought I'd try the antibiotic free stuff. I normally don't buy the breast but I've been craving that fried white meat and its been almost three months so that was my splurge this week. It still was pretty pricey.)

Last Week I was in WI with my family and got loads of free apples, bread, eggs, cereal, peanut butter and milk. I also bought Broccoli on sale for 69cents a bag at the local grocery store and local raw honey for super cheap from my parents neighbor. I also stocked up 2 weeks ago with buy one get one free (aprox $0.65 each) 100% whole wheat bread from Aldi  as well as frozen peas (it's all happy in my freezer). I'm also stocked from a recent trip to Costco (3 or so weeks ago) on Organic Brown Rice, Organic Quinoa, Real Maple Syrup and Organic Strawberry Jelly.

Wednesday I will make my Aldi trip. I have a shopping list but I will probably add more items to stock up on stuff.

This is my temporary list: $17

Frozen Pizza x2 (I take the pepperoni off of it and dice it up in my saute pasta later in the week) $4
Frozen OJ $1.50
Bananas $2
Tuna $2.50
Saltines x3 $3.00 (I buy these for my husband who really needs them for soup, while I think they are yummy... they have practically no nutritional value. Oh well.)
Marinated Pork Tenderloin (It looks to be on sale and will be a fun meat treat!) $4

Trader Joes:$21
Aldi:            $17 (aprox)
Total:           $38.00

...Some weeks I spend a little more and some less but I budget by the month so it all evens out each month. However, I'm now regretting my total self control in Trader Joes. Perhaps I'll have to go back. ;-)

I will update my Aldi list when I go Wednesday I always find something extra I need (or want).

Until then happy savings!

Hangin' and Eatin'

What day is it??

--FRIDAY??? Oh, yeah...

Since Jeremy and I have to work weekends often because of the Theatre biz we on rare occasions try to take it easy during the week instead to make up for much needed lost family time. This week was one of those weeks and it has been WONDERFUL!!

Augustine loves his Daddy and I love having family time. The more we don't have family time the more I treasure the time we do get together. The last couple days we've taken family walks to the post office (yes, Augustine walks instead of sits in the stroller) and the weather has been lovely. It has really been a great week. So that is why my days are all confused!

I keep my meal plans on the fridge but I enjoy organizing them on this blog too... it helps me think things through...

So here goes:

Thursday: Ham, Green Beans and Jeremy's AMAZING secret recipe Mashed Potatoes
Friday/Saturday: Sausage and Peppers Pasta Dish
Sunday: Cowboy Stew

Next week:

Monday: Mock Chow Mein
Tuesday: Taco Salad
Wednesday (Ash Wed.): Fish Sticks and Tator Tots

Then Augustine and I are heading to Wisconsin Land to spend some time with my family and see my new nephew, Adam Michael! Hurray! Augustine can't stop talking about the "chickies" and "Grandpa" he is going to see. Jeremy, is on his own with food... Hmmm... I suppose I should stock up on his staples. Rice packets and tator tots!

My experiment with spending no grocery money for a week went great and I hope to do it again! FYI- -For all those penny pinchers out there-- Rainbow Foods has ground turkey on sale for $1 per pound and its STOCK UP TIME for me! :-)

Menu w/o Money

Ok, so whenever we are about to open a show money gets really tight. Tis the eb and flow of production expenses prior to ticket sales. Anyway, so I have a challenge for myself. Money spending freeze means eating out of the freezer and pantry this week. Since I haven't gone shopping for pretty much a week already it might be a challenge, no it will be. I will get milk and eggs and basics...but I'm going to try and not buy anything else and use up things in the freezer and pantry. I already pulled out some pears I froze this summer and added Tastefully Simple's Mulling Spice and it is, oh so YUMMY!

I read this blog where this girl and her "guy" (in NY City no less) spends only $30 per week on groceries. They eat REALLY healthy and, to be honest, kind of in small amounts, but very gourmet and its kind of intriguing. This girl actually spends precious little groceries money on fresh limes and herbs. That would not feed my family - no way - but its fun to read and very frugal and not wasteful! Anyway...

I went through the pantry and freezer (notice I did not say fridge as there is not much to find there) to take a full account of what I can scrounge up and here is the menu for the week:

Monday: Pea Soup and Grilled Cheese/Meat Sandwiches
Tuesday: Egg, Rice, and Broccoli Ham Bake
Wednesday: Mock Chow Mien
Thursday: Chicken Fried Rice with Edammame
Friday: Out
Saturday: French Meat Pie
Sunday: Pancakes w/Homemade Rhubarb Sauce and Whipped Cream

I will probably not stick to certain meals on certain days as I flow with the whims of my cooking desires and appetite but here goes nothing to no shopping! Its actually a pretty decent and different menu considering... I have to thank Our Lady of Lourdes for the frozen French meat pie and my mom for the Pea Soup (although I rather dislike Pea Soup Jeremy says he likes it.)

Happy eating!

Christmas Week Meal Plan!

I was up from 2am-4:30am and could not sleep for a variety of reasons. Since I could not fall asleep I decided to organize my Christmas shopping and meal plan for the week among other things. So I guess it was time well spent.

This is the first time in a looooong time (or ever?) that I have not spent the week before Christmas with my family in Wisconsin. I'm pretty bummed since the week will be all work here in MN. What's new? - despite my attempts to liven things up around here. Oh, well.

I'm not giving up yet on making this week special so maybe I'll post latter on what I will do each day this week to make it special and Christmas focused. One daily mass and adoration time are on the agenda!

So for the menu plan...

Monday: Cowboy Stew/Soup (Christmas Shopping and Oil Change in the evening... maybe I'll even go look at lights   by myself!)

Tuesday: Broccoli Quiche with Brown Rice Crust (I love this recipe and have made it 2 times in 2 weeks! It's easy and I have drama class that night so it will be quick to heat up and go!)

Wednesday: Meatloaf, Potatoes, and Green Beans (Adoration maybe?)

Thursday: Chicken something

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: OUT TO EAT!

Sunday: Cheesy Potatoes and Ham (In crock pot overnight so we have a yummy breakfast waiting for Jesus' Birthday!)

I pray you all can make this week special and that we all can truly remember what is important about Christmas. JESUS!

Meals...

Ok, so it's not Monday but I'm having some sort of food craving and I found this new blog that I LOVE! Its A Year of Slow Cooking and its given me some yummy new ideas for foods. I'm past my healthy food only cravings and have been diving into my Monday meal of Chili loaded with cheese and sour cream! (It's so loaded with cheeses that it shouldn't even be called chili but... oh, well!)

Here is the weeks plan:

Monday: Chili
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Cream Cheese Crock Pot Chicken over Whole Wheat Pasta
Thursday: Chicken Pepperoni Bread Wrap
Friday: Tuna Melts
Saturday/Sunday: Sarah's Tortellini Tomato Creation... maybe I'll post the recipe

Now I'm going to stop writing and eat some Chef Boyardee it will go with my previous courses of a whole red pepper (yeah still love my veggies!) and a pomegranate (which Augustine tried for the first time and LOVED!)

Bon Appetite!

Meal Plan and Hummus Platter!

It's Monday and I'm on the ball! For a few seconds anyway...

Jeremy and I are leaving for a work trip this weekend but I'm still making the meal plans for a few of the days anyway. As it turns out a lot of times I make a big batch of the meal and it lasts mostly two days with a little bit of scrounging for food towards the end of the second day. I think it works best for me to just be realistic and give my meal options for the week and try to decide each morning what I will make for dinner so meat can thaw  etc... For a cleaner image I will still list days but I reserve the right to switch them up per the Chef's prerogative.

So here is this weeks plan:

Monday: Cream Cheese/Ham/Potato Crock Pot Soup
Tuesday: Lasagna (yes I STILL have not made my Lasagna!)
Wednesday: Hummus Platter

Weekend: I think I will try to get something in the freezer for when we get home... I've been dreaming of Pastys (spelling?) latley so maybe I will give them a go! :-)


When we were in California last month we went out to eat and I ordered the hummus platter for Augustine. I think I enjoyed it even more than he did! It was a fantastic combo. Since I can still get the ingredients on sale, I thought it would be my last hurrah of summer. The platter had sliced cucumbers and tomatoes as well as Greek olives and toasted pita triangles surrounding a dish of Hummus. I've been dreaming about it ever since I had it. I know it won't exactly be Jeremy's meal that night but that's why I will make Lasagna the night before. Everyone is happy!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Autumn Meal Planning!

I know I've missed a week... or two weeks and heck it isn't even Monday, but I'm writing down my meal plan for the week. It's Fall and I have a renewed joy for cooking it's tantalizing seasonal fare. Also, since I got home Monday morning I want to make a fun week of foods since by the looks of the fast food and concession treats trashed on the floor of the car, I am guessing Jeremy did not eat much in the way of "Home Cooked" food or some would even say he didn't eat much in the way of "Food." He is a great cook and cooked our entire dating and engagement - I loved it! Once he found out that I could cook and what I cooked. I quickly took over cooking. However, I still enjoy his culinary staples of tator tots, rice packets, and mac n cheese.

Here's the week plan:

Monday: Chicken/Three Cheese Bean Enchiladas
Tuesday: Broccoli Cheese Soup and Fresh Baked Bread
Wednesday: Leftovers and Risa's Italian Pasta Dish
Thursday: Lasagna and Hot dog Bun Garlic Bread
Friday: Chili (To last us through most of the weekend.)

Now if this meal plan doesn't scream Fall, warm ovens, comfort food, and full bellies I don't know what would!

MmmmmmMmmmm!

Meal Plans

Here is a link to my friend's blog.  I do love sharing and reading other's blogs and one of my favorite weekly posts of hers is "Maniac Mondays" she lists her meal plan for the week and I either salivate on it or try adding it to my own meal plan for the week.

I already do a meal plan each week and I do it based on what food I have available and what's on sale this week. The problem with my meal plans is that I am very very spontaneous (which is a good thing usually). I often begin cooking for one meal and halfway through change the recipe to something totally different that happens to use the same ingredients. I just love options. I love being last minute. I also love to plan. So I'm trying to tame my spontaneity on cooking and see if it adds a bit more calm to my life or if I'm even able to stick to my meal plans. I also want to see if I lock in meals for certain days if I am more prepared with ingredients and etc... So, I will try to post my meal plans and budget (if it works) each Monday for one month.

*Featured Meal this week, Bacon/Tomato/Basil/Angel Hair Pasta it is sooo yummy!

And (drum roll please...) this weeks menu is:

Monday: Meat Sauce and Noodles.......................$3.00 ($1 jar Regu + $1 box noodles + $1 Ground Turkey)
Tuesday: Sloppy Joes............................................$3.50 ($2 Grnd Turkey + $1 can Manwich + $0.50 Buns)
Wednesday: Mock Chow Mien.............................$7.00 (per double batch)
Thursday: Bacon Tomato Basil Angel Hair Pasta.$5.00
Friday: Ham, Au gratin Potatoes, and Green Beans/Zucchini...$6.00

Total Cost: $24.50

Happy Cooking!