October Challenge
For the month of October I have created a challenge for myself. That challenge is to spend as little as possible on food without sacrificing balance and nutrition. The goal is for me to be more on top of meal planning and more creative with inexpensive meals, as well as getting better at utilizing our pantry and freezer foods. It is not uncommon for me to plan meals for a week without even looking to see what we might already have in the pantry.
In a typical month, we spend between $450 and $500 on food for my family of 6 (5 who actually eat). I'm excited to try to spend LESS! I just finished grocery planning and shopping for the first week of October, and spent $38 for the week. There are some things like milk and bananas that just don't keep in the pantry, along with some baking necessities that we needed. Here is my plan for the week:
Breakfast - oatmeal, cheerios, or smoothies. We have lots of frozen cherries and blueberries from u-pick season for smoothies. We bought a 25 lb bag of oatmeal a couple weeks ago. Kezzy doesn't like oatmeal, so 1 box of cheerios should last her for the month. Total estimated cost of breakfast for the month - about $10 to $15 (cherrios and milk for Kez and banana's for the smoothies).
Snacks - crackers, popcorn, jello, and pudding mixes are already in the pantry. I purchased a couple missing baking supplies and I think we are good. Total estimated snack cost for the month - About $5 to $10
Lunches - Toward the end of the month, I may get more creative with this. To start with, we have string cheese, yogurt, sandwiches, and macaroni. Later on, 1 loaf of bread, homemade Jam, and Sunbutter should last us. Cost for the month - about $10 (99 cents for whole wheat bread each week, home canned jam, and $4 for 1 can of sunbutter which should be enough for a month.) I have home canned fruits and veggies to go with it.
Dinners - I can currently make spaghetti, beef stew, steak and sweet potato fries, stir fry and rice, tacos, and chicken and dumplings without buying any groceries. I'm sure I will spend more in this category later on, and this is where some creativity will come in too. A couple nights ago, Thad mixed millet (44 cents a lb) with a can of chili (free - given to us) and some frozen veggies (50 cents for a partial bag). It tasted really good, was nutritious, all the ingredients would have added up to less then $1, and it made enough to feed our whole family.
Thad's lunches - this is probably our most expensive area because of his food allergies. He typically gets some trail mix items from bulk foods at Winco, a fruit or 2, and I bake for him.
So, that's the plan for the month. As a stay at home mom, I believe it should be part of my job description to find ways to save my family money. I haven't done a very good job with that in the past. My typical grocery list consisted of me writing down everything we ran out of throughout the week whether we planned n having it the next week or not, adding to it things for our meals, and spending $100 or more on groceries...then having several things go bad in the fridge because I didn't plan well. I will do better this month.
Today's menu -
Breakfast - oatmeal with raisens and blueberries (Kezzy had cherrios), and OJ (Kezzy had mommy milk)
Snack - Zucchini bread and flavored water
Lunch - 1/2 box marcaroni, home canned cherries, and home canned carrots
Snack - crackers and flavored water
Dinner - tacos (beef in the freezer, tortillas and olives in the pantry, tomatoes from my garden) and the rest of the jar of canned cherries from lunch.
In a typical month, we spend between $450 and $500 on food for my family of 6 (5 who actually eat). I'm excited to try to spend LESS! I just finished grocery planning and shopping for the first week of October, and spent $38 for the week. There are some things like milk and bananas that just don't keep in the pantry, along with some baking necessities that we needed. Here is my plan for the week:
Breakfast - oatmeal, cheerios, or smoothies. We have lots of frozen cherries and blueberries from u-pick season for smoothies. We bought a 25 lb bag of oatmeal a couple weeks ago. Kezzy doesn't like oatmeal, so 1 box of cheerios should last her for the month. Total estimated cost of breakfast for the month - about $10 to $15 (cherrios and milk for Kez and banana's for the smoothies).
Snacks - crackers, popcorn, jello, and pudding mixes are already in the pantry. I purchased a couple missing baking supplies and I think we are good. Total estimated snack cost for the month - About $5 to $10
Lunches - Toward the end of the month, I may get more creative with this. To start with, we have string cheese, yogurt, sandwiches, and macaroni. Later on, 1 loaf of bread, homemade Jam, and Sunbutter should last us. Cost for the month - about $10 (99 cents for whole wheat bread each week, home canned jam, and $4 for 1 can of sunbutter which should be enough for a month.) I have home canned fruits and veggies to go with it.
Dinners - I can currently make spaghetti, beef stew, steak and sweet potato fries, stir fry and rice, tacos, and chicken and dumplings without buying any groceries. I'm sure I will spend more in this category later on, and this is where some creativity will come in too. A couple nights ago, Thad mixed millet (44 cents a lb) with a can of chili (free - given to us) and some frozen veggies (50 cents for a partial bag). It tasted really good, was nutritious, all the ingredients would have added up to less then $1, and it made enough to feed our whole family.
Thad's lunches - this is probably our most expensive area because of his food allergies. He typically gets some trail mix items from bulk foods at Winco, a fruit or 2, and I bake for him.
So, that's the plan for the month. As a stay at home mom, I believe it should be part of my job description to find ways to save my family money. I haven't done a very good job with that in the past. My typical grocery list consisted of me writing down everything we ran out of throughout the week whether we planned n having it the next week or not, adding to it things for our meals, and spending $100 or more on groceries...then having several things go bad in the fridge because I didn't plan well. I will do better this month.
Today's menu -
Breakfast - oatmeal with raisens and blueberries (Kezzy had cherrios), and OJ (Kezzy had mommy milk)
Snack - Zucchini bread and flavored water
Lunch - 1/2 box marcaroni, home canned cherries, and home canned carrots
Snack - crackers and flavored water
Dinner - tacos (beef in the freezer, tortillas and olives in the pantry, tomatoes from my garden) and the rest of the jar of canned cherries from lunch.
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