Before I launch into a month of tracking how much I spend on a month's worth of groceries, I am getting a head-start now at cooking from my pantry. Yesterday, I took inventory of what I have in our pantry, freezer and fridge, and typed all the ingredients into supercook.com. I love that website! Once all my ingredients are on the list, it searches recipes all over the internet and tells me all the stuff I can make. So easy to use, and it saves me money by delaying my trips to the grocery store. It also came in handy when we were planning to leave town on vacation, and will be very helpful when we prepare to move at the end of this year.
Our pantry has a hodge podge of ingredients, because since May 29, we've either been traveling (total days gone this summer = 31) or cooking theme weeks! In between our three family trips, we chose a different cuisine and planned our entire menu that week around it. One was Mexican, the next was Asian, and the latest was Italian. There were a few special ingredients purchased for each one which weren't all used up. Also, I've made at least two trips in the last 2 months to take advantage of combined sales with coupons.
From all that, I came up with a list of 8 things I can make from what we have on hand, so I have a week's worth of dinners planned already. Those ideas go on a list on a piece of scratch paper onto my fridge. My first shopping trip in August will probably be small, just milk and fresh fruit. I have plenty of breakfast cereal and bagels on hand, and some waffle mix. I have two loaves of bread in the freezer for sandwiches for lunch, although we sometimes have leftovers from the last night's dinner. My garden is currently producing onions, green beans, swiss chard and zucchini plus basil, oregano, cilantro and parsley. Our pantry/fridge/freezer includes:
alfredo sauce
allspice
american cheese
applesauce
bacon
bagels
baking powder
baking soda
balsamic vinegar
banana
barbecue sauce
basil
bay leaf
beef steak
beef stock
bread
breadcrumb
brown sugar
brussel sprout
butter
canned tuna
canola oil
carrot
cayenne pepper
celery
chard
chicken
chicken soup
chicken stock
chiles
chili beans
chili flake
chili pepper
chipotle chiles
chow mein noodles
cilantro
cocoa
coconut
coconut oil
cooking spray
cooking wine
corn
corn syrup
cornstarch
cracker
cranberries
cream cheese
cumin
dijon mustard
Dream Whip mix
Easy Mac
eggs
flour
frozen pizza
fruit juice
garlic
garlic powder
graham cracker
green beans
grits
honey
hot dog
italian seasoning
jelly
kamut
ketchup
lemon
lettuce
lime
maple syrup
margarine
marshmallow
mayonnaise
milk
mozzarella cheese
mustard
nutmeg
oat
oatmeal
olive oil
onion
onion powder
onion soup
oregano
paprika
Parmesan cheese
parsley
pasta
peanut bars (Nature Valley)
peanut butter
peas
pepperoni
Philidelphia cooking cream (2 pkgs)
pickles
pie filling(cherry)
popcorn
powdered sugar
prunes
pumpkin
raisin
ranch dressing
red pepper flake
red wine
refried beans
relish
rice
rice vinegar
roasted red peppers
sage
salami
salsa
sausage
sesame oil
shortening
shrimp
sour cream
soy sauce
suddenly salad mix
sunflower seed
syrup
taco sauce
taco seasoning
thyme
tomato
tomato paste
tomato sauce
tuna helper
tuna
Uncle Ben's rice pouch
vanilla
vegetable oil
vegetable shortening
vinegar
wine vinegar
Worcestershire
zucchini
A week from now, we'll see what's left!
July 28, 2011
July 27, 2011
$400 a month for groceries? Let's find out.
One morning, awhile back, we had a visit from a rep from a company that delivers various meats, vegetables, and other foods to your home. They claim that they are much more affordable for the average American family than shopping at the grocery stores, and of course, they claim their quality is much better. I don't doubt their quality. It appears (from the samples he gave us for our time) that quality is very good. However, it's the amount I would "save" by going with their plan over my current shopping habits I don't see.
I would be paying about $285 dollars a month for 6 months in order to receive about 480 servings of main dishes, consisting of fancy cuts of steak, various entrees with chicken, pork, seafood, sausages, and pastas with sauce. Also included are 52 packages of vegetables, 8 oz each. Sounds yummy, doesn't it? I'm sure it is. However, there are several reasons why I don't think this would replace my grocery shopping or save me any money over my current spending.
1. Their menu does not include staples like milk, cheese, eggs and other dairy, breads or crackers, breakfast items (except sausage and bacon), beverages, condiments, any lunch foods (like peanut butter and jelly, lunchmeat, etc.)
2. I would use all of their veggies up in 7 1/2 weeks. I would have to add vegetables to my shopping list after that. The other meals, if only used for dinners, would be gone in about 4 months.
3. I currently spend about $400 a month on groceries to feed our family of five. The salesman didn't believe me. He calculated that it would mean my family eats for $3.33 per person per day. He even made me doubt that I was telling the truth.
So, in August, I'm going to start keeping track. We'll see how much I really spend on a month's worth of groceries, and how it really stacks up. Now, I am a simple person, and I don't need fancy steak or special foods to satisfy me. I can make a lot of things with ground beef and chicken and other basic ingredients. Still, I'm interested to see, and to share, how I can stay within this budget and feed my family of 5.
I would be paying about $285 dollars a month for 6 months in order to receive about 480 servings of main dishes, consisting of fancy cuts of steak, various entrees with chicken, pork, seafood, sausages, and pastas with sauce. Also included are 52 packages of vegetables, 8 oz each. Sounds yummy, doesn't it? I'm sure it is. However, there are several reasons why I don't think this would replace my grocery shopping or save me any money over my current spending.
1. Their menu does not include staples like milk, cheese, eggs and other dairy, breads or crackers, breakfast items (except sausage and bacon), beverages, condiments, any lunch foods (like peanut butter and jelly, lunchmeat, etc.)
2. I would use all of their veggies up in 7 1/2 weeks. I would have to add vegetables to my shopping list after that. The other meals, if only used for dinners, would be gone in about 4 months.
3. I currently spend about $400 a month on groceries to feed our family of five. The salesman didn't believe me. He calculated that it would mean my family eats for $3.33 per person per day. He even made me doubt that I was telling the truth.
So, in August, I'm going to start keeping track. We'll see how much I really spend on a month's worth of groceries, and how it really stacks up. Now, I am a simple person, and I don't need fancy steak or special foods to satisfy me. I can make a lot of things with ground beef and chicken and other basic ingredients. Still, I'm interested to see, and to share, how I can stay within this budget and feed my family of 5.
July 23, 2011
Traveling Food
This summer, our family has been on three long trips. The first trip was a family vacation to Southwest Colorado to explore parts we hadn't seen yet. The other two trips involved catching up with our family and friends at our respective hometowns. We knew this was going to cost a lot of bucks, between gas, hotels, and food. So we did what we could to reduce our food cost by eating from groceries instead of at restaurants. Here is what I learned:
1) Most Hampton Inns don't provide a microwave or fridge in the room. Only a few provided a fridge. The few microwaveable meals we brought along didn't get used.
- I had hoped we could check in to our hotel at each place, scope out what amenities the room had, then hit the local grocery, coupons in hand, to let everyone pick their food for their dinner. This only worked the first night on the first trip.
2) Having picnics at town parks with playgrounds or at rest areas can be fun, as well as save a lot of money.
- This is the plan we executed most often, always at lunch. I think there's something mentally acceptable to us all about having picnic-type food for the noon meal.
- There are several things I am glad we brought along for these picnics: a picnic table cloth, clips to keep it attached to the table, disposable plates, zoopals and re-usable picnic utensils, napkins, ziploc bags, water bottles, bottle of dish soap, dish pan, scotch brite sponge, kitchen scissors, rubbermaid and ziploc containers, chip clips, wet wipes, and of course a cooler, armed with gallon-size ziploc bags to hold ice. Most of this fit in a couple of cloth shopping bags which rode in the back of our van.
- Some of the food we bought or brought along and used included: water-flavor packets (like Crystal Light), fresh fruit, yogurt, flavored rice snacks, chips, peanut butter, jelly in a squeeze container, mayo in a squeeze container, mustard, bread, deli meat and cheese, ranch dressing, carrots, green pepper strips, crackers, cream cheese, granola bars, bottled teas and juices.
- There are a few things I brought but didn't use: small Tupperware microsteamer, spatula, can opener, small cutting board and a sharp knife.
3) Clipping coupons and taking them along saved us some bucks. Before we left, I clipped coupons for everything I thought we might possibly buy, including paper plates, dishsoap, napkins, chips, etc. I had also stocked up on some of the above food we brought along using coupons at our local grocery when they were on sale.
4) At some point, you just get tired of eating picnic food and saving money. One day we just gave up and hit a fast food restaurant, but the next day we were back to feeling able to eat from our stores.
5) The less junk food we pack, the less we eat, which makes us feel better as we travel. I tried to pack lots of tasty fruit and veggies and healthy options, and avoided buying packages of cookies. The fact that I had crystal light flavors we all like kept us from purchasing or drinking as much pop or other sugary convenience store foods. There were a couple of times I really craved ice cream though. :)
6) Downtown hotels don't tend to have free continental breakfast, but they do have a mini coffee pot, which means we can have hot tea and oatmeal made from the hot water. We bought some tea, splenda, and instant oatmeal packets, and voila! (Our downtown hotel was charging $10/day for wireless internet as well. We enjoyed a sabbatical from internet access those days.) Thankfully most of our hotel stays were ones that included continental breakfasts. We really like Hampton Inn's with hot options, including Belgian waffles!
7) Some other ideas I discovered in internet searches that I want to try next time are:
- Take a can opener, a can of tuna, and mix together with mayo, mustard and relish for a refreshing tuna salad sandwich.
- Pita bread or tortillas filled with hummus and veggies, or meat and cheese.
- Potato salad or pasta salad purchased from local grocery as a side dish.
- Eating an entire meal at the grocery store deli or kitchen. We did this when I was a kid on some vacations. It's like a buffet, and can be less expensive than a sit-down restaurant, and has more healthy options than a fast-food restaurant.
- Buy a fully cooked rotisserie chicken and a loaf of french bread for dinner.
8) With daily availability of a microwave, we could have had so much more. These ideas are great for extended-stay rooms or suites, or military families like me who will, in the near future, find themselves in the middle of a PCS move and who are getting tired of eating out:
- Steamfresh veggies from the freezer section
- Easy Mac (We did this one evening, but the hotel water we used made the pasta taste weird. I should have used bottled water.)
- Pre-made BBQ pulled pork on buns.
- Pre-made taco meat on tortillas with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce. (Kinda messy, but really good!)
- Tortillas, can of black beans, cheese = bean and cheese burritos!
- Microwaved baked potatoes.
- Canned soups (need to take along containers for heating)
So, overall, we did pretty well saving money on vacation food where we could stand to do so. Maybe you've got some ideas for your next trip that can keep some of your cash where it belongs - in your bank account!
1) Most Hampton Inns don't provide a microwave or fridge in the room. Only a few provided a fridge. The few microwaveable meals we brought along didn't get used.
- I had hoped we could check in to our hotel at each place, scope out what amenities the room had, then hit the local grocery, coupons in hand, to let everyone pick their food for their dinner. This only worked the first night on the first trip.
2) Having picnics at town parks with playgrounds or at rest areas can be fun, as well as save a lot of money.
- This is the plan we executed most often, always at lunch. I think there's something mentally acceptable to us all about having picnic-type food for the noon meal.
- There are several things I am glad we brought along for these picnics: a picnic table cloth, clips to keep it attached to the table, disposable plates, zoopals and re-usable picnic utensils, napkins, ziploc bags, water bottles, bottle of dish soap, dish pan, scotch brite sponge, kitchen scissors, rubbermaid and ziploc containers, chip clips, wet wipes, and of course a cooler, armed with gallon-size ziploc bags to hold ice. Most of this fit in a couple of cloth shopping bags which rode in the back of our van.
- Some of the food we bought or brought along and used included: water-flavor packets (like Crystal Light), fresh fruit, yogurt, flavored rice snacks, chips, peanut butter, jelly in a squeeze container, mayo in a squeeze container, mustard, bread, deli meat and cheese, ranch dressing, carrots, green pepper strips, crackers, cream cheese, granola bars, bottled teas and juices.
- There are a few things I brought but didn't use: small Tupperware microsteamer, spatula, can opener, small cutting board and a sharp knife.
3) Clipping coupons and taking them along saved us some bucks. Before we left, I clipped coupons for everything I thought we might possibly buy, including paper plates, dishsoap, napkins, chips, etc. I had also stocked up on some of the above food we brought along using coupons at our local grocery when they were on sale.
4) At some point, you just get tired of eating picnic food and saving money. One day we just gave up and hit a fast food restaurant, but the next day we were back to feeling able to eat from our stores.
5) The less junk food we pack, the less we eat, which makes us feel better as we travel. I tried to pack lots of tasty fruit and veggies and healthy options, and avoided buying packages of cookies. The fact that I had crystal light flavors we all like kept us from purchasing or drinking as much pop or other sugary convenience store foods. There were a couple of times I really craved ice cream though. :)
6) Downtown hotels don't tend to have free continental breakfast, but they do have a mini coffee pot, which means we can have hot tea and oatmeal made from the hot water. We bought some tea, splenda, and instant oatmeal packets, and voila! (Our downtown hotel was charging $10/day for wireless internet as well. We enjoyed a sabbatical from internet access those days.) Thankfully most of our hotel stays were ones that included continental breakfasts. We really like Hampton Inn's with hot options, including Belgian waffles!
7) Some other ideas I discovered in internet searches that I want to try next time are:
- Take a can opener, a can of tuna, and mix together with mayo, mustard and relish for a refreshing tuna salad sandwich.
- Pita bread or tortillas filled with hummus and veggies, or meat and cheese.
- Potato salad or pasta salad purchased from local grocery as a side dish.
- Eating an entire meal at the grocery store deli or kitchen. We did this when I was a kid on some vacations. It's like a buffet, and can be less expensive than a sit-down restaurant, and has more healthy options than a fast-food restaurant.
- Buy a fully cooked rotisserie chicken and a loaf of french bread for dinner.
8) With daily availability of a microwave, we could have had so much more. These ideas are great for extended-stay rooms or suites, or military families like me who will, in the near future, find themselves in the middle of a PCS move and who are getting tired of eating out:
- Steamfresh veggies from the freezer section
- Easy Mac (We did this one evening, but the hotel water we used made the pasta taste weird. I should have used bottled water.)
- Pre-made BBQ pulled pork on buns.
- Pre-made taco meat on tortillas with cheese, tomatoes, lettuce. (Kinda messy, but really good!)
- Tortillas, can of black beans, cheese = bean and cheese burritos!
- Microwaved baked potatoes.
- Canned soups (need to take along containers for heating)
So, overall, we did pretty well saving money on vacation food where we could stand to do so. Maybe you've got some ideas for your next trip that can keep some of your cash where it belongs - in your bank account!
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