Breakfast started out pretty normally yesterday for me.
Peanut butter and banana on toast. Hailey ate some banana. David left before me at about 5:45 and accidently left his bagel broiling behind him. He called to tell me about it so it didn’t burn the place down. I was really determined to eat it because I’ve become very aware of food waste already, but the thing had turned into a charred rock, so it had to be tossed. So David’s breakfast was only a boiled egg.
My mid morning snack was leftovers from Monday night. Brown rice, black beans, sautéed onion cooked in Rotel and chicken. While the Rotel did add the spice I was after, it didn’t add as much flavor as I had hoped.
When lunch time rolled around, I made a pb&j (or and pb&p if I made it with preserves?). I had forgotten how freaking delicious pb&j sandwiches are! I also cut up several carrots in one of my freezer bags to bring along with me on a mommy play date.
Susan, Cindi and I took the kiddos to Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville. It was my first time there and it was so much fun to take the horse drawn hay ride around to see all the animals.
I loved how Hailey stared at the giraffe. Afterwards I snacked on my carrot sticks while I ran errands, which included a trip to Target.
I grabbed some salt and pepper, Pace and 7 pack of Clif bars for David to take to work with him. I was tempted to grab something at Target to eat because by this point I was hungry, but keeping the budget ever in the back of my mind, I skipped it. This brings my weekly total up to $80.92.
Once home, I downed a bowl of leftover brown rice and beans, topped with plain Greek yogurt and SALSA. I know some people are ketchup people, but I could eat anything if you put Pace on it.
I also ate a boiled egg (and shared the yolk with Hailey, not Koda) while I got started on dinner around 5:30. I threw the leftover chicken carcass (ew, I know, I hate that word) and pieces into boiling water along with a diced sweet potato, carrots, celery, onion and canned diced tomatoes. After an hour or so I also added frozen peas, rice, salt and pepper and a little bit of salsa.
Dinner cooked for about 2 hours. In the mean time, David arrived home hungry and ate 2 pb&js and a bowl of rice and beans with salsa.
It looked pretty and actually tasted pretty good, but it took me about 4 bowls to feel satiated. David had 2-3 bowls and a grilled cheese. Luckily I still have a decent amount leftover, too, for lunch. The beauty of soup is that is has the ability to streeeetch pretty far.
So far I can tell I’m spoiled by usually having more of a variety of foods from which to choose. Also, food having flavor helps a lot (duh, right?). I’m glad I picked up the salsa because rice and beans alone is bland as can be, but a little kick of salsa makes it a meal I could eat daily!
Although controversial (FYI- I have not deleted one single comment), I’m enjoying the challenge. The fact that it is still a challenge to me and I DON’T live in a food dessert and I DO have a car shows that it isn’t easy and that every dollar counts.
Also, I’m collecting a pretty awesome collection of tips and websites abut eating healthy on a low budget, so please send keep sending your ideas. I’m excited to put them all together for the wrap up.
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Kimberly @ Healthy Strides says
Soup and grilled cheese – budget or not, it’s a favorite!
Have you tried the bulk bins at a health food store for spices? I go there to get something that I don’t use often when a recipe just calls for a little bit. You might be able to get some herbs and whatnot to kick up the flavor for not a lot of $$$.
By the way, when I share food with the baby, it always ends up getting shared with the dog. They are sneaky, I tell you!
Holly says
Looks good! That’s the one “bummer” of a thing about eating on a budget, not a whole lot of choices sometimes. BUT- it is fun to have a nearly empty fridge at the end of the week! Don’t forget about dried spices for your FLAVOR! Or get a knob of ginger and grate it into Asian dishes, use some lemon/lime to brighten up your Mexican dishes, and salsa/ketchup goes well with anything 🙂 Good work!
Heather @ Housewife Glamour says
Great job staying on a budget! We’re trying the strategy of using all leftovers up before re-stocking at the grocery store and it’s going pretty well so far.
I love soup! That chicken soup looks delicious…and don’t ‘even get me started on grilled cheese 😉
Parita @ myinnershakti says
I just caught up on all of your post and have to say that I really like the intent behind your challenge. I’m excited to follow along!
And I agree…ANYTHING with Pace on it is amazing in my book!
Andrea says
Sometimes having a list works against the budget shopper. I find that if I go to the grocery store and head straight to the butcher, I can find whatever is on sale or the daily special (because it’s use or freeze by date is that day), put it in my cart, think for a few minutes, then plan a meal around that. I might have pulled pork on my weekly menu, but if some cheap cut of beef is on sale I might do pot roast, stew or shredded beef tacos instead. Being flexible and creative are good things to be on a budget!
Lisa says
Oh ya it’s sooo hard to eat well on a budget! My bf is a junk food junkie so I try to shop for things for him that he will eat. His mind is not on health, but I try to remind him that he should watch some of his eating since he had cancer a few years ago.. and diabetes runs in the family. I was happy he likes that new Pepsi Next! I’d rather spend the extra $1 per 12 pack if he will drink it.
We’re having crock pot boneless chicken tonight. I just put in a few pieces of chicken, spices, and let it cook for 2-4 hours. Comes out delicious and moist. You can add salsa while it cooks, or veggies.
Marion says
We’re on our second week straight (weekends included) of not eating out and while it has tested us – especially when a packed lunch leaves us wanting more – it’s amazing to see how much of our food we’re actually using and not tossing.
You should get something like Cliff bars to have for yourself so you don’t cave on a shopping trip. I take a banana and water with me everywhere. Keep up the good work!
blackhuff says
Oh yes, I can totally understand the spoiled for variety thing. But, being on a budget can help one understand the value of money and food, like you have realised.
I think you ate wonderfully on budget. Still healthy which is awesome.
Olivia says
In my house we are two adults and I don’t think we spend more than $100 on a regular order of groceries for the week! Interesting challenge though. We definitely save money by hitting up Costco maybe twice a month, for coffee and egg whites and whatnot.
Kristen @ notsodomesticated says
We’re really trying to be careful about money right now, since we’re trying to buy a house and we currently only have 1 steady income. I have found that eating less meat (which I was wanting to start doing anyways) has helped cut down on costs. But then husband was really wanting meat again, so I just bought some chicken at Whole Foods that was farm raised, no hormones, etc … and that wasn’t very cheap. 😉
Jen says
PB&J will always be a favorite of mine! You’re doing great 🙂
I hope I can come with you guys next time you head out to Lazy 5 Ranch!
Cindi says
I hope you can come too, Jen! You guys were missed!
Kelly@Runmarun says
Yes! I’m heading to Target today to take advantage of their sale on Clif bars- ~80 cents a bar is a pretty darn good deal! Looks like a really fun time with your friends yesterday.
hi says
Two hours seems like a long time too cook. Time=money…maybe time budget should be a part of this as well.
Brittany says
I wasn’t in the kitchen. I put everything in a pot and let it simmer for 2 hours while I bathed, fed and put Hailey to bed.
hi says
oops, one question, your husband only eats cliff bars at work & no packed lunch?
Brittany says
Yes. I’ve offered to pack him lunches, but he doesn’t work at a desk and is on the go all day, so bars actually work best for him. I hope to try and make my own bars sometime to help cut the cost, but for now, Clif bars work well. 🙂
Jamie @ Don't Forget the Cinnamon says
Salsa>>>>>>>>>>>>>ketchup
Have a great day!
christina says
You are kicking behind on this challenge. Everything still looks really good! You impress me. I need life lessons from you when I’m a mom. Seriously!! 🙂 PB&P made me laugh.
hi says
A comedian once said that ‘nobody knows more about nutrition than fat people’. I find that tends to be true, though I don’t know about poor people. But I do know for myself it can be hard to stomach a healthier diet without an exercise routine to support it, but I think a lot of ppl who receive assistance must be in areas not conducive/safe to exercise. A time-friendly and budget-friendly change to an exercise regimen (probably indoor for safety considerations) might be a good complement to this meal experiment.
hi says
…I can’t even imagine how it might color my eating habits if I felt insecure about food and shelter.
I think these experiments are easier because in the back of one’s mind one knows they are toughing it out for a time.
But if you aren’t secure, I can imagine eating in the exact opposite way because your chances to eat hyper-flavored stuff which is designed to be desired might be limited.
I wonder if there are studies about lack of knowledge of what is healthy and what isn’t because I’d guess that actually isn’t the primary issue.
Brittany says
Hi “hi”. I love that you’ve taken such an interest in the challenge and I’d love to talk to you more about it in an easier way. I emailed you this morning and look forward to touching base so we can discuss it further. Thanks!
hi says
Thanks, I think I’ve pretty much exhausted my thoughts on this, it’s just too vast and I don’t have all the info. I guess bringing EBT into the idea of thrifty eating is a bit much for me.
But I am interested in thrifty eating, but I haven’t gone anymore in depth than the depression era cooking YT channel and the book “More with less”, although the book wasn’t as handy as I’d hoped for.
I’m not much of a cook and rely heavily on the technique of using onions and a lot of paprika (and sometimes tomatoes or tomato paste) as my go-to soup base.
Alyssa @ Life of bLyss says
LAZY 5!!!! I freakin’ love that place. I have hilarious pictures of it, too… aren’t the emus the scariest thing on the planet?
hi says
Maybe you can try some meals from the youtube channel DepressionCooking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuMkW35BwK8
Chelle says
I’m curious as to why you didn’t use the NC EBT calculator. I did and it doesn’t appear that a family of 3 making $24,000 a year would qualify for EBT in NC.
Brittany says
Hi Chelle. The calculator I used for the original challenge was the first one that popped up when I googled it. Not very thorough, I’ll admit. However, out of curiosity at the good point you brought up, I just went to the NC calculator and entered the same info ($2000 gross income per month, $500 in rent, $200/week in childcare) and it told me the net benefit I’d receive would be $437.00 a month for food. I’d be happy to send you the screen shot if you’d like. Thanks!
Chelle says
Could you just post it? I attempted both the full and the quick one using those numbers and it didn’t give me anything.
Brittany says
Send me an email (Brittany@ahealthysliceoflife.com) and I’ll email you the screen shot.
Lisa says
For sure is hard living on a budget. When I lived alone during college I lived on such unhealthy, cheap stuff. So I totally look forward to reading about your challenge! Now that I have a little more freedom with money, I go a little too overboard on purchases. So I need to find a happy medium! Have an awesome day!!
Mummymates says
I saw this on the news this morning and it made me think of your challenge. Executive chefs in Toronto are getting together for a cook off using only the foods that the food bank requires in donations the most. They came up with some really interesting stuff during this short segment and it was a great way to bring awareness to what is needed. You can check it out here:
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/CanadaAM/20120419/chef-mark-russell-banana-peanut-smoothie-canada-am-120419/
I am interested to read about the rest of your challenge.
Kay