Well, Day three has come and gone. We didn't do any shopping, just used the flour and yeast on hand to make some pizza dough for the leftover pulled pork. Here's what we had:
Breakfast: Paul, Abby, Anah- Egg and cheese sandwiches on leftover tortillas and bulkie rolls, v8 juice
Everett- blueberries, egg yolk with cheese, and chex
Lunch: Anah, Abby, Everett: Yogurt parfaits with the last of the blueberries and some canned peaches, topped with pumpkin muffin chunks.
Paul: brought lunch from home- pulled pork and bean burrito
Dinner: Pulled pork BBQ pizza on homemade crust, topped with onions and peppers, veggie medley on the side.
Snacks: corn/beans/tomato salsa
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Day 2 Challenge Recap!
Yesterday was Day 2 of the All-You Grocery Challenge. I did a quick WIC shop, got 2 gallons of milk, 1lb of cheese, a dozen eggs, and 2 cans of juice.
Since I have 2 kids on WIC, we get a LOT of WIC stuff. 10 gallons of milk, 2 lbs of cheese, 12 cans of juice, 2 dozen eggs, 72 oz of cereal, and 2 jars of peanut butter per month.
Now, we use a lot of milk- whole, 1%, and powdered. I make at least 2 gallons of yogurt per month- since we eat it every day. So I rarely have to figure out how to use it up. Same with peanut butter and cereal- we don't worry about having too much on hand since we go through a lot of it.
On the other hand, eggs and juice don't always get used as often- so I have to get creative. Everett can't have egg whites yet- admittedly, this is a personal choice, and I'm sure I could have him test them out, but I'm waiting a bit longer since eggs are a high allergy food.
So, in order to be more frugal, I'll occasionally buy the v8 cans as my juice choice from WIC. V8 is one way to sneak extra veggies into the kids- plus I use it instead of water when I'm making tomato sauce. I also use the v8 to make a quickie gazpacho when I see cucumbers and peppers on sale.
As far as the cheese goes- well, we go against the grain here. Most people that are on WIC get American Cheese slices. We usually choose the cheddar, muenster, mozzarella, colby, or monterey jack option. When we get home, I'll shred the cheese myself, and then it's always avalable to us in the freezer! By doing this, I keep our costs down on the preshredded- which is marked up considerably!
Anyways, on to the meals.
Paul- cereal and milk
Anah, Abby, Everett- oatmeal and bananas cooked with milk and served with juice for the kiddos
Lunch-
Paul- provided by work
Anah- Healthy choice soup and slice homemade bread
Abby- peanut butter rollup- one tortilla, slathered with peanut butter and dotted with dried cherries, rolled up into a burrito. Leftover veggies on the side.
Everett- leftover veggies and leftover beans and rice (this kid LOVES spicy food. Weirdo!)
Dinner-
Pulled pork tacos on corn shells, served with quickie pantry salsa, cheese, and the last of the pinto bean mess I made on Saturday.
Snacks- Dried apple chips, blueberries, carrot sticks with hummus.
Quickie pantry salsa- 1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilis, big handful each of black beans and corn, squirt lime juice over the top, sprinkle with dried onion and garlic, season to taste with hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Toss together in a large, non plastic bowl (to avoid staining the plastic!!) and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour to allow the flavors to mingle and the dried onion to rehydrate a bit. You can use real onions, but dried is just easier for me when I don't have any in the house!
Since I have 2 kids on WIC, we get a LOT of WIC stuff. 10 gallons of milk, 2 lbs of cheese, 12 cans of juice, 2 dozen eggs, 72 oz of cereal, and 2 jars of peanut butter per month.
Now, we use a lot of milk- whole, 1%, and powdered. I make at least 2 gallons of yogurt per month- since we eat it every day. So I rarely have to figure out how to use it up. Same with peanut butter and cereal- we don't worry about having too much on hand since we go through a lot of it.
On the other hand, eggs and juice don't always get used as often- so I have to get creative. Everett can't have egg whites yet- admittedly, this is a personal choice, and I'm sure I could have him test them out, but I'm waiting a bit longer since eggs are a high allergy food.
So, in order to be more frugal, I'll occasionally buy the v8 cans as my juice choice from WIC. V8 is one way to sneak extra veggies into the kids- plus I use it instead of water when I'm making tomato sauce. I also use the v8 to make a quickie gazpacho when I see cucumbers and peppers on sale.
As far as the cheese goes- well, we go against the grain here. Most people that are on WIC get American Cheese slices. We usually choose the cheddar, muenster, mozzarella, colby, or monterey jack option. When we get home, I'll shred the cheese myself, and then it's always avalable to us in the freezer! By doing this, I keep our costs down on the preshredded- which is marked up considerably!
Anyways, on to the meals.
Paul- cereal and milk
Anah, Abby, Everett- oatmeal and bananas cooked with milk and served with juice for the kiddos
Lunch-
Paul- provided by work
Anah- Healthy choice soup and slice homemade bread
Abby- peanut butter rollup- one tortilla, slathered with peanut butter and dotted with dried cherries, rolled up into a burrito. Leftover veggies on the side.
Everett- leftover veggies and leftover beans and rice (this kid LOVES spicy food. Weirdo!)
Dinner-
Pulled pork tacos on corn shells, served with quickie pantry salsa, cheese, and the last of the pinto bean mess I made on Saturday.
Snacks- Dried apple chips, blueberries, carrot sticks with hummus.
Quickie pantry salsa- 1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilis, big handful each of black beans and corn, squirt lime juice over the top, sprinkle with dried onion and garlic, season to taste with hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Toss together in a large, non plastic bowl (to avoid staining the plastic!!) and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour to allow the flavors to mingle and the dried onion to rehydrate a bit. You can use real onions, but dried is just easier for me when I don't have any in the house!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Day one- shopping and the meals...
Today we made a quick trip to get some pork for the next 3 nights' meals. I spent a total of $9.32 and got a pound of lentils, 7lbs of pork shoulder, a 6pack of bulkie rolls, and a 10pack of tortillas. The tortillas were a bit of an impulse purchase, since I didn't get a chance to make them this morning.
So, onto the meals:
Breakfast:
Abby and Everett- bananas and cheerios, juice and milk
Anah- Green Smoothie with flax and yogurt
Paul- Cereal with milk
Lunch:
Bean and Cheese burritos (filling- homemade- 1lb pinto beans, large chunk of kilbasa, lots of herbs and spices)
Dinner:
Crockpot Pulled Pork, served on bulkie rolls with BBQ sauce, green beans and potatoes from the freezer stash.
Tonight I'll also make up a batch of yogurt and a couple batches of drinks. A great tip is to make tea at night while you're cleaning up the dinner dishes, then you can sweeten it while its hot- avoiding the sugar at the bottom of the pitcher problem. I usually make 8 cups, double strength, hot, and then put in a clean 2L bottle with cold water. By the time I get to it the next day, it is nice and cold!
So, onto the meals:
Breakfast:
Abby and Everett- bananas and cheerios, juice and milk
Anah- Green Smoothie with flax and yogurt
Paul- Cereal with milk
Lunch:
Bean and Cheese burritos (filling- homemade- 1lb pinto beans, large chunk of kilbasa, lots of herbs and spices)
Dinner:
Crockpot Pulled Pork, served on bulkie rolls with BBQ sauce, green beans and potatoes from the freezer stash.
Tonight I'll also make up a batch of yogurt and a couple batches of drinks. A great tip is to make tea at night while you're cleaning up the dinner dishes, then you can sweeten it while its hot- avoiding the sugar at the bottom of the pitcher problem. I usually make 8 cups, double strength, hot, and then put in a clean 2L bottle with cold water. By the time I get to it the next day, it is nice and cold!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The Set-up: All-You Grocery Challenge
From July 13 through August 17, All-You is running a challenge to stick to a $25 per person per week budget for food- including meals out and groceries. For those of you that don't know- I stick to a strict budget of $40 cash for groceries and household items like cleaning supplies, personal care items, paper products, and diapers (for 2 kids!!!).
So, the "challenge" for me is to make our meals healthier- since 25% of the judging is based on healthfulness, I will be paying particularly close attention to the health aspects of what we eat. Creativity and ingenuity- that's not a problem. We live our lives creatively, since we make do or do without for many things! Plus, since getting little ones to eat healthier stuff can be a challenge in and of itself, I've found ways to sneak nutrition into kid-friendly foods.
Well, I guess that's all there is to say for now! I'll be posting each grocery trip and each day's meals, both for the helping hand it may lend to someone reading, and also to help this scattered Mom stay on track!
So, the "challenge" for me is to make our meals healthier- since 25% of the judging is based on healthfulness, I will be paying particularly close attention to the health aspects of what we eat. Creativity and ingenuity- that's not a problem. We live our lives creatively, since we make do or do without for many things! Plus, since getting little ones to eat healthier stuff can be a challenge in and of itself, I've found ways to sneak nutrition into kid-friendly foods.
Well, I guess that's all there is to say for now! I'll be posting each grocery trip and each day's meals, both for the helping hand it may lend to someone reading, and also to help this scattered Mom stay on track!
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