Thursday, March 21, 2013

I cut my grocery bill and my pounds!

found here
This year I have been more health conscious with my food. There are so many articles and stories out there filled with reports and information, about what's bad for you and what is worse. I'm not going to lie, the paranoia is sinking in that the government is set out to poison us!! Maaaaybeeee that's a little dramatic, (or is it?) but why would we knowingly allow these foods... substances to be on the market? Sounds to me like neglect and carelessness for our people, but I'm not going to go into politics today... because once I start I don't stop and it's not pretty:)

This post was actually going to be about weight loss and look where it's taken me....

Anyways.... back on topic. For the past couple weeks we have been really tight on grocery budget. Like $50 a week tight, for a family of four, with a lactose intolerance, and diapers!!! I was worried that this lack of funds would lead to buying crap foods. It was actually the opposite!!!!

Snack foods really give you a lot less for more of your money. I loaded up on bananas and tangerines instead and spent less than I would have on fruit snacks and other kid snacks! We also purchased large bags of frozen vegetables! Frozen veggies can be pretty cheap and you don't have to worry about them going bad!!!

It was hard eating PB and J's everyday for lunch and pasta for dinner but we managed to dress is up a couple nights. You can get pretty creative in desperate times!!

link
The most exciting part of all of this is when I jumped on the scale last night and realized I dropped 4 pounds!!!! Maybe we will continue to shop like this if we are saving money and losing weight! So what I really wanted to talk about was living a sustainable lifestyle but I guess I went off on bragging about weight loss and budgeting. I will have to tell you about my backyard farm dream some other time.

Here is a what our shopping list looked like.... Make sure you do an inventory of what you already have. This helps cut cost and really maximize on what you can make. Sticking to a list helps you stay on budget and I estimated ahead of time the cost.
  • Pasta, all sorts.... 3 boxes
  • Pasta sauce, 2 jars(we love Classico) Has anyone tried the new creamy spinach one? To die for!
  • Applesauce
  • 1 head of iceberg lettuce
  • 2 lbs of ground pork (sale)
  • Tortillas
  • Salsa
  • 2 loaves of bread
  • Jelly (we had peanut butter)
  • 4 pounds of Bananas
  • Bag of cuties
  • Multigrain Cheerios
  • 2 boxes of instant oatmeal
  • 2 large bags of frozen veggies (carrots and mixed veggies)
  • Juice (for the kids)
  • Silk soy milk
  • 2 dozen eggs
Things that we made
  • Tacos
  • Meatballs
  • Italian Chicken
  • lots of pasta
  • PB and J's every day
  • Oatmeal for breakfast everyday
  • Snacked on Fruit
  • omelets


2 comments:

  1. We are definitely on a tight budget too since I became a SAHM almost 4 years ago. I spend about $80 per/wk. Sometimes, it's less if there is a great sale that I can stock up on. That has really helped, plus the fact that last summer I made a garden; a big plus. Way to go on the savings and weight loss!

    Sharon
    http://makeitorfixit.com

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Sharon! I'm always trying to come up with ways to cut back and stretch a buck. When ever I see a sale on meat I stock up... that stuff is expensive!

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