On Saturdays, I share my menu plan for the upcoming week along with a photo of my groceries and a tally of my spending. My goal is to spend $100/week for our food, toiletries, and cleaning products. I’m currently in the midst of trying to buy more local, sustainably-produced food while sticking to my budget. Can it be done? I don’t know, but I’m going to try, and I’ll share what I learn as I go along.
I know it’s been forever since I shared a grocery photo, but this is going to be another photo-less grocery week. I did go shopping yesterday, but when I got home, I had to hurry and put my groceries away and feed lunch to my kiddos so that I could have a practice session with my friend who plays the violin (we’re going to a nursing home today to play some Christmas music).
So the grocery-picture-taking go shoved aside again.
I really will try to take one next time.
Please know that I am not sneaking cases of Twinkies and Ho-Ho’s into my house on the picture-less weeks. 😉 I really have just been too busy to take a photo!
This week was a shopping trip week, so I spent $99.97 at Aldi, $56.04 at Weis, and $19 at the organic store for local, packaging free chicken. My total is $175.01, which means I have $25 to make a produce/milk stop next week. I think that’s totally manageable.
Ooh, I just remembered that I sort of have a grocery picture! This is my packaging-free chicken. I can bring my own glass container to the store, which is totally awesome.
Some our meals for this week got bumped from last week, as usual. One meal got bumped because I made a loaf of french bread (for our Beef au Jus sandwiches) and forgot to add the salt. Sigh. It was a very sad loaf. We toasted it for lunch and slathered it with salty peanut butter, but still we only made it through half the loaf before it went bad. I discovered mold on it this morning, in fact (so add that to yesterday’s Food Waste post!).
We ended up having canned soup and grilled cheese sandwiches instead and we had the Beef au Jus sandwiches another night, which bumped that night’s meal to this week.
Here’s what we plan to eat for dinner this week:
Saturday
- Thin-Crust pizza, which is perfect for today. I’ll make the dough this morning and then all I have to do is shape and bake the pizzas when I get home from the nursing home late this afternoon.
Sunday
- Snacky stuff (fruit, veggies, cheese, crackers, etc), because we’re never very hungry on Sunday nights, due to our late Sunday lunches
Monday
- Meatball Subs (made with local beef)
- green salad
Tuesday
- Pulled Chicken Sandwiches (made with the local chicken)
- homemade buns
- grapefruit halves
Wednesday
- Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Whole Wheat Rolls
- green salad
Thursday
- Dirty Rice and Shrimp
- fruit salad
Friday
- Takeout date night for Mr. FG and me, mac n’ cheese for the kiddos
Today’s 365 post: Sometimes you just can’t find a match
Mandy
Wednesday 15th of December 2010
Hi! I would love to know where you get your package free chicken too! Thanks!
Erin
Monday 13th of December 2010
Good idea dmarie. I have been meaning to put a couple of our insolated mugs in the car for stops at Timmy's here in Canada. Sometimes when we are out we need a tea or hot chocolate on the run because it is soooo cold
Dmarie
Sunday 12th of December 2010
that's really wonderful about the pkg free chicken. I'm proud of myself because a couple of days ago I bought a Pyrex container (similar to yours) specifically for leaving in the car to take into restaurants. I will feel so much better when I stop accepting polystyrene containers for bringing home restaurant leftovers.
A. Hughes
Saturday 11th of December 2010
I've tried looking through your site for your dirty rice and shrimp recipe, but I can't find it. I'd really like this recipe. Would you post it (or direct me to the link)?
Fudgie
Saturday 11th of December 2010
Great ideas. I made the sloppy joes. They are so good.