Okay, this whole September Challenge is going super quickly! I can’t believe I’m in my last week already. Week three went very smoothly, and I’m even contemplating continuing the challenge indefinitely. Week three’s menu felt very balanced to me with plenty of vegetables, enough fruit to keep me happy, and I was full (but not overly so) every day. It was a good week and it gave me confidence!
I’m really loving the freedom that comes with planning a whole week at a time. I’ve always known that it helps, but you always forget how nice it is until you actually do it. I like knowing that I’m not going to be running to the store several times during the week for last minute items or refills of staples. I check everything before my weekly trip and then I’m set for the next seven days. Freedom!
Alright, so let’s get to it…
Groceries
I was feeling a little produce-deprived after week two, so I made sure to get plenty of vegetables this week (check ’em all out!). I unintentionally planned a vegetarian menu, but I didn’t miss the meat this time around and I didn’t go overboard on eggs like I did in week one. I DID splurge a little with a couple pints of cherry tomatoes and a fresh lemon that was probably a bit too expensive, but the flavor was worth it and I was willing to sacrifice a couple other items on my list to purchase them.
I also had to restock on a few staple items, like peanut butter, regular butter, and Parmesan cheese. They were out of generic butter that week, so I had to get a name brand, which was a good $0.40 more than generic. :( Ouch.
What items did I sacrifice to get those expensive tomatoes and lemon? Brown sugar, flour, and yogurt. I decided I had enough brown sugar to last another week and if I ran out I’d rely on the sweetness of the banana to make my oatmeal delicious. Not a bad sacrifice since bananas are healthier anyway. I had listed flour and yogurt on the “maybe” section of my grocery list because I figured if I had some extra cash after getting the essentials that I’d also make a batch of naan to go with my peanut stew. Then I remembered that a scoop of brown rice is excellent in the stew AND much cheaper than the flour and yogurt for the naan. So, again, I wasn’t sad to sacrifice those in the name of cherry tomatoes and a lemon.
These little compromises are decisions that have to be made quickly while your shopping and it can be difficult. Sometimes it’s even a gamble if you’re weighing options that aren’t clearly priced, like produce or bulk goods. Luckily, this week those snap decisions worked out fairly well.
I decided to try melon for my main fruit option again, hoping that this one would be a bit better than the melon in week one, which was a bit flavorless and past its prime. Luckily, this one was great! After cutting it up there was enough for me to eat a huge serving every day for SEVEN days. It was still tasty on day seven. Yay!
What I Made
Here’s what I made with this week’s groceries:
This African Peanut Stew is vegan, but still extremely filling, thanks to it’s creamy peanut butter and tomato based broth. Sounds strange, I know, but the flavor is SO GOOD. On top of that it’s full of delicious and healthy sweet potatoes and collard greens. The recipe calls for a half bunch of collard greens, but I just went ahead and tossed in the whole bunch this time. Sometimes I topped my bowl with a scoop of cooked brown rice for more texture and to help fill me up. And OMG did it ever. One bowl of this with rice mixed in filled me for half the day!
I also made this incredible Parsley Pesto Pasta with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes. Sometimes I ate it with a fried egg on top, sometimes I was too lazy to fry an egg and just reheated the pasta and tomatoes in the microwave. Either way, it was AWESOME.
One day I was craving a sweet treat, so I took one of my super ripe bananas and made a delicious Caramelized Banana and Peanut Butter Quesadilla. Super fast and sooooo good. The September Challenge is not a snack-free zone! :D
I continued to enjoy oatmeal for breakfast (with peanut butter and brown sugar mixed in, usually with a little milk on top) and a cup of coffee. I find that the peanut butter makes the oats even more filling and I kind of like its savory spin.
I also ate a meal or two left over from previous weeks, like Bowties and Broccoli, a Burrito Bowl, Focaccia Rolls, and Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork. I love having these left over options that I can interject into my weekly menu for variety.
What I Ate
Alright, here it is… The day by day breakdown!
9-15 Total $3.04
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/2 cup milk $0.16
- 1/2 cup oats $0.13
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter $0.24
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar $0.04
- 1 Focaccia Roll $0.10
- 1/2 Tbsp butter $0.07
- 1 bowl African Peanut Stew $1.06
- 1/2 cup brown rice $0.07
- 1 serving cantaloupe $0.43
- 1 serving Bowties & Broccoli $0.58
9-16 Total $5.06
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/4 cup milk $0.08
- 1/2 cup oats $0.13
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter $0.24
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar $0.04
- 1 banana $0.22
- 1 serving cantaloupe $0.43
- 1 serving Parsley Pesto Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes (with egg) $2.04
- 1 serving Parsley Pesto Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes (without egg) $1.72
(So, I couldn’t help myself while I was making the Parsley Pesto Pasta, and I pretty much ate a whole serving of the pasta and the blistered tomatoes while I was photographing the process, then ate the finished bowl with the egg after I photographed it. Oops. I was full for the rest of the day after that binge. #foodbloggerproblems)
9-17 Total $2.47
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/4 cup milk $0.08
- 1 serving cantaloupe $0.43
- 1 small tortilla $0.10
- 1 large egg $0.32
- Dash of sriracha $0.02
- 1 banana $0.22
- 1 bowl African Peanut Stew $1.06
- 1/2 cup brown rice $0.07
- Oyster Bisque & French Bread (FREE – see note)
(A friend of mine is hosting a weekly “Soup and Scary Movie” event every week until Halloween, so I got free soup for dinner!)
9-18 Total $4.50
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/4 cup milk $0.08
- 1 serving cantaloupe $0.43
- 1 serving Parsley Pesto Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes (with egg) $2.04
- 1 Caramelized Banana and Peanut Butter Quesadilla $0.49
- 1 bowl African Peanut Stew $1.06
- 1/2 cup brown rice $0.07
- 1 Focaccia Roll $0.10
- 1/2 Tbsp butter $0.07
(Yep, Parsley Pesto Pasta for breakfast! I couldn’t get enough of it.)
9-19 Total $3.22
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/2 cup milk $0.16
- 1/2 cup oats $0.13
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter $0.24
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar $0.04
- 1 banana $0.22
- 1 serving Parsley Pesto Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes (without egg) $1.72
- 1 serving cantaloupe $0.43
- 1 Tbsp peanut butter $0.12
(I woke up really late on Saturday, so my breakfast was kinda my lunch… you know how it goes.)
9-20 Total $3.94
- 1 cup coffee $0.16
- 1/2 cup milk $0.16
- 1/2 cup oats $0.13
- 2 Tbsp peanut butter $0.24
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar $0.04
- 1 serving Parsley Pesto Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes (without egg) $1.72
- 1 serving cantaloupe $0.43
- 1 bowl African Peanut Stew $1.06
9-21 Total $3.46
- 1 serving cantaloupe $0.43
- 1 small tortilla $0.10
- 1 egg $0.32
- Dash sriracha $0.02
- 1 Poor Man’s Burrito Bowl $0.99
- 1 serving Bowties & Broccoli $0.58
- 1 Focaccia Roll $0.10
- 1/2 Tbsp butter $0.07
- 1 small tortilla $0.10
- 1 serving Chili Rubbed Pulled Pork $0.75
Weekly Intake Total: $25.69
Weekly Grocery Total: $28.13
Leftovers
I saved three servings of the African Peanut Stew in the freezer (it was just so filling that some days I chose other things) and, hilariously, I bought cilantro to go on the stew but completely forgot about it. The cilantro is still good as of today, so I’ll be using that in my week four menu. I purchased a bag of carrots at the beginning of the week, thinking that I needed more vegetables in the menu. I planned on seasoning and roasting them, but never got around to it. Luckily carrots stay fresh in the fridge for quite a while, so I’m also going to use them in week four. Other than that, I ate up just about everything that I bought this week! Great job me! Ha.
Reflection
I felt really good about week three. It felt sustainable and that really made me consider moving to this system as my permanent method of shopping and eating. I’m loving raiding my pantry and trying to come up with new recipes to make with what I already have on hand. I thought I would run out of old stuff towards the end of the month, but it turns out I had a lot more stashed in my freezer and pantry than expected! Even into week four (which started today), I’m using up old stuff from before the challenge. That is definitely attributing to my weekly grocery expenses being low.
…And it really makes you think twice about food waste. It’s SO easy to get out of the habit of trying to use every last piece of food, so I’m thankful that I’m doing this challenge because it’s realigning my habits. Yay! I have barely been throwing away anything since the beginning of the challenge. This week all I threw away was a little leftover rice (and I could have frozen that if I had known it wasn’t going to be eaten). That feels GOOD.
On to week FOUR! :D
I am loving your challenge. Have you considered doing it again and inviting your readers to join you?
I encourage anyone to try it at anytime. :) I don’t know if it would make sense for other people to try to do exactly my meal plan, since everyone has different appetites, food preferences, and household sizes, but it’s definitely a good exercise for anyone to try!
I will definitely be trying the Parsley Pesto Pasta, that looks fantastic and I love the bright colors of it too.
I was curious if you’ve ever considered incorporating $1 stores into this challenge? I’ve found some great bargains at Dollar Tree (the locations which have freezers) lately, including:
• 3 oz bags of crumbled feta
• frozen peppers and onions
• frozen broccoli, as well as vegetable medley’s of broccoli, carrot and cauliflower
• large bags of crinkle cut or straight frozen fries
• bulk Italian sausage
• canned artichoke hearts
…and other basic items, all for $1 each, which would normally cost $2, $3 or more at regular grocery stores.
I forgot to mention, Big Lots has also been carrying Bob’s Red Mill brand grains and oats at good prices. I got a rather large bag of their steel cut oats, for only $3.99, which has lasted me a few weeks already.
I’ve been hearing great things about dollar stores throughout this challenge! I haven’t seen one with a refrigerated/frozen section, but I’m going to have to look a little harder. It sounds like a fantastic resource!
Not sure if I’m too late on commenting, but I wanted to say I’ve been loving your September challenge!! It’s really making me try and rethink using up leftover ingredients, especially since I’m a novice cook and am more a recipe follower than an improviser. I’d love to hear your thoughts about learning to improvise with leftover/pantry ingredients! Is it just something that comes with time/experience?
I also noticed you use the notes app for your grocery list, have you heard of Anylist? It’s great if you buy certain ingredients often because it remembers items you’ve added before and autofills the suggestion, it organizes items automatically by grocery store section (produce/dairy/baking/frozen/etc), you just tap to cross items off the list, and you can share lists which is super convenient for multi-person households. I pay for the “complete” subscription which lets you load in recipes and just add the ingredients to your list with a click. I’ve been using it for a few years now, I definitely recommend looking into it!
Yes, improvising is definitely something that comes with experience. :D You’ll be surprised at how much you learn as you go, but you learn the most if you are constantly trying new things. That exposes you to new flavor combinations, cooking techniques, and ingredient uses, all of which will allow you to improvise. Thanks for the recommendation on that app, too! I’ll have to check it out. I also just learned that with the latest iOS update last week that now you can turn any “note” into a checklist, so that should help me to stop forgetting things, too. LOL :)
I love the banana quesadilla! What a simple yet delicious idea!! So often I crave something sweet but don’t have anything on hand, I will definitely be making these!
I really like how you tracked everything you ate in a day – it’s super informative. I noticed that most of the time, you wrote “1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup milk.” However, 9-16 lists 1/2 cup oats without including 1/2 cup of milk. Is this a mistake?
Nope, so I cook the oats in water, but then some days I would top it with 1/4 cup milk, some days I wouldn’t. I always have 1/4 cup milk in my coffee, so on some days it ends up being 1/2 cup between the coffee and oats, but some days it’s just 1/4 cup in the coffee. :) It’s a little confusing because I don’t really explain when or how the things listed are eaten, but I thought that would just be a bit overboard. Hahah
I hope to see you continue this series! I am on a limited budget and have become very creative on making my food budget stretch and you have given me some more creative ideas.
This is so inspiring, Beth! I’ve decided to take up the SNAP challenge starting on October 1st. I’ve adjusted the sum slightly to reflect the cost of living in my country (roughly 37% more expensive than the US), so I’ll be living on US $6 instead of the $4.5 that you’ve been doing. I’m hoping to make it on less than that, but $6 is the max limit per day.
Now I’m researching staple prices to get an idea of what things really cost, so I’ll be able to plan my meals ahead. I’ve also decided that October will be a month of no extra shopping besides the weekly trip to the grocery store. If I’m successful in sticking to the challenge, I’ll be able to cut back my monthly expenditure on food to $186 instead of $305 in a regular month.
Crossing my fingers. Will be using lots of recipes from budget bytes for sure. Your site is a big inspiration for me!
Awesome! I wish you the best of luck! I always find that it’s really tough the first week or two as you work out the kinks, but then it gets easier from there. :)
I also love reading these :)
I have to ask though.. are you a very small person!? And do you exercise? It seems like you don’t eat very much. I polish off a cantaloupe in 3 servings at most, haha.
Hahah, yes, I am fairly petite. And while I was working out quite regularly just before the challenge, some unexpected circumstances this month have messed up my schedule and I haven’t done much more than walk my dog. :( I notice a HUGE difference in my appetite on days that I actually work out. Like, double the appetite. So, it’s definitely been easier because of that. :P
But what was the horror movie!
Hahaha, it was The Ring that week. So funny watching it years later… not nearly as scary. ;)
I love reading about your journey throughout this challenge. If you do continue eating on this budget after the challenge ends, will you please post updates of what you bought, made, and ate for a week? These are incredible, detailed food plans and I really appreciate the time you have put into all of this. Your creativity inspires me to waste less and cook more meals at home. Thank you!
I think what I’m going to do is post week reviews like this except minus the daily breakdown. I REALLY hate recording everything I eat throughout the day, but I love going over everything I bought and cooked and how I used up leftovers etc. :)
Awesome. Every little bit helps!
You’re wonderful. I’ve looked forward to this September challenge since last September.
I keep a list in the kitchen of things that need to be used up. It’s inspiration for menu planning and keeps food from spoiling. I browse through the fridge and cupboards and jot down things like last week’s sad lettuce and 1/2 jar of red curry. That could be a Thai noodle stir-fry.
I’ve found a lot of great meal ideas hiding among the condiments in the refrigerator door. The last bit stuff in the jar can be the basis of a marinade or glaze.
I just have to say that I absolutely LOVE your blog. I’m nerding out right now reading about your September Challenge. I think it’s so awesome and inspiring that you’re making healthy, tasty AND budget-friendly meals.
After ready this post, I put some cooked rice into a bowl of your ‘sweet potato tortilla soup’ and it’s more filling and even tastier!
Hi Beth!
Thanks for your recipes! Have you ever tried borscht soup? I’m from a Russian-American family and my mom used to make that all the time growing up; it’s super inexpensive and tasty!!
I haven’t, but I’ve wanted to. :) I’ll need to look into it.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this series! Well done :)