What I Spent
This week, I spent:
- $10 at Mezeh
- $15 at Firehouse
- $21 at Weis
- $20 at a local store
- $26 at Safeway
That adds up to $92, which, funnily enough, is almost exactly what I spent last week!
The Safeway receipts include a 10:00 run last night because I was like, “ZOE! You know what’s distressing?? We have no ice cream bars.”
So we hopped into the van and went to the Safeway that is five minutes away. This solved my no-ice-cream-bar distress very nicely. 😉
What We Ate
Saturday
We always seem to end up having a girls’ takeout night on Saturdays, just to switch things up a little.
Zoe and Lisey wanted a Firehouse sub (I had points for one free sub, which was nice!) and I got a Mezeh bowl.
Sunday
I wanted to make some waffles for dinner, so Zoe and I went out in search of some buttermilk and we were having serious trouble finding any.
Eventually, we found some powdered buttermilk at a local store, so we rolled with that.
I know there’s the whole lemon juice/vinegar + milk thing, but I never think that makes a proper substitute for buttermilk. I think I’m a buttermilk snob!
Also: isn’t it lucky that I bought a 1980s waffle iron on eBay during the pandemic? That meant we had two waffle irons, which meant it was easy for me to take one with me when I moved out.
The 1980s one was the obvious choice for me because Lisey is the whole reason I bought it in the first place, and she’s living here. So, we are the house with non-Belgian waffles. 😉
Monday
I needed to use up some lunch meat, so I made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for us.
Sonia was over, so I just did the usual and made hers without the cheese. Chipotle mayo does a sufficient job of making the sandwich un-boring, even without cheese!
Tuesday
I had some dry corn tortillas that needed to be used, so I made a chicken taco salad with fried tortilla strips on top. And we had a fruit salad on the side.
A photo of a previous taco salad, obviously; no tortilla strips in sight!
Wednesday
I was going to make burrito bowls, but then Sonia ended up being over for dinner, so I pivoted and made pulled chicken sandwiches (burrito bowls involve a lot of things Sonia can’t eat!).
We had fresh fruit and veggies on the side.
Thursday
Zoe and I had tortellini, and Lisey ate leftover pulled chicken.
My basil plants are finally big enough for me to pull a few leaves off. Yay!
Friday
I am forever saying, “I don’t know!” when it comes to my Friday plan and today is no exception.
Ummmm…I probably am going to do a fridge clean-out today and that will inform my dinner decision for tonight.
Margot
Tuesday 19th of July 2022
Just had to share! I recently saw this video about how to prune your basil and it has helped me get so much more out of my basil plants. Maybe everyone else knows this already but it was new to me so I thought I'd pass it along. https://youtu.be/RHZe5sEmtSo
Jen
Sunday 17th of July 2022
Friday- went to a friend’s for a bbq. Burgers, veggies, fresh fruit, and chips! Thursday- tex mex salads Wednesday- burgers for dinner (I didn’t think about the Friday bbq.) burgers, green salad, roasted veggies, and chips. Tues- pasta with shrimp, corn, and greens. Monday- black bean quesadillas with homemade mango salsa Sunday- chicken, vegetable, and rice soup that I made to take into some friends that were sick and gluten free.
Liz
Saturday 16th of July 2022
I've been in a rut dinner wise and after reading some old blog posts I decided to borrow a few Frugal Girl recipes. Monday - We almost always do breakfast for dinner and today was no different. Protein pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and orange slices Tuesday - we normally always do taco Tuesday, but I was getting a little bored with it, so we did Chicken Quesadillas instead - everyone likes theirs a different way so I make them to order Wednesday - Aussie Chicken and asparagus Thursday - Chicken parmesan and zucchini Friday - Mushroom swiss chicken and green beans We normally don't have this much chicken, but I had a freezer full that I needed to use!
Madeline
Saturday 16th of July 2022
I just LOVE your meal photos! So enticing! It gives us a reminder of how good our own home cooked meals can be!
It’s so hot in Phoenix right now.It was 116 degrees the other day! I am staying IN and oddly enough, even though it is summer, I love to cook. The A/C HAS TO BE ON,no matter what, so I made any apple pie and a huge pot of New Mexican Posole soup. I baked some potatoes with the pie so we could have twice baked potatoes this week.
With grocery prices as they are we have more vegetarian meals.I heard there is a chick pea shortage coming?? I had bought a 25 pound sack last year so we are good.
Am spending a bit extra on groceries because we are still adding to our pantry stock and I also buy the “ready to expire” meats when I see them and keep my freezer very full.Prices will still be going up for aa while so today’s price is best.ON SALE even better. I have a very full freezer.
1.Spaghetti and marinara sauce,Greek Salad,garlic bread
2. Chick peas Masala (Homemade) over brown rice, cucumber salad
3. POSOLE and garlic bread.Watermelon on side. My posole calls for 2 pounds of pork pieces in it but I only use 1 pound and extra hominy,we like it better that way and save money on meat prices.
4. Twice baked potatoes . Spinach salad, mixed fruit bowl
5. Frozen Meat Lasagna from Trader Joe,steamed garlic broccoli ,watermelon
6. Farfalle pasta with sauce and sliced sausage and peppers. I use 2 sausage links for 3 people, sliced up, that is more than enough meat and we usually have leftovers.
7. Posole and cornbread.Cantaloupe
Beth
Saturday 16th of July 2022
I tried Hungry Harvest for one week, and price compared with Aldi, Lidl, Giant, & a farm stand all within 5 minutes of my house. Giant was the only place more expensive than HH. Giant +$5.76; Aldi -$3.58, Lidl -$5.23, and the farm stand... -$21.63! Just no compelling reason to get Hungry Harvest.
Becca
Sunday 17th of July 2022
@Beth,
Just looked at the Lidl website and saw the carrots you were referencing. I think I might have come out a bit ahead with the HH ones in my case anyway because they had the tops on and we ate the greens too. Also, I ordered the one lb bunch, but it was definitely less than a lb (I weighed it because it seemed so small to me) and so I emailed HH and ended up getting them free. I always email HH when anything is not right and even though I feel kind of guilty doing it (for no real reason, just my own issue I guess), they are always super prompt and responsive and I often get things for free this way which we then eat whatever parts are salvageable and compost anything not usable. I would never intentionally order damaged produce and then request a refund, but I appreciate their excellent customer service and willingness to offer refunds when something is not quite right because then I feel like there is a lot less risk to ordering produce sight unseen. In addition to this, on my "off" weeks, I find if I order a small 30.00 box from HH, I can get a bit of fruit to help me get to the next week and that keeps me out of the store which definitely saves me money because I am completely incapable of spending less than 30.00 on produce if I go into the store! So many options and we love it all!!! So, for now anyway, I still find HH to be a potential frugal food source for some very specific items when I order infrequently and very judiciously. But, as they say, your mileage may vary. ;)
Becca
Sunday 17th of July 2022
@Beth,
I should clarify that the website says they carry tofu at some locations and I have found the spot in the refrigerator section (next to the fancy cheeses) where it is supposed to be in one out of the three Aldis I frequent, but I have never actually seen any tofu available for purchase. It is always sold out, so I don't know if Aldi is a reliable source for it. I can get it at my local health food store, but it is more expensive than Hungry Harvest, so tofu is one of the things I always add to my once a month HH order.
Beth
Sunday 17th of July 2022
@Becca, I was pleasantly surprised in my price search to find organic rainbow carrots at Lidl for a shocking $1.96/12 oz, or $2.61/lb which brought them in just under the Hungry Harvest price of $2.79/lb. I didn't buy them though, because we already have 2 lbs in the fridge and then there's the "Mom, something's wrong with my carrot!" factor :) Amazingly, they never say things like that to a different ice cream treat. So glad to learn that Aldi carries tofu; I'll look for it. Thank you for the heads up!
Becca
Saturday 16th of July 2022
@Beth,
I agree that it is pricier than Aldi, which is why I've stopped getting it every week like I did during the height of lockdown. However, I do find they tend to have items that I can't find at Aldi (which maybe your farm stand covers). Items I tend to get from Hungry Harvest that are comparable to Aldi and/or not available there are parsnips, leeks, certain seasonal fruits like plums or blood oranges, specialty produce like purple potatoes and colorful carrots, tofu (Aldi supposedly carries it, but I never see it in stock) and the extra large eggs (Hungry Harvest now has them at 2.99/dozen which is up .20 from a month ago and is comparable to Aldi's free range egg price. I buy the cheapest eggs at Aldi too, but like to get the Amish eggs from Hungry Harvest because they are giant and often have double yolks too. I also like to check out Hungry Harvest's selection of treat-like add-ons. They are more expensive than Aldi treats but I sometimes find really delicious ones that are definitely comparable in price to my local health food store and also things that Aldi just doesn't carry.