Weekly Recap 2/26-3/3

by Beth - Budget Bytes
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Whats up, friends! Friday again. Already. How?? Today’s recap will be brief because I didn’t do a whole lot of cooking this week. Why? I cut my hand open really badly on Tuesday morning, leaving me one handed and unable to do just about anything (ever try showering with one hand? Not fun.). So, I’ll go over what I had planned for the week and then what I actually ended up eating. Life is unpredictable, ammiright??

Weekly Recap 2/26-3/3

My menu started with the pesto pasta that I planned to make last week, but never got around to. I was also craving some Indian fare, so I added Chana Aloo Masala (chickpeas and potatoes) to the list, which would allow me to use up the leftover potato from a couple weeks ago and the remaining tablespoon or so of garam masala that I had bought from the bulk spice section of Whole Foods a couple months ago. I really enjoyed my hummus and vegetables last week, so I wanted to make a second batch, but flavor it with some of the pesto that was leftover from the pasta. Lastly, I couldn’t stop thinking about that pan fried tofu from last week, so I wanted to make more. Already. That soon. Because it was that good. This time I wanted to make yummy bowls with rice, avocado, pineapple, and sweet chili sauce.

Unfortunately, the only two recipes I got to before my hand was nearly cut off (exaggeration) were the Chana Aloo Masala and Pesto Hummus. :( I still have all the ingredients for the tofu, though, so that might happen this weekend. I’m still daydreaming about it. ;)

Here’s what the grocery list looked like for that menu plan:

Grocery List 2-26

Staples that needed replenishing this week included: milk, eggs, tortillas, and some fruit to snack on. Chickpeas, crushed tomatoes, ginger, and plain yogurt were all for the Chana Aloo Masala (as well as extra chickpeas for the hummus). Angel hair pasta was for the pesto pasta that has yet to happen (lol). Tofu, sweet chili sauce, and avocados were for the sweet chili tofu bowls.

When I got to the bottom of my list I realized just how short it was and how under budget I’d probably be, so I added a splurge item: English muffins! I’ve made English muffins at home before, but IMHO nothing compares to Bays brand English muffins. They’re just so different from any other brand or homemade and I’m absolutely addicted to them. Having them for weekend breakfast is such a treat, so I said, “Girl, treat yo’ self!” and I did.

The two stores that I went to that day did not have good selections of sweet chili sauce, so I decided to go to the larger Whole Foods on the other side of town later that week and check out what they had. Sure enough, they had 5-6 different brands and I was able to get an inexpensive small jar that would leave me with no leftovers to clog up my refrigerator shelves. :P

I put a question mark next to the ginger because I have a few small knobs left in my freezer, but it’s about time to replenish. Sometimes the ginger selection is sub-par, though, so I decided I’d buy if it was good and wait till next time if it was bad.

What Did I Buy?

Whole Foods Receipt 2-26-16Rouse's Receipt 2-26-16

As usual, I stopped off at Whole Foods first to see what they had. I got my eggs, milk, and tofu there as usual. They had a fairly good deal on avocados, so I grabbed one there. To my delight, they also had a fantastic deal on chicken thighs ($1.99/lb.). Luckily, I had a lot of room in my budget, so I picked up TWO packs. I didn’t have plans for them this week, so they went straight into the freezer. I’ll try to use them soon, though.

I don’t know if it’s because of the current popularity of garbanzo beans, but they are about twice as expensive as other dried beans around here. So, instead of cooking them from dry this week, I just bought cans. I paid a little extra, but my need for a short cut won out this time around.

And oof. Those English muffins are expensive, but I definitely enjoyed them! I’m glad I had room to splurge this week. I love my weekend breakfast and that definitely made it special.

Rouse's Groceries 2-26 WFM Groceries 2-26

I still can’t believe how few ingredients I needed to make three recipes, plus a snack. It’s too bad I didn’t get to cook all of them!

I went to the larger Whole Foods later in the week to pick up the sweet chili sauce ($2.49) and a second avocado ($1.50-the first one was getting soft, so I ate it). So my grand total for the week was:

Weekly Total: $37.69

What I Ate

So, if I only made two out of four recipes, what did I eat?? Well, a lot of tortilla/egg/hummus sammiches, that’s what. Seriously, I couldn’t move my left hand without the cut opening up, so I had to stick to the most simple things I could find. That Pesto Hummus is pretty killer with eggs, though, so I wasn’t mad! :D

Chana Aloo Masala - BudgetBytes.com

Luckily before “the incident” I had made this awesomely filling Chana Aloo Masala. It made four huge servings, which I got all to myself because boyfriend was working really long hours all week. Paired with brown rice this is a majorly filling meal. I’m glad I decided to get that yogurt to put on top, too, because it added just the right amount of creaminess to make it feel slightly indulgent.

Pesto Hummus - BudgetBytes.com

Thank goodness for this Pesto Hummus. I made it with the intention of eating it just as a snack with my carrots and celery sticks (both leftover from the previous week), but ended up eating it almost like a main meal for the rest of the week (in tortillas with a fried egg). Hummus is far more than a dip. It’s great on sandwiches and even on pizza. Yes, pizza.

Chicken Pasta Whole Foods

While I didn’t go “out” to eat at all this week, I did pick up this pre-made chicken pasta at Whole Foods. Usually their pre-made foods are quite expensive and I’d just never splurge that hard, but this one was not such a bad deal (and I rationalized it with my cut hand). You can’t tell from the photo, but the container was quite large and ended up giving us four decent sized servings for $10.99, or $2.75 each. A lot of my homemade chicken dishes are around $2 per serving, so this wasn’t that far off. Why was it so cheap? Because they used Budget Byting Principle #2: Use Ingredients Wisely. This dish includes three ingredients that are generally on the expensive side: chicken, pesto, and Parmesan; but it also includes one REALLY inexpensive ingredient: pasta. By being mindful of the ratio of expensive to inexpensive ingredients you can keep the total cost of the recipe low. In other words: use the expensive ingredients sparingly, and bulk up the dish with inexpensive ingredients. It’s that simple.

I also finished off the last two of my Hearty Black Bean Quesadillas that I had stashed in the freezer. I made these quesadillas a couple weeks ago when I was shooting video for The Food Network’s Snapchat discover channel. I’ll have more videos featured on their Snapchat channel in the coming weeks, but they’re only up for one day, so follow me on social media to find out when they’re live (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).

Because I couldn’t do much in the kitchen with my bum hand, I plopped down in front of my computer and re-edited the quesadilla footage to a longer, more complete video for my Youtube channel. Check it out! :D

https://youtu.be/F2DcnZjp5GU

And that’s what I ate! Oh, that and the pineapple and bananas pictured in the grocery shots.

Final Thoughts

So, I have some bad news. After six months of weekly recaps, I’ve had to make the executive decision to press pause on the recaps for a while. I know they’re quite helpful to many of you, so I promise to resume them temporarily at least once per year. And I’ve made a Weekly Recap category, so you can easily go back through them if needed. Why did I decide to stop for a while?

  1. Work Load – In February I made record-breaking 18 blog posts, which is a drastic increase from my average of 10-12 per month. The weekly recaps make me feel more pressured to turn everything I make into a unique blog post, so that the recaps actually make sense. This increase in work load has left me pretty close to burn-out, and that’s never good.
  2. Quality vs. Quantity – Because of the increased quantity of posts, I feel like quality has suffered (photos, writing, and recipe development). I only want to show you my best work rather than feeling compelled to pump out the posts before the end of the week when it’s time to do the recap.
  3. Privacy – I’m a super private person and it’s nearly impossible to talk about what I bought, cooked, and ate during the week without talking about the personal factors that influence those decisions. After six months, I’m still not comfortable sharing so much of my personal life with the entire world.
  4. Side Projects – I do quite a bit of freelance work and have a few projects for the blog that have been on my to-do list for a while. All of those projects require me to buy and cook food, sometimes above and beyond what’d I’d normally eat. :P I was able to work a few of the projects into my weekly plan over the past six months, but it has definitely restricted my ability to experiment with new ideas and do side projects.

And a few other minor reasons that I won’t go into. So my friends, I apologize if you’re a weekly recap fan, but I promise to do at least a month of them a year (probably in September to keep the tradition). It’s a great exercise and teaches me a LOT every time I do it, so I will return to it. AND I promise to use that extra time and freedom to bring you new and better features on Budget Bytes. :)

Till next time, guys!

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  1. In case you cut your hand again any time soon, try what I did yesterday after cutting my hand pretty deeply myself. Wear a rubber glove (like you’d use for cleaning) and ta-da! Instant protection from the jets. Your hand my still get wet, but at least it won’t get ripped open again.

  2. I hear you on the private thing- not so comfortable with it myself! But I feel like people come for trusted recipes am I right? And I definitely come back for that from you- I also kinda don’t like when people drag on and on-like I’m here for the food people talk about the food! ;) I love your recaps but burn out sucks- so stick to what makes you happy! Maybe a monthly recap is all you really need! Awesome job as always!

    1. Exactly! I’ve always tried to keep the focus on the recipes rather than the story, and I think a lot of people appreciate that. :)

  3. Thanks for writing! Just wanted to let you know I understand your reasons for pausing the weekly recaps. I support and respect the decision.
    Just letting you know I really enjoy the blog and it is a great resource I use quite often. Thanks!

  4. This is my first time commenting on here, but I am a regular! Have tried a bunch of your recipes and they are always a hit. I just wanted to say how much I admire the way you keep your blog strictly about recipes/cooking and stuff and not a whole lot of your personal life makes it through. I have always wanted to start a blog (but being the private person that I am), always worried that I would be putting my life up on the internet for everyone.

    You do a great job! Hope your hand gets better soon!

  5. I’m beginning to recognize your photography style when it shows up in other places. I was scrolling through a list of “Meals for $5 or less”, when I saw a bright, beautifully composed shot of something that looked delicious and thought “That has to be a Beth photo”. Sure enough, in the bottom corner your blog was listed as a source.

  6. Your poor hand! I had a knife cleaning accident that led to 49 stiches in my paw. The worst part – cooking is my stress release. I managed to get pretty creative with pre-cut items but as you know…those aren’t within the budget Heal happy!

    1. Oh my! I almost fainted just reading that. Luckily mine wasn’t nearly that bad! Glad you’re okay!

  7. Coincidentally I had to get stitches in my left hand this past week. Everything really is so much harder! And I’m moving soon so my freezer and fridge were already nearly empty…no leftovers :( Those factors led me to eat out more than I should and not have a very varied diet but I figure it will just give me more motivation to cook in my new place! Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

  8. I liked seeing the recaps, but I will love Budget Bytes just as much without them! Take time for yourself and say NO to things that take too much without giving back – like you have here.

    Best wishes.

  9. I’ll miss the re-caps but completely understand! I remember thinking to myself on more than one occassion that you must spend a ton of time writing all your posts. I’m glad you’re slowing down so you don’t get burnt out!

  10. Hey Beth
    I think putting the weekly recaps on hiatus is very wise.
    Initially, I found your site the summer my pay was being garnished (and not by the ubiquitous cilantro I might add!); because I couldn’t afford groceries that week, I literally googled a few unmatched ingredients based on what was at hand and, wondrously, up popped Budget Bytes!
    Since then, I have passed on many of your recipes & website to colleagues & friends who ask ‘what smells so good?!’ when I’m having my lunch. A little file box sits by my stove stuffed with your recipes that keep getting made repeatedly (and, yes, your book is on my wish list for Mother’s Day!)
    I thought you not only admirable but simply amazing when I first read about you doing the SNAP challenge and think that you should consider that a highly successful feat, and maybe the only time a recap could be required. You continuously educate and, as others have said, created a fantastic legacy and resource that will continue to do so as new fans discover you.
    I find your blog -and the Snap challenge – just as relevant for someone living in Canada like myself, because we all share an interest in healthy eating on a budget wherever we are!
    Burnout is no fun, so it’s great you can nip it early, ‘cuz when you started the recaps I thought ‘Whew! Is this girl a type-AAA or what?!’ Two recipes weekly does me just fine!
    You take good care of that hand now so it can continue to serve you!
    Looking forward to your next post!
    Cheers!

  11. I originally discovered you from the Food Network snap chat discover story, so I’m so glad you have future ones coming! Best of luck with your hand healing!

  12. The recaps were interesting, but I have to admit I’m one of the few who won’t miss them. I’ve been reading your blog for a few years now, and recently I’ve been saving fewer of the recipes posted to try myself. I wasn’t quite sure what changed, but after reading this post I think maybe it’s reason #2 in your list above. So I’m glad this change will be good for you and hope it will be good for the blog too!

  13. Dear Beth,

    Thank you so much for your valuable advice! I simply love reading and making my way through your recipes. It has helped bring in new flavours and an appreciation for a diverse palate (all at a reasonable cost) into our lives. So please don’t feel bad about having to skip the recaps. You are a true gem!

  14. Dear Beth, for Heaven’s sake: SLOW DOWN. You’ve given us SO much priceless advice and recipes (for free!) over the past years that we will have to and be able to make do with the wonderful things you’re still gonna do. Give that hand of yours a rest, and be happy, safe and content. Much love from Germany xxx

  15. Sorry to hear about the hand! Hope you are able to heal up well. I have enjoyed the recaps, too, so thank you for doing them, but yes, for goodness’ sake, no need to try and keep a pace that exhausts you! I’m very grateful for the time you choose to invest here, and how much you freely share with us all—I’d never dream of asking for more, nor do I feel entitled to any of it. Thanks for everything you’ve already done, and by all means choose wisely as you allocate your future time and energies. (Even if you decide to take a blogging break, or eventually stop blogging, what you have built so far would already be an amazing resource to leave online as a legacy.)