It’s already week three of the All You Grocery Challenge, and that means the challenge is half way over! I’d love to hear how you’re doing if you decided to participate. I’m participating in spirit, and I thought the biggest challenge would be keeping our grocery budget the same while including the totals for eating out but that hasn’t been the case as we’ve been eating at home almost every meal since we’re motivated to clean out the fridge and freezer a little before we move.
Last week, all we had to buy was milk and raspberries for a coffee cake I’m making this week. We also ate lunch at a restaurant one day, using a buy one get one free coupon. Our total spent on food for the week was only $16 thanks to a very stocked freezer, plenty of produce purchased the week before and a mid-week meal at the neighbor’s house. (Those same neighbors gave us about a pound of melon today and several ears of corn that we’ll be eating for snacks and with dinner this week. They are great neighbors, and we’re sad that we’ll be moving 8 minutes away from them!)
After a week like that, I would have expected to see a lots of free space in the fridge and freezer, but I really don’t. The fridge is looking a little bare and I’ll need to restock our fruit bowl, but many of this week’s meals are also based on items we already have on hand. We are planning to move this coming weekend, and we’re aiming not only to clear out the freezer even more but also to keep food expenses low so that the pizza we’ll buy for all those helping us move won’t bust the budget. We’ll see how we do.
If you’re looking for tips on how you can cut your grocery bill you might want to check out the All You Grocery Challenge blog here. Make sure to read the comments to get tips from some of the many challenge contenders. Also, be sure to check back in here this week because I’ll be sharing some of my tips for saving.
Here’s what’s on our menu:
Breakfast
Yogurt, toast x 2
Raspberry coffee cake, juice x 2
Cereal, milk, banana
Mini bagels (freezer), cream cheese, pear slices (pantry) x 2
Lunch
Snacky lunch
Honeybaked Ham BOGO coupon, lunch with a friend
Leftovers x 2
Grilled cheese, fresh tomato slices
BLTs
Pizza for a crowd, brownies, black bean salad with tortilla chips
Snacks
Honeydew and cantaloupe
Homemade popsicles
Graham crackers with cream cheese dip
Granola bars
Dinner
Beef stew (freezer) over mashed potatoes–we didn’t eat this last week
Grilled pork chops (freezer) with Samosa chutney, corn
Meatball subs (freezer), tomato corn salad–see recipe below
Hash brown (freezer) egg skillet with green peppers and cheese
Chicken thighs with Brazilian vinaigrette salsa, bread
No planned dinner on moving day after a big pizza lunch
Whole chicken in the crock pot, rice, broccoli
A friend gave me the following recipe, and it makes a great summer side when tomatoes, corn and basil are all in season. It’s also easy and delicious.
Tomato Corn Salad
3 ears of corn, boiled and corn cut away from cob
3 medium tomatoes, diced
1/3 c. Italian dressing
1/4 c. minced fresh basil
Combine all ingredients. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Serve with a slotted spoon.
For more menu plan ideas, visit I’m An Organizing Junkie.
