Wow, week two is finished already! I have to admit, I’m really enjoying the challenge this year. Because the rules for my September Challenge are a little more lax than the SNAP challenge, I’m really having fun with it. Instead of pretending I’m in someone else’s shoes, I’m simply trying to live my life with a smaller grocery budget, and it feels like a game. A game that requires a lot of creativity and problem solving—two things that I LOVE.
Week two started off great. My fridge was full and I had so many options that I really felt rich (I almost took a photo of my fridge because it was so full of delicious things). It was exciting. My food was satisfying and really filled me up. Life was great. I thought I had done a superb job planning my menu for week two. Until…
Something in my menu started causing me extreme stomach pain, like to the point that I wanted to curl up in a ball on my couch and not move. It took until Saturday for me to pinpoint the source of the pain, which ended up being a cucumber (there was a Salmonella outbreak linked to cucumbers last week, although I don’t think that’s what I was experiencing because the symptoms and timing of the pain were different). Anyway, that extreme pain kinda put a huge kink in my menu/eating habits for the week. I also had a house guest, which drastically changed my daily routine, including my eating and exercising habits. But that’s life. You gotta roll with the punches!
Groceries
So what did I buy? Not a whole lot! I didn’t need a lot for the recipes that I chose last week, so I had a little extra wiggle room in my weekly grocery budget.
Romaine lettuce was on sale this week, so I decided to make a simple salad (romaine and cucumber) for my “vegetables”. Other vegetables last week included tomatoes in the marinara and salsa in the burrito bowls. There weren’t really any good deals on fruit this week, so I snagged these oranges for $1.49/lb. Not the best deal, but I didn’t want more bananas. Towards the end of the week I definitely felt like my fruit and vegetable intake was lacking. I don’t think this was really due to budget restrictions, but rather poor planning. Just with any diet, it’s hard to work those fresh items into your plan and get the recommended amount.
(Oops, forgot to put the garlic in the first photo.) I picked up some fresh Italian sausage for one of my recipes and a big pork roast as a “bonus” with my extra wiggle room cash. That’s way more meat than I could eat in a week, so about half of it was saved in the freezer for future weeks.
Also purchased, but not pictured: a jar of salsa. Despite having a grocery list (below), I forgot to grab it, so I picked up a jar a couple days later when I was at Target, for $2.27 (after tax).
And here’s a little peek at what my grocery list and receipt looked like. Such a short grocery list and I STILL forgot the salsa. Ha! #brainfart
I had to stock up on a few staples last week, like tortillas (I ALWAYS have tortillas in my fridge), eggs, garlic, and milk. The price of eggs shot up since the last time I purchased them, but since I had so much meat in my menu this week, I barely ate any.
What I Made
So what did I make with those groceries? Lots of yummy stuff!
Skillet Meatballs and Marinara was my “anchor” meal, if you will. I ate all six servings of this and NEVER got tired of it. Looked forward to it each and every day! (I have a lot of random leftover pasta in my pantry, so I didn’t need to buy any for this recipe.)
Poor Man’s Burrito Bowls were my second meal option for the week. I actually ended up eating this for breakfast a couple of times.These bowls were huge and extremely filling, but you can top them with an egg for more protein, or add a little of this…
Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork is what I made out of that “bonus” pork roast. I ate two half cup servings last week and saved the rest in the freezer for the future. OMG I love this stuff so much. I could have eaten the entire thing.
I also made a VERY simple salad with just romaine lettuce and sliced cucumbers (until I realized that the cucumbers were waging war on my stomach). The lettuce was $1.50 and the cucumber was $0.89, so together, estimating about five salads, the salads were $0.49 a piece. Why five salads? Because I figured I could only keep the lettuce good for about five days. How did I keep it good that long?
After chopping, washing, and draining the lettuce, I popped it into a zip top bag with a layer of paper towels on the bottom. It worked pretty good. I prepared this lettuce on Tuesday, and on Saturday it looked like this:
It’s hard to see in this iPhone photo, but there was a little bit of browning on the edges. I ate one more salad on Sunday, and there was quite a bit more brown that day, so I tossed the rest.
What did I top my salad with? I made a very simple red wine vinaigrette…
To a small blender I added: 1/4 cup canola oil, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1 clove of garlic (crushed), 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, and some freshly cracked pepper. After blending for a couple seconds I had a delicious homemade salad dressing. The whole batch was about 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp) and about $1.28. So, each 2 Tbsp serving was about $0.22. That’s probably more expensive than a store bought jar of dressing, but I already had everything on hand, so why not use what I have instead of buying something new?
After it’s blended the oil emulsifies and it looks like this. SO delish. If vinegar is a bit harsh for you, a pinch of sugar helps mellow the dressing out a bit.
Oh! I also made some Focaccia Rolls… which are totally addictive. I ate too many, probably.
After these were baked and cooled, I put them in a freezer bag and kept them in the freezer. Then I just took one out at a time and microwaved for 20-30 seconds to warm. That way I don’t have to worry about the whole batch going stale before I can eat them. I’ll be eating the leftovers over the next couple of weeks.
What I Ate
Okay, ready? Here’s the day by day breakdown.
9-8 Total $3.73
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/2 cup milk $0.16
- 1/2 cup oats $0.13
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter $0.22
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar $0.04
- 1 serving Skillet Meatballs & Marinara $1.33
- 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan $0.10
- 1 orange $0.88
- 1 salad (romaine + cucumber) $0.49
- 2 Tbsp homemade red wine vinaigrette $0.22
(Nothing was eaten after that salad because OUCH, stomach pain.)
9-9 Total $2.94
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/2 cup milk $0.16
- 1/2 cup oats $0.13
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter $0.22
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar $0.04
- 1 salad (romaine + cucumber) $0.49
- 1 Tbsp homemade red wine vinaigrette $0.11
- 1 serving Skillet Meatballs & Marinara $1.33
- 2 Focaccia Rolls $0.20
- 1 Tbsp butter $0.10
(This was the second day of stomach ache and therefore I didn’t eat much after lunch when the pain kicked in.)
9-10 Total $2.92
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/2 cup milk $0.16
- 1/2 cup oats $0.13
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter $0.22
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar $0.04
- 1 Poor Man’s Burrito Bowl $0.99
- 1 salad (romaine + cucumber) $0.49
- 2 Tbsp homemade red wine vinaigrette $0.22
- 2 small tortillas $0.20
- 1 oz. cheddar cheese $0.31
- 1 ginger ale (left in my fridge by a friend over the weekend) $0.00
(Thank goodness that ginger ale was in my fridge because I was in PAIN and desperate. The only thing I could stomach was a couple tortillas and a little melted cheese.)
9-11 Total $4.34
- 1 Poor Man’s Burrito Bowl $0.99
- 1/2 cup Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork $0.75
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/4 cup milk $0.08
- 1 serving Skillet Meatballs & Marinara $1.33
- 1 Focaccia Roll $0.10
- 1/2 Tbsp butter $0.05
- 1 orange $0.88
(I was super hungry in the morning because I hadn’t eaten much the night before, so I had a huge burrito bowl with pulled pork for breakfast – late breakfast. Between that and the meatballs for dinner, I was full for the day!)
9-12 Total $3.99
- 2 eggs $0.64
- salt and pepper $0.05
- 2 Focaccia Rolls $0.20
- 1 Tbsp butter $0.10
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/4 cup milk $0.08
- 1 salad (romaine, NO cucumber) $0.25
- 2 Tbsp homemade red wine vinaigrette $0.22
- 1 serving Skillet Meatballs & Marinara $1.33
- 1 orange $0.88
(YAY! No pain! Later in the day I was kidnapped, taken on a date, and fed tapas. Challenge or no challenge, when a man buys you tapas, you EAT TAPAS. Lots of tapas.)
9-13 Total $3.91
- 1 Poor Man’s Burrito Bowl $0.99
- 1/2 cup Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork $0.75
- 1 salad (romaine, NO cucumber) $0.25
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/4 cup milk $0.08
- 2 Tbsp homemade red wine vinaigrette $0.22
- 1 Focaccia Roll $0.10
- 1/2 Tbsp butter $0.05
- 1 serving Skillet Meatballs & Marinara $1.33
(Again, the combo of the large burrito bowl + pork, then the meatball pasta was extremely filling and pretty much did me in for the day. I may have had leftover fullness from the tapas the night before, too.)
9-14 Total $3.44
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/2 cup milk $0.16
- 1/2 cup oats $0.13
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter $0.22
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar $0.04
- 1 Poor Man’s Burrito Bowl $0.99
- 1 serving Skillet Meatballs & Marinara $1.33
- 1 small tortilla $0.10
- 1 oz. cheddar cheese $0.31
Weekly Intake Total: $25.27
Weekly Receipt Total: $31.31 (Wow! A hair below the $31.50 goal!)
Leftovers
I ate pretty much everything I made this week, except one burrito bowl, which I froze for later consumption. I have a little salad dressing leftover and I might drizzle that over some pasta at some point. I only ate three of the four oranges (boo on me!), so that will carry over to next week. There are a few rolls left in my freezer, so I can use those as future snacks. I also have a couple leftover servings of both the Mexican Lentil Stew and Bowties and Broccoli from week one. The more leftovers I have in my freezer, the more my future menus will have variation! :D
Reflection
While I was very full and happy this week, I definitely didn’t get enough fruits or vegetables. I started to feel a bit weighed down by the end of the week after all those meatballs and pasta. I’ll definitely reconsider my fruit options next week, as well. While the price per pound was on the low side for the oranges (compared to the other fruit that week), each orange weighed a lot, so the money didn’t go far. Better planning ahead! Always learn from your errors. :)
I enjoyed a couple more “freebies” this week, just like last week, and it’s amazing how one free meal or one free ginger ale can change how you feel for a whole day or even a couple days after! That one ginger ale was 190 calories, which truly can be the difference between hungry and not hungry. That one free meal I had on Saturday night gave me enough variety and extra calories to keep me from feeling like I was “wanting” for the rest of the week. So, if you’re just taking the first steps towards refining your grocery budget, cutting back to one meal out per week can still go a long way to keeping yourself satisfied mentally and physically. OR, if you want to do something nice for someone, treating them to lunch or dinner can sometimes do much more than you realize. :)
Beth, thank you so much for the salad dressing recipe. My kid is eating spinach salad and every kind of fancy lettuce you can throw at her, thanks to your recipe. I threw it in a sticky note on my phone, but could you, would you please please please make a post for it? It’s the most amazing dressing!!! <3
I suppose I should! :)
Thank you for the lettuce tip! I have trouble getting my lettuce to last the week (and slimy lettuce is soooo gross), and I also slack off on making salads because sometimes washing, drying, and chopping the lettuce is just too much work. I really look forward to trying this & hopefully getting a daily salad in.
I wish you had taken a picture of your fridge; I would have loved to see it :) Or of your freezer! Would you ever do a freezer post? Like about what you have in your freezer, what and how you freeze ingredients or portions, etc?
I occasionally do posts about how to freeze individual ingredients (like tomato paste and cooked rice) and you can find those in the How To category on my page. :)
Beth, it could have been the rice from the burrito bowls. Rice older than a day, even if stored properly, often gives me “food poisoning.” There’s a bacteria very commonly found in rice that is not killed by cooking and it can rapidly multiply once the rice has been in contact w/ water (after cooking). I noticed the pattern w/ me and rice and did some internet research. There’s lots of web pages/sites that explain it. Here’s one:
http://www.abc.net.au/health/talkinghealth/factbuster/stories/2009/01/27/2475255.htm
Worth looking into anyway.
Nope, it was definitely the cucumbers. I isolated the problem by testing each day without one ingredient. :)
I recently discovered your site, and I love it. I live in downtown Chicago where grocery prices can be pretty insane, plus I’m carless, so going beyond my neighborhood just to find cheaper groceries is challenging and not very efficient. Every little bit I can do to save money helps, and your recipes help a lot. Thank you so much for sharing your creativity!
That said, here’s a question. The cornerstone of inexpensive cooking at home is the ability to make large batches and freeze servings for later. I cannot do this because both my fridge and freezer are tiny (and most of my freezer is taken up with cat food and the meats I buy on sale and store until I need them). Are there any tips for getting the most out of your budget when you can’t depend on freezing or leftovers?
That IS a very tough situation. Freezing leftovers is definitely a large part of my strategy. I think if I didn’t have room to freeze or hold much in my freezer, I’d gravitate towards using dry goods a lot (dry pasta, rice, other dried grains, and probably canned beans instead of dry since it’s hard to make small batches of beans). I’d cook smaller batches of these dried goods (enough to keep a for a week in the fridge) and supplement them with small amounts of fresh items (like cilantro, parsley, fresh vegetables) to make a variety of meals. It would definitely take practice to get it down, but I think it could work!
Another thought and something that has worked for me. I have a side-by-side frig/freezer and I live rurally (45 mile round trip to grocery) so I like to keep the freezer full.
This past July, Turkey was on sale and I WANTED Turkey but my freezer was full. So… I do have a fairly large “cooler”. I moved some of my freezer “meal” packets to the cooler so that I had room for a turkey in my freezer …. cooked 1 turkey, but wanted to have a 2nd in the freezer.
I used the cooler to rotate things from the freezer.
Now – my freezer has an icemaker so I was able to keep the cooler with ice, i.e. this idea is somewhat dependent on your having a cooler or being willing to obtain one and also on your having a supply of ice at a reasonable cost (time/$$).
Bottom line, there are potential options depending on your budget, location, etc.
Love seeing what you come up with! Great ideas and you are doing awesome.
I tend to add some extra veggies to my meals, especially if my husband cooks. Things like frozen chopped spinach, frozen peppers or peas go well with a lot of different things. I really like the frozen greens or peppers in my pasta dishes. They’d add in well to your cheese tortillas or eggs as well.
Maybe after your current challenge is over (and you’ve had time to buy and eat with fewer restrictions!) you should challenge yourself to eating a vegetarian diet for a little while (like two weeks?) just to help you come up with fruit and veggie consumption strategies. And I only say this because of your comments, not for any other reason! I think you probably do a lot better than most people at getting them in.
I would love to see this, Beth. Your vegetarian recipes are great and I’d be happy to see more.
I agree with the previous posts. I am a fan of every single one of your vegetarian recipes – we especially like your Dragon Noodles, Cashew Rice Pilaf, and Baked Ziti. I would love to see a vegetarian challenge.
Sorry to hear about you bad cucumber!
When I was cooking for one, I found canned veggies (in addition to the frozen veggies) to be helpful in adding in extra veg without wast. Some canned taste awful (I’m looking at you asparagus), but canned pumpkin, green beans, okra, etc. worked for me and you can finish them in two or three servings.
Canned fruit in juice can be pretty decent too. Don’t forget dried fruit too!
Hi Beth! I have only recently (like, within the past year) been coming around to enjoying fruit. Part of it was that it is just so darn expensive for the tasty berries I actually like, and while bananas are cheap and portable (two must-haves for me) I don’t like how sugary/carby they are and limit myself. Enter: apples. I’m up in DC so Fall is starting to hit here (it will probably be a little bit for NOLA) BUT now that it’s apple season I find the big bags of apples (the good, crisp Paula or Jazz apples, yum!) for less than $4 a bag. Each bag has at least 10 apples in it, so I’m set for snacks for nearly two weeks! You’ve been at the budget shopping game for a while (I’m a long-time reader) so you may already know what a steal apples can be but thought I’d suggest it in case you hadn’t thought of it this September!
Oh man, I’ve been craving apples like MAD, but for some reason they’re insanely expensive here. The cheapest apples are almost $3 per pound and I almost fainted this week when I saw some that were over $5/lb.! How crazy is that??
Wow! I got a bushel for $14,in Michigan last week
Not sure where you live, but going apple picking at an orchard can be affordable. I just got several different varieties of local organic apples for $1.30/lb, which is unheard of for most any kind of fruit in my stores around here, especially organic.
I’m so jealous. :( I grew up in Michigan where there were plenty of apple orchards, but now I’m in New Orleans and there aren’t any around (probably one of the reasons they’re so expensive in the stores, too). BUT I guess I can’t complain too much because citrus is super inexpensive here and all winter long people have so many satsumas growing in their yards that they give them away by the bag full. :D The grass is always greener, huh?
Interesting it’s citrus fruit there and in Ohio too it’s apples. We don’t have much except crab apples growing here but I’ve been picking them anyway to use in apple recipes. They’re edible, despite as a child I was told they were poisonous.
This is great reading, Beth! I just want to chime in with my two cents about fruit. I know you are up on the frozen veggie game, but don’t forget about canned fruit. On the payday shopping trip, I always buy a few 20 oz cans of pineapple canned in 100% juice for 99 cents each. My 3rd grader loves it as a snack, with lunch or with oatmeal. In theory it is good with pork as well. Enjoy your creativity challenge!
I agree with Kathy. I buy a can of peaches in 100% juice every week to eat with greek yogurt and muesli as a really filling snack. Dole makes a version in a plastic jar that doesn’t have that metallic taste that some canned fruits have. One of those jars lasts me 3-4 servings of yogurt. You can add the juice to the yogurt to sweeten it up!
Also, don’t forget about frozen fruit! If you check prices, sometimes the frozen berries are cheaper than fresh. Those are also great to add to yogurt. I buy the big tub of greek yogurt and separate it into small tupperware as I need it. If you put frozen berries in the tupperware with the yogurt the night before, they will thaw overnight and add some extra sweetness to the yogurt.
I love how personable this is! I’m making a food and drink blog with my group for a Public Relations class. great ideas! check us out (:
You can make soup with surplus lettuce. Fry for a few minutes in a bit of olive oil with a some chopped onion, potato & carrot. Add some stock (veggie/chicken) and cook for about 30 min. Blend with stick or in liquidizer. Add salt & pepper to taste. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan / grated Cheddar or some croutons made with stale leftover bread (while the broth is cooking), or even a drizzle of sour cream with some chopped chives.
Yum!
I’m SO sorry you were sick! With a houseguest and a challenge to boot!!!!
You did beautifully and inspired e to buy a pork shoulder to pull for a dinner and many more in the freezer :) So thrifty indeed
I wash my romaine leaves, then semi-dry and wrap in paper towels, then slip in a plastic bag. Left whole they last longer and not too much trouble to chop for a salad since they’re ready to go.
Your meals look delish but your serving sizes, although appropriate, may be too small for me. I guess I’d be losing weight whether I wanted to or not LOL.
THANK YOU for your commitment to this challenge! It is so inspiring.
I am really thankful that you do stuff like this. My small family of 3 makes “enough” money, but we’re trying to save for a house right now (and just budget for things like upcoming Christmas gifts and things like that).. so I really do appreciate your doing these challenges and giving me better ideas/recipes/ways to save without eating badly. We don’t exactly have to just eat burrito bowls 5 nights a week, and we can sub in the cilantro lime rice for plain white, but it’s still a budget meal and still helps us out a lot.
Thanks again!
Long time lurker, first time commenter. I share this series with so many people because it is as fascinating as it is inspiring. You really do inspire me to take a look at my budget and see how I can be less wasteful and save money. Great work on these series’.
To help your veggies stay fresh, store them in glass mason jars. I’ve found it works better than the paper towel trick.
I totally understand how hard it is to get enough vegetables-since they go bad faster, it can be harder to plan them in. I try to keep a bag of two of frozen vegetables in the freezer-at my store they are only $1.19 each, so it’s not too expensive-depending on the type of vegetable I can get around 4-6 side size servings in each one. I pack up my leftovers in containers with two sections-put the main dish (pasta with meatballs) in one, and a serving of vegetables in the other so that when I pull it out I don’t even have to think about adding in veggies!
Our grocery store sells organic kale for $0.99/bunch. I often add 2 steamed chopped leaved to my scrambled eggs. Boosts the fiber and vitamins for super cheap
For a super filling budget meal, polenta lasagne can’t be beat. I also enjoy fried rice with cabbage, onions, and an egg. I like to braise the other half cabbage with apples and onions for the sweeter side of cabbage.
When I was using food stamps and cooking for myself and two children I found that frozen vegetables were essential. I could pop them into dal, for instance, and there was no waste unlike fresh produce going bad. I bought fresh also but the frozen sustained us when money was tight later in the month. You can also pop frozen fruit into smoothies and sometimes there are good sales. I saw no difference in store brands which were very affordable, and name brands.
I like that you are including a section on leftovers this year. For a person that’s trying to cut way back on his grocery budget, this challenge is a great way to see how to make more than just a cheap meal. Being able to see how you make things stretch without eating the same things five days in a row is going to be inspiring. Thank you, Beth.
I dont know if u have a dollar tree store near you, but the ones with a refrigerated sections have frozen blueberries, strawberries and mixed berries for a dollar a bag. They make great smoothies with just ice and you get your fruit intake.
Wow, that’s an amazing resource! I don’t think I’ve seen one with a refrigerated section (although I haven’t really looked), but it’s awesome to know that they exist. People need resources like that!
Apples will be in season soon and they stay fresh longer than other fruit.
I’m patiently waiting for the day that they start flooding the stores! :) I was in complete shock this week when I was shopping and saw some apples for OVER $5/lb.! That’s insane. :(
Apples are 1.49 a pound here now. (We have 3 apple trees so I don’t buy many but I was just reading the sale flyer. Grapes are 1.29. Lowest price so far. For us, I would have cut way back on the meat and spent it on fruits and vegetables instead. Peppers are huge and cheap now. A bunch of fresh radishes are 3 times the size of what they are off season for the same price. Cleaned and stored in a baggie the radishes keep at least two weeks and they are a nice addition to green salad or pasta salad or to add crunch to a sandwich.
I wash my romaine leaves, spin them and then lay them to dry on towels on counter. Store in Ziploc, no paper towel needed. I do not tear up until needed. The less handling the less brown.
I wonder why you would have such a bad reaction to cucumbers? Will you chance them again?
Yep, I’ll definitely take a chance on them again because I really do love them. I’m betting that it was just an “off” cucumber because it didn’t really look good quality or fresh, either. I’ve had a hard time getting good fresh cucumbers at my local store. :(
I would probably use the orange in the salad with the romaine after I figured out the cucumbers were bad. I really love them with vinaigrette. (And if you had any olives in your pantry, even better!)
Great idea!
I am always so interested to look at your receipts.
Your meat prices seem so so low, but canned goods and other staples seem high to me. $ . 95 or so is standard for a 28oz can of the tomatoes.
Crazy to see what differences geography make in the cost of groceries.
I generally eat on about $120/month, so $30 a week, for just me. I find that doing so is not much of a struggle, so I do not bother to raise the budget. I do enjoy reading about this challenge and finding new meal ideas. I often get into food ruts, but your site is a great resource to combat that.
The other factor that influenced that canned good price was the fact that they were out of the generic brand and I had to buy a name brand, but it still would have been over $0.95 for a generic 28oz. can, for sure! :) I too find the price differences from around the country (and around the world) quite fascinating.
Oh, no, I read that there is a salmonella outbreak in cucumbers! Hope your stomach bug wasn’t that serious.
Those rolls look delicious, I’ll have to give them a try.
Love reading your updates on the SEptember challenge! Your challenge, as well as the last year SNAP challenge are so inspiring!
Another inexpensive fruit option would be a jar of unsweetened applesauce. It is great on oatmeal with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Apples are coming in season, so hopefully you see good prices on good apples this week.
That thought crossed my mind yesterday, too! I’ve been craving apples, but the apples were seriously like $5/lb. this week (INSANE), so I thought about maybe getting apple sauce next week. :)
Cucumber might have been what caused you GI-distress. Some cucumbers types and how cucumbers are grown can have a large amount of cucurbitacin (basically cucumber’s version of cortisol). It can have a bitter taste. There is no way to predict this in what you buy at the store (you need to be able to grow selected varieties in certain conditions to prevent it entirely), but you can reduce future GI distress by peeling, cutting the stem end (where it was connected to the plant), and seeding your cucumbers (seeding is optional, but I find it helps). It also helps with cucumber burps! :D
Aside from your fabulous recipe, these are some of my favorite posts on your blog! Love following along as you complete the challenge…you’re giving me tons of good ideas to refine our grocery budget, too!
Hi! I’m not sure if you know this tip but I use it all the time. Saves me TONS of money. I wash, dry and chop all my veggies and store them in mason jars. Keeps fruit and veggies fresh for usually about two weeks. Works great for greens and triples the life of strawberries but don’t wash berries first wash before use. Thought I’d share.
That’s what someone else said, too (about the mason jars). I need to try that. I would also love to know the science behind why the glass works so well! It’s fascinating.
Not sure but it may also have something to do with the lids and rings used with mason jars. Maybe it keeps the air out?
I am so envious of your grocery store prices. $3.84 for that huge piece of pork? I would love to do this challenge, but on NYC prices I wouldn’t survive a day.
I’m loving following you through this challenge. You go girl! Very inspiring.
You may want to consider buying some frozen fruit to mix in with your oatmeal. The cost per pound is generally very low & you can use “lightweight” fruit like raspberries or blueberries. I’m very fortunate to have a large grocery budget, so I have plain greek yogurt and either fresh fruit (if it is on sale or fabulous) or frozen blueberries and/or raspberries (especially towards the end of the week) for breakfast each morning. Also, consider kiwis! Where I shop they are 50 cents each, so I pick out the biggest 4 or 5 they have, and that gives me a large bowl of fruit to eat with my yogurt during the week.
Hi!
Just a note to say i too get bad gut pain if i eat lettuce or too much cucumber. Ive heard, lettuce especially, is slower to digest and can cause some mild IBS. Great post though!